Silverdale Bowling Casino
Minicasinos are limited to card games, keno, craps or roulette. Those in Kitsap County include Chips Casino in Redwood Plaza in East Bremerton and All Star Lanes in Silverdale. Hank's Country Inn in Belfair is planning to open a minicasino in Port Orchard. Reach reporter Sally Farhat at (360) 792-3343 or at sfarhat@thesunlink.com. Bowling 10710 Silverdale Way NW, Silverdale, WA 98383 The bowling alley, All Star Lanes, features an arcade, a casino, and food and beverages. The bowling alley includes a pro shop and can also be made available for private parties.
Silverdale Bowling Casinos
For a second time this year, Kitsap's entertainment venues, including movie theaters and bowling alleys, are shutting down on Gov. Jay Inslee's orders in an attempt to thwart the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When will they reopen? It's become more a question of if, local owners say.
'It feels very hopeless when you sense that no one is going to rescue businesses like ours,' said Rhonda Lee Koh, owner of Ahoy Kitsap Playland off Highway 303 in East Bremerton, an indoor playground for kids 12 and under.
Koh had only been able to open for the past two weeks. The closure this time feels different to her, as shutdowns in spring 2020 came with relief, including the federal CARES Act stimulus. But she said the business is burning through the last of its Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds.
© MEEGAN M. REID / KITSAP SUN Empty and dark lanes at All Star Lanes & Casino in Silverdale on Wednesday, August 12, 2020.This second closure 'feels incredibly devastating' because of inaction to pass further relief. 'Who is going to save us? I don't know,' she said.
What bowling alleys are saying
As of Tuesday, movie theaters and Kitsap's bowling alleys will also have to shut down.
For All Star Lanes & Casino in Silverdale and the Hi Joy Bowl in Port Orchard, which employed about 250 people before the pandemic, 'It feels like we tried to get back up and then got kicked back down again,' said Kylie Hicks, a co-owner of the two bowling alleys and their accompanying restaurants.
'It's pretty devastating for all small businesses at this point.'
Hicks said they were able to tread water for about 2 1/2 months and ran in the red only slightly during that time. The business was able to pay salaries and see frequent customers despite operating under confined capacity. Now, she worries about the employees, especially as the holidays approach.
She said the pandemic and the rising COVID-19 infections made 2020 a 'lose-lose situation.'
More: How Washington restaurant restrictions impact Kitsap eateries
Theaters equate restrictions to hitting brick wall
Movie theaters, like SEEFilm Cinemas in Bremerton, were also 'battening down the hatches' Monday as the deadline to close approached.
'We knew it was coming but it's still so hard to do,' said Julie Vogan-Stitt, a movie theater manager with three decades' experience. 'I had to tell our employees again it was their last day.'
The theater plans to continue the operation of its coffee shop. But Vogan-Stitt, like Koh, isn't sure what the future holds.
More: Washington grocery stores feel impact of COVID restrictions
We've hit a brick wall again,' she said. 'Hopefully some other assistance will come soon.'
Josh Farley is a reporter covering the military for the Kitsap Sun. He can be reached at 360-792-9227, josh.farley@kitsapsun.com or on Twitter at @joshfarley.
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This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: New COVID closures 'devastating' for Kitsap theaters, bowling alleys
Sun Local
By Sally Farhat, Sun Staff — Jun 8th, 2001
* The minicasino would be in the former West Park Lanes.
Frank Evans is betting on bowling and blackjack to boost Bremerton's economy.
Evans, the owner of Kenmore Lanes near Seattle, said Thursday that he wants to reopen the former West Park Lanes this fall as a new minicasino and 36-lane bowling alley - complete with restaurant, bar, card room, pro shop and rooms for billiards and video games. But Evans said those plans will become a reality only if the Bremerton City Council approves an ordinance creating a 2 percent tax for house-banked card rooms such as his.
A house-banked card room is one in which the casino gets a portion of each card-game pot. The 2 percent would be the tax the city collects from the business based on its take.
Since there is no such casino in the city limits, the council has never needed to establish a tax rate for these types of businesses, deputy city clerk Paula Johnston said.
There only exists a 20 percent tax for non-house-banked card rooms, which Evans said was too high.
The casino and bowling alley would be located at the defunct West Park Lanes, west of State Route 3 and Kitsap Way, Evans said.
He plans to lease the building and invest $2.5 million to renovate and call it Bremerton Lanes. It would open Dec. 1.
A casino such as this can generate up to $50,000 per year in tax revenue using the 2 percent rate, according to information that will be submitted for the council's consideration at Wednesday's meeting.
Silverdale Bowling Alley Casino
Kitsap County currently charges a 2 percent card room tax to these types of minicasinos.
Evans' alley in Kenmore employs 180 people and he hopes to hire 150 at the new Bremerton Lanes. He knows foot traffic will be lighter - 3,000 customers a week at the Bremerton alley as opposed to the 4,500 that bowl their way through Kenmore Lanes.
'We're very family-oriented,' he said. 'We don't try to replicate Vegas.'
He also plans 24-hour video surveillance, and a ventilation system because of cigarette smoke.
The tax ordinance will have its first reading June 20. If it moves through the council's approval process, it could become law in July.
'I'm waiting with bated breath,' Evans said.
About minicasinos
More than 50 Washington cities and a few counties have outlawed minicasinos, according to the Washington State Gambling Commission.
Minicasinos are limited to card games, keno, craps or roulette. Those in Kitsap County include Chips Casino in Redwood Plaza in East Bremerton and All Star Lanes in Silverdale.
Hank's Country Inn in Belfair is planning to open a minicasino in Port Orchard.
Reach reporter Sally Farhat at (360) 792-3343 or at sfarhat@thesunlink.com.
Silverdale Bowling Casino Buffet
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