Tim Burke: date night Pahrump style: Part 2

My recent date night “Pahrump style” column had some varied and interesting responses from readers.

The overwhelming response was that we needed a wider variety of things to do here. A few readers responded that they felt intimidated by some residents when they brought the subject up. One reader said she was told, “Well, you knew what was here when you moved here so quit complaining.”

Her curt response to that comment was that she and her husband are active retirees who like to do things besides eat, sit on the couch and watch TV. Dinosaurs used to live here too but things changed, they eventually died out and were replaced over time by creatures that could better adapt to the environment. Things will continue to change here and probably faster than the dinosaurs becoming extinct.

Felice Leonardo “Leo” Buscaglia Ph.D.D, also known as “Dr. Love,” was an American author, motivational speaker, and a professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Southern California.

He was also a Nevada resident residing in Glenbrook, Nevada, near Lake Tahoe at the time of his death in 1998. In an interview with renowned motivational speaker Tony Robbins, Leo stated, “You can choose to go out and live a life or you can choose to watch actors on your TV pretending to live a life” (paraphrased). An overwhelming majority of readers that emailed me would rather go out and experience life. They are looking for things to do but finding limited options.

The number one fun thing to do for date night suggested by readers was going to the movies and how desperate they are to have a movie theater here. Unfortunately, our track record is not great with movie theaters. In 1996, a theater was built on Calvada but closed when the Pahrump Nugget made plans to open a theater.

In 2008, the Nugget announced that a multiplex movie theater would soon be under construction as part of a three-phase expansion and then nothing happened. In 2009, the signs came down and the downturn in the economy was blamed for the project being canceled.

Around the same time frame, Saddle West Casino took a turn at trying to establish a movie theater here. The theater was created out of the banquet room of the Saddle West Hotel &Casino. The room was used for bingo in the daytime and a movie theater at night. But that movie theater was open for over a year before closing.

Since then DVD services like Redbox and Netflix have grown significantly along with online video streaming bringing movies to the home sometimes within weeks of a movie’s big screen premiere.

Unlike many of the businesses along Highway 160, like the gas stations, convenience stores and fast food places, a movie theater will not benefit from tourists. A theater survives on having residents that support it. Movie theaters are experiencing a mild renaissance across the USA. 2017 revenue is expected to be over 17 billion with 2.7 percent growth.

In Las Vegas, theaters are recognizing that patrons are coming to the theater for an experience that you can’t duplicate at home. They have state-of-the-art sound systems, reclining seats, and multiple screens in 2D and 3D. And you no longer get just popcorn, candy and soda at the snack bars. You can have adult beverages, gourmet coffees, desserts, even entire dinners delivered right to your theater seat.

There have been announcements of theaters coming here but as one reader stated, this place makes lots of promises but rarely follows through. A theater has been part of the plans for the expansion at Spring Mountain Motor Sports Ranch, but it has been slow to develop.

Perhaps the Nugget might revisit its expansion plans from 2008 and consider building a theater. If you look to Laughlin you see Don Laughlin’s Riverside Hotel and Casino where he has tried to reach virtually every demographic with theaters, bowling, laser tag, an auto and slot museum, an RV park, a boat launch to the Colorado River, and an arcade, in addition to the normal casino gaming, restaurants, and entertainment.

Based on his successful results, it’s probably not a bad business model to follow.

If we get lucky and a movie theater opens, it will stay open only as long as we support it.

Critics say that our residents are too poor, that people would rather stay home, and that theaters are too expensive. We won’t know if now is a better time than 2008 to open a movie theater until someone actually does. I just hope it’s before the dinosaurs come back.

Tim Burke is a businessman, philanthropist, educator and Pahrump resident. Contact him at timstakenv@gmail.com