The Final Table Casino in Everett attracted a line out the door for a poker tournament earlier this month, a sight that made Anna Bednersh smile.

The owner of the minicasino, which opened in November, hopes it’s a sign that the business is developing a solid following. Bednersh said the Final Table survived at first by promoting its nightclub, hoping the gambling customers would follow.

“Now the casino’s taking over the nightclub (as far as customers), and that was the goal all along,” she said.

The Final Table is one of three nontribal minicasinos – formally known to state regulators as house-banked card rooms – that opened in 2005. One of those already has closed.

There also have been changes in ownership at other nontribal casinos in the past two years. For example, the Silver Dollar in Everett recently transformed into JR’s Sports Bar and Poker Room under a different owner.

The word casino suggests riches and guaranteed winnings for the owners of such businesses. The truth is, however, that 53 percent of the state’s minicasinos operate in the red, according to the Recreational Gaming Association.

“It takes a pretty astute business person to make these things work. You have to have all your ducks in a row,” said Dolores Chiechi, executive director of the state association.

Audited financial statements available for eight Snohomish County minicasinos show that only two of those showed a net income in 2004, the most recent year available. The Silver Dollar Casino in Mountlake Terrace made almost $1.1 million in income, while the Great American Casino in Everett made more than $210,000.

The Iron Horse Casino, Highway 9 Casino, Golden Nugget Casino at BC MacDonalds, Royal Casino, Crazy Moose Casino and Everett’s Silver Dollar Casino all reported net losses.

Those ranged from $316,353 for the Iron Horse to nearly $779,000 for the Silver Dollar in south Everett, according to a state-provided summary of financial statements. Other local minicasinos either didn’t report or were not required to do so.

Chiechi said the industry is growing statewide, with gamblers generally spending more each year at minicasinos. That trend has held in Snohomish County, too.

But tribal-owned casinos, which can operate slot machines, still are taking in much more money, she said. They also are neither regulated nor taxed like the privately owned minicasinos.

In recent years, some legislators have taken aim at minicasinos, proposing laws to further restrict or tax them.

Chiechi described the competition between minicasinos in Everett as particularly tough. There are six minicasinos either open or about to open in or around the city. That’s out of 12 countywide.

With those numbers, it might seem foolish to enter the fray. But Tony Marson, about to leap in with The Club Casino in Everett, expresses no doubt that his roomy card room and restaurant will outdraw other minicasinos in the area.

The Club is taking shape inside an 18,000-square-foot building along Everett Mall Way that formerly housed Gerry Andal’s Ranch Restaurant, then a bingo hall. From the front door, you can see the now-closed Galaxy Casino across the street. That business lasted just a few months last year.

Marson said he thinks he’ll have the right combination of good food, games and atmosphere to succeed.

“You have to have a concept, good value for the customer and customer service,” said Marson, who also owns a school for card room dealers in Edmonds and has 25 years of experience in the gambling industry. He hopes to open The Club in March.

At the Final Table, in the old Black Angus steakhouse on Evergreen Way, casino manager Christina Adamson of Everett said she’s optimistic about the business’s growth. The casino includes 10 blackjack tables and five for poker.

“Every day the numbers are going up,” she said.

Marson, who also will operate 15 card-room tables, said he’s ready to take on the competition.

“They have no idea what’s about to hit them,” he said.

Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.