DAWSON CITY – The Klondike Visitors Association (KVA) had a bad year in 2010.

A projected profit of $120,240 had turned into a loss of $92,150 by the end of December.

"The last two years have been a real rollercoaster for the KVA,” chairman Jorn Meier told the roughly 20 members gathered for the group's annual general meeting on Feb. 28. "For two years, we've tanked.”

In 2009, the KVA managed a very slender profit of $47,000, but only after re-jigging its budget part way through the season and cutting out $200,000 in expenses. This was not possible in 2010.

Looking through the draft financial reports, one would find it easy to see just what had caused last year's shortfall, though no one really had a solid answer as to why. There were many factors.

Revenue from the slot machines, which is usually around $1 million (based on a 10-year average), had been projected at $1,088,584. It came in at $885,794.

There may be a variety of reasons for this, it emerged in the discussion.

Executive director Gary Parker recalled that when the first slot machines were installed in 1992, Diamond Tooth Gerties was one of the few places in Canada which had legalized gambling.

These days, there are hundreds of casinos across the country, most of them far larger and glitzier than Gerties can claim to be, and easier to get to.

Parker noted that a number of the casino's machines are old and some are out of service. Some are too old to get parts for, and the KVA has not been able to afford to replace

them.

KVA member Dick Van Nostrand said most of Gerties' machines are pretty boring compared to the variety of play that exists in other casinos he has visited. No one disagreed with

that.

Parker went as far as to quip that the slots at Gerties are in danger of becoming historic artifacts in their own right.

There were other factors which kept the revenue down. Parker reported that most businesses in town, including Gerties, had a pretty strong month of June.

After that, a round of floods in Alaska resulted in regular closures of the Top of the World/Taylor Highway, cutting off the road to Eagle entirely.

Holland-America may have been able to get its people here by a combination of bus and aircraft, but other travellers who might have taken the loop around from the Alaska

Highway were cut off, and it's certain that Dawson lost a lot of traffic.

Then, there may simply have been a shift in the interests of the clientele.

Games in the casino actually brought in $510,516, up $13,303 from last year, and gave that end of the operation a profit of $229,206.

Taken together with some trimming on the expenses side, that meant that gaming brought in $36,880 more than in 2009.

Bar sales dipped about $11,000, but still generated $220,344 in profit.

Since the operation at Gerties is the KVA's main source of revenue, annual general meetings tend to focus on that aspect of the non-profit society's affairs. Because it employs

some 80 seasonal workers during the summer, it is a significant part of Dawson's tourist-based economy.

The KVA runs a number of special events in Dawson during the year, most of which do not make money or break even. They include the upcoming Thaw-Di-Gras (spring carnival),

the Commissioner's Klondike Ball, the Yukon Goldpanning Championships, the Authors on 8th celebrations and the Klondike International Outhouse Race.

This year, as reported in Tuesday's Star, it's also running the Trek Over the Top weekends, a snowmobile excursion between Dawson and Tok, Alaska.

In addition, the KVA runs the Jack London Interpretive Museum.

As well, it makes a regular contribution to the operations at the Berton House Writer-in-Residence program, which is managed by the Writers' Trust of Canada.

Free Claim #6 on Bonanza Road is owned by the KVA and offers a place where visitors can try their hands at panning without trespassing on working placer claims.

One key part of the meeting was the election of a new board of directors. The KVA uses a system in which only part of the board is replaced each year, thus allowing for continuity.

This year Marc Johnson, Meier and Eric Zalitis each had a year left in their terms.

Newly elected (or re-elected) members include Brenda Caley, Johnny Nunan, Brian Stethem, Carolyn Wong, Nick Timms, Peggy Amendola and David Rohatensky.

See related coverage below.