Larry Ruvo, Caesars employees honored for giving back

Larry Ruvo at the fifth anniversary of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas on Sept. 9, 2014.

Local businessman Larry Ruvo and numerous Caesars Entertainment Corp. employees were honored for their philanthropy and volunteerism today by Gov. Brian Sandoval and some top Caesars executives.

Sandoval presented Ruvo with the inaugural Caesars Community Hero award, which the casino company said it created to commend local leaders whose philanthropic work has had a major impact on the Las Vegas area.

Ruvo is the Nevada senior managing director of the liquor distributor Southern Wine & Spirits and also founder of Keep Memory Alive, a nonprofit that supports the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health downtown.

Ruvo received the award during a Caesars Community Review event this morning at the Rio. Caesars also recognized employees who completed an exceptional number of volunteer hours. Employees in Caesars’ Hero program volunteered more than 56,700 hours in 2015, according to the company.

Sandoval called Ruvo “an American success story” and praised him for his efforts to help create “a stronger, more vibrant Nevada.”

Sandoval also received some praise of his own from Caesars executive Jan Jones Blackhurst, a former Las Vegas mayor, who said when she was introducing him that he might be “the best governor Nevada has ever had.”

She lauded his work on education funding and getting Tesla Motors and Faraday Future to build facilities in the state.

Preceding Ruvo’s speech was a video montage of celebrities and politicians who had previously applauded him and the work of the center for brain health. The video featured past remarks from the likes of President Barack Obama and all three of his predecessors, as well as former Secretary of State Colin Powell, singer Tony Bennett, actor Michael Caine and others.

Ruvo spoke about how Caesars had been instrumental in his professional life.

He said his experience working at Caesars Palace decades ago provided a foundation for the rest of his career because, among other things, it exposed him to Steve Wynn, who would eventually become a business partner. Ruvo also talked about how Caesars helped introduce him to the workings of the Strip.

“Standing before you is a dedicated and passionate supporter of Caesars Palace, and now Caesars Entertainment,” Ruvo said. “When I look at that hotel across the street, I think of how different my life would have been if it not for the experiences and opportunities I had through Caesars Palace.”

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