Tourism - VEGAS INC

Passenger count at Las Vegas airport down 3 percent for September

An Allegiant Air jet takes off from McCarran International Airport on Friday, Aug. 26, 2011.

McCarran International Airport experienced its steepest month-over-month decline in passenger counts for the year in September, but it is still on track to serve more than 40 million passengers this year.

29 October 2012

By Richard N. Velotta

Sandy cancels dozens of flights to Las Vegas, leaves tourists stranded

Hundreds of flights carrying people bound for Las Vegas were canceled Monday because of the threat of Superstorm Sandy, which began to pound the East Coast in the late afternoon. Almost 200 flights carrying passengers headed toward Las Vegas nonstop or via connection were grounded from Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.

29 October 2012

By Ron Sylvester

Facing cash crunch, Prestige Travel now suing 33 casino and hotel companies

Bankrupt firm Prestige Travel Inc. of Las Vegas says it's quickly running out of cash and to preserve its funds has filed more lawsuits against hotels and casino companies.

26 October 2012

By Steve Green

Rise in international travel has been boon for Las Vegas, report shows

Locals take in the scene during an open house at the new Terminal 3 at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on Saturday, June 9, 2012.

International travel to the United States has doubled in the past 20 years and few places have seen a greater expansion than Las Vegas, the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program said in a report issued today.

24 October 2012

By Richard N. Velotta

LVCVA is flush with cash, signaling a healthier tourism industry

A view of the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign in Las Vegas, Nevada September 10, 2011. STEVE MARCUS

While some are still awaiting a turnaround from the worst economic times they’ve ever seen, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is flush — so flush that the LVCVA board is being asked to increase the authority’s general fund budget by $10.6 million.

24 October 2012

By Richard N. Velotta

Art Square opens downtown, heralded as 'next wave' of Las Vegas

Art Square developer Brett Wesley Sperry, at left, shows Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman the newely finished art center during it's grand opening, Monday Oct. 22, 2012.

Downtown Las Vegas welcomed its latest enclave for the city’s burgeoning art community with Monday night’s grand opening of Art Square. Art Square, in the heart of the Arts District, aims to bring together the creative and business communities to further the city’s redevelopment efforts downtown. Empty warehouses and a forgotten machine shop were transformed into 25,000 square feet of brightly lit art galleries, commercial spaces and a lush outdoor garden. The idea behind Art Square was born about a year ago.

23 October 2012

By Paul Takahashi

Riviera issues low-price guarantee for conventions, meetings

The Riviera hotel-casino said Thursday it is offering a low-price guarantee for conventions and meetings. The guarantee applies to meetings with room blocks of 100 or more on peak nights.

18 October 2012

By VEGAS INC Staff

Hospitality industry served ideas to improve customer service in Las Vegas

With the marketers of Las Vegas stepping up their games to attract more visitors to the city from overseas, the hospitality industry needs to sharpen its hosting skills to keep customers happy and turn them into repeat customers, a panel of industry experts said.

18 October 2012

By Richard N. Velotta

Coalition shifts focus from Olympics to bringing other competitions to Nevada

With the U.S. Olympic Committee bagging a U.S. bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, a coalition of winter sports enthusiasts will focus instead on attracting other sports competitions to the state, including the possibility of bringing a curling event to Las Vegas.

17 October 2012

By Richard N. Velotta

Downtown casino to Culinary workers: Union protest Saturday will cut into your tips

A view looking toward the Fremont Street Experience canopy from the Neonopolis mall in downtown Las Vegas Wednesday, August 1, 2012.

A massive protest slated Saturday in downtown Las Vegas stems, in part, from demands by the Culinary Union for a 15-cent increase to workers' health and pension funds.

12 October 2012

By Joe Schoenmann

'What happens here' has been a hit everywhere

A view of the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign in Las Vegas, Nevada September 10, 2011.

While there are dozens of classic examples of ad campaigns gone wrong when they’re translated into foreign languages, “What happens here, stays here” as a pitch for Las Vegas appears to have broad international appeal.

11 October 2012

By Richard N. Velotta

Southern Nevada visitor volume up slightly in August

Tourists walk on the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday, April 28, 2011.

Visitor volume was up slightly in Southern Nevada in August compared to last year, thanks primarily to conventions that were here this year and not in 2011 and an uptick in auto traffic from California.

10 October 2012

By Richard N. Velotta

Nevada gaming revenue off 3.1 percent in August

Gaming revenue in Nevada was down 3.1 percent in August compared to the same month a year ago, with Las Vegas Strip revenue down 1.1 percent, the state Gaming Control Board reports.

10 October 2012

By Cy Ryan

Two major conventions extend contracts in Las Vegas

Attendees crowd a South Hall aisle during the Specialty Equipment Market Association trade show at Las Vegas Convention Center on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011.

Representatives of two major conventions that annually rank among the top five shows in Las Vegas by attendance and are expected to produce a non-gaming economic impact of more than $1.4 billion over five years have signed new contracts with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, and MAGIC, Men’s Apparel Guild in California, signed deals that will keep them at the Las Vegas Convention Center for five and three years, respectively.

9 October 2012

By Richard N. Velotta

Know the rules of the road

A view of traffic on I-15 looking northbound from the new Warm Springs Road overpass Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. Officials celebrated the "grand opening" of the I-15 South Design-Build Project with a ceremony Wednesday. Construction on the $246 million highway improvement project started in Spring 2010.

It’s evident every time I go for a drive just how bad the motorists of Southern Nevada are. We treat Interstate 15 like a NASCAR track. Not a day goes by that I don’t see a high-speed moving violation on my commute between home and work.