Tourism

2011 a banner year for Las Vegas cab companies

A taxi cab drives down the Strip Thursday, April 28, 2011.

The local taxi industry was running on all cylinders in 2011 with a double-digit increase in revenue for the 16 companies operating in Clark County, according to statistics released today by the Nevada Taxicab Authority. Eight other categories monitored by the authority also showed gains for the year.

24 January 2012
By Richard N. Velotta

Nevada missing its full potential when it comes to exports

Nevada missing its full potential when it comes to exports

For many Nevadans, “international trade” might mean heading to Walmart in their import cars to buy Chinese-made computers as well as imported desks and chairs to outfit their offices.

23 January 2012
By Steve Green

Nevadans applaud President Obama's tourism initiative

President Barack Obama speaks about tourism and travel on Jan. 19, 2012, at the Walt Disney World resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Tourism industry leaders from across the country applauded President Barack Obama today for signing an executive order and announcing initiatives that should increase travel to the United States.

19 January 2012
By Karoun Demirjian,
Richard N. Velotta

Southwest Airlines reports dip in profits

An American Airlines jet waits to taxi as a Southwest Airlines jet takes off from McCarran International Airport in this 2009 file photo.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines reported a decline in fourth-quarter profits on Thursday but still beat analysts' estimates while contending with high fuel costs.

19 January 2012
By Richard N. Velotta

AVN 2012 afterparty guide: Party like a porn star

Bob Rudy of Phildelphia is put in a wrestling hold by Lady Ice Queen at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas Friday, January 7, 2011.

This year the porn stars get their own weekend to rule the Strip, as the Consumer Electronics Show has already come and gone. Not that the tech geeks were much of a match for the adult entertainment industry’s biggest convention. Check out the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo by day and party like the porn stars by night … or at least with the porn stars.

19 January 2012
By Allison Duck

AVN 101: A primer for those aching to attend

Performer Jessica Drake favors a smoky eye to complement her platinum locks.

Adult-movie fans have loads to be excited about this week as the porn convention comes to the Hard Rock Hotel. From Wednesday through Saturday the Adult Video News (AVN) will host its 2012 Adult Entertainment Expo, Adult Novelty Expo, awards and virtual expo.

18 January 2012
By Gregan Wingert

Why porn queens and CES tech geeks have parted ways

Adult film star Alexis Texas talks with fans at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas Friday, January 7, 2011.

For years, the sight of badge-wearing technology nerds intermingling with buxom porn queens along the Strip marked the start of a new year and the concurrent arrival of two high-profile conventions to Las Vegas. This year, the Consumer Electronics Show and the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo are separate weeks.

17 January 2012
By Conor Shine

Former Nevada tourism official reflects on his stint at N. Korea casino

For all the mystery engulfing North Korea, Robert E. Goodman knows what that isolated country and tourist-laden Las Vegas have in common. They both lust for Chinese gamblers.

14 January 2012
By David McGrath Schwartz

Exec sees online video content further dominating Internet traffic

Robert Kyncl, vice president of Global Content Partnerships at YouTube, speaks during his keynote address at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show on Jan. 12, 2012.

Robert Kyncl, vice president of content at Google and one of the people who pushed Netflix from a DVD-by-mail operation to online streaming, made a convincing case in an address at the International Consumer Electronics Show Thursday that entertainment on the web is going to change radically in the next five years, just as it has in the past five.

12 January 2012
By Richard N. Velotta

Intel wows CES crowd with ambitious plans

Recording artist Will.i.am shakes hands with Paul Otellini, president and CEO of Intel Corporation, during Otellini's keynote address at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, Jan. 10, 2012. Will.i.am is involved in an ultrabook creative campaign in which he tours 12 cities, creates 12 songs, and engages in 12 philanthropic ventures.

The world’s largest semiconductor chip maker used the big stage of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Tuesday to announce plans to get into the smartphone business with a Chinese multinational company and an established American company.

10 January 2012
By Richard N. Velotta

In Microsoft's final CES keynote, Steve Ballmer touts Windows 8

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, right, talks with Ryan Seacrest during his keynote address at the 2012 International CES tradeshow on Jan. 9, 2012, in Las Vegas. CES, the world's largest consumer electronics exhibition, starts Tuesday.

Microsoft Corp. made its International Consumer Electronics Show swan song — or maybe it didn’t — on the eve of the kickoff of the 2012 show that begins Tuesday in Las Vegas, where more than 140,000 people will begin poring over thousands of gadgets and gizmos for four days. Latecomers to Steve Ballmer’s CES-opening keynote address were turned away from the packed ballroom.

9 January 2012
By Richard N. Velotta

$632 for a room? Must be time for CES

A view of casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.

Looking for a cheap room on the Strip this week? Good luck. Room rates at the Riviera, normally one of the most affordable places in town, are more than eight times normal January prices, thanks to the annual International Consumer Electronics Show. The Riviera, which is close to the Convention Center, had rooms available for $39 this past Thursday night. Tuesday and Wednesday nights, those same rooms are going for $499.

9 January 2012
By Kyle B. Hansen

Gambling makes up smallest chunk ever of casino revenue

A view of the Las Vegas Strip from the top of Tropicana on Saturday, March 26, 2011.

Money won from gamblers comprised a record low share of the Nevada casino industry’s total revenue generated during the past fiscal year. But spending on food, beverages and related offerings produced an all-time high share of the overall revenue picture, according to figures released Friday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The board's numbers support a much-stated contention in recent months: The state’s gaming industry is recovering from the depths of the recession but has yet to fully rebound.

6 January 2012
By Dave Berns,
Cy Ryan

Las Vegas eager for midweek visitor boost from CES

Workers set up a Microsoft booth Tuesday in preparation for last year's International Consumer Electronics Show. late last year, Microsoft announced this would be the last year the company would have a lead role, both as keynote deliverers and exhibitors.

North America’s largest trade show — the biggest consumer electronics gathering in the world — makes its annual appearance in Las Vegas next week with a gift to the city, courtesy of the convention calendar, and a touch of industry intrigue.

5 January 2012
By Richard N. Velotta

New McCarran terminal among tourism highlights for 2012

A United Airlines passenger jet is shown on the ground as a Southwest jet takes off at McCarran International Airport on Dec. 9, 2011.

Here at the Sun and its business publication, VEGAS INC, we like to look forward instead of backward. With that in mind, here are some of the top tourism news stories you’ll be seeing in 2012.

2 January 2012
By Richard N. Velotta
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