Richard N. Velotta

Story Archive

Fuel surcharge boosts cab companies' profits
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Southern Nevada taxis made fewer trips but made more money in April, the Nevada Taxicab Authority reported.
Extra cabs OK'd for Electric Daisy Carnival visitors
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
When tens of thousands of visitors arrive in Las Vegas for June’s Electric Daisy Carnival, the taxi industry should be ready.
Virgin Atlantic, British airways to do battle over Las Vegas
Monday, May 21, 2012
The storied rivalry between British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways will have a new battleground — Las Vegas.
Stargazers in Tonopah get front-row seats for solar eclipse
Monday, May 21, 2012
It was cosmic happenstance that the center line along the path of Sunday’s annular eclipse was just north of the place USA Today has dubbed the “No. 1 stargazing destination in America.”
Travel business rebounding as agents adapt to tech-savvy generation
Monday, May 21, 2012
The Internet has become a game-changer for the travel industry. But it was also a job-killer. Thousands of travel agency professionals lost their jobs, and small mom-and-pop agencies either were absorbed by giant travel companies or disappeared.
Medical tourism could thrive if Las Vegas excelled at specialty care and treatments, panel says
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Building on the quality of health care in Southern Nevada is the most important element in developing a thriving medical tourism industry, an all-star panel of doctors agreed in a symposium designed to advance the concept.
State panel approves grants for food manufacturers
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Two Southern Nevada snack food manufacturing companies will receive federal training grants in connection with their respective plant expansions that will provide more than 100 new jobs.
Sun Country Airlines' proposal denied for flights from D.C. to Las Vegas
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
The U.S. Department of Transportation has rejected a proposal by Sun Country Airlines to offer daily nonstop flights between Las Vegas and Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport.
Allegiant Air adds routes to Hawaii
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Allegiant Air, which last month announced plans to offer nonstop flights between McCarran International Airport and Honolulu beginning June 29, has filled out its Hawaii schedule with routes beginning next fall from Santa Maria and Stockton, Calif., Bellingham, Wash., and Eugene, Ore.
Cybersecurity at issue as Gaming Policy Committee discusses Internet gambling
Monday, May 14, 2012
With the state about a month away from granting its first online gambling license, two experts told members of the Gaming Policy Committee on Monday that regulators have to stay vigilant in their efforts to keep the online gaming environment secure.
SkyBridge Alternatives conference, set to return next year, gives coveted industry presence in Las Vegas
Monday, May 14, 2012
Former Mayor Oscar Goodman was in his element last week, taking the stage at a major financial services industry conference, martini in hand and showgirls on each arm.
ESPN, LVCVA sending three people on golf vacation
Monday, May 14, 2012
ESPN and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority begin a new television and digital promotion for Las Vegas today which includes a contest that will send three people to play golf with “SportsCenter” anchor Jay Harris.
Sandoval reaches out internationally to woo business for Nevada
Friday, May 11, 2012
Gov. Brian Sandoval cemented the foundation for the international component of Nevada’s economic development plan Friday, hosting the consuls general of 38 countries and a Canadian province with which the state hopes to build long-term business relationships.
German airline makes a splash at McCarran airport
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Germany's second-largest airline began nonstop flights between Dusseldorf, Germany, and McCarran International Airport on Thursday, providing a new low-fare option for travel to Europe and an alternative routing for the estimated 60,000 German tourists who fly to Las Vegas each year.
Visitor volume continues steady climb, latest numbers show
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Las Vegas visitor volume continued to climb in March despite a drop in convention attendance, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported Thursday.
Legalized Internet gaming would help casinos, trade chief says
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
The approval of online gaming wouldn’t negatively impact land-based casinos, the head of the industry’s largest association says. Frank Fahrenkopf, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, said if anything, the approval of Internet gambling would expand existing operations, because younger players more comfortable with online transactions would start gambling online and eventually find their way to local casinos.
Stalled overhaul of Las Vegas Convention Center to be restarted
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
The multimillion-dollar overhaul of the Las Vegas Convention Center that was torpedoed when the economy tanked is on again, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board of directors was told Tuesday.
LVCVA boss rewarded for reaching goals
Raise, bonus still make his earnings lower than national average
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter is in line for a 4 percent pay increase and a performance bonus of nearly $80,000.
Valley of Fire emerges as Southern Nevada's top tourist attraction in poll
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Thousands of people have confirmed what many Southern Nevada residents have known all along — that Valley of Fire State Park is one of the state’s tourism treasures.
Wynn expects Cotai Strip resort to be 'irresistible to our guests'
Monday, May 7, 2012
A 9.8 percent increase in revenue from Macau helped offset an 8.1 percent decline in Las Vegas, causing Wynn Resorts Ltd. to report lower profits in the first quarter of 2012. Maybe that’s why CEO Steve Wynn chose to whet the appetites of analysts with a few new details about his planned new resort on Macau’s Cotai Strip during this afternoon’s conference call on earnings.
McCarran scores high in magazine's reader survey
Monday, May 7, 2012
Travel + Leisure magazine asked its readers to weigh in on the nation’s best airports based on seven categories: flight timeliness, design, amenities, food and drink, check-in and security, service, and transportation and location. Not surprisingly, McCarran International Airport fared well.
3 international airlines ready to begin nonstop flights to Las Vegas
Friday, May 4, 2012
The “international” in McCarran International Airport will be highlighted three times in the next two months, beginning with next week’s inaugural arrival of nonstop flights on Air Berlin from Dusseldorf, Germany.
Las Vegas remains top dog in network's rankings of trade show sites
Friday, May 4, 2012
Las Vegas maintained its grip on the unofficial title of top convention and meetings host in the United States in 2011 as home to 55 of the nation’s top 250 trade shows.
Jai alai regulations are seen as useless in Nevada
Thursday, May 3, 2012
When Gov. Brian Sandoval ordered state agencies to find regulations that are in need of updating or no longer relevant, it didn't take long for the state Gaming Control Board to zero in on repealing a regulation for a game that hasn't been played in the state in more than 30 years.
Gaming Commission to consider candidate for executive secretary post
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The state’s two gaming regulatory boards are close to getting a new executive secretary. Sally Elloyan, who has served in several capacities within the Gaming Control Board as well as in the industry, was recommended Wednesday for the position in a unanimous Control Board vote.
For a day, anyway, gambling likely to return to Moulin Rouge site
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Gambling is expected to return to the site of the historic Moulin Rouge Casino — at least for a day.
$20 million in renovations planned for the Riviera
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Riviera Holdings Corp. will invest $20 million to $30 million to refurbish the Riviera on the Strip. The proceeds from the sale of Riviera’s property in Black Hawk, Colo., will be reinvested in the Las Vegas property, the company said.
Major changes in economic development efforts under way in Nevada
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The Governor’s Office of Economic Development took another step toward the makeover of how the state attracts, expands and retains companies on Tuesday when state officials opened requests for proposals to form newly minted regional development authorities.
Michelle Obama rallies campaign supporters during stop in Las Vegas
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
First Lady Michelle Obama energized campaign workers in Las Vegas on Tuesday with a pep rally appearance for the president that hearkened to the grass-roots efforts that got him elected in 2008. Addressing about 300 workers at the Springs Preserve, near where she spoke earlier at a private fundraiser, she thanked volunteers for their efforts but reminded them that they needed to continue their work if they’re going to be successful in returning her husband to the White House.
Spirit Airlines sees revenue grow as network of routes expanded
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Spirit Airlines, the fastest-growing commercial air carrier at McCarran International Airport in 2011, produced earnings in line with analysts’ expectations for the first quarter this year.
Tired of airline fees? Here are a few tips to get around them
Monday, April 30, 2012
In their earnings conference call last week, Allegiant Air executives fielded an interesting question from analysts. Would the company consider initiating a fee for passengers to have a seat that reclines when the airline initiates its six-hour flights between Las Vegas and Honolulu? The executives said no, they wouldn’t, because none of the seats on the airline’s Boeing 757 jets recline.
Gaming Control Board appoints 3 new division chiefs
Friday, April 27, 2012
The Gaming Control Board has appointed three division chiefs to replace retiring and resigning staff members.
Traffic up at Las Vegas’ McCarran airport for March, 1st quarter
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Passenger traffic continued to rise at McCarran International Airport in March, with international arrivals and performances by airlines known for charging high ancillary fees bumping totals 2.5 percent higher than last year.
Earnings up 26.5 percent at Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
With two key revenue streams still on the horizon, the parent company of Allegiant Air on Wednesday reported a 23.1 percent increase in revenue and a 26.5 percent increase in earnings for the quarter that ended March 31.
Maverick Aviation expands its fleet of tour aircraft
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
The Maverick Aviation Group says it has added three planes ideally suited to Grand Canyon air-tour flights to its fleet at Henderson Executive Airport.
Influential slot machine designer dies in accident
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
The designer of some of the most successful slot machine games in history — Blazing 7s and the Black and White slot series — has died in a traffic accident in Las Vegas. Robert Phillip Manz, who had a 23-year career with the predecessor companies of Bally Technologies, was 65.
American-US Airways merger could lead to higher ticket prices
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Airline analysts are growing more confident that American Airlines and US Airways will merge — a move that probably wouldn’t have a big impact on Las Vegas’ flight schedules but could force ticket prices to go up.
Bally Technologies CEO talks hot games, Internet poker, expansion plans and new jobs
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Richard Haddrill, CEO of Bally Technologies, has been giving his passport a workout.
Southwest making loyalty program interchangeable with AirTran
Monday, April 23, 2012
Members of Southwest Airlines’ Rapid Rewards loyalty program got a new benefit today — the ability to use their points on AirTran flights.
State shirking duty to help gambling addicts
Monday, April 23, 2012
One of the things I didn’t report in the series of stories I wrote about the recent Nevada State Conference on Problem Gambling was that all of the speakers appeared on their own dime. The Nevada Council on Problem Gambling’s reason for not cutting expense checks to presenters isn’t that it’s cheap. The organization can’t afford it — it’s a nonprofit that operates on donations and memberships.
Las Vegas Strip snubbed in voting for Nevada tourism gems
Friday, April 20, 2012
Quick, name places in Southern Nevada that tourists love. The Strip, obviously, and Hoover Dam and its sidekick, the new O’Callaghan-Tillman Bridge, right?
Cabdrivers lose appeal to reduce number of taxis on streets
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Southern Nevada taxi drivers made their case for reducing the number of cabs on valley streets in a new venue. And they got a familiar answer: No. The Nevada Transportation Authority rejected an appeal Thursday from two unions of last year’s Nevada Taxicab Authority approval of permanent cab allocations.
Taxi drivers lose appeal in fight over extra cabs
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Southern Nevada taxi drivers made their case for reducing the number of cabs on valley streets in a new venue. But they got a familiar answer when the Nevada Transportation Authority rejected an appeal from two unions of last year’s Nevada Taxicab Authority approval of permanent cab allocations.
Fuel hedging leads Southwest Airlines to profitable 1st quarter
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Southwest Airlines rode a stable financial strategy that helped it grow in the 1990s — a favorable fuel hedging program — to a profitable first quarter this year, surprising analysts who were anticipating a rare quarterly loss for the airline.
With Allegiant shaking up Las Vegas-Hawaii air market, how will Southwest respond?
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
The skies over the South Pacific and the air routes between Hawaii and its ninth island, Las Vegas, will be filling up in the months ahead.
Initiative to make TV broadcasts compatible worldwide was born in Las Vegas
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
You’re traveling in a foreign country where you know the language and you own a portable device that you use to access broadcast signals when at home. If a disaster strikes, you can’t access an emergency broadcast system because your portable device is incompatible with the local system.
James Cameron says television ready for 3D expansion
Monday, April 16, 2012
Hollywood producer James Cameron and business partner Vince Pace have already overcome many of the most challenging aspects of 3D entertainment in movies.
Head of National Association of Broadcasters says best days ahead
Monday, April 16, 2012
With the telecommunications industry pressing for bandwidth to compete with broadcasters, the president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters said the industry’s best days are ahead.
Stars, technology meld at National Association of Broadcasters show
Saturday, April 14, 2012
The National Association of Broadcasters convention is part entertainment, part engineering.
Cases of disgraced priest, ex-lawyer highlight problem gambling issue
Friday, April 13, 2012
On the day that Monsignor Kevin McAuliffe reported to the La Tuna Prison in Anthony, Texas, his embezzlement of $650,000 from the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Las Vegas — and his compulsive gambling problem — was the subject a keynote address and a panel at the close of the sixth-annual Nevada State Conference on Problem Gambling on Friday.