Managers’ claims grew faster than others’; analyst blames construction bust
Monday, June 29, 2009
The biggest percentage increase in unemployment from May 2006 to May 2009 was among those in the ranks of management, state unemployment statistics show.
It’s hard to tell how much Las Vegas has benefited from the South Korean visa waiver program that took effect last year, but that country’s new ambassador to the United States is anxious to develop more economic ties to boost trade with the state.
The Nevada Tourism Commission may explore whether it can persuade the state to require online travel agencies to pay room taxes based on what hotel guests are paying rather than the rate the agency negotiates with the property.
Passenger counts at McCarran International Airport were off in May for the 15th straight month with declines in arriving and departing travelers running parallel to percentage changes in capacity by the 33 airlines serving Las Vegas.
Southwest Airlines, which has never been shy about tying a landmark event to a promotion, will offer $35 flights on nonstop trips from Las Vegas to Milwaukee commemorating the initiation of service to its 35th U.S. state.
Competing high-speed train proposals for systems linking Las Vegas and Southern California are getting support from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, but a group planning to develop a magnetic-levitation system was stunned when one of its biggest supporters switched sides.
Longtime Las Vegas gaming executive Blake Sartini is the CEO of Nevada’s largest tavern operator and the state’s third-largest slot route. His company runs a casino in Pahrump and three in Colorado, and he founded the state’s largest startup bank.
In the past few weeks millions of moviegoers have seen “The Hangover,” a bawdy comedy set in Las Vegas about a bachelor party gone wrong. That should be good news for tourism since many Vegas-set films tend to serve as 90-minute advertisements for the city.
Backers of each project find fault with the way the other one would work
Sunday, June 14, 2009
It’s a tale of two trains. One would be a conventional steel-wheels-on-rails model that would move faster than any train operating in the West, powered by electricity or a diesel-electric hybrid locomotive.
Representatives of the three city-based chambers of commerce disagree about how well business fared in Nevada’s 75th legislative session that concluded last week.
A lawsuit filed last week spotlights a problem that has existed in Las Vegas for years and never seems to come to resolution: the alleged diversion of tourists by some taxi and limousine drivers.
The arrival of professional baseball in Reno has resulted in a reminder from state gaming regulators that sports books can’t take wagers on pro teams based in Nevada.
A former MGM Grand executive who helped that company during its merger with Mirage Resorts and then helped turn around the fortunes of a Hollywood film studio got initial clearance from state gaming regulators for his next project: Restoring the fabled Tropicana to its prior glory.
Tourism authority says it will back any credible high-speed system
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Competing high-speed-train proposals for systems linking Las Vegas with Southern California will seek support from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority today.
Six among Las Vegas’ best compensated in fiscal ’08
Monday, June 8, 2009
The closing of the high-profile deal that turned casino giant Harrah’s Entertainment from a publicly traded company into a private business resulted in six of the company’s executives landing in the top 10 of In Business Las Vegas’ list of highest-paid business leaders this year.
By the time you read this, Southern Nevada voters will have chosen new representatives to city councils in Henderson, North Las Vegas and Boulder City. Next comes the wrangling to determine which elected officials will be chosen to get a plum assignment and serve on one of the most influential boards in the tourism industry, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
President and CEO, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority
Friday, June 5, 2009
It’s almost hard to imagine that in the 50-year history of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter has only missed 14 of them.
The closing of the high-profile deal that turned casino giant Harrah’s Entertainment from a publicly traded company into a private business resulted in six of the company’s executives landing in the top 10 of In Business Las Vegas’ list of highest-paid business leaders this year.
The state Gaming Control Board today recommended the licensing of a former MGM Grand executive to take over the operation of the fabled Tropicana Hotel Casino. Alex Yemenidjian, who was hand-picked by major shareholder Kirk Kerkorian to serve as president and CEO of the MGM Grand, cleared a major hurdle with today's unanimous licensing vote of the Control Board, which met in Carson City. The board recommendation will be considered for final approval by the Nevada Gaming Commission on June 18.
A North Las Vegas casino has agreed to pay a $250,000 fine for allowing a group of alleged illegal bookmakers to lay off bets at the property’s race book.
Whether you blame the ragged shape of the economy or President Barack Obama’s unfortunate choice of words when he used Las Vegas as an example of how not to spend government bailout money, it’s painfully clear to the local tourism industry that shoring up convention attendance has to be a priority.
Anyone who has watched tourists load and unload the popular double-decker Deuce buses on the Strip knows that there has to be a better way to move visitors up and down our fabulous neon byway.
The Las Vegas tourism industry received unexpected news from abroad this week: British Airways, an airline known around the world for its high standards, global reach and sterling service, will begin nonstop daily flights to McCarran International Airport from the world’s busiest international terminal.
A North Las Vegas casino has agreed to pay a $250,000 fine for allowing a group of alleged illegal bookmakers to lay off bets at the property’s race book. Representatives of the Poker Palace on Las Vegas Boulevard North did not dispute the action approved today by the Nevada Gaming Commission.
Air carrier's announcement a boost for tourism; tickets on sale today
Monday, May 18, 2009
British Airways, the London-based carrier that will inaugurate nonstop air service between Heathrow International Airport and Las Vegas on Oct. 25, has been on the radar of officials at McCarran International Airport and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for nearly a decade. But it wasn’t until a tour of Las Vegas and the airport a week ago that finally sealed the deal for the airline that annually flies 36 million passengers with routes connecting six continents.
Airline will become McCarran’s third nonstop carrier from Europe
Sunday, May 17, 2009
British Airways, an airline that annually flies 36 million passengers and has flights connecting six continents, will begin daily service between London’s Heathrow International Airport and Las Vegas this fall.
Convention attendance and average daily room rates plummeted in March, and gamblers held onto their wallets, according to statistics released last week by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and the state Gaming Control Board.
Although local resorts are seeing a glimmer of recovery from the foul economy with booking windows expanding, the busiest airline at McCarran International Airport isn’t seeing the same trend.
People who know anything about Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air know it is an airline that marches to a different beat. So why should anybody be surprised that Allegiant’s newest destinations will be places where few Americans have ever been?
How two teams of inventors are defying the odds and getting their new games approved for the casino floor
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Getting a new game approved for a casino floor isn’t an easy task — and it’s even harder if you’re a mom-and-pop inventor and not a corporation specializing in developing supplies for the games you produce. But two teams of Las Vegas inventors are defying the odds and stand poised to see their dreams become reality. Here are their stories. The games making their way through the development process: Two Cards High and Play Craps.
Dispensers holding hand purification lotions greeted the estimated 45,000 conventiongoers walking the floor of the National Hardware Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center this week.
A Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority committee has begun developing a new advertising and marketing communications contract with R&R Partners that includes a list of provisions that indicate the relationship will get more scrutiny than it has in the past.
The Federal Railroad Administration may be overseeing a huge train wreck in Southern Nevada. Last week, the agency conducted a public hearing on a draft environmental impact statement on a high-speed train proposal developed by DesertXpress, a privately held company backed by Sig Rogich and Tony Marnell.
Global Cash Access Holdings, a Las Vegas-based holding company handling a variety of cash transaction services for the casino industry, today reported higher first-quarter earnings resulting from two acquisitions that closed last year.
Boyd Gaming, which operates three downtown Las Vegas properties and four locals resorts in Southern Nevada, narrowed its losses in the first quarter and executives said they liked the trends they were seeing.
Falloff attributed mostly to 8.7 percent revenue decline at Wynn Macau
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Wynn Resorts Ltd. today reported first-quarter losses and lower revenue over last year, but company executives say they’re cautiously optimistic that business is starting to pick up.
With school out in a month and self-imposed deadlines to book summer travel rapidly closing in, some economists say it’s looking more and more like summer 2009 is going to be Staycation II. Or a naycation.
CEO Jim Murren: 'We think the worst of it’s behind us'
Monday, May 4, 2009
Las Vegas casino giant MGM Mirage suffered through a "brutal" first quarter with revenue down 19.3 percent and earnings off 12.5 percent compared with last year, company officials said today.
GES parent shows first quarter gain of $1.5M, compared to year ago's $16.7M
Friday, May 1, 2009
Viad Corp, parent company of Las Vegas-based convention services contractor GES Exposition Services, showed a 91 percent decline in earnings over last year as a result of the rugged economy, company officials said today.
LVCVA says examples show city isn’t bad for business
Friday, May 1, 2009
Two major companies are going forward with corporate gatherings in Las Vegas next week and likely will become testimonials in the city’s bid to get business travel back on track.
Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Co., parent company of Allegiant Air, has defied the gravity of the slumping economy by being among the few U.S. airlines to post first-quarter profits.