You’ve heard about camping on the Strip and luxurious rooms on the Strip. But now, thanks to a new partnership between Airstream and KOA Kampgrounds, visitors can camp in luxurious accommodations on the Strip.
Some day, Hugh Sinnock hopes solar panel suppliers will be standing in line to put their photovoltaic units on the roof of the Las Vegas Convention Center to prove
Some Nevada Tourism commissioners, wary that their board could be merged with the Nevada Economic Development Commission, agreed Jan. 21 to meet this month with six prospective tourism directors to fill a 4-month-old vacancy.
Speakers at last week’s Preview 2009 had a nearly impossible task: Offer some optimism for what’s ahead when every indication is that the economy is going to get worse before it gets better.
The optimism that upcoming big conventions could help jump-start the local economy has darkened as some of the largest meetings and trade shows are estimating lower attendance equivalent to Las Vegas losing a major show.
Gibbons’ budget would constrict efforts to draw tourists to Nevada
Monday, Feb. 2, 2009
Sections of Gov. Jim Gibbons' budget plan could dramatically change the state’s ability to attract visitors and, thus, generate tax revenue that could help solve some of the state’s financial problems.
Sports Illustrated swimsuit models will be making public appearances in Las Vegas next month in connection with a three-way promotion involving the magazine, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and Southwest Airlines.
Last year ended on a sour note — another double-digit percentage decline — for passenger traffic at McCarran International Airport. In December 3.2 million passengers arrived and departed from the airport, a 14.1 percent decline from December 2007, bringing the annual total of passengers to 44.1 million, 7.7 percent fewer than in 2007.
Most of the focus of Gov. Jim Gibbons’ proposed budget for the next biennium has been on the potentially damaging effects it would have on high-profile departments such as education, social services and correctional facilities. But other departments would suffer similarly devastating effects.
With the number of taxi trips down by 20.9 percent in December and the attendance forecast for upcoming conventions off dramatically, the Nevada Taxicab Authority did something it’s never done before — it didn’t add more cabs for one of the city’s major trade shows.
The Nevada Gaming Commission has unanimously approved a license for Southern Nevada’s newest casino, the 390-room M Resort. The property, at Las Vegas Boulevard South and St. Rose Parkway, is scheduled to open March 1.
Randolph Townsend is a Republican senator representing Washoe County’s District 4, but he spends enough time in Southern Nevada to know Las Vegas’ issues well. By the end of his current term, Townsend, who turns 62 this week, will have served longer in the state Senate — 28 years — than anybody but his Reno Republican colleague, Sen. Bill Raggio. But Townsend will be term-limited out after the 75th session closes later this year.
The Nevada Tourism Commission is working to hire a director who may never take office, and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is promoting a visit to Southern Nevada with characters that have never ridden an escalator. Yes, these are indeed unusual times in the local tourism industry and just when you thought things couldn’t get any weirder, they do.
Southern Nevada’s business community is girding for what promises to be one of the most contentious legislative sessions in state history after hearing highlights of Gov. Jim Gibbons’ budget proposal and party leadership responses that indicate the governor’s plan has no chance of passage.
When former Labor Secretary Robert Reich addresses Preview 2009 at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion on Jan. 29, don’t expect him to make any references to the nation being in a depression. Reich, a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, may refer to it as “the great slowdown” but he’s not willing to concede the nation and the world are at rock bottom. And, he’ll even offer a little good news for Las Vegas.
The Nevada Gaming Commission today unanimously approved licensing of Southern Nevada's newest casino, the 390-room M Resort. The property, at Las Vegas Boulevard South and St. Rose Parkway, is expected to open March 1.
If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to save money in your travel expenses, you may want to look at a Web site that has been operating for more than a year and a half and has a cool new feature that is helpful to some frequent fliers. It’s Yapta.com, with “yapta” an acronym for “your amazing personal travel assistant.”
In today’s world of buzzwords and hidden meanings amid economic turmoil, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority doesn’t want you to vacation here. It wants you to take a break here. That’s the new message that will be sent to tourists in the weeks ahead as the authority rolls out its initial marketing campaign for 2009.
Ford Motor Co. doesn’t want consumers to just think of it as a car manufacturer. It’s hoping they’ll begin viewing it as a technology company. The image makeover was one of the things the 105-year-old Detroit-based company — the fourth largest auto manufacturer in the world — was selling at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The state Gaming Control Board has recommended a license for Southern Nevada’s newest resort and for an Australian multinational company to make its first imprint on the Nevada market. In separate votes, the board unanimously approved a license for the $700 million M Resort at Las Vegas Boulevard South and St. Rose Parkway and a license for Australian casino giant Crown Ltd.
Grim numbers continued to frustrate tourism officials with the report in Southern Nevada of a 9.8 percent decline in November visitor volume from a year ago. Every meaningful statistic was off from November 2007, according the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, as the number of monthly visitors hit its lowest level of the year.
An estimated 150,000 people will come through Las Vegas over the next six months as part of a competition that will temporarily turn a portion of Cashman Center into one of the largest bowling centers in Las Vegas. Competition among more than 85,000 bowlers on 17,200 teams begins Feb. 21 and runs 154 straight days through July 24.
The Strip party wasn’t the only place where there were New Year’s Eve fireworks. On Dec. 31, Gov. Jim Gibbons fired off a news release defending his aborted appointment of a state tourism director and criticized Nevada’s efforts to market the state in Asia. Gibbons’ latest salvo and Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki’s response coupled with actions taken by the Nevada Tourism Commission last week all but assures that 2009 isn’t going to start out as the happy new year many in the tourism industry are hoping for.
Consumer Electronics Show, which could draw 130,000, starts this week
Monday, Jan. 5, 2009
Strip resorts, restaurants, show producers and exotic dancers reeling from slumping tourism will get a boost in coming weeks with four major conventions and trade shows each bringing more than 80,000 attendees to town. The largest of them, the International Consumer Electronics Show, anticipates 2,700 exhibitors, about the same as last year.
‘If you build it, they will come’ has worked in Vegas; will it work now?
Monday, Jan. 5, 2009
Although pessimists don’t expect Las Vegas’ Strip economy to fare better in 2009 than it did in 2008, there are rays of hope that Vegas’ tourism industry will improve this year. The reason: Las Vegas thrives when resorts open. Just look back to when Luxor and Treasure Island opened in 1993 and when Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, the Venetian and Paris Las Vegas opened in 1998-99.
Southwest Airlines, the busiest air carrier at McCarran International Airport, has released its summer schedule, and the damage to the Las Vegas market was minimal.
New Mirage volcano only one of many free attractions
Friday, Dec. 12, 2008
Nearly 20 years ago, Steve Wynn made quite a stir in Las Vegas when he opened the Mirage and its signature attraction — a volcano that would erupt every 15 minutes in front of the resort. Over time, other properties have promised and delivered free attractions to get the public’s attention with the hope they would drop a little money inside, whether in the casino or at a restaurant, bar or retail outlet.
The Nevada Gaming Commission has approved the licensing of Dubai World, a government-owned megacorporation based in the United Arab Emirates, as a partner of MGM Mirage.
Regulator says he’ll pass it along to top lawmakers
Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2008
Nevada’s top gaming regulator says he’ll ask state legislators whether they have any appetite to lower the minimum gambling age from 21 to 18 as a way to drum up state gaming revenue during the recession.
If Nevada could have instant access to millions of new customers in these hard economic times, would the state’s Legislature and governor go for the potential windfall of new business? We may soon find out.
The state Gaming Control Board today recommended approval of MGM Mirage's association with Dubai World, a government-owned megacorporation based in the United Arab Emirates.
The company that operates three hotels in Primm has stopped taking midweek reservations at Buffalo Bill’s in an apparent effort to reduce room capacity and associated expenses.
Workers are told hub operation for connections to end
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
US Airways, the second-busiest operator at McCarran International Airport, has notified its workers that it will discontinue its hub operation in Las Vegas and curtail the number of flights here.
Deal between troupe, Allegiant Air gives each visibility on other’s turf
Friday, March 21, 2008
Through an agreement believed to be the first between an airline and an entertainment company, Allegiant Air and Blue Man Group will use each other’s turf to broaden their brands.
For those thinking that getting additional taxi service during next month's National Basketball Association All-Star Game was going to be a slam dunk, think again.
Luxury condominiums being built throughout Las Vegas should help drive additional traffic to casinos, not slow it down as some critics contend, a new report said.
Representatives of Herbst Gaming Inc. said Wednesday that trips to the company's Las Vegas property may be offered as incentives to loyal players at the Midwestern riverboat casinos the company is acquiring.
A Las Vegas gaming company that built Nevada's largest slot route from its roots as an oil company and convenience store operator announced Tuesday it's expanding its casino holdings out of state with the purchase of three riverboats.
Al Hummel is looking forward to the day that the people coming through the door of the Sahara hotel-casino are new customers who found their way to the historic property on the monorail and not people in business suits looking to buy the place.
MGM MIRAGE on Tuesday extended until 5 p.m. on Friday the expiration of its $7.65 billion offer to acquire Mandalay Resort Group. The initial offer was to expire at 5 p.m. Tuesday.