McMillan's stance would seem to make sense at first glance. I know the LVCVA has had a banner year in 2011 (though things have tailed off considerably in the second half). But while the convention dollars the Authority brings into town are of extreme importance, people are making sacrifices all over the landscape and that should extend to the execs. at this public bureau.
I don't doubt Ralenkotter's great contributions. And his compensation doesn't seem out of whack, at all. But on the other hand, I reject this all too common canard that "we will lose irreplaceable talent if we don't pay up." Wall Street and all the rest of Corporate America always use that excuse to pad their own pockets. BUNK! No offense intended, Rossi, but please make due with the quarter million plus you already earn, each year.

The victors against this litigi-Nazi outfit need to join forces, sue to have a court pierce the phony corporation, and then go after the RJ and Denver Post directly. If justice is served, the Davids who persevered in these cases will get their money back, and So. Nevada might even be rid of the RJ. Wouldn't that be nice?

Gotta respectfully disagree with Bob and Zackie about the importance of what one wears to an interview. I'm in Det_Munch's camp. While judging one by his or her attire may *seem* superficial, after many years I've learned that this is actually an accurate predictor of the work ethic and attitude one brings to a job. (By the way, I have direct experience at hiring, but it is limited. My experience with co-workers is extensive. Make what you will of this.) While well dressed individuals may also turn out to be bad employees, the innappropriately dressed ones *almost* invariably do. And this comes from someone who dispises wearing a necktie!
I feel sorry for the gal who says her jeans and pullover blouse were her best. I'm not sure I completely believe her, but if what she explained is true, it's a sad comment on our times, in more ways than one.

Brian D,
You can't call that a rant -- the part about righties was only 1.5 sentences long. And I use "righties" as a term of endearment (makes innocent face).

It was all these 'investors' that played a huge part in getting Las Vegas into the fix it's now in (And we can ignore the Righties' cockamamie mantra that it was Big Gov "forcing banks" to make loans in the ghetto -- That's a canard; the sleazy banksters needed zero help pushing their no-doc loans and refi's onto EVERYBODY).
Who ever said investors/"the market" is smart? They're not. Too many of them are idiots chasing the next "big thing" and believing they can get amazing returns, just because during a brief time in history a few people made money off a bubble. These investors are back. But don't be fooled: They are no long-term answer to anything. Until the Valley's economy actually warrants any optimism, regard whatever the "investors" are doing as an unuseful distraction.

The RJ/Righthaven sleazeball nexus is one big argument in favor of tort reform. It is obscene how they can have full-time lawyers bully small folk like this, still lose, but then just run away from paying up for the trouble they caused. Legalized coercion and extortion. Only in America. Literally.

I agree with almost all the comments above. Both sides of the "diploma v no diploma" sidebar have valid points, though I come down on the side of raising the education bar in the Las Vegas Valley, so that means more people with degrees would be better for us, in the aggregate. However, prioritizing K-12 education will pay even greater dividends. That's how East Asia did it.
Lastly, I also quibble with the claim that the cost of living is expensive here. Between no income taxes, very low property taxes (compared with California or virtually anywhere back East), and recent steep plunges in residential and commercial real estate, this claim is strange.

It's only a local myth that anybody outside of Vegas takes any note of whatever it is Oscar is babbling about at the moment. Attendees at the La Cumbre event were probably wondering to themselves, "Who's that old fart blocking the view of the showgirls and what the hell is he even talking about?"

VegasMark,
That's it. These "regulatory bodies" only regulate when the powers-that-be need something. Really -- Who the hell cares how many slots a place on the corner has, or if they have a kitchen or not? Let the businesses and the customers figure that out.
Where are any of the finger-wagging "NO Nanny Government" crowd, now that there is a legitimate abuse taking place??

Yep, this is bought-and-paid-for, good-ol'-boy government at work. Our society is plagued by too many lawsuits. But this corrupt commission ruling just screams for redress. Sue and obliterate this garbage. Dotty's and like establishments (mostly little guys) are unfairly being squashed and all the consumers who enjoy what these little places provide are being squashed. Meanwhile, the good ol' boys and their paid-for lackeys on the commission must be popping the Dom Perignon.