Gibbons to mayors, casino owners: Let’s force the president to “publicly acknowledge” he loves Las Vegas

Friday, Jan. 15, 2010 | 7:23 a.m.

Gov. Jim Gibbons, nearly one year after President Obama made those comments in that Elkhart, Indiana, town hall, wants to get a "call to action" from the state's mayors and casino bosses to get the president to "publicly acknowledge that Las Vegas and all of Nevada is a wonderful place for business or pleasure and that Americans should visit and conduct business in Nevada."

Be interesting to see who signs on to the missive designed to be sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Below is letter sent to mayors and casino owners and below that the proposed letter to Reid:

Dear XXXXXXX,

I am contacting you on behalf of Governor Jim Gibbons. Of course, the Governor, his entire staff and cabinet members are diligently pursuing every avenue and opportunity to remedy the economic challenges faced by all Nevadan (sic) communities. It is for this reason that he requested that a copy of a letter, written to Senator Harry Reid, be sent to all Nevadan mayors and casino owners for a signed endorsement. Please take a moment to read this “Call to Action.” It is imperative that this correspondence arrive at Senator Reid’s desk with full support of the aforementioned leadership. We would be truly grateful to receive your signed copy via fax to my attention:

Julie Roberts

Director of Community Relations

Office of the Governor

Sincerely,

Julie Roberts

February 14, 2010

The Honorable Harry Reid

Majority Leader

United States Senate

Washington D.C. 20510

RE: “A Call to Action”

Dear Senator Reid:

The focus of our “Call to Action” is to invite you to join us in a noble cause—to bring gaming, tourism and conventions back to Nevada and put Nevada’s derailed economy back on track.

As you are aware, our state revenues continue to decline. Last month, the Nevada State Gaming Control Board released the gaming revenues and collections for the month of October. Regrettably, for 22 straight months, Nevada’s gaming revenues declined. In fact, in the month of October gaming generated the lowest monthly figure in almost six years. Sales tax revenues are also down and have been for the past 33 months.

The decline in critical state revenues is alarming considering that the primary revenues that fuel Nevada’s economy come from the gaming, tourism and conventions industries. Conventions, which feed into gaming, retail, and entertainment, are down 18% from last year. Additionally, room occupancy levels continue to decline with each passing month. With the undeniable loss in overall activity in these industries, it is no surprise that Nevada’s work force, consisting of tens of thousands of service employees, finds itself in the unemployment line.

Nevada is second in the nation with the highest unemployment rate and first in the nation in foreclosure filings. It would be unreasonable to believe that there is no nexus between the decline in activity in the gaming, tourism and conventions industries and the increase in job loss and the rate of foreclosures in Nevada. Something must be done to change these statistics that now bear our state’s name.

It is our duty, as leaders of this great state, to join forces in finding solutions to bring back prosperity to Nevada. We can no longer ignore the urgency of this task. Because we all care deeply about the future of Nevada, we must encourage travel and bring back conventions to this state. Therefore, it is imperative that you encourage President Obama to publicly acknowledge that Las Vegas and all of Nevada is a wonderful place for business or pleasure and that Americans should visit and conduct business in Nevada.

Respectfully,

Governor Jim Gibbons

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UPDATED WITH REID RESPONSE AND REMINDER OF WHAT THE PRESIDENT SAID HERE LAST MAY:

Reid spokesman: "No one is a stronger advocate for travel to Nevada than Sen. Reid, which is why he is bringing President Obama back to Las Vegas again next month. This will mark nearly two dozen trips to Nevada by Obama. Further, last week’s increased attendance at the consumer Electronics Show was a clear sign that companies know our state is a great place to do business, when they have the money to travel. Sen. Reid is working hard to improve the economy so businesses and families have more money to work and play in Nevada. He is also working to diversify our state’s economy so that if the national economy ever takes another downturn the impact on our state won’t be as severe. Unfortunately, rather than using his position to help in this effort, Gov. Gibbons is choosing to play politics on an issue that was settled long ago. He should join Nevadans in embracing President Obama's upcoming visit as a display that Nevada is the place to be."

Obama in May:

“You know, it's always a pleasure to get out of Washington a little bit. Washington is okay, but it's nice taking some time to talk to Americans of every walk of life outside of the nation's capital. And there's nothing like a quick trip to Vegas in the middle of the week. Like millions of other Americans, we come to this beautiful city for the sights and for the sounds -- and today we come for the sun.”