Trip to Japan not exactly a budget-buster

Wednesday, June 10, 1998 | 3:57 a.m.

Gov. Bob Miller's mission to generate air service between Asia and Las Vegas is expected to pay dividends for Southern Nevada when Japan Airlines begins service in October.

But what will the expenses look like when the travel vouchers are turned in?

Of the 10 members of the Nevada contingent that accompanied Miller (11 if you count the Sun's reporter), only three are being paid for by state funds.

The Nevada Commission on Tourism sought and received the release of state funding from a surplus dedicated to the promotion of the state from the Legislature for this and two other trips that were not a part of the standard budget. Room tax-generated revenues were used to fund the trip for Miller, Commission on Tourism Executive Director Tom Tait and Brenda Hughes, international manager of tour and travel for the commission.

Miller was a guest of Northwest Airlines, which invited him to sample its nonstop service between Las Vegas and Tokyo. The two others paid for coach tickets of $1,500 each. Rooms in Tokyo for three nights averaged $255 a night, or about $2,300. A reception and a lunch for airline executives totaled $5,500.

Air fares between Tokyo and Taipei will cost nearly $2,000 and lodging in Taipei for two nights is expected to run about $1,000 for those three.

Tait said he hasn't received the final billing on ground transportation, which included an 80-mile round trip to Narita International Airport for two vehicles and a bus that hauled the contingent around the city for several functions. It's a slightly shorter distance from Taipei's Chiang Kai Shek International Airport and downtown.

The hosts in Taipei also are expected to pay for most of the meals in the two-day stay.

One other member of the contingent on a government expense account was Clark County's Harry Kassap of McCarran International Airport. He's been to and from Tokyo several times as one of the negotiators for the bilateral agreements between the United States and Japan.

A far bigger county expense will be the $250,000 pledged for advertising Las Vegas service, a promise made to JAL and All Nippon Airlines earlier this week.

Two other government leaders paid their own expenses on the trip, Las Vegas City Councilman Arnie Adamsen and Sen. Bill Raggio, R-Reno. The rest of the group also paid their own costs.

Subhead: Hoops a priority for governor

Miller, a big basketball fan, was meeting with Thomas Foley, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, at around the time the Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz were tipping off Game 3 of the NBA championship finals.

A global positioning satellite pager that provides a host of information -- including game scores -- wasn't operating and Miller found himself in the dark about the game.

Between meetings on Monday, Miller called his office on other matters and asked a staffer to switch on CNN to watch for the sports scores. When told the score was 96-54, Chicago, he said, "That can't be right, the game's already over."

When told the score was accompanied by an "F" indicating it was a final score, Miller was still puzzled, knowing that something had to have been wrong.

It was the Utah Jazz that went wrong and the 96-54 blowout was an accurate final.

Miller will miss Game 4 when Chicago hosts Utah while he's in Taipei.

Subhead: Steve Miller's band

When you don't know what the person you're picking up at the airport looks like, you make a sign with his or her name on it and display it prominently outside the baggage claim area.

Miller, Raggio, Tait and Las Vegas casino executives Michael Mecca and Michael Gasta had their names on a sign at Narita International Airport. Except the sign sought "Gov. Steve Miller."

Members of the group congregated and found their ride with no trouble.

Despite the degree of difficulty with Japanese names, that was the only identification problem that occurred in Tokyo.

Subhead: Miller arms himself

Enemies of the governor beware: He's returning to Nevada with a samurai sword.

Miller has no intention of using it on wayward political associates or even for slashing budgets. It's a gift for a family member.

Subhead: Advertising advantage

One of the advantages of being on a tourism mission is that business people get to personally plug their properties.

While some members of the Nevada contingent expressed disappointment that Mirage Resorts Inc. was not on the trip -- had they been there, about 40 percent of Las Vegas' total room count would have been represented in meetings with airline executives. But the delegates from Hilton and Circus Circus were delighted.

Mecca, the general manager of Circus' new Mandalay Bay project; and Gasta, who heads gaming for Hilton's Nevada properties, actively discussed their respective properties with the Japanese tourism officials who came in contact with the group.

Gasta detailed the "Star Trek" property at the Las Vegas Hilton and gave participants a preview of coming attractions for the new Paris hotel-casino, while Mecca expounded on the level of service he expects to be key to drawing customers to Mandalay Bay.