Ex-mayor to give up LVCVA position for Harrah’s job

Friday, Oct. 15, 1999 | 11:12 a.m.

Former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones will give up her controversial position with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority when she takes her new executive post at Harrah's Entertainment Inc.

Jones, who Thursday was named senior vice president of communications for the company that owns Harrah's on the Las Vegas Strip and the Rio hotel-casino on Flamingo Road, said her new position would prohibit her from continuing as executive director of Nevada Resort Partners.

Nevada Resort Partners was formed by the LVCVA and the Nevada Resort Association to develop strategies to keep Nevada's gaming industry vibrant in the face of growing competition nationwide.

Critics say the partnership, which paid Jones a $250,000-a-year salary, was a waste of money. She took the position in July after she left the LVCVA board of directors, where she served in her role as mayor.

Jones was mayor for eight years and opted not to run for re-election in 1999. She also waged two unsuccessful campaigns for governor.

As executive director of Nevada Resort Partners, Jones said she delivered a strategic plan to the LVCVA and the NRA on how revenue generated by the gaming industry is the primary funding source for roads, schools and services for Nevada residents.

"Sometimes we forget just how important the industry is to the state," Jones said.

She said the strategic plan involves the development of television and radio spots, education pieces and a speakers bureau to explain the merits of the gaming industry.

With the plan in place, Jones' next task would have been implementing it.

Jones said she did not know who would succeed her as executive director of Nevada Resort Partners.

Rob Powers, a spokesman for the LVCVA, said he expects the agency to get with NRA officials to discuss the Nevada Resort Partners vacancy.

"We have to regroup and see where to go from here," Powers said of the position, which was funded jointly by the two groups. "As far as having a name of a possible replacement, it's too early to say."

Jones also is a partner in J&B Strategic Alliance with Robert Forbuss, chairman of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and presently an LVCVA board member. The partnership will continue to operate as a business consultancy, Jones said, with Forbuss working with clients.

Her long-term status as an on-air consultant and occasional reporter with KLAS-TV Channel 8 is still undetermined, but a station spokesman says she will continue in that capacity for the time being.

Jones said she hasn't talked to the station or Harrah's about continuing, saying she had a three-month contract to give commentary about government and political issues.

Jones said she is enthusiastic about joining "the most progressive gaming company in America today" and that the opportunity to work with Harrah's management team is what attracted her to the job.

Jones will report to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Phil Satre and will be responsible for shaping the public perception of Harrah's Entertainment through public relations, community relations, financial communications and government relations, the company said.

"Jan combines an exceptional business background, a unique knowledge of our industry and the media and political savvy we had in mind when we established this new senior leadership position for our company," Satre said in a release announcing Jones' hiring.

Jones would not disclose her salary with Harrah's, but said she is "fairly compensated."