Cable company offering casinos free ads

Friday, Sept. 28, 2001 | 9:36 a.m.

Cox Communications Inc. is offering more than $600,000 in free advertising to be shown in four southwestern markets for Las Vegas resort properties.

The Las Vegas cable television operator announced Thursday that the offer of 250 free 30-second TV commercials would be made to 34 hotel-casinos. The company said the resorts are not limited to what type of advertising message can be used, but hotels are being encouraged to focus on attracting tourists back to Las Vegas following the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the East Coast.

Occupancy rates have been slowly climbing back to normal levels since the attack, but fell below 70 percent in the first weekend after the attacks. Normally, occupancy levels at Las Vegas resorts are above 90 percent.

The free ads will be presented through Oct. 15 on Cox affiliate cable systems in Phoenix, San Diego, Orange County and Santa Barbara, Calif., -- key feeder markets for Las Vegas casinos.

Cox officials said they began meeting with casino representatives Thursday to start development of ads.

"We feel the need is to get the word out in the Southwest that now is a great time to visit Las Vegas," said Michael Salgado, vice president and general manager of CableRep, a Cox subsidiary.

Cox is based in Atlanta. The Greenspun family, owner of the Las Vegas Sun, is a minority investor in Cox's Las Vegas system.