Editorial: Our voice to the world

Tuesday, June 20, 2006 | 2:25 a.m.

In the fall of 1993, when Las Vegas was nearing its biggest expansion to date - the near simultaneous openings of the Luxor, Treasure Island and MGM Grand hotels - Manny Cortez offered his take on what it all meant.

"We've gone from being the No. 1 gaming destination in the world to being the No. 1 resort destination in the world," he told the Las Vegas Sun.

Such optimism from Manny Cortez, disarmingly boastful but inarguably accurate and often prescient, will be missed. Cortez, a county commissioner for 15 years and executive director of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for 13 years after that, died Sunday of an apparent heart attack. He was 67.

As head of the LVCVA from 1991 to 2004, it was Cortez's job to fill the thousands of new hotel rooms that were becoming available as Las Vegas experienced nation-leading growth. He oversaw global promotions of both the tourism trade and the convention business. No hotel executive during his years was ever heard to complain about occupancy rates.

Interestingly, Cortez years earlier had helped lay the foundation for Las Vegas' tourism growth. While serving on the Clark County Commission, he was a leading advocate for expanding and modernizing McCarran International Airport.

"Manny was one of the cornerstones who made Las Vegas the success it is today," says Rossi Ralenkotter, the current chief executive of the LVCVA. We agree.