Survey finds leaders in business pessimistic

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE

A UNLV survey of local business leaders found that 76 percent don’t expect any housing market recovery before the first half of 2010, with most of those saying it won’t come until 2011 at the earliest. Only 23 percent of those surveyed expect the Las Vegas economy to improve in the third quarter of this year.

Las Vegas Sun

Monday, July 6, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Anyone looking for a gauge to the Las Vegas housing market’s recovery may want to turn to local business leaders for insight. Based on their opinions, the rebound isn’t right around the corner.

Seventy-six percent of those surveyed by UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research said there won’t be any housing recovery before the first half of 2010, with a majority of those saying it won’t be until 2011 at the earliest.

In fact, 30.4 percent of those surveyed said there won’t be a meaningful recovery in Southern Nevada’s housing market until the second half of 2010. Another 45.6 percent said any recovery won’t happen until after 2010.

Another 21.5 percent said the recovery will occur in the first half of 2010. Only 2.5 percent said the recovery will happen this year.

There isn’t a lot of optimism for the long-term or short-term Las Vegas economy, based on the business leaders’ views.

Forty-four percent said they expect the economy to worsen in the third quarter. Another 33 percent said they expect it to stay the same and 23 percent said it will improve. They have more confidence in the U.S. economy, with 34 percent saying it will improve in the third quarter while 37 percent said it will worsen.

The survey of about 100 people was conducted in June.

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Nevada’s largest slot machine route operator has upgraded its telecommunications network for its 600 customers and 6,500 machines.

United Coin Machine Co.’s communications makeover has turned a spaghetti bowl of 600 voice lines to a more efficient broadband connection. The improved communication enables the company, best known for its Gamblers Bonus loyalty club, to send graphics and sound fields to its machines in local bars, taverns, convenience stores and supermarkets.

In Nevada, 46 percent of the company’s locations are in bars and taverns and 44 percent are in convenience stores. Small- to mid-size casinos and supermarkets make up the remaining 10 percent.

The company did not disclose the cost of the makeover.

Steven Arntzen, chief operating officer of United Coin, said the company is evolving more as a technology operation than a service and maintenance provider, although it still does both. The company’s 600 Nevada employees include about 300 who serve as attendants at the company’s leased sites and about 300 who run the routes, performing maintenance and filling machines.

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Although it’s still six months away, preparations are well under way for the world’s largest consumer technology show.

The International Consumer Electronics Show will return Jan. 7-10 to the Las Vegas Convention Center. Technology professionals will get their first chance to register to see what is in store for the show when the CES Web site relaunches July 15.

CES will debut an “iLounge Pavilion,” a gathering place for aficionados of Apple’s iPhones and iPods at next year’s show. Tech zones and lounge areas are a hallmark of the show, and representatives of the Consumer Electronics Association, the sponsor of CES, are developing specialized areas to meet the needs of exhibitors.

The show’s “Sustainable Planet” area, dedicated to recycling and environmental concerns, will be back and probably bigger than ever.

An audit shows 113,085 attended the 2009 show, slightly more than the 110,000 that had been estimated.

The number of exhibitors has leveled at about 2,700 with 300 new companies replacing the 300 that didn’t participate last year. An estimated 20,000 products were unveiled at the show that over the years has been the coming-out party for devices such as the VCR, big-screen televisions and TiVo.

The most recent show had 1.7 million square feet of exhibit space, filling the Convention Center, a large portion of the Sands Expo & Convention Center and a portion of the convention areas at the Venetian.

Of the 113,085 attending this year’s show, 22,000 were delegates from 140 foreign countries.

Versions of these stories appear in this week’s In Business Las Vegas, a sister publication of the Sun.