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twitterGaming execs credit stimulus with saving Nevada jobs
Three companies respond to recent comments from Wynn, Murren
Justin M. Bowen
Gaming executives on Thursday credited the federal stimulus package with saving jobs in Las Vegas in a response to recent comments from Steve Wynn and MGM Mirage’s Jim Murren.
Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009 | 5:23 p.m.
Audio Clip
- Harrah's, Station Casinos and Hilton execs on Nevada's economy
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Steve Wynn on Fox News
Jim Murren on Fox News
Despite Nevada’s tough economic climate and growing jobless rate, casino executives today said they are seeing the benefits of federal stimulus dollars flowing to Las Vegas.
In the wake of national media appearances by two high-profile Las Vegas casino executives, Harrah’s Entertainment, Station Casinos and Hilton International hosted a teleconference Thursday to chime in on the Obama administration and the effects of the federal stimulus on the industry.
Wynn Resorts executive Steve Wynn, who has been critical of the Obama administration for months, voiced his opinion again during a roundtable discussion on Fox News Channel on Oct. 10.
Then Tuesday, MGM Mirage Chief Executive Jim Murren spoke with Fox News. He was less critical of the president but said Obama needs more focus on job creation.
Harrah’s Entertainment Senior Vice President Jan Jones said today’s teleconference wasn’t just a response to Wynn and Murren, but a reaction to those who question the need for the federal stimulus and its role in protecting jobs.
“State government in Nevada would not be operating if it weren’t for the money that came into the state budget from the stimulus,” Jones said. “The number of jobs that have been protected because the government can still operate, that is a direct result of the stimulus.”
Aside from the money Nevada received from the stimulus, the cancellation of indebtedness provision and Travel Promotion Act were important additions that helped the gaming industry, Jones said. She credited Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid with both.
The cancellation of indebtedness provision allows companies to restructure their debt and delays tax payments tied to capital gains.
“For Harrah’s Entertainment, that allowed us to protect 31,000 jobs in Nevada alone. This piece of legislation allowed Harrah’s to work to restructure to make sure we kept our employees employed,” said Jones, a former Las Vegas mayor and current member of the governor's Spending and Government Efficiency Commission.
Station Casinos Chief Development Officer Scott Neilson said his company hasn’t been able to take part in the debt cancellation provision since Station is currently in bankruptcy proceedings, but said the legislation will allow the company increased flexibility as it restructures.
“Even though a lot of the companies in the Nevada economy trying to work through this [bankruptcy] process right now might not have been able to take advantage of this provision yet, I think that they will and I think you’ll see a lot of companies benefit greatly,” he said.
Chris Najbicz, vice president of West Coast operations for Hilton Hotels, said he stands by Harrah’s and Station Casinos on the stimulus.
“We really do endorse the importance of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in saving a multitude of jobs throughout the state of Nevada and believe it’s been very helpful to the Las Vegas business community in general,” Najbicz said.
Jones said some Nevadans haven’t made the connection between the stimulus and job creation in the state. The state’s unemployment rate last month stood at 13.3 percent.
“When we have been so positively impacted, I felt it was wrong for it to be continually mischaracterized,” Jones said of the stimulus. “I think sometimes people forget what the reality is.”
Discussion: 25 comments so far…
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Jan Jones is not really impartial with respect to her political affiliation.
Then again, Steve Wynn may know how to build hotels but I don't think he will win any Nobel prizes in economics.
If Wynn is so smart, why did he lose the Mirage chain to Kerkorian?
Times are really tough.......
In 2006, Britney Spears hosted a New Year's Eve bash at the Strip's Pure Nightclub -- and collected a reported $350,000 to ring in 2007.
Kim Kardashian was reportedly paid $50,000 by Tao Las Vegas to celebrate her 29th birthday at the club earlier this month.
Paris Hilton and her little sister, Nicky. Together, they received a reported $500,000 to ring in 2008 at Vegas's LAX Nightclub -- and they have both returned many times at no additional charge.
Jon Gosselin was reportedly paid $10,000 to hang poolside at Vegas's Wet Republic this summer.
"The reason you pay celebrities is because, more often than not, they're worth it," said one Las Vegas club executive who books celebrity parties. "People want to say they've partied at the same club as this celebrity or that celebrity."
Often referred to as "host" of the night, a celebrity's duty is really pretty simple: Nothing.
Typically, their only requirement is to show up, and clubowners can only hope the stars will return -- this time for free -- if they have a good time.
http://www.people.com/people/article/0%2...
gaming execs credit stimulus with saving Nevada jobs. yeah, their own jobs.
This is a lot of crap re stimulus helping the Casinos. What jobs did they create or save? Until the recession is over and Obama saying that companies shouldn't hold their conventions here things will not improve. These execs don't tell u about the overbuilding of casinos which surely didn't help. As for Wynn I would put my money with him anytime. At least his co is not bankrupt!
The jobs they saved were of state bureaucrats. Like anyone would miss those worthless dregs if they were unemployed. Good riddance.
chazbean :
No kidding huh? what's this love fest with the Prez all of a sudden? The big boys must have scored big by this stimulus package. The money only saved state workers is what I take from this article. You must excuse me now while I get back to watching the N.Y. Yankees beating the crap outta the miserable Anaheim Angels...YES!!
49 out of fifty states have lost jobs....they have not gained any jobs...the only state that did is one of the dakotas and it gained 18,000 jobs...so someone is drinking that lsd laced coolaid again....
Wonder what the big mouth egoist Steve Wynn has to say about Obama now. He's been continuing to badmouth Obama and blaming him for Vegas' decreased revenue instead of understanding that the whole country is suffering from a bad economy. That goes for every city that has casinos also. However more people in this economy are going to casinos closer to their home when they have the urge to gamble because they can't afford to travel as much now.
When the economy improves Vegas like everywhere else, will show an increase in revenue. Wynn's not hurting but he's letting his personal politics get in the way of his brain and mouth.
Maybe he should return the Stimulus money that's helping him fill his coffers if he doesn't like Obama so much.
Obama's comment about companies that received bailout money should not be holding their big expensive parties in Vegas at that time was the correct thing to do. That's not why they received the bailout money, the taxpayers money that could have been put to better use by the taxpayers instead of paying for lavish Vegas parties for a bunch overpaid greedy people at these companies.
Sorry Stevie,live with it!
Wynn is a 100% right. I own a business and what he is saying is right on the money. Both Wynn and Murren are right in saying that there needs to be more focus on jobs. You need a job before you can pay for healthcare or a house or a car. Obama needs a sign in the Oval Office that say "It's About Jobs, dummy!"
Obama was dumb for actually mentioning Vegas and other locations. He could have said it without mentioning any locations. That's what makes him an idiot. He's the President, he has to watch what he says.
Is Obama's comment solely responsible for the downturn in LV. Hardly. At best it was fractional. The source of the problem was people and businesses getting in over their head with debt. Cutting expenditures to work down the debt means less money spent in the economy and hence a downturn we haven't seen since the 30's. Not even 300 billion of the 800 billion of stmulus has been spent because the aim is for the creation of jobs, but that is in the form of contracts for infrastructure projects. Its not possible for these projects to be up and running in a few months. 2010 will be a better measure of whether the 800 timulus package had an impact. Unfortunately, the stimulus will not bring us back to the level of a few years ago when people had easy access to credit. Those years were simply a fake economy and was unsustainable.
This is better than the comics section. Pure fiction to support Sinator Gried.
BRIANLV,
The reason Obama mentioned Las Vegas was because the media made a big deal out of one of the companys that was bailed out had a big lavish, expensive party for hundreds of their people and was providing them with luxurious accomodations for a week in Vegas as well as giving each one of them very expensive gifts worth thousands of dollars and doing it all with bailout money.
The general public, Republicans and Democrats as well as members of the House and Senate, complained very loudly about that money being used that way.
So quit blaming Obama, Vegas was already mentioned before he said anything and he was right to do it because it was a slap in the face towards the taxpayers for that party and week long trip to be held.
And Wynn knows that very well but he's making a personal political statement because he's a rightwinger and like the rest of them he was trying to make Obama look bad.
"State government in Nevada would not be operating if it weren't for the money that came into the state budget from the stimulus," Jones said. "The number of jobs that have been protected because the government can still operate, that is a direct result of the stimulus."
And this is good news, this is the problem. Fire the lazy bungers, they're over staffed and we don't need to employ those who aren't working let alone produce anything meaningful or useful. It is this type of mindset corporate America has that is destroying their business. I don't know who she is but she needs to be fired because it is obvious she is about more government and has no regard to cost.
The casino companies could still be doing their part to make Vegas a more attractive place to come to by loosening up the slots, and giving away the rooms and food again! C'mon you greedy pigs loosen up!!!
The world is not through this crisis yet. I reckon the situation is getting much much worse. Unemployment rates of 20-24 per cent will be the reality soon. Nevada's unemployment rate is at 13 per cent already , but that's only the official figure. I would say, 20 per cent of Las Vegas is out of jobs already. And if this figure doubles up, then I can only say ....Good Night.
Loose slots, cheap buffets, low rates on the hotel rooms, this all sounds nice, but the operators have bills and debts to pay back, too. If they go under the bottom line and the tourists are not gambling enough to make up for the discounts on all the amenities, then there's no point in offering this all.
If there's not much money around , the people just can't go and spend it. If the credit market is tight and home loans are no longer available to finance this sophisticated lifestyle , 2 cars, 5 color tv's, a big house plus a boat and party 5x / week, and some gambling on the side, dining in the restaurant 7 days a week, then something needs to be changed. The housing bubble was to burst some day. Everybody who believed that a house built on wood and some cheap material is worth 500,000 usd or more after having bought it for 240,000 usd just 2 years earlier must be living in a dream world. This dream is over now. We all work hard for the money. Nothing costs nothing.
vpin, the complaints were about AIG and their junket in L.A., not L.V.. Also, it occurred after the AIG was bailed during the Bush administration. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gKGB...
Supply and demand is a rather simple economic concept. When we (LV) had the demand, all was fine - now we are mostly likely overbuilt by 10 or 15 thousand rooms - with more supply coming in December. Someday, a few of the old joints will close, as dip lines and credit for LV casinos isn't easy to get. Eventually, the supply will not be so out of whack, and we will get back to health. But it could easily be years, and I have spoken with few industry peers who disagree. In the meantime, the job seekers have little to cheer about.
Isn't it amazing when Bush was in office and all the criticism it was ok now u can't say anything negative about Obama. What kind of business did he run in Chicago? He was a community organizer and Senator for about 2 mos before he campaigned for president. We have a huge problem in Las Vegas and other States ( Arizona, Florida)and until we get leadership we are not going to get out of this recession/depression.
Maybe there is more jobs, but where are the tourist?
Yeah, like these gaming guys really know about saving Nevada jobs.......
Let's just raise taxes! As I understand, the more money you give to the government necessarily results in the taxpayer having less discretionary income. With less money to spend, he will surely buy more goods, eat out more frequently and spend on extras like entertainment.. This lack of income being distributed throughout the private sector will, in turn, cause the recipients of said discretionary, non-existent
spending to add to the government coffers with the taxes that they must pay with their new-found monies. They will also purchase more goods, services and entertainment with that non-existent money. Jobs are created as a result of the increase in consumer demand, and, so the cycle goes!
I honestly do not understand why so many people whine about Baby Boomers and other
consumers no longer having any discretionary income by which to come to Vegas and spend.
What, is that sort of behaviour supposed to create jobs or something?
More taxes to the government, people, more taxes to the government! THAT'S how long term casino jobs are gonna be created!
Clearly, raising taxes is the solution. Good thing Baracka Hussein Obama plans on getting rid of those nasty across the board tax cuts! With the umm "lapsing of the decrease" (as that economic genius, Nancy "Stretch" Pelosi, so coherently explains), a family of four earning 50k will now be rarin' to go to disperse all that negative discretionary dough they can look forward to playing with.
So, umm, yay!
Had there been no stimulus package we would have been thrown back to 1933. You would not be able to pay your electric bill to respond on your computer with such utterly goofy concepts of reality!
These casino executives are still getting 38 million dollar bonuses,lets get real and TAKE BACK AMERICA and Quit giving it to the Ivy League Elite and their Lobbyist. Dont suck me dry, I will go down fighting for Right from Wrong.
Has anyone but me noticed! All the casinos are taking out large sections of slots and table games so they can show a loss in revenue and get more of our tax dollars? They want a State Income Tax to be put in place. Wake up Nevadans!