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Business and Economy

Passenger traffic at Las Vegas airport virtually unchanged in April: May 24, 2013; By Richard N. Velotta; Passenger traffic was flat again at McCarran International Airport in April with statistics showing a familiar pattern for the city: slight international growth nearly offsetting a dip in domestic traffic.

Barrick fined $16 million over gold-mining project in Chile: May 24, 2013; By Luis Andres Henao, Associated Press; Chile's environmental regulator blocked Barrick Gold Corp.'s $8.5 billion Pascua-Lama project on Friday and imposed its maximum fine on the world's largest gold miner, citing "very serious" violations of its environmental permit as well as a failure by the company to accurately describe what it had done wrong.

Firefly set to reopen on Paradise after salmonella outbreak: May 24, 2013; By Ed Komenda; A new Firefly Tapas Kitchen & Bar is opening on Paradise Road today. John Simmons, the restaurant’s embattled owner, plans to open the doors at 4 p.m. at the new restaurant at 3824 Paradise Road. The opening follows a major salmonella outbreak last month that sickened 294 people from 27 states and two foreign countries who ate at the Firefly’s old Paradise Road location a few doors down.

World Series of Poker online partnership was years in the making: May 24, 2013; By Ed Komenda; Caesars is preparing to launch a fully functional WSOP.com during the World Series of Poker to perhaps become the second website in Nevada to roll out real-money poker tables. And if all goes as planned, WSOP.com will go live before the July 6 Main Event.

Gaming industry research in spotlight at Las Vegas conference: May 24, 2013; By Ed Komenda; The largest gaming conference on the planet is coming back to Las Vegas. It’s the 15th International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking, and it’s slated to start Monday at Caesars Palace.

Joe Downtown: Restaurant serving 'Fresh American' coming to East Village: May 23, 2013; By Joe Schoenmann; With an opening expected in July or August, work on a new restaurant in an area of the city’s “East Village" is about to begin. Armed with roughly $75,000 in grants from the city Redevelopment Agency, owner Nicholas Akiona will be moving his PublicUs restaurant into space formerly occupied by Philly Steak Express, 1126 Fremont St.

Committee sends bill for medical marijuana clinics to Nevada Senate: May 23, 2013; By Cy Ryan; A plan to create a network of medical marijuana clinics — with the owners paying hefty licensing fees — was approved by the Nevada Senate Finance Committee today.

New Palms website boasts of putting the ‘model in remodel’: May 23, 2013; By Ed Komenda; Palms Casino Resort has launched a new, redesigned website: Palms.com.

Joe Downtown: Does Starbucks herald 'arrival' of East Fremont?: May 23, 2013; By Joe Schoenmann; An unthinkable move just a few years ago may become a reality. Though four Starbucks coffee retailers already exist downtown, none exists in the Fremont East Entertainment District. That might soon change.

Protesters at Las Vegas tech show take aim at Mexican billionaire's 'corrupt practices': May 22, 2013; By Tovin Lapan; One good thing about protesting a communications and technology mogul is that most of your target audience is quick to record and capture events on their cellular phones.

Rio plans zip line ride between two towers: May 22, 2013; By Ed Komenda; Imagine this: you’re soaring 400 feet above the Las Vegas Strip, strung on a zip line between the Rio’s two towers.

A look at what the proposed ‘fun tax’ would mean for your wallet: May 22, 2013; By Andrea Domanick; The proposed tax has drawn a lot of fire, including a Steve Wynn visit to Carson City.

Median CEO pay rises to $9.7 million in 2012: May 22, 2013; By Christina Rexrode, Associated Press; CEO pay has been going in one direction for the past three years: up. The head of a typical large public company made $9.7 million in 2012, a 6.5 percent increase from a year earlier that was aided by a rising stock market, according to an analysis by The Associated Press using data from Equilar, an executive pay research firm.

Firefly owner enlists new PR firm after salmonella outbreak: May 22, 2013; By Ed Komenda; John Simmons, the embattled owner of Firefly Tapas Restaurant & Bar, has hired a new public relations firm to represent his restaurant. The Ferraro Group on Wednesday announced it would replace Purdue Marion & Associates.

On top of big salaries, companies like Wynn Resorts pile on perks for CEOs: May 22, 2013; Associated Press; Wynn Resorts kept a suite open all year at its tony Las Vegas hotel and casino for founder and CEO Steve Wynn, at a cost of nearly $452,000. Former IBM CEO Samuel Palmisano was guaranteed an administrative assistant and furnished office for life.