Richard N. Velotta

Story Archive

Allegiant now demanding week’s notice to change flight: Monday, June 17, 2013; Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air is raising its fees for changing a flight itinerary and will require passengers to give the airline a week’s notice for changes beginning in October.
Cleveland Clinic makes international connections for collaboration: Monday, June 17, 2013; Downtown Las Vegas’ Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health is going international, and experts in Las Vegas will collaborate on trials for the treatment for brain disorders in China and the United Arab Emirates by next year.
Vegas shows off its attractions: City’s best chefs and entertainers brought together for international travel show; Monday, June 17, 2013; As I sat in my seat at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts last week, watching an entertainment lineup that included Terry Fator, Clint Holmes and a band of Cirque du Soleil acrobats, I couldn’t help wondering: How much would a show like this cost if it were presented to a regular tourist audience?
Book your next event here: Las Vegas is home to almost a dozen top convention hotels: Sunday, June 16, 2013; An event management company has published a list of the top 100 resorts for meetings in North America, and nine Las Vegas properties made the cut.
Developer of Grand Canyon Skywalk dies of cancer: Friday, June 14, 2013; David Jin, the developer of the Grand Canyon Skywalk on the Hualapai Indian Reservation at Grand Canyon West, has died after a four-year battle with cancer.
Timeline solidifies for major I-15 project in downtown Las Vegas: Thursday, June 13, 2013; State transportation leaders are confident that construction will begin by the second quarter of 2015 on the $1.8 billion Project Neon that will ease access to downtown Las Vegas and revamp the Spaghetti Bowl interchange with high-occupancy vehicle flyover lanes.
If you and your kids have to be stuck in an airport for a while, McCarran is a good place to be: Thursday, June 13, 2013; A subsidiary of TravelAdvisor.com has listed McCarran International Airport among the top 10 U.S. airports for layovers with children.
Flight attendants say Allegiant trying to wait them out on contract: Wednesday, June 12, 2013; Allegiant Air’s union flight attendants delivered a cake with a message to company managers on the second anniversary of the start of contract negotiations today.
Travel, tourism trade show feeling 'the Las Vegas effect': Tuesday, June 11, 2013; It's been a record-breaking IPW so far, and if Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter has his way, all the records set this year will be shattered again in 2020. The U.S. Travel Association announced today that IPW — a gathering of travel and tourism companies that meet with buyers and distributors in a trade-show setting — will return to Las Vegas in 2020.
Las Vegas tourism chief’s salary hits $409,000: Tuesday, June 11, 2013; The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s top executive is getting an 8 percent pay increase and a 40 percent bonus that will take his annual cash compensation to $409,704 a year.
Partnership designed to bring more international tourists to Las Vegas: Tuesday, June 11, 2013; The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has signed a trade promotion partner agreement with a division of the Commerce Department to share resources to attract more international tourists.
VIDEO: Stuck on sweltering plane in Las Vegas, passengers break into song: Tuesday, June 11, 2013; Despite the sweltering heat, cooler heads prevailed when a plane full of people stranded at the Las Vegas airport Sunday showed their frustration not through angry words but with a song.
Number of tourists hitting Las Vegas in April flat at 3.34 million: Monday, June 10, 2013; Visitor volume in Southern Nevada was flat in April, but a 6.9 percent increase in average daily room rate has some analysts encouraged.
What employers should know about sexual harassment: Monday, June 10, 2013; Malani Kotchka, a shareholder at Lionel Sawyer Collins, has worked on behalf of companies involved in labor cases for 35 years. She spoke about sexual harassment cases from the employer perspective.
Don’t squeeze the tourists: Visitors to the state already pay enough without being asked to cover cost of stadium; Monday, June 10, 2013; As appealing as it may sound for Majestic Realty and the state to build an off-campus football stadium using money generated from new taxes on taxi customers or rental cars, it’s a horrible idea.
Sex and power: Are sexual harassment lawsuits more common in Las Vegas?: Monday, June 10, 2013; Las Vegas ranks slightly above the national average for sexual harassment cases, according to local employment law attorneys. But there also are more unreported incidents of harassment here, they said, because Las Vegas’ sex-heavy environment is considered the norm by most valley residents.
What employees should know about sexual harassment: Monday, June 10, 2013; Michael Balaban runs a small law practice that focuses exclusively on employment and business law. He handles cases involving worker discrimination, wrongful termination and sexual harassment. Balaban spoke about sexual harassment cases from the employee perspective.
McCarran honored for supporting minority businesses: Friday, June 7, 2013; McCarran International Airport has been recognized for providing opportunities to minority businesses with its supplier development program.
La Bonita grocery chain opens fifth store: Friday, June 7, 2013; Las Vegas-based La Bonita Supermarkets has opened its fifth store in the valley.
Food distributor building new facility in North Las Vegas: Thursday, June 6, 2013; A Salt Lake City company that had been on the fence over whether to build a new distribution center in North Las Vegas or Phoenix has opted for Nevada.
Longtime Cox spokesman leaving company after 25 years: Thursday, June 6, 2013; The longtime public face of Cox Communications will leave the company later this year. Public Affairs Vice President Steve Schorr, who has been with the company and its predecessors for 25 years, said today he’s “looking forward to my next adventure in this community.”
Auctioneer of collector cars wheels to Reno, says it won't backfire on Las Vegas event: Wednesday, June 5, 2013; Representatives of Barrett-Jackson, a large collector car auctioning operation based in Scottsdale, Ariz., say the company’s expansion to Northern Nevada’s Hot August Nights classic car event won’t hurt attendance at its Las Vegas show.
Casino equipment maker SHFL reports record revenue: Tuesday, June 4, 2013; Las Vegas-based SHFL entertainment rode strong demand for its automatic shuffling machines to record second-quarter revenue of $77.4 million, 17 percent ahead of last year's quarter, the company announced today.
Tropicana expanding meeting space: Tuesday, June 4, 2013; The Tropicana Las Vegas, one of the last of the iconic classic Strip hotel brands, is expanding its meetings and conventions area in the property’s Club Tower.
Fighting rape and rip-offs: TaxiGuard, designed to help prevent sexual assault, could be applied to long-hauling; Monday, June 3, 2013; An Australian technology company is weighing in on Las Vegas’ taxicab long-hauling problem, and cab drivers aren’t going to be happy about the implications brought to the table by its product, TaxiGuard.
Sports betting, once mob territory, continues on path of sophistication: Thursday, May 30, 2013; Wagering on sports has come a long way since the days of the cigar-chomping, mob-backed neighborhood bookie who would take bets on games. Several presentations at this week's International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking offered research on trends gamblers are using to become more sophisticated in their betting.
Technology to combat problem gambling hitting cyberspace with online poker: Tuesday, May 28, 2013; Critics of online gaming say a new generation of problem gamblers is likely to emerge with Internet poker being so readily available. But two presenters at this week's 15th International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking at Caesars Palace say computer programs are being used to educate online gamblers and force them to think twice before making wagers they can't afford.
UNLV studies find conventions don’t boost gambling, casino shows hurt gaming revenue: Tuesday, May 28, 2013; There’s no significant relationship between convention attendance and gaming revenue in Las Vegas, according to research by students at UNLV.
Will summer pitch be a home run?: LVCVA reboots ‘What happens here’ ads in foreign markets to attract new tourists; Monday, May 27, 2013; Today is the unofficial start of the summer vacation season and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is ready to reel in tourists with strategies that have twists on campaigns that have worked well in the past.
Passenger traffic at Las Vegas airport virtually unchanged in April: Friday, May 24, 2013; 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.
Pro-business group: Raise gas taxes for highway projects: Tuesday, May 21, 2013; A pro-business group working to diversify Southern Nevada’s economy is advocating legislation that would lead to a gasoline tax increase. The Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance announced today that it is backing legislation that would enable Clark County to raise gasoline taxes.
My case for ‘The Amazing Race’: Television show’s auditions in Las Vegas got the competitive juices flowing; Monday, May 20, 2013; Looking around Las Vegas’ Friendly Ford dealership, I almost felt sorry for the scores of people who had arrived to audition for “The Amazing Race.”
Board tells Las Vegas table game maker: Stay out of California: Galaxy Gaming CEO 'was evasive and, in some instances, intentionally dishonest'; Friday, May 17, 2013; Galaxy Gaming, a Las Vegas manufacturer of casino table games, has been deemed unsuitable to do business in California by a judge, a recommendation that could call into question the company’s Nevada gaming license.
Economic diversification office grants major tax breaks to one of its own: Friday, May 17, 2013; The Governor’s Office of Economic Development carefully considered the largest request for tax abatements in its history on Thursday — carefully, because the request came from one of the members of the board making the decision.
State OKs $1.5 million in tax abatements for distribution facility: Thursday, May 16, 2013; he Governor’s Office of Economic Development conducted a meeting today in Las Vegas, with most of the agenda dedicated to considering tax abatement incentives to companies considering expansion or relocation to Nevada.
Old Lady Luck on track to reopen this fall as Downtown Grand: Thursday, May 16, 2013; The Nevada Gaming Commission conducted its monthly meeting today in Las Vegas.
After 51s deal finalized, it's business as usual at Cashman Field; but what's next?: Thursday, May 16, 2013; Now that a deal has been finalized to sell the Las Vegas 51s to a group that intends to move the team to Summerlin, the clock is ticking on its lease at Cashman Field. But the deadline is far away, and Cashman officials say it's business as usual.
Stratosphere parent company loses $3 million in 1st quarter: Wednesday, May 15, 2013; Declines in occupancy and room rates broadened losses in the first quarter for American Casino & Entertainment Properties, operator of the Stratosphere, the Arizona Charlie’s locals casinos and the Aquarius in Laughlin.
Station Casinos optimistic despite losses in first quarter: Tuesday, May 14, 2013; Station Casinos is banking on moves it made in the first three months of the year to reverse the company’s fortunes after reporting a net loss of $142.2 million for the first quarter that ended March 31.
Apartments being demolished for Convention Center parking lot: Tuesday, May 14, 2013; The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is spending $5 million to buy a 3.3-acre lot on Sierra Vista Drive and will convert it into a parking lot and staging area for the nearby Las Vegas Convention Center.
Confusing tourism and immigration: International visitors caught up in domestic dispute; Monday, May 13, 2013; The battle over immigration reform could get heated, and local tourism leaders hope the federal government’s efforts to reduce visa wait times aren’t lost in the shuffle.
Flat-rate zones deserve a chance: Taxi industry not happy with oversimplified study, but long-hauling remains an issue; Monday, May 6, 2013; After last month’s blowup over the Legislative Counsel Bureau’s taxicab long-hauling audit, just about everybody is ready to give flat rates a shot. But if the taxi industry has anything to say about it — and you know it does — we won’t see flat rates anytime soon.
Jim Murren talks online poker, MGM's park on the Strip and the Rolling Stones: Friday, May 3, 2013; MGM Resorts International reported its best quarter in five years Thursday. Chairman and CEO Jim Murren reflected on the good news and looked ahead to MGM's next big task: developing an outdoor dining, retail and recreation plaza on the Las Vegas Strip.
Slot machine cheat considered for Nevada’s Black Book: Thursday, May 2, 2013; A convicted slot machine cheat has been nominated to by the state Gaming Control Board to the state’s Excluded Person List — the so-called Black Book of people not allowed to step foot in a casino. The three-member board today nominated Roderick William Dee III to the list.
MGM pulls out of downturn with record earnings at CityCenter: Thursday, May 2, 2013; Boosted by an all-time earnings record at its CityCenter development and its best-ever first quarter in Macau, MGM Resorts International shifted from the red to black for the quarter that ended March 31. The Las Vegas-based company today reported net income of $22.6 million, 1 cent a share, on revenue of $2.54 billion. That compared to a first-quarter loss of $203.3 million, 44 cents a share, on revenue of $2.47 billion for the same quarter a year earlier.
Caesars Entertainment still on shaky ground, loses $200 million in first quarter: Wednesday, May 1, 2013; Caesars Entertainment narrowed its losses during the first quarter but still saw revenue fall 2.9 percent, from $2.21 billion to $2.14 billion, and experienced a net loss of $216.7 million.
Gaming Control recommends approving Pinnacle acquisition of rival Ameristar: Wednesday, May 1, 2013; The state Gaming Control Board conducted its monthly meeting today in Las Vegas.
South Point banks on big draw with $30 million bowling center: Tuesday, April 30, 2013; Representatives of the South Point announced Tuesday they will build a $30 million bowling arena in a 12-year agreement to house United States Bowling Congress events that will begin in 2016.
Domestic air traffic down, foreign travel up in March at Las Vegas airport: Monday, April 29, 2013; Passenger traffic at McCarran International Airport was flat in March compared with a year ago, with strong international and air tour operations offsetting a slight dip in domestic travel to Las Vegas. The Clark County Aviation Department reported 3.7 million passengers in March, a 0.7 percent increase over last year. For the first quarter, traffic was down 1.4 percent to 9.8 million passengers.
Construction underway on delayed Cactus Avenue interchange: Monday, April 29, 2013; Work has begun on a new freeway interchange on Interstate 15 that will provide additional access to the Southern Highlands area and relieve traffic on other interchanges in the southern part of the city.