VEGAS INC Magazine - Latest Las Vegas business news, features and commentaries about gaming, tourism, real estate and more
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/101717
VEGAS INC big-dollar amounts to do some renewing and refreshing, and I think we're going to see a lot more of that. One of the things we need to do to build confidence in the community is ensure better credit availability and maintain reasonable regulations and rules on the federal level. The chamber also believes it's key to strengthen the partnership among business groups, education and the public sector. We want to see the standard of living increase and graduation rates climb. It will be a challenge, but I'm optimistic that it will be done. The chamber plans to support education reforms at the 2013 legislative session. It's a very involved formula, but we are confident that there is a way to fund higher education through adjustments and reforms with existing resources. There can't be any conversation about a margin tax or taxes on businesses. Our economy is too fragile at this time to consider that. We think there are some things that can be done in the Legislature for Southern Nevada and UNLV to receive a more equitable share of funding. Tracie Lockett-Green, listing facilitator for Community Development Programs of Nevada, real estate broker for Strategic Reality I'm very optimistic. I really think we're coming toward a renaissance. 2013 will be the start. I hope 2012 gave us some closure. The tax changes, "fiscal cliff," all those worries we sat around with. Now a lot more people are letting their houses go on short sale and are moving on. That's where the renaissance happens. We've been humbled, learned to live with our mistakes and are moving on accordingly. People are coming in and taking homes; families are moving in together and maintaining differently. The urban blight is almost scrubbed clean, and you don't see so many foreclosures. I think we're all humbled, very inspired and a little gun-shy from everything we lost financially. I hope and pray Las Vegas won't be known as just the foreclosure capital of the world but as people who redid it and did it right — who learned from their mistakes. Max Jacobson-Fried, owner, Freed's Bakery I'm definitely optimistic for Nevada. I look at our business and I look at our customer base. Years ago, our business was much more dependent on the weddings that were coming through Las Vegas and | 7 JANUARY 2013 20130107_VI01_F.indd 17 | kind of the tourist industry of Las Vegas. What's really encouraging to us is that we have seen our local customer base grow in a really big way. It's almost like a local movement. It feels like there's a really nice sense of community really trying to support local businesses. I think we're still trying to overcome that recession mentality. I think we have to wrap our brains around things starting to look better — let's start living our lives like they are getting better. It feels as if diversification is still an issue, for Las Vegas anyway. We're so dependent as a state on the casino industry and the tourist industry that (the recession) really just obliterated us. I guess the challenge for us will be trying to figure out how to bring in new industries and trying to make sure that if something like this were to happen again, we can try to draw on some other opportunities. Another challenge is to create that sense of community so people will invest in the community. And that goes along with everything: education, roads, public services, parks. Cass Palmer, president and CEO, United Way of Southern Nevada We're going to have to work a lot among the nonprofits. I think donations are going to be relatively flat and stable, if not pick up a little bit. But the answer is: How are we going to work together to utilize our limited resources? I think the economy is picking up. At the end of the day, I think people are still hesitant about going out and spending, and the first thing they typically pull off the table is donations. Part of our donor base is different because we get donations through payroll deductions. That base is relatively stable. The higher-end donors still are evaluating circumstances. We've got 30,000-plus donors. Five years ago, they were all saying, "I'm giving because I know somebody who might need it." Over the past five years, they're all saying, "I'm giving because I need to," and now they're starting to turn the dime and say, "I'm giving back because I want to give back to my city." They're also recognizing that volunteering is the same as giving dollars. Some of our nonprofits would love a volunteer for three or four hours rather than $10 here or there. It really helps them. I think we're going to see volunteerism go up in 2013. People want to get engaged. Rehan Choudhry, former director of entertainment and special events for the Cosmopolitan and founder of Aurelian Marketing Group Las Vegas is arguably one of the most well-known cities in the world and more so one of the most well-known entertainment cities in the world. One thing I learned here over the past two years is there's no shortage of innovation, but there is a large gap between destinationbased entertainment and community-based programming. Will Las Vegas be better off at the end of next year? From sevchoudry eral perspectives, absolutely. The tremendous amount of capital investment committed to the city will do nothing short of redefine the areas that are being focused on and create mass growth. Take the Downtown Project, for example. You can't invest $350 million into any city and not see some sort of meaningful growth. The question is always going to be: Can some of the other areas of the city, the government system, the local businesses that have been here focusing on themselves for so long, can everyone rally around this sense of community and this broader sense of growth purpose? Can everyone change their behaviors? Largely, the focus will be downtown for the next five years. There's just a tremendous amount that needs to be done. People's perspective of downtown is going to change. Evadne Martinez, housekeeper, Luxor I've been a housekeeper at the Luxor for 20 years. I've been a member of the Culinary Union for all of those years, so my view of next year depends on getting our citywide contract signed early. I'm used to having that contract every five years. It gives me peace of mind. Being a union memMartinez ber has allowed me to live independently, even as a single parent. It has given me the benefits and wages I need to support my family and have a beautiful life. I've had health insurance and job security. I've never had to be on welfare. I've been able to afford to give back to the community by volunteering and donating to charities. My goal is to work with my fellow union employees and my employer to make sure the Luxor is the best place to go on the Strip. I want it to stay strong. I've been here for 20 years. I want to retire from here someday. Tom Skancke, recently appointed CEO of the Las Vegas Regional Economic Council I'm extremely optimistic. I've seen a surge of intellectual energy focusing on a single vision. I've never seen such a spirit of cooperation in this city. Southern Nevada as a region has always been last in and first out in hard economic times. But we've been a two-industry community of gaming and development. We were so focused on those industries that we didn't take the time needed to attract new industries. To change that, the state has to make some investment priorities. We have to invest in education, our surface transportation infrastructure and our long-term water supply. Once we've done that, we'll be more attractive to industries considering expanding or moving here. Do we have the courage and the willingness to create a more conducive arena for business to invest? That's the challenge. People have to believe that it is an investment. What do we want our community to look like and feel like for future generations? It's going to take a phenomenal amount of leadership and courage to accomplish this. In transportation, we have to look at alternative funding mechanisms. Nevada is the only state in the West that does not have tolling authority. We're going to need to look at funding roads with a formula for vehicle miles traveled and not a fuel tax to capture all users. We have to change the whole mindset from "We can't," to "We can." We need to look at more partnerships and take advantage of our strengths. There are things going on in our medical community that are just amazing, and we need to leverage that. We have to continue to invest in our convention and tourism business. Both medical and tourism industries provide high-tech environments that will encourage companies to be here. David Saxe, founder of David Saxe Productions I see 2013 getting even harder for those in the entertainment industry who aren't willing to adapt to how the industry has changed over the course of the recession. Even if the economy is getting better, I think audiences don't realize it yet. I think they're still scared to spend. My company has been doing great, because we've been doing a lot of creative things to get people in seats. But it's not like the old days where if you have a good product and you get the word out and get some advertising going, maybe a few coupons here and there, and they'll come. Now, you have to do everything in your power to get their attention. Fifty percent off is the new normal – half price is where you start. People price up now just to be able to price down. We could also benefit by taking more risks with what's put out there. 17 1/3/13 2:09:56 PM