ZZZ - GMG - VEGAS INC 2011-2014

VEGAS INC C OV E R STO RY Co. proposed building a 60,000-seat domed facility for UNLV for $800 million to $900 million. Majestic President and Chairman Ed Roski pledged almost $400 million to the on-campus project but couldn't secure the rest of the funding. A bill to create a special tax district to finance the stadium's construction failed, and Strip resort owners criticized the project's cost. In March, UNLV announced it was severing ties with Majestic and would proceed with plans to develop an oncampus mega-events center without the company. State slogan There were great expectations for the Nevada Tourism Commission's new state slogan, but it largely fell flat when it was announced. Maybe it was because it was created by a New York advertising firm. Or because it took $9 million and two years to develop. Or because the bar had been raised so high by slogans such as "I Love New York," "Virginia is for Lovers" and "What happens here, stays here." Whatever the reason, "Nevada: A World Within. A State Apart" flopped. Southern Nevadans scoffed that it ignored Las Vegas. State officials argued that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority already has a big budget dedicated to Southern Nevada and the state campaign was meant to focus on rural Nevada. They urged people to give it time, to let it grow on them. That hasn't happened. L.E. BASKOW MOTHBALLED: The Manhattan West development shown from the air. Developer Alex Edelstein launched the $330 million mixed-use project during the boom but lost his financing, causing construction to stall. In June, he sold the project as is for $20 million to a California development company. ManhattanWest's developer Alex Edelstein had big plans for Las Vegas. During the boom, he built the $230 million Manhattan Condominiums south of the Strip and sold its initial 700 units. He then launched ManhattanWest, a stylish, $330  million project with office, retail and residential space on Russell Road at the 215 Beltway. That one, however, didn't go so well. The first phase of the 20-acre project was supposed to wrap up by spring 2009, but Edelstein mothballed ManhattanWest during the recession after his lenders reportedly yanked his financing. In June, he sold the partially-completed project for $20 million, a sliver of what he spent on it, to the Krausz Cos., of California. Krausz now is developing the project as the Gramercy with WGH Partners. Edelstein blamed the media for his failures, saying the press put "perennially negative spin on the economy and the housing market." "If you read and believe all of the negative stories in the traditional media and vulture blogs, it's easy to get a skewed perspective on what's really happening in the economy and the housing markets today — particularly in the local Las Vegas market," Edelstein said in 2008. "We'll go handto-hand with anyone who knocks Las Vegas' prospects without an understanding of our market and the real facts. We kept waiting for the media to pick up the positive news here and finally decided we needed to just get the word out ourselves." Edelstein was CEO of Gemstone Development, which now appears to be defunct. He currently is chairman of the board of Servio, an online marketing firm in San Francisco. Allegiant flight attendants In 2010, Allegiant Air flight attendants scored what they considered to be a big victory when they successfully campaigned and voted to be represented by the Transport Workers Union. But three years later, the flight attendants continue to negotiate their first contract with the Las Vegas airline. Union leaders say first contracts often are the most difficult because every term must be negotiated from ground zero. That seems to be true for Allegiant, whose top executive, Maurice Gallagher, has made no secret of his disdain for negotiating with third parties. For now, the flight attendants appear to be on the losing side of the impasse. But they still have some tricks up their sleeves. They have undertaken a strategy of publicly embarrassing the airline to goad management into serious contract talks. The union launched willallegiantbethere.org, a website that highlights the airline's flaws. It includes a map of cities and routes the airline has abandoned for financial 16 20131223_VI01_F.indd 16 steve marcus BUMPY RIDE: An Allegiant Air Airbus A320 passenger jet is parked at a gate at McCarran International Airport. reasons, a running list of delayed flights and a warning to customers about Allegiant's fees. "It's business, and part of the tactics of these third parties is to do things that try to get a rise out of us and to somewhat embarrass us ... or get our attention," Gallagher said earlier this year. "We're mindful of those things. You just kind of roll your shoulders a little and say, 'Really?' We've been doing this for 2 1/2 years with them, and we're at a bit of an impasse over some technical issues, but we'll get through it. We have a great future, and our flight attendants are part of that future." | 23 DECEMBER 2013 | 12/19/13 3:11:44 PM

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