VEGAS INC Magazine - Latest Las Vegas business news, features and commentaries about gaming, tourism, real estate and more
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/55853
Pick 'Em The Dialogue We want to hear from you. Visit vegasinc.com to post comments to stories. On Steve Green's Feb. 9 and Feb. 10 vegasinc.com stories on the state entering a settlement agreement with banks over foreclosure abuses ("Critics call foreclosure settlement 'a slap in the face' to affected Nevadans" and "Cortez Masto: Settlement just one part of Nevada mortgage fix"): This piece of legislation rewards those who are the most irresponsible. This bailout will do nothing to help the overall problem in the Las Vegas Valley. Those who faithfully live up to their mortgage contracts will be rewarded by continuing to pay taxes to support those who gambled and lost at the home ownership game. — vegasbike I see this as a slap in the face to those who have paid their debt, those who did not take on extra debt and those who paid cash for their homes. All those people have real losses that are not being taken care of. All this money should go to them, not the ones who walked away from the responsibility. — petef (Peter Fritz) The $1.5 billion is a slap in itself. Nevada leads the nation in foreclosures and drop in equity, yet California got $18 billion in relief. Thanks, Harry Reid! The people who need the most help are those who made a regular down payment on a conventional loan, haven't used their house as an ATM and have had cutbacks in pay. This bill does almost nothing for them, unless they can get a small reduction in principal. — boftx On Richard N. Velotta's Feb. 6 vegasinc. com story on McCarran International CHRISTOPHER DEVARGAS On Steve Green's Feb. 13 VEGAS INC story on the Las Vegas Monorail ("Las Vegas Monorail to shed more debt in latest plan"): How a company plans and builds a monorail that does not even go to the hub of where the majority of its riders will come from and go to ( the airport) is beyond me. Poorly planned and poorly implemented, and pretty much destined to failure from inception. I Airport ("McCarran by the numbers"): I just spent seven days in Las Vegas. I must comment about the air terminal. It was refreshing to be at an airport where the employees actually say "Hello" and "How are you ?" I applaud the way people load and unload in the front. It can be hectic at times, but it was not a constant horn - blowing screaming match. The airport was clean and the food vendors' prices were not out of sight. Rental car drop-off was a piece of cake and so was check-in. The TSA workers were pleasant and kept the flow of people going from each scanning station so the line kept moving. Kudos to Las Vegas. — irishspy (Barry Regan) mean to the Sahara ? Really? — Xtlman (Mark Dunton) Everyone knows what needs to be done, yet no one will ever do it. It's just a failure of design and planning. If MGM Resorts International had a single monorail system from Mandalay Bay to the Bellagio, it would be much more useful than what they have now, especially if it also linked at the MGM Grand to this monorail that should go to UNLV and the airport. — newnvres (Ben Lambert) On Steve Green's Feb. 10 vegasinc. com update on developer Chris Milam's plan to build a stadium in Henderson ("Chinese company agrees to finance proposed Henderson arena"): Seems to be a lot of "ifs" on this project. Until we see building permits and the cash in hand, I would not get to excited about it ever being built. — vegaslee I don't think Milam is able to deliver. As a concept, however, Las Vegas needs a big-league arena to get a big- league team. And a big-league team legitimizes a city and opens eyes to the potential of a city at the highest levels. Our nation is sports-crazed, and a city with a big-league team is mentioned continually in sports media, which is consumed at a higher level than any other in America. And sports media mentions are never a judgment on the city, only on the team's performance. Las Vegas would stop being "Sin City," or all of the other negative stereotypes used to describe the valley. — JLOKC (Jeff Leatherock) 200 The number of Spirit Airlines employees who will become local residents of the Las Vegas Valley, as a result of the company opening its Las Vegas crew base on Feb. 7. Get smart Power tweets Overheard Done Deal Power Lunch The Numbers .com Buy high Sell low VEGASINCmag Vegas then VEGASinc2021 The value of winnings produced by gaming operations statewide in 2011, a 2.8 percent increase from 2010. (See Page 8) LAS VEGAS ? ? ? ? ? ! The innovator THE NUMBERS $10.7 billion $ Sin City Media Chatter We hear YOUR AD HERE Executive class Read this! The Pitch is back NOW SERVING 95 Gate keeper American dream Moonlighting FortuneCookie Grilled The Survivor 3,591 The number of sales of Las Vegas Valley homes, condominiums and townhomes in January, as reported by the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. The figure was down from 4,250 sales in December, but up from 3,214 sales in January 2011. (See Page 11) $86 million The amount of damages sought by regulators in a lawsuit against four officers of the failed Silver State Bank for "gross negligence and breaches of fiduciary duty." It's estimated the Silver State Bank failure cost the FDIC more than $550 million. $135 MILLION The amount of a donation pledged by Wynn Resorts Ltd. to the University of Macau. On Feb. 13, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission disclosed it is looking into the pledge and Wynn Resorts' casino license in Macau. (See Page 13) $269 million The 2011 fourth quarter net revenue amount for CityCenter, up from $257 million during the fourth quarter of of 2010. (See Page 12) TUNE IN VEGAS INC TV Join veteran journalists Dana Gentry and Jeff Gillan at 6:30 p.m. Sundays on KSNV, Channel 3 for VEGAS INC, the last word | 20 FEBRUARY 2012 | 5 on all things business in the valley. Gaming, tourism, real estate and much more are presented weekly on VEGAS INC, Southern Nevada's must-see TV. Set your DVRs and join the VEGAS INC conversation.