Las Vegas Review-Journal (Las Vegas, NV) articles from September 2007

Las Vegas Review-Journal (Las Vegas, NV) archives from September 2007

Sands, Wynn get boost from Macau.
September 1, 2007... Byline: Howard Stutz Sep. 1--Interest in the growing Macau casino market fueled investors' actions regarding shares of two gaming operators during August. The stock prices of other companies weren't so lucky. Las Vegas Sands Corp.,...

Housing slowdown hits Mesquite.
September 1, 2007... Byline: Hubble Smith Sep. 1--Mesquite's housing market heated up along with Las Vegas and now it's feeling the cool winds of change. The average sales price for a home in Mesquite dropped to $249,659 in the second quarter from $291,379...

Looking for bang with Labor Day buzz.
September 1, 2007... Byline: Benjamin Spillman Sep. 1--There are two ways to sense a big weekend in Las Vegas. One is to take a cold, hard look at room rates and the other is to gauge the buzz in the air. Heading into the holiday weekend those litmus...

The State Bird of Nevada.
September 2, 2007... Byline: Hubble Smith Sep. 2--Down on the Strip, where reality is blurred with fantasy and anything seems possible, tourists in shorts and sandals gawk in awe at the massive amount of casino development under way. The growth defies...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Inside Business column.(Column)
September 3, 2007... Sep. 3--STATE BAR OF NEVADA NAMES PRESIDENT-ELECT: State Bar of Nevada named Bruce Beesley president-elect, Bridget Robb Peck to its board of governors, Paul Matteoni chairman of the attorney discipline committee, David McElhinney to the board...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Nevadan at Work column.(Column)
September 3, 2007... Sep. 3--Kenneth Smith showed an early knack for entrepreneurship. As an undergraduate in Provo, Utah, Smith started up a frozen-yogurt shop. In two years, while studying for his business-management degree, Smith grew the business into a...

Rule may complicate e-hiring.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Jennifer Robison Sep. 3--Online job applications are supposed to make hiring easier for everybody. Employers use electronic job-filling functions to reduce paperwork and broadcast openings to a wider range of hiring prospects....

Las Vegas Review-Journal Real Estate column.(Column)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Hubble Smith Sep. 3--Los Angeles-based developer Jerry Monkarsh said he's "absolutely" part of the reason traffic is congested in the burgeoning southwest Las Vegas Valley. "This is mild compared to other places we've developed...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Inside Business column.(Column)
September 4, 2007... Sep. 4--COLLEGE WILL OFFER FORECLOSURE SEMINAR: College of Southern Nevada will offer a class in understanding foreclosures from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 12 at its Downtown Learning Center inside the Latin Chamber of Commerce, 300 N. 13th St. ...

Investors group sues Archon over stock redemption price.
September 4, 2007... Byline: Howard Stutz Sep. 4--A group of shareholders sued one-time Sahara owner Archon Corp. in U.S. District Court last week, saying the casino operator is undervaluing the redemption price of preferred stock issued by the company 14...

Midyear real-estate report says gains in home values abound.
September 4, 2007... Byline: Hubble Smith Sep. 4--To hear people whine about the Las Vegas housing market, you'd think they were cats taking a bath. Sure, home prices have receded from their all-time peak, which was just a year ago and followed a period of...

Las Vegas Review-Journal The Online Guy column.
September 4, 2007... Byline: Al Gibes Sep. 4--BACK TO BOOKS,, BACK TO ONLINE LEARNING: OK, students, listen up. Teachers, too. Summer is over. Yeah, I know, the calendar shows Sept. 23 as the autumnal equinox, but Monday was Labor Day, which means it's...

Independent bank to have Agassi on board.
September 5, 2007... Byline: John G. Edwards Sep. 5--Like other independent banks, Meadows Bank intends to offer personalized service that local small businesses can't find at the larger regional banks. But Meadows, which is expected to open in January...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Inside Business column.(Column)
September 5, 2007... Sep. 5--FOUNDATION NAMES NEW BOARD MEMBERS: The Epicurean Charitable Foundation Las Vegas, a nonprofit forum for Las Vegas food and beverage executives working to support underprivileged students pursuing of hospitality careers, named a new...

Station Casinos' acquisition of The Men's Club hits licensing snag.
September 5, 2007... Byline: Howard Stutz Sep. 5--Station Casinos has spent the past few years purchasing dozens of large and small land parcels surrounding the Wild Wild West on Tropicana Avenue west of Interstate 15, compiling a site exceeding 70 acres on...

Former lobbyist granted state job.
September 5, 2007... Byline: John G. Edwards Sep. 5--A top lobbyist for bankrupt New Century Financial Corp., once the nation's second-largest subprime lender and now the target of a federal criminal investigation, is taking over today as commissioner of the...

Union stashes $80 million.
September 5, 2007... Byline: Benjamin Spillman Sep. 5--More than 12,000 Nevada casino workers, including employees at nearly every casino in downtown Las Vegas, will have access to $80 million to sustain them in the event of a strike. The fund is the...

Entrepreneurs, time to strap on your thinking caps.
September 6, 2007... Byline: Jennifer Robison Sep. 6--The organization that puts together a statewide business-plan contest for college students is seeking corporate sponsors and entrants for its spring event. Nevada's Center for Entrepreneurship and...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Inside Business Column.(Column)
September 6, 2007... Sep. 6--COLLEGE SEMINAR WILL COVER FORECLOSURES: College of Southern Nevada will offer a class in advanced foreclosures for Realtors from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 18 at its Downtown Learning Center inside the Latin Chamber of Commerce, 300 N....

Study: Minorities in LV more likely to face bad mortgages.
September 6, 2007... Byline: John G. Edwards Sep. 6--Black and Hispanic home-loan applicants were more likely to get high-cost mortgages than white home-loan borrowers in the Las Vegas area in 2006, national advocacy group ACORN reported Wednesday. ACORN,...

Strip hotel delays its star turn.
September 6, 2007... Byline: Arnold M. Knightly Sep. 6--Planet Hollywood Resort is pushing back its grand opening event seven weeks to Nov. 16-17 because of scheduling conflicts with celebrities and a movie premiere at the property. Co-owner Robert Earl...

Casino MonteLago operators move toward permanent control.
September 7, 2007... Byline: Howard Stutz Sep. 7--Operators of the Casino MonteLago in Lake Las Vegas, who have been running the only gaming establishment in the upscale community for the past three months on a temporary basis, took a step toward permanent...

Chamber's fiscal 'wake-up' tour to stage event at Rio.
September 7, 2007... Sep. 7--The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce wants the business community to "wake up." The chamber is bringing a fiscal wake-up tour to Las Vegas at noon Wednesday at the Rio, 3700 W. Flamingo Road. The economic burden of 78 million retiring...

Study shows foreclosures rising.
September 7, 2007... Byline: John G. Edwards Sep. 7--The drumbeat of bad news on residential mortgages continued Thursday as the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that new foreclosures and past-due loan numbers increased in Nevada during the quarter ending...

Punch in that PIN to wager.
September 7, 2007... Byline: Arnold M. Knightly Sep. 7--The state Gaming Control Board heard testimony Thursday on a new technology that would allow casino patrons to use debit cards to buy cashless gaming vouchers for use in slot machines. EDITH, which...

Ensign says raising taxes would hurt U.S. in trade.
September 7, 2007... Byline: Steve Tetreault Sep. 7--WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., warned Thursday against Congress raising taxes this fall, saying the United States risks its competitiveness against Asian and European nations that are "racing" in...

Indications are housing slip dragging on local economy.
September 8, 2007... Byline: Hubble Smith Sep. 8--Southern Nevada's economy, dragged down by the slumping housing industry, posted another month of modest performance. New and existing home sales dropped 40 percent and new home permits are off by 45...

Would you foot bill to go green?
September 8, 2007... Byline: John G. Edwards Sep. 8--Renewable energy is becoming all the rage these days. But are Nevadans keen enough to contribute money to foster renewable energy development? State regulators are studying a tariff proposal that...

Local slot-machine designers compete with industry heavyweights.
September 8, 2007... Byline: Howard Stutz Sep. 8--Inside offices at one of the nondescript industrial parks east of McCarran International Airport, Benny Sum and his team of about 60 slot machine designers work long hours to churn out games free of the major...

Regulators OK Sierra Health Services deal.
September 8, 2007... Byline: Review-Journal Sep. 8--A proposed buyout of Las Vegas-based Sierra Health Services won approval late Thursday from insurance regulators in California and Arizona, where the managed-care insurer has enrollees in its Medicare Part D...

Diamond Quest.
September 9, 2007... Byline: Arnold M. Knightly Sep. 9--When AAA Diamond ratings evaluator Vincent first enters a hotel room at The Mirage, he stops in the doorway and looks around, letting his senses take in the room. What does he see? Or feel? Or smell?...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Inside Gaming column.(Column)
September 9, 2007... Sep. 9--CASH IN AT TRAILER STATION, BUT HURRY: Call it Trailer Station. Station Casinos won preliminary approval from gaming regulators last week to operate a small trailer with 16 slot machines at the former Castaways site near Fremont...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Inside Business column.(Column)
September 10, 2007... Sep. 10--BEASLEY BROADCAST DECLARES DIVIDEND: Beasley Broadcast Group, a radio station operator with four stations Southern Nevada, declared a quarterly cash dividend of 6.25 cents per share for its Class A and Class B common stock. The...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Nevadan at Work column.(Column)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Howard Stutz Sep. 10--FROM PIT TO POPULIST: Ten years ago, craps dealer Scott Cameron launched Dicedealer.com, an Internet location where fellow Strip dice dealers could swap stories and build camaraderie. The site also served as a...

Fast four from LV make Inc. 500.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Jennifer Robison Sep. 10--A national business magazine has anointed the nation's 500 growth "superstars," and four local companies have made the cut. SellingSource.com, Silver State Helicopters, WorldDoc, and Zappos.com are...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Real Estate column.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Hubble Smith Sep. 10--New Zealand developer Kayne Nelson has hit some snags in the progress of CL3 Lofts near Cheyenne Avenue and Clayton Street in North Las Vegas. The project broke ground a year ago and was scheduled to...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Inside Business column.(Column)
September 11, 2007... Sep. 11--COLLEGE WILL OFFER LOAN-PROCESSING COURSE: The College of Southern Nevada will offer a course in entry-level loan processing Monday through Sept. 19 at its Business Resource Center, 112 Water St. Classes will meet 9 a.m. to 4 p.m....

Funding added for problem gambling program.
September 11, 2007... Byline: Arnold M. Knightly Sep. 11--The National Center For Responsible Gaming Monday announced $7.6 million in additional funding to continue research into problem gambling over the next five years. In addition to announcing the new...

Las Vegas Review-Journal The Online Guy column.
September 11, 2007... Byline: Al Gibes Sep. 11--REMEMBERING VICTIMS AND HEROES: Sept. 11, 2001, memorials and more homework helpers highlight today's edition of Net Notes. Chances are you know exactly where you were and what you were doing six years ago...

Shuffle Master's quarterly profits miss Street forecast.
September 11, 2007... Byline: Benjamin Spillman Sep. 11--A Las Vegas company that makes automatic card-shuffling devices plans to do a little corporate reshuffling itself. Officials from Shuffle Master announced the changes Monday during a conference call...

Valley inventory of homes for sale rises 1.1 percent.
September 12, 2007... Byline: Hubble Smith Sep. 12--The inventory of homes for sale on the Multiple Listing Service grew 1.1 percent in August to 24,341, the smallest monthly increase this year, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported. At...

Frank assessment: Bet bill stalled.
September 12, 2007... Byline: Tony Batt Sep. 12--WASHINGTON -- Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., on Tuesday acknowledged his bill to overturn an Internet gambling ban has stalled, but he said pressure from foreign countries could revive the legislation. Frank,...

Dubai World invests again.
September 12, 2007... Byline: Arnold M. Knightly Sep. 12--Dubai World is entering a second joint venture on the Strip with gaming giant MGM Mirage. Dubai World subsidiary Istithmar Hotels FZE, MGM Mirage and Kerzner International Holdings entered a...

Restaurant, unions reach deal on contract.
September 12, 2007... Byline: Arnold M. Knightly Sep. 12--Margaritaville, a restaurant partly owned by singer Jimmy Buffett, reached a tentative accord Tuesday on a new collective bargaining agreement with Culinary Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165. The...

Tourism marketing to target minorities, gays, lesbians.
September 12, 2007... Byline: Benjamin Spillman Sep. 12--The people responsible for attracting visitors to Las Vegas will take their message directly to foreign consumers and broaden their pitch to ethnic minorities and gay and lesbian markets in the United...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Inside Business column.(Column)
September 13, 2007... Sep. 13--TRUCKING COMPANY NAMES FINANCE CHIEF: Pan Western Corp., a North Las Vegas specialty trucking and transportation company, named Cory Klerk chief financial officer. -- Preferred Public Relations & Marketing, a Las Vegas-based...

Gaming win rises in July.
September 13, 2007... Byline: Arnold M. Knightly Sep. 13--An accounting quirk and a little luck helped push Nevada casinos to report the highest-ever one-month gaming win total during July. Nevada casinos won $1.146 billion from gamblers in July, eclipsing...

Harrah's invests in Macau, of course.
September 13, 2007... Byline: Arnold M. Knightly Sep. 13--Harrah's Entertainment finally has a business footprint in the Chinese gaming enclave of Macau, but it is not a casino. The gaming company announced Wednesday that it is buying the Macau Orient Golf...

Gibbons says health buyout needs closer look.
September 13, 2007... Byline: Jennifer Robison Sep. 13--Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons has upped his efforts to attract additional regulatory scrutiny to UnitedHealth Group's $2.6 billion acquisition of Sierra Health Services. Gibbons sent a letter Friday to the...

that about covers it.
September 14, 2007... Byline: Arnold M. Knightly Sep. 14--They are hard to miss, but that's the point. A 40-story-high Jim Beam bottle ad on the side of the Rio, which was finished this week, is visible to commuters and tourists traveling north on...

Car fixers turn to Web.
September 14, 2007... Byline: Jennifer Robison Sep. 14--Local car mechanics are turning to the Internet in a bid to protect themselves from customers who skip out on repair bills. Kelly Collins, an auto-shop owner featured in an Aug. 22 Review-Journal story...

Tourism torches new record in July.
September 14, 2007... Byline: Benjamin Spillman Sep. 14--The scorching heat of the Mojave desert in July didn't stop people from visiting Las Vegas. Nearly 3.4 million people made the trip to Southern Nevada pushing the occupancy rate for Las Vegas to 92...

Royal entrance at Queensridge.
September 15, 2007... Byline: Hubble Smith Sep. 15--Frank Pankratz has spent the better part of the past two years poring over design details, financial statements and sales figures for One Queensridge Place, two 18-story luxury condominium towers near Alta...

Convention parking deal may displace short-term renters.
September 15, 2007... Byline: Benjamin Spillman Sep. 15--A $50 million land purchase will add valuable parking and exhibit space to the Las Vegas Convention Center but will also send residents of short-term housing scrambling to find new homes. The Las...

Study: Gambling in check for British.
September 15, 2007... Byline: Arnold M. Knightly Sep. 15--A gambling study will demonstrate the British casino industry has taken a proactive and socially responsible role in dealing with problem gambling, the new chief executive officer of London Clubs...

Reid sees an example worth following.
September 15, 2007... Byline: John G. Edwards Sep. 15--Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Friday advanced a new argument in his campaign to block development of conventional coal-burning power plants in Nevada, citing reports that coal-fired plants...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Inside Gaming column.(Column)
September 16, 2007... Sep. 16--Harrah's Entertainment Chairman Gary Loveman spent about 24 hours in Macau on Wednesday, signing papers for the casino company to buy the Orient Golf Course on the Cotai Strip. While checking into The Venetian Macau, Loveman was...

Harrah's after fiscal benefits of physical fitness.
September 16, 2007... Byline: Arnold M. Knightly Sep. 16--Spiraling health-care costs were becoming a major pain to Harrah's Entertainment Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gary Loveman. He wanted a plan to slow the ever-growing medical bills his company...

Murren moves up in MGM Mirage lineup.
September 16, 2007... Byline: Howard Stutz Sep. 16--Twice in 1997, Jim Murren turned down overtures from then MGM Grand Corp. President Alex Yemenidjian to become the expanding casino operator's chief financial officer. But Yemenidjian was persistent. The...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Nevadan at Work column.
September 17, 2007... Byline: Arnold M. Knightly Sep. 17--Quick quiz: Which gaming company employs the only certified master chef in Las Vegas? The answer may surprise you. Give up? The company is Station Casinos and the chef is David Kellaway. ...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Real Estate column.
September 17, 2007... Byline: Hubble Smith Sep. 17--Developer George Hedley is selling office and warehouse space in Henderson for $175 to $200 a square foot, the same product he has to sell for $250 a square foot in Orange County, Calif. Hedley, chief...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Inside Business column.(Column)
September 17, 2007... Sep. 17--COLLEGE CLASS TO COVER COMMERCIAL LENDING: The College of Southern Nevada will offer a class in commercial lending for mortgage agents, brokers, bankers and investors from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at the Downtown Learning Center...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Inside Business column.(Column)
September 18, 2007... Sep. 18--INVESTMENT ADVISER OPENS HENDERSON OFFICE: The Keller Group Investment Management, an Irvine, Calif., investment advisory firm, opened an office at 2850 Horizon Ridge Parkway, Suite 249 in Henderson. -- Grubb & Ellis Las Vegas, a...

Las Vegas Review-Journal The Online Guy column.(Column)
September 18, 2007... Byline: Al Gibes Sep. 18--ON TV4U, A HORSE IS A HORSE, OF COURSE: Lucy has more lovers these days, and the talking horse is playing in more than 140 countries, thanks to a series of deals struck by Henderson-based TV4U.com (www.tv4u.com)....

D6Progressive Gaming again delays sale of games unit.
September 18, 2007... Byline: Howard Stutz Sep. 18--For the third time in less than a month, Las Vegas-based Progressive Gaming International Corp. extended the timetable for completing the sale of its table games division to Shuffle Master. Wall Street,...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Inside Business column.(Column)
September 19, 2007... Sep. 19--REGIS UNIVERSITY MOVES SUMMERLIN CAMPUS: Regis University moved its Summerlin campus to 1201 N. Town Center Drive, Suite 150. The university also launched a bachelor's of business administration degree with a specialization in...

Gaming groups want details before entering Massachusetts.
September 19, 2007... Byline: Arnold M. Knightly Sep. 19--Harrah's Entertainment, MGM Mirage and Las Vegas Sands Corp. expressed interest Tuesday in entering the underserved Massachusetts gaming market but want more information before proceeding. The...

D6Luck be a lady: Revival of Third Street planned.
September 19, 2007... Byline: Benjamin Spillman Sep. 19--Owners of the shuttered and gutted Lady Luck in downtown Las Vegas want to leverage the Fremont Street Experience as part of a plan to revive Third Street with new retail and entertainment venues and as...

Ameristar closes deal for riverboat.
September 20, 2007... Byline: Howard Stutz Sep. 20--Las Vegas-based Ameristar Casinos officially entered its seventh gaming market, completing a $675 million acquisition of the Resorts East Chicago riverboat casino that is in Indiana, but caters to customers...

Developer suing Vestin over loan of $3.6 million.
September 20, 2007... Byline: John G. Edwards Sep. 20--A bankrupt company that unsuccessfully tried to develop residential properties on Mount Charleston is suing Vestin Mortgage over its handling of a $3.6 million loan. Forest Development claims that...

Local home sales stay down.
September 20, 2007... Byline: Hubble Smith Sep. 20--Las Vegas housing analyst Dennis Smith doesn't think the local market is falling into a "deep crevasse" as some reports around the country may suggest. The news is bad, but it's not all bad, he said. ...

Newport Lofts: California flair, Las Vegas address.
September 20, 2007... Byline: Hubble Smith Sep. 20--Developer West Seegmiller wanted to design Newport Lofts with a Southern California flair since that's where more than half of his buyers are coming from. The demographic profile of his buyer is the 35- to...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Inside Business column.(Column)
September 20, 2007... Sep. 20--BANK OPENS NEW BRANCH, HEAD OFFICE: Nevada Commerce Bank opened a new branch and head office at 6795 Edmond St. -- Health Insight, a nonprofit organization working to improve health care in Utah and Nevada, named Andrew Brignone to...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Inside Business column.(Column)
September 21, 2007... Sep. 21--SPORTS MEDICINE PRACTICE NOW OPEN: Dr. Randa Bascharon opened Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Institute of Las Vegas at 5735 S. Fort Apache Road, Suite B. -- The Henderson International School, a college-preparatory academy, named...

Debit-slot plan gets no votes.
September 21, 2007... Byline: Howard Stutz Sep. 21--The Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday unanimously rejected a concept of allowing casino customers to use their debit cards to buy ticket in-ticket out vouchers that can be gambled on slot machines. The...

Bleak numbers concern Gibbons.
September 21, 2007... Byline: Jennifer Robison Sep. 21--Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons likes to trumpet the Silver State's high ranking on lists ranging from measures of population growth to tallies of visitors per resident. But there's one list the state tops...

USA Capital's former owner offers few answers.
September 21, 2007... Byline: John G. Edwards Sep. 21--In his first public appearance since his private lending firm filed for bankruptcy two years ago, Tom Hantges said he was working hard to recover assets for the 6,000 investors who entrusted him with $962...

Tourism boosters take overseas path toward progress.
September 22, 2007... Byline: Benjamin Spillman Sep. 22--As Las Vegas resorts embark on their biggest-ever building boom, tourism boosters and airport officials in Southern Nevada are going further afield to recruit visitors. Attracting more overseas...

LV jobless down to 5 percent.
September 22, 2007... Byline: John G. Edwards Sep. 22--Southern Nevada casinos, home builders and temporary employment agencies continued trimming their work forces in August although the Las Vegas unemployment rate dipped 0.1 percent to 5 percent, a state...

Be quick, or your shopper will click.
September 22, 2007... Byline: Hubble Smith Sep. 22--In the convenient world of online shopping, sometimes a few seconds' delay on a retailer's Web site can cost a transaction, an industry expert said. Fast and efficient Web site performance is crucial for...

Buying existing ventures puts people in business.
September 23, 2007... Byline: Jennifer Robison Sep. 23--So you want to own a business. You're willing to yield your evenings and weekends to launching a startup, establishing a client base and struggling with low cash flow during your first few months in...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Inside Gaming column.(Column)
September 23, 2007... Sep. 23--OH, LOOK, IT'S PALACE STATION AGAIN: O.J. Simpson's much-ballyhooed visit to Las Vegas gave Palace Station some unwanted publicity. But not all publicity is bad publicity. The off-Strip casino is probably now more well-known than...

Progress in reverse.
September 23, 2007... Byline: Hubble Smith Sep. 23--Dottie Downs paid $22,300 for her three-bedroom house near Sahara Avenue and Valley View Boulevard in 1966. Like many seniors today, she's cash poor and house rich. With a failing air conditioner and roof...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Inside Business column.(Column)
September 24, 2007... Sep. 24--CONDO PROJECT WILL OPEN SALES OFFICE: L5, a six-story under-construction condominium development, will open a sales at 2715 W. Pebble Road on Friday. L5 is scheduled for completion in fall 2008. -- Penta Building Group, a...