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Calendar Could Boost Las Vegas Results

LAS VEGAS -- The potential for four- and five-day holiday getaways is expected to drive a 3.5 percent increase in the number of visitors in Las Vegas for the July 4th weekend despite the dual threats of a terror attack and labor strike.

That volatile mix might be expected to keep travelers from Clark County gaming properties, but hotel marketers and travel bookers say they are experiencing strong business levels.

An estimated 260,000 tourists are expected for the upcoming holiday, up 3 percent from 251,000 last year.

One key reason for the jump: This year's Fourth of July 4 falls on a calendar-friendly Thursday rather than last year's Wednesday appearance.

"It always helps when people can stretch a weekend," said John Berman, director of leisure sales for Las Vegas-based travel booker Prestige Travel.

The results could be hampered by last week's talk of a possible July Fourth terrorist attack on Las Vegas - a much-publicized national news story that has since been discredited by the FBI - and a 12:01 a.m. Monday strike deadline for as many 13 second- and third-tier gaming properties.

But travel executives say they have seen little if any evidence that either has taken a toll on room reservations.

"For now we're not seeing any cancellations, and we're looking for a strong Fourth of July weekend," said Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority spokesman Rob Powers.

Executives at downtown's Four Queens and Fitzgerald's, both of which face the threat of a Monday work stoppage, failed to return phone calls seeking comment. A spokesman for Boyd Gaming, which owns and operates three potential strike targets - the Stardust, Main Street Station and Fremont - failed to return a Thursday phone message.

By many measures this has been a difficult year for the city's tourism industry when compared with a year ago.

The number of visitors to the region was down 2.3 percent in the first quarter to 11.67 million, an outcome mirrored by a 7.9 percent decline in the number of people getting on and off flights at McCarran International Airport, according to figures compiled by government agencies.

Conversely, average daily auto traffic to the region jumped 12.1 percent for the period to 75,805, reflecting Las Vegas' transformation since the September terrorist attacks to a regional rather than international travel stop.

That means the percentage of Southern Californians coming to the city has risen - a price-sensitive market that sees many people wait until the last minute to book rooms.

"Overall, you're seeing more discounting going on," said Randi Becker, a vice president for Las Vegas hotel room wholesaler Mark Travel. "People are getting in the habit of waiting for the discount."

State officials are also looking for a strong holiday weekend to boost the state's financial picture.

A third of Nevada's general fund budget comes from the 6.25 percent tax on gaming revenues, and a travel surge could take a small bite out of the state's $245 million budget deficit that is projected through June of next year.

Last July, the casinos' statewide take was down 2.34 percent to $808.3 million as the nation's economic troubles, California job cuts and rising utility costs sliced into the results.

July 2001 was hurt by one other factor: the calendar.

A year earlier, Independence Day fell on a Tuesday, sparking a large number of four- and five-day holiday weekends and a nearly 13 percent jump in the casinos' statewide take.

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