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Convention Boom to Help Vegas Weather Obstacles

by Chris Jones

LAS VEGAS -- Las Vegas' current convention boom will power it past obstacles such as the proliferation of domestic gaming, Indian casinos and offshore Internet betting sites, two casino executives said Wednesday.

Speaking at a morning session of the annual American Gaming Summit at the Four Seasons, Venetian President Rob Goldstein said naysayers have challenged Las Vegas' ongoing viability for decades. To that end, he joked about a national magazine article that claimed the city was overbuilt, had trouble filling its hotel rooms on weekdays and seemed on the verge of a troubled economic future.

" `Has Las Vegas pushed its luck too far?' " Goldstein read from the article, which was published in Life in 1955.

"Someone sent it to us back when we were being criticized for overbuilding at The Venetian," Goldstein said. "I think what it points to is that this town has always pushed its luck, but what it's done is push that luck intelligently into segments that were simply ignored in the past."

And no segment offers more room for growth than the convention and trade show industry, said Goldstein, whose company operates the Sands Expo Center adjacent to The Venetian.

"We compete every day, along with our competitors at Mandalay Bay, the Las Vegas Convention Center and (other operators) in the city, to bring more trade shows, conventions and meetings to Las Vegas," Goldstein said. "The doors are open and the appeal and opportunity to expand this segment grows every day."

Eric Bello, who serves as The Venetian's vice president of sales, said conventioneers are drawn here in part by the city's 130,000 hotel rooms, most located within close proximity of the town's three major convention venues.

In addition, those rooms offer a wide selection of price points which make the city affordable to everyone from large corporations to small-scale business gatherings, Bello said.

Las Vegas also offers widespread and affordable air service, predictable year-round weather conditions and other attractions that help drive businesses here, the executives said.

And unlike the leisure market, which is easily affected by economic swings, Bello said the convention industry gives hotel-casino operators added stability in their long-term business planning.

"People are going to have to come to trade shows whether the economy is good or bad," he said. "(Business travelers) reduce the uncertainty."

Through November, Las Vegas in 2003 welcomed more than 5.5 million convention travelers, up 10.6 percent compared with the same period in 2002. Those business travelers generated a nongaming economic impact of nearly $6.4 billion, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Full-year visitor figures for 2003 have not been released.

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