 Newsletter Signup
Stay informed with the
NEW Casino City Times newsletter! Related Links
|
Gaming News
Gaming Chips: Sound Bites from the Las Vegas Convention6 October 2001by Dave Berns LAS VEGAS — It's an old cliché, taste is in the eye of the beholder, and it's a sentiment apparently held by the casino industry's chief Washington, D.C., lobbyist, Frank Fahrenkopf. The American Gaming Association boss spearheaded a push for what this past week became the Global Gaming Expo casino industry trade show at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Fahrenkopf and industry bosses pushed for the show because, in part, they wanted a greater share of the revenue generated by the industry's original trade show, the World Gaming Congress. But Gaming Congress owner Gem Communications wouldn't play ball. So there was Fahrenkopf taking a swipe at the old show, railing against what he viewed as the ever-expanding kitsch that dominates much of the older show's display floor, displays he characterized as "marginally related to gaming that were frankly disgusting." They included key chains, watches and other promotional giveaways. But in an apparent display of patriotism that superseded any Fahrenkopfian sense of outrage, the women of the Olympic Garden strip club appeared at a Global Gaming booth to pose for photos with altruistic Americans. "Cuddle up with an Olympic Garden dancer for a souvenir photo. $5 donation. Benefits the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund," said a sign at the booth sponsored by the Raving Consulting Co. TRIVIA TIME: How many people in the Las Vegas area worked in the hotels, gaming and recreation sector of the state's economy, according to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation's most recent figures? REFLECTIONS: Roger Wagner eschews the corporatespeak of many of his competitors, instead communicating in the same no-nonsense style as his boss, Jack Binion. The pair run Illinois-based Horseshoe Gaming, operators of hotel-casinos in Louisiana, Mississippi and Indiana, and Wagner touted his company's performance to investors and analysts Tuesday at the Global Gaming Expo. "Many casinos today have themes. Ours is gambling," Wagner said. The Horseshoe president later offered another apparent mantra. "Jack always says," Wagner recalled, "money's like manure. You've got to spread it around in your company to make things grow." TRIVIA ANSWER: In August, 246,700 people worked in the hotels, gaming and recreation sector of the Las Vegas-area economy, state officials say. At least 15,000 have lost their jobs to layoffs since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. QUOTABLE: "Who knows? You really can't speculate." — Park Place Entertainment Chief Executive Officer and President Tom Gallagher discussing the worldwide uncertainty created by the Sept. 11 attacks. |