Professional tennis star Lleyton Hewitt attends a news conference with Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman Thursday in Las Vegas. The Tennis Channel Open starts Monday in Las Vegas. Photo by John Locher.
PUBLICLY TRADED CASINO COMPANIES HAVE BEEN HOLDING their quarterly earnings conference calls this month to discuss financial results with gaming analysts, investors and the media.
Technical glitches are common.
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During the Las Vegas Sands Corp. conference call on Feb. 14, the line went dead for a few minutes in the middle of a comment by company Chairman Sheldon Adelson. Why? Adelson accidentally hit the mute button.
On Thursday, Wynn Resorts Chairman Steve Wynn was interrupted answering an analyst's question by the excessive barking of one of his pet German shepherds.
HOWARD STUTZ
WYNN ALSO TOOK A MOMENT DURING THE WYNN RESORTS CONFERENCE CALL to play geography professor. He explained to listeners the origin of the name Cotai Strip, a portion of reclaimed land and a large casino development area near Macau, China.
"It comes from the two islands it sits in between, Coloane and Taipa," Wynn said.
HOWARD STUTZ
RONALD REAGAN WAS KNOWN TO BE FORGETFUL IN HIS LATER YEARS.
So perhaps it was in tribute of sorts to the late president that the Washington-based Ronald Reagan Legacy Project, a project of conservative activist Grover Norquist, issued a press release "commend(ing) Gov. Dave Heineman (R) for proclaiming February 6th 'Ronald Reagan Day' in the state of Nevada."
Alas, Heineman is the governor of Nebraska. A spokesman for Heineman, Aaron Sanderford, confirmed that the governor of Nebraska does not have the power to issue proclamations in Nevada and would not presume to do so.
Steve George, spokesman for Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn, said, "It appears the writer (of the press release) may have missed it by that much, as Maxwell Smart used to say."
MOLLY BALL
DON BARDEN, THE OWNER OF FITZGERALDS DOWNTOWN, WAS A FEW MINUTES LATE in starting a Thursday news conference covering plans this weekend for the fourth anniversary of his purchase of the property.
"I just got off the phone with my (15-year-old) daughter, Alana," Barden explained. "I had to consult with her and console her because she lost her earrings. She was very upset, but she's doing better now. I told her to just get some more."
A few minutes later, an audience member mentioned Barden's pending application to operate a hotel-casino in Pittsburgh.
"If you get that Pittsburgh license, will you buy your daughter more earrings?" the attendee asked.
"Yes, sir," Barden replied. "I may even get myself one."
JENNIFER ROBISON
THE FOLKS BEHIND THE DRIVE TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA in Nevada do not consider their crusade a laughing matter. The Committee To Regulate & Control Marijuana rejected late night TV comic Conan O'Brien's suggestion that it adopt the slogan "Whores and gambling aren't enough. You need three to be happy. Two won't do."
In an Internet poll, 84 percent of 225 respondents gave a thumbs down to O'Brien's recommendation.
Due to the slogan's failure, the group's campaign manager Neal Levine joked that O'Brien won't be joining the campaign's communication staff.
"It's unfortunate, but we think he's just not the right fit for the position," Levine said.
ED VOGEL
MAYOR OSCAR GOODMAN TOOK THE NEWS OUT OF "NEWS CONFERENCE" ON THURSDAY.
Showing up a half-hour late for his weekly press confab, Goodman gave three costumed actors from "Mamma Mia," the musical based on the music of '70s pop act ABBA, a key to the city.
The mayor then added another variation on the joke he tells when giving out keys to the city: "This also opens up the back of the slot machines at The Mirage."
Goodman then went on to honor tennis pro Lleyton Hewitt.
Hewitt got no key to the city.
Instead, Thursday was proclaimed Lleyton Hewitt day and he was given Oscar Goodman bobblehead doll No. 7 -- a tennis-playing likeness of the mayor in his knobby-kneed, shorts-wearing glory.
The ceremonial tasks left no time to answer reporters' questions, his handlers said as they whisked him off to other engagements.
However, later in the day Goodman found time to officiate a game of "musical toilets," in which 20 celebrity impersonators played a variation of the slightly more popular musical chairs.
