Former politicians used to making the news took turns fighting for the right to sell papers -- as well as cigarettes, magazines and souvenirs -- from a proposed newsstand at McCarran International Airport.

Former Nevada Gov. Bob Miller and former U.S. Sen. Richard Bryan took turns in front of the Clark County Commission on Tuesday arguing on behalf of two companies vying for the right to operate a concession stand at the nation's sixth-busiest airport.

Miller spoke on behalf of Hudson Group of East Rutherford, N.J., which operates 450 news and gift stands at 63 airports. Bryan spoke in favor of The Paradies Shops of Atlanta, which runs more than 500 stores in 67 markets.

A third company, Ayala's at McCarran of Las Vegas, would also like to operate the proposed concession, which will be included as part of an upcoming expansion at McCarran.

Each company already operates concessions at the airport.

County commissioners, impressed by the credentials of all three companies, said they couldn't decide who deserved the new concession. They voted to postpone a decision while the companies reworked their proposals with airport staff.

"There are still just a whole lot of unanswered questions," Commissioner Lawrence Weekly said after Miller, Bryan and attorney Christopher Kaempfer, who argued for Ayala's, made extensive pitches on behalf of their clients. "This is a really tough issue."

Before the vote to send the bids back for more work, the commission had failed to award the concession in two earlier votes.

At stake is the right to operate a concession stand that could generate as much as $7 million in revenue annually. The three companies before the commission submitted nearly identical bids. Both Hudson and Paradies guaranteed they would pay McCarran at least $1.5 million annually for the concession. Ayala's offered $1.3 million, but had projections showing if it reached certain goals it could deliver more to the airport than the other two.

Miller, who was Nevada governor from 1989 to 1999, operates the Las Vegas offices of the lobbying firm Dutko Worldwide. He said that since Hudson took over several existing concessions at McCarran it has increased revenue at those locations 63 percent. Miller also said Hudson's good relations with unions would help the company work with organized labor in Clark County.

"We think working with organized labor is a positive thing for the county," he said.

Bryan, representing Paradies, the company Clark County Director of Aviation Randall Walker recommended get the seven-year lease, explained how the company has emerged from a company scandal in the mid-1990s that ended with a conviction for a Paradies founder.

"We are embarrassed that it happened," said Bryan, who is with the law firm Lionel Sawyer & Collins.

Kaempfer highlighted Ayala's local connections and that it is a minority-run firm.

"Money is not, and should not, be the only consideration," he said.

Walker, who said he hopes the new stand will be ready for business when the expansion opens in the fourth quarter of 2008, wasn't disappointed the commission went against his recommendation.

The high level of competition means whoever gets the concession will be a quality operator, Walker said.

"We have three very significant players," he said. "It was very difficult to make the recommendation."