Turf rumble goes down Vegas style
Clark County and the city of Las Vegas are waging a quiet turf war against the backdrop of the Strip.
You’re unlikely to hear either side acknowledge it, mainly for public relations reasons and to avoid damaging the Las Vegas brand, which draws 40 million tourists a year to Southern Nevada. It’s denied outright or played down.
But behind the scenes, county officials notice whenever Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman ventures outside the city limits for events in unincorporated Clark County, records show. They call and email businesses, closely watch the city’s Twitter feed and quietly work to ensure county commissioners are included in Strip events and not overshadowed by the Goodman entourage.
The county’s reasoning is simple: The Strip is in unincorporated Clark County, not the city limits. County officials represent the Strip south of Sahara Avenue, not city officials. Even the iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign on Las Vegas Boulevard on the south edge of the Strip is in unincorporated Clark County.
Mayoral appearances outside the city limits draw county attention.
In one case, county spokesman Erik Pappa emailed his boss, County Manager Don Burnette, city Twitter tweets showing Goodman and her husband, former Mayor Oscar Goodman, had gathered with showgirls at the Vegas welcome sign in February 2014. Their mission: the launch of International Random Acts of Kindness Week.
“CG in unincorp CC,” Pappa wrote, using the mayor’s initials and attaching photos from the city’s Twitter account.
Her trips and tweets elsewhere in unincorporated Clark County get noticed and sent to county management, such as a February 2014 appearance at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s Kobalt 400 opening ceremonies.
Pappa declined comment. Burnette said the county values its solid partnership with the city.
“I think we stay focused on what’s important to our residents,” he said.
‘ALWAYS WELCOME’
County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak said the county extends the city the courtesy of not getting involved in city events at the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas.
“It’s kind of been an unwritten protocol,” Sisolak said. “We try to stay out of situations and issues on the Fremont Street Experience.”
Sisolak added: “The mayor is always welcome to be a visitor in unincorporated Clark County.”
Carolyn Goodman didn’t volunteer much insight into her feelings about county leaders but emphasized that she had a good working relationship with her counterparts south of Sahara Avenue.
“We play along and have a good laugh about things,” said Goodman, who is seeking re-election to a second term. “There is no tension there. Zero.”
City spokesman David Riggleman said the mayor isn’t looking to upstage anyone at county events.
If Goodman is invited to an event, he said, she goes.
If she is abruptly disinvited from making such an appearance, as she was from the ceremony to mark Britney Day in November for pop singer Britney Spears, then Riggleman figures that is hardly her fault.
In a rare show of public discord, Goodman in November publicly complained to the Review-Journal that she was disinvited from an event to present Spears the key to the city at The Linq, and city officials suspected it was because the county had pressured Caesars Entertainment Corp.
“I think it’s important to note that the mayor doesn’t invite herself to these things,” Riggleman said, adding that city leaders are glad to host county commissioners at city events. “It wasn’t until a year or so ago that this became an issue.
“Her attitude is that it’s all about promoting Las Vegas, promoting Southern Nevada.”
CELEBRITY CHEFS
Celebrity chefs and their restaurant openings on the Strip are jealously guarded turf.
On Jan. 30, 2014, Pappa forwarded a city tweet to Burnette. It said: “Now that @bflay has a key to the city, it’s your turn @GDeLaurentiis. #MayorGoodman is ready for you!”
That month, Goodman had given the key to the city to celebrity chef Bobby Flay when he opened up Bobby’s Burger Palace on the Strip. Commissioner Mary Beth Scow also gave a key to the Strip to Flay.
The city tweet was an invitation for celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis to receive the same honor for her new restaurant, Giada in The Cromwell on the Strip.
Burnette emailed Karlos LaSane, regional vice president of government relations at Caesars Entertainment Corp., providing the tweet and asking to visit.
LaSane emailed back, saying he would like to invite a county commissioner to the ribbon cutting for Giada’s restaurant.
LaSane didn’t defend Goodman’s appearance outside the city limits.
“Bobby Flay’s new restaurant is right next to the Mandarin Oriental and his team reached out to Mayor Goodman,” LaSane emailed. “As you know the restaurant is not even in her town!!!!”
Burnette forwarded that email to Pappa, writing: “Point noted.”
BURLESQUE AND MORE
Goodman’s proclamations can draw a reaction from the county, even without a Strip appearance. A news release about the fifth anniversary of The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel, a few blocks east of the Strip, caught Pappa’s eye.
It mentioned that Goodman had proclaimed April 17, 2014, “The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel &Casino Day.”
“CG mention here,” Pappa emailed Burnette.
Burnette suggested Pappa provide The Joint’s communications representative with quality reading materials: “Maybe even send her a copy of Glenn Cook’s column from Sunday.”
That column, penned by the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s senior editorial writer, mentioned that the mayor’s frequent Strip appearances gave the impression that the Strip was annexed to the city.
In another case, Pappa passed along a news release about a Goodman proclamation declaring Feb. 7, 2014, “X Burlesque Day.” The Flamingo Las Vegas release called the topless burlesque performers the “steamiest show on the Strip.”
The county’s public relations efforts extend beyond tracking Goodman on social media and watching for Strip-related city proclamations.
When Downtown Summerlin prepared to open in 2014, Pappa emailed reporters a reminder that the northwest shopping development is in the county, not the city.
Clark County’s reach is wide: 930,000 people live in unincorporated areas, while about 630,000 residents are in the city limits.
FABULOUS CLARK COUNTY
Of course, the Las Vegas brand is tied to the Strip and entertainment capital of the world.
Tourists never brag that they will vacation in Clark County — that would leave too many questions.
Where’s that?
What state?
Counties named “Clark” are about as unusual as people named Smith and Jones.
A dozen Clark counties are sprinkled across the United States, including Nevada, according to the National Association of Counties. The number rises to 18 when including variations such as “Clarke County” and Montana’s Lewis and Clark County.
A Clark County is in Arkansas. The Clark County name also graces the states of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Kansas.
All of which helps explain why a trip to Vegas simply sounds sexier than a trip to Clark County.
Have you ever heard of a Clark County Strip?
Or Clark County showgirls?
Or Clark County topless burlesque dancers?
Tourists snapping photos outside the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign on Tuesday took things in stride when a reporter informed them they really weren’t in Las Vegas.
“I think we did read that online,” said Steve Kovacs, a classic car restorer from Lowell, Mich. “It doesn’t make a bit of difference.”
But he said it would be a “huge mistake” to start calling the area the “Clark County Strip.”
Henry Melton, a tourist from Houston, agreed.
“You call it the Clark County Strip, then nobody comes,” he said.
Mark Rumpler, an Elvis Presley performer who greets tourists at the welcome sign, said he tries to educate visitors on the distinction. Rumpler offers a positive: The bulk of the Strip is in an unincorporated township called Paradise.
“If you can’t be in Vegas, what better place to be than Paradise?” he said.
Las Vegas Review-Journal writer James DeHaven contributed to this report. Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-405-9781. Find him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1.
