If NHL calls here, Canada will listen

The talk of recruiting a National Hockey League franchise to Las Vegas couldn't have come at a better time for local tourism officials.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has voted to increase its effort to attract Canadian tourists to Southern Nevada. The authority hired Toronto firm VoX International to market Las Vegas year-round in the Great White North, something the tourism boosters previously did in-house.

VoX President Susan Webb said hockey in Las Vegas would go a long way toward attracting more people from Canada, which is already the No. 1 producer of foreign tourists.

"We love hockey," Webb said. "I think we could do interesting promotions if (Las Vegas) gets a team."

Cannery Casino Resorts co-owner Bill Paulos said Pennsylvania's high gaming tax rate prevents developers from investing heavily in casino projects there.

The Las Vegas-based gaming company opened a $50 million temporary racino 25 miles southwest of Pittsburgh last week and is building a $155 million permanent facility.

The state receives a 54 percent tax from gross gaming revenues but the burden to operators is closer to 60 percent when figuring in fees paid to local county and city governments.

"Many of the jurisdictions don't realize that sometimes by charging less taxes they'll get more out of it," Paulos said. "We would have certainly invested more money in building a facility but you just can't get a return on investment."

Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment wants the local government in Baton Rouge, La., to delay a referendum on whether the company can build a riverboat casino in the area.

The vote is scheduled for October, but Pinnacle wants the election to take place in November.

Pinnacle, which already operates three riverboat casinos in Louisiana, acquired two additional gaming licenses from Harrah's Entertainment in a swap last year. One of the new riverboats will be in Lake Charles near the company's existing L'Auberge du Lac property.

Does Harrah's Entertainment really want the 28-year-old Imperial Palace on the Strip?

The gaming giant, the world's biggest by revenue, shelled out $370 million in 2005 for the 2,640-room hotel in the center of the Strip.

But 18 months after becoming part of Harrah's, the Imperial Palace still operates its own player's card program and hasn't been brought into Harrah's Total Rewards program.

The Inside Gaming column is compiled by Review-Journal gaming and tourism writers Howard Stutz, Benjamin Spillman and Arnold M. Knightly. Send your tips about the gaming and tourism industry to insidegaming@ reviewjournal.com.