IN BRIEF
Station Casinos seeks to further delay trial sought by ex-workers
Station Casinos is asking the bankruptcy court to further delay a trial sought by former employees seeking nearly $60 million in back wages until the company is out of bankruptcy, according to a Monday filing in bankruptcy court.
Judge Gregg Zive, who is overseeing Station Casinos' bankruptcy case in Reno, modified an automatic stay in October that was preventing the former employees' lawsuit from proceeding to trial until after Station Casinos emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Zive's ruling extends the stay until April 5.
A hearing on Station Casinos' motion is scheduled for April 5 in Reno.
The lawsuit, which is seeking class action status for as many a 20,000 current and former Station Casinos employees, was filed in Nevada District Court a week before the gaming company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 28.
In their lawsuit, three former workers accuse Station Casinos of not paying its workers properly because of a rounding system used to pay hourly workers at the company's 12 properties. The lawsuit claims Station Casinos rounds off employees' starting and ending times to its employees' detriment.
The casino company's filing said it believes the Nevada labor commissioner is the proper venue to hear the case and the state court would likely dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction.
RENO
Nevada gasoline prices rise
4 cents per gallon in month
Nevada gasoline prices rose 4 cents over the past month to a statewide average of $2.83 per gallon, although prices mostly held steady around Las Vegas and in some cases even declined a bit.
The statewide average is 66 cents higher than at this time a year ago, AAA Nevada spokesman Michael Geeser said.
The national average has increased 12 cents since the beginning of February, but is still 7 cents cheaper than in Nevada at $2.76.
Geeser said oil prices have been pushed higher partly because refineries are switching over to summer blended fuels. Investors also are counting on the potential for increased vehicle travel as the weather improves.
He said it is important to remember, however, that prices are still somewhat restrained by weak fundamentals. Supplies remain in good shape while demand remains low, which may keep prices from moving dramatically higher in the short term, he said.
Northern Nevada had the biggest increases over the past month. The average in Sparks climbed 13 cents to $2.94, Carson City 11 cents to $2.87 and Reno a dime to $2.93. Elko's price rose a penny to $2.87.
Las Vegas held steady at $2.75. Henderson's average is now $2.76 and North Las Vegas $2.74, both down 2 cents from a month ago.
NEW YORK
3-D televisions headed for shops; be ready with $3,000
Want to be the first one on your block with a 3-D television? It will cost you about $3,000.
Samsung and Panasonic will start selling 3-D TVs in U.S. stores this week, inaugurating what manufacturers hope is the era of 3-D viewing in the living room. But because the sets require bulky glasses, and there is for now little to watch in the enhanced format, it will take at least a few years for the technology to become mainstream, if that happens at all.
Samsung Electronics Co. announced Tuesday that it is selling two 3-D sets this week. For $3,000, buyers get a 46-inch set, two pairs of glasses and a 3-D Blu-ray player.
Panasonic Corp. has said it will start selling 3-D sets Wednesday.
The start of sales comes as moviegoers have shown enthusiasm for the latest wave of 3-D titles in the theater. Last weekend, "Alice in Wonderland" grossed an estimated $116.2 million at the box office, beating the first-weekend receipts of "Avatar," the winter's 3-D blockbuster.
'World Trade Center, Las Vegas' trademark landed by CES stager
The Consumer Electronics Association, the trade group that produces and owns January's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, said Tuesday that it acquired the rights to the "World Trade Center, Las Vegas" trademark from the World Trade Centers Association.
The Consumer Electronics Association said it will use the brand to boost business and international trade in Las Vegas. It plans to focus companies worldwide on opportunities to do business with organizations that participate in Las Vegas trade shows.
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President and Chief Executive Officer Rossi Ralenkotter said combining the Las Vegas brand and the World Trade Center designation will "reinforce the message that Vegas means business and will help increase international visitation."
The World Trade Center designation applies to nearly 300 centers in nearly 100 countries, including locations in Chicago, Houston, San Diego, Atlanta, Boston, Denver and Miami. The World Trade Centers Association says its branded locations are designed to bring together business and government agencies involved in foreign trade, and to serve as a one-stop trade-information hub where international business professionals can find market research, trade shows, business services and group-trade missions, among other services.
Netting World Trade Center designation requires a one-time $200,000 initiation fee, and $10,000 a year in dues.
Nevada awarded piece
of settlement with LifeLock
Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto's office on Tuesday joined 34 states and the Federal Trade Commission in announcing a settlement of an investigation into misleading advertising by Tempe, Ariz., identity theft protection provider LifeLock Inc.
Under the agreement, LifeLock will pay $11 million in restitution to consumers. LifeLock will also pay
$1 million to cover the costs of the states' investigation. Nevada will receive $15,000 as its share of the settlement. The commission and states will jointly send letters to notify eligible consumers about how to opt into the settlement.
In a statement, Masto's office said the states and the commission investigated LifeLock over claims that the company's services were a "proven solution" that would protect consumers against all forms of identity theft, including criminal, mortgage and child identity theft.
The office said LifeLock's advertisements implied that individuals with fraud alerts on their consumer reports would always receive a phone call before the opening of new accounts, although federal law doesn't require such calls.
State real estate division suspends salesman's license
The Nevada Real Estate Division on Tuesday said it suspended Henderson-based salesman William Heath II's real estate license on March 2.
In a statement, the division said that by working with Henderson police it determined that Heath and an accomplice had pawned jewelry that was stolen during real estate-related business. The investigation led to Heath's arrest.
The division barred Heath from engaging in real estate-related sales and will proceed with a complaint before the Nevada Real Estate Commission.
