Las Vegas’ economy: Signs of life

Now, I know that we face big uphill challenges with housing, construction, unemployment, etc.

But, let's take a moment to accentuate the positive this morning.

Station Casinos will hire about 1,000 people over the next few months. Not those faux "green" jobs dependent upon communist Chinese companies getting half a billion in stimulus funds that Sen. Harry Reid says is our future. These are real jobs for real Las Vegans.

Visitor counts have generally been moving up y-o-y and while the spending is down, it's still better than the alternative. It shows that the heart of our tourism industry remains in demand and as the economy improves the balance sheets of resorts should also improve.

The Western States Republican Leadership Conference will meet in Las Vegas in the fall. That's a smart political move and a good economic move for Las Vegas. Every little bit helps.

And, retail sales in Las Vegas look like they are on the upswing. And if you don't believe it, consider the land office business the new Cardenas grocery story did last weekend.

This Mexican specialty grocery story is located in the old Mervyn's story near the Meadow's mall. I stopped by over the holiday weekend to check out the fresh tortillas and tamales (which were excellent, BTW). Here is a picture to remind us how good retail ideas in Las Vegas can still thrive.