Members of the Service Employees International Union picket outside the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 in Las Vegas. The SEIU is in the midst of contract negotiations with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which has hired a local law firm to handle its negotiations. (David Guzman/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @davidguzman1985
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority member Bill Noonan discusses the agency’s external audit that will rein in gifts and travel costs.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Board approved a series of recommendations Tuesday to curb employee misuse of airline gift cards. An audit in April found that CEO Rossi Ralenkotter used $17,152 in airline cards for personal travel for himself and his family. The Las Vegas Review-Journal had requested employee gift and travel records months before the gift card disclosure in 2017, but the authority did not provide any records of the airline cards. It maintains there was no process in place at the time to track the use of the cards. Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly used $699 in airline cards for a trip with his daughter. Bill Noonan, a senior vice president at Boyd Gaming, who ordered the review of policies: “We’re not done. There could easily be more.” The recommendations approved Tuesday included storing the cards under lock and key and requiring written approval of any gift card requests and recording receipts.
LVCVA President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter talks to the Review-Journal about misused travel cards in April 2018. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Last year, over 1,750 state and local employees took home over $200,000 in total compensation. Expect that number to grow to around 2,500 once Clark County and the Nevada System of Higher Education submit their data.
The LVCVA will consider an $80 million naming rights deal for the “Las Vegas Ballpark.” The “Ballpark” is a proposed Triple A baseball stadium in Summerlin.
Sunday’s headlines: Family of victim killed in Las Vegas shooting wants to freeze gunman’s assets, LVCVA wants naming rights for new 51s ballpark, first responders to get free UFC 216 tickets. (Rochelle Richards/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A message of unity and community strength, narrated by Las Vegan Andre Agassi. (R&R Partners)
R&R Partners has been the communications agency for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for more than 35 years The first “What happens here, stays here” ad ran in 2003. (Nicole Raz/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board of directors has unanimously approved a substantial bonus for its president and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter. (Gabriella Benavidez/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority hired an accounting firm Tuesday to evaluate its spending policies after a Review-Journal investigation uncovered questionable expenses. (Gabriella Benavidez/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
