For big hotels, nowhere in U.S. beats Vegas

Sizewise, Las Vegas killed it.

The city holds the top 17 spots out of the 20 largest hotels in the United States, with MGM Grand still reigning as the largest, having 4,996 hotel rooms. Rounding out the top five are the Luxor with 4,400; The Venetian with 4,027; Aria with 4,004; and Excalibur with 3,991.

The non-Las Vegas properties that clung to the bottom of the list are: the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tenn.; Disney’s Pop Century Classic Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.; and Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu.

Interestingly enough, Las Vegas also has the largest inventory of any U.S. city, with 150,481 rooms. Orlando, Fla., is second, with 117,396 rooms, followed by Chicago, which has 107,920. Los Angeles and Atlanta take up the No. 4 and 5 spots, respectively, with 96,529 rooms and 93,700 rooms.

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Las Vegas-based Xyience is continuing its energy drink market expansion campaign.

The brand recently signed a new distribution partnership agreement with Odessa, Texas-based Standard Sales Company L.P. The relationship will get Xyience into more than 1,400 retail locations in northwest and west Texas.

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The next time you think of Las Vegas as a hotspot for young folks, think again. Often portrayed as a younger person’s playground, in reality Las Vegas tends to attract mostly middle-aged visitors.

The average age of Las Vegas visitors in 2012 was 44. And perhaps surprisingly, that’s down from the 50-year-olds and 49-year-olds that previously held the title, from 2008 to 2011.

As for the race that comes to Vegas most often? Out of the 39.7 million people who came here last year, 75 percent of them were white.

Out of the total visitors, 84 percent were repeat customers and 72 percent gambled while here with an average gambling budget of $484.70.

Only 11 percent brought their kids.

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It seems like there’s no stopping Goodwill of Southern Nevada.

The charity already has opened a few new stores this year, but now it’s rolling out a new retail concept. To just get rid of some stuff, Goodwill turned its store at 1280 W. Cheyenne Ave. into a clearance center.

There, customers purchase used goods by the pound or quantity. Clothing and other textiles will sell for $1.39 per pound, while hard goods such as kitchenware, toys and small electronics will be priced at 79 cents per pound. Shoes, books and large items such as furniture, televisions and bicycles will be individually priced at deeply discounted rates.

Also, expect a new Goodwill to open in Pahrump on May 3, making it the charity’s first retail outlet outside of Clark County.

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If you’ve ever dreamed of speaking at CES, here’s your chance.

The 2014 International CES Conferences Call for Speakers opens May 1 and runs through June 12. Generally, the show depends on 800 industry experts who address consumer electronics issues across 300 educational sessions.

Detailed information, including the 2014 session descriptions, will be available May 1 on the CES conference program website. For more information in the meantime, email cfs@ce.org.

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