Nevada has a new task force to strengthen trade ties with India. The Nevada-India Economic Development and Business Task Force hopes to attract direct investment in Nevada and expand exports to India. India is Nevada’s second largest trading partner, behind Switzerland. In 2017, the state exported more than $1.8 billion in products, goods and services to India. That same year, it imported more than $400 million in goods.
After 45 years, Kiss has launched their final “End of the Road” tour. The outing follows their first “farewell” tour…back in 2000. The band has sold over 100 million records worldwide and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. Say goodbye to the band at T-Mobile Arena on Feb. 15.
A report from JPMorgan Chase found that male business owners in Las Vegas have higher first-year revenue than their female counter parts. According to the report, male business owners in Las Vegas made an average of $70,000 in the first year. Female business owners made an average of $57,000 in revenue their first year, a 20 percent difference. Other cities had larger gaps. Austin, for instance, had a 73 percent difference between male and female first-year revenue. And the gap in San Antonio was a 79 percent difference.
Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly says the airline is “very focused” on Hawaii. Hawaiians have a strong presence in Las Vegas.The city’s unofficial status is “Hawaii’s ninth island.” In 2018, at least 2,958 people from Hawaii moved to Nevada. Of those, 88.7 percent moved into Clark County, according to driver license surrender data. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, 310,249 people came to Las Vegas from Hawaii in 2018.
Fewer Nevadans are celebrating Valentine’s Day. About 1.2 million Nevadans are expected to celebrate this year, a 5 percent drop from 2018. A growing number of people consider Valentine’s Day over-commercialized. Others weren’t interested in the holiday or had nobody to celebrate with. But spending is expected to rise. Those who do celebrate are buying for more people. The average American is expected to spend about $162 this year for Valentine’s Day, a 57 percent jump from a decade prior. Katherine Cullen, director of industry and consumer insights at NRF
Las Vegas is finally home to one of Yayoi Kusama’s infinity mirror rooms. The rooms replicate infinity. “Aftermath of Obliteration of Infinity” is a dark room covered in mirrors. Inside are hundreds of suspended yellow lanterns. The cube is small. But it feels like it goes on forever. Her other installation “Narcissus Garden” forms a lake of reflective spheres. The Yayoi Kusama exhibit will be open in Las Vegas until April 28.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board unanimously approved looking into an alternative energy provider. So far, six companies have left NV Energy, including MGM Resorts International, Barrick Goldstrike and Switch. In 2018, 10 companies began making moves to leave, including the Las Vegas stadium, the MSG Sphere and Boyd Gaming Corp. The LVCVA will go through the 704B process with the Public Utilities Commission to try to get approval to use Texas-based power marketer Tenaska Power Services Co.
Liberty senior Journie Augmon has tremendous basketball instincts — like her father, Stacey, who starred at UNLV from 1987-91 and played 15 years in the NBA. The younger Augmon didn’t grow up playing basketball, though, and was a cheerleader for several years. Her dad never pressured her until playing basketball, and she decided to start on her own in seventh grade. Augmon started for the Patriots last year and helped them reach the Class 4A state championship game. She’s one of the area’s top players this year, and averages an area-best 12.3 rebounds to go with 9.5 points and 2.3 steals.
Las Vegas’ housing market accelerated in 2018 with some of the fastest growing prices in the country. But amid affordability concerns, sales have tumbled and inventory is soaring. The median sales price of a single-family house last month was $300,000, up 13% from a year earlier. But 1,823 houses traded hands in January, down 19% from a year ago. Tim Kelly Kiernan, agent, RE/MAX Excellence
Las Vegas’ housing market accelerated in 2018 with some of the fastest growing prices in the country. But amid affordability concerns, sales have tumbled and inventory is soaring. The median sales price of a single-family house last month was $300,000, up 13% from a year earlier. But 1,823 houses traded hands in January, down 19% from a year ago. Tim Kelly Kiernan, agent, RE/MAX Excellence
Coronado’s flag football team is preparing to defend it’s Class 4A state championship. The Cougars struggled at times during the regular season, but rallied to win the Southeast League. They earned a double bye the Desert Region playoffs, and won’t play until Wednesday. Quarterbacks Kaylin Hall and Ashtyn Almeido anchor Coronado’s offense.
A shrinking middle class poses a threat to Nevada’s economic growth, according to Jonas Peterson, CEO of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance. The Pew Research Center classifies middle-class citizens as singles who make between $24,000 and $73,000 or a family of four that makes between $48,000 and $145,000. In 2000, Nevada’s middle class made up 57 percent of the population. In 2016, it was 52 percent. Jonas Peterson
The 1961 Wire Act prohibited the use of interstate telephone transmissions to facilitate betting. In September 2011, the US Department of Justice released a formal legal opinion on the scope of the Act. The 2011 opinion concluded “interstate transmissions of wire communications that do not relate to a ‘sporting event or contest’ fall outside the reach of the Wire Act.” But a new Department of Justice opinion dated November 2, 2018 reversed the 2011 opinion. It said that the Wire Act’s prohibitions are “not uniformly limited to gambling on sporting events or contests.” According to research group Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, sShould this matter move through the court system, questions to be addressed include: Does the Wire Act apply to sports betting only, or all types of gambling? Is an online bet placed and received within a single state an interstate bet, since data may have been routed through other states? Does the Wire Act apply to legal online gambling? The uncertainty around the opinion creates meaningful short and long-term risks for the gaming industry, Eilers & Krejcik Gaming said.
Clark County will direct up to $12 million a year in marijuana fees to homeless programs. The majority will go toward building new housing. Local organizations caution that the new housing needs to be coordinated with other local initiatives. That includes collaborating with cities, nonprofits and providing long-term case management, local organizations say.
Life has been good for Utah State’s basketball team, Sam Merrill The Aggies have silenced their preseason critics Utah State coach Craig Smith has had a lot to smile about UNLV, Kris Clyburn play the Aggies on Saturday Joel Ntambwe is expected to play for UNLV after bruising his ribs
Southern Nevada homebuilders last year closed the most sales in more than a decade. But the market is expected to cool off in 2019. Builders closed 10,669 sales last year, up 14% from 2017, according to Home Builders Research. The Las Vegas firm is forecasting a roughly 5% drop in closings and permits this year. Home Builders Research President Andrew Smith
In 2018, 10 companies began efforts to leave NV Energy — more companies than the past five years combined. At least six of the companies have expressed interest in buying energy off the open market through power marketing company Tenaska Power Services Co. Leaving NV Energy comes with a hefty price tag. MGM Resorts International paid $86.9 million in exit fees, and Caesars Entertainment Corp. paid $47.5 million. John Restrepo, the principal of Las Vegas-based RCG Economics. said the financial savings must be significant to warrant paying such high fees. John Restrepo
Clark sophomore guard Frankie Collins is emerging as one of the top point guard prospects on the West Coast. He has offers from six Division I programs, including Oklahoma, Texas Christian and UNLV. Collins grew up in Sacramento and moved to Las Vegas in sixth grade. His uncle was an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks, and Collins spent a few weeks as an eighth grader in Milwaukee observing how the professionals prepared. He works out multiple times a day, and is averaging 11.6 points and 4.3 assists for the Chargers.
The Las Vegas City Council approved plans for hundreds of homes on the former Great Mall of Las Vegas site in the northwest valley. The mall was proposed during the mid-2000s real estate bubble and was supposed to be at least 2 million square feet. But it was never built, and the land was lost to foreclosure during the recession. City documents now show plans for 303 houses and 491 apartments.
UNLV returns to the Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday The Rebels will play San Jose State But Mbacke Diong is not expected to play for second straight week UNLV looks to bounce back from a loss at Air Force Coach Marvin Menzies will try to lead the way for the Rebels
Casino operator Boyd Gaming Corp. has filed plans to build a new corporate campus. The plans call for two 10-story office buildings and a six-level parking garage in the southwest Las Vegas Valley. Boyd Gaming operates The Orleans, the Suncoast, downtown’s California Hotel and other properties. The new headquarters would be just a mile from its current main office building.
LVCVA has been involved in a scandal over airline gift cards. LVCVA bought $90,000 in Southwest Airline gift cards between 2012 and 2017. Auditors can’t account for more than $50,000 of the cards. Ex-CEO Rossi Ralenkotter and his family used nearly $17,000 in gift cards on 56 trips. Ralenkotter has retired. Brig Lawson, senior director of business partnerships, was responsible for buying and distributing the cards. Lawson has resigned.
UNLV heads to Air Force having won three games in a row The Falcons come off a 14-point victory over San Diego State UNLV looks to build on its victory at New Mexico last week Kris Clyburn has lifted his game and elevated the Rebels But UNLV could be without Mbacke Diong because of an ankle injury
Charter schools have grown substantially in the last two decades. State-sponsored charters had just 506 students in 2005-06. Today, they have more than 43,000. The schools also have thousands of students on their waiting lists, providing competition for the Clark County School District.
February is fast approaching, and bars around Las Vegas are gearing up for the sporting event of the year: Super Bowl Sunday! The Review-Journal will once again compile a list of “Big Game” parties around the valley. For casinos, restaurants and bars that are hosting parties, send the information via a news release to sportsdesk@reviewjournal.com. The deadline for submissions is Sunday, Jan. 27.
Centennial junior Jade Thomas is the third of four children in her family to commit play basketball at a Division I university. Thomas, in October, announced her commitment to UNLV, where she’ll join her sister, Bailey. Her other sister, Sam, plays for Arizona. The trio learned basketball from their father, Derek, who coached at the college level for 25 years and now coaches locally. Jade made the game-tying 3-pointer as time expired in the Class 4A state championship last year. She’s a versatile, 5-foot-10 inch guard who excels in various roles for the Bulldogs.
Lora DiCarlo is a women-run start-up that creates a vibrator-like device designed for female pleasure called the Osé. This year they were awarded the CES Innovation Award in the Robotics and Drone Category, but a month later the Consumer Technology Association, which runs CES, rescinded the award and their booth. Haddock and her team believe it is a reflection of gender bias and sexism in an industry with a long history of male domination.
Las Vegas’ housing market ended 2018 with a big drop in sales from a year earlier and a sharp rise in availability 2,142 single-family houses traded hands in December, down 18% from the same month last year, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported 6,615 houses were listed without offers at year’s end, up 73% from the end of 2017 The buyer pullback comes amid fast-rising prices and higher mortgage rates GLVAR President Janet Carpenter
UNLV off and running to a 2-0 start in Mountain West play Joel Ntambwe comes off a 31-point performance against Wyoming The Rebels next head to Albuquerque on Tuesday New Mexico’s Anthony Mathis was the MW player of the week UNLV will have to contend with New Mexico coach Paul Weir’s zone
Nevada death row inmate Scott Dozier is dead. Dozier’s death ends his legal odyssey, which began in 2007 when he was convicted in the 2002 murder of Jeremiah Miller, but does little to clarify what’s next for Nevada’s death penalty.
