Steve in Europe with Las Vegas Convention and Visitor’s Authority moochers

Here I am in Europe (on right in brown jacket) with six moochers from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and some good guys on a fact finding mission. In addition to the LVCVA moochers, attending were three City of Las Vegas officials, one reporter, Bob Snow, and former astronaut Joe Kittinger (standing next to me wearing a blue jacket). Joe was the first man to make a solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a gas balloon, and on August 16, 1960, he jumped from a helium balloon at 102,800 feet and fell for 4 minutes and 36 seconds reaching a maximum speed of 614 mph before breaking the sound barrier with his body and opening his parachute at 18,000 feet.

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Our eclectic group was assigned to evaluate the merits of a magnetically levitated commuter train for use on the Las Vegas Strip, and a Super Speed train to run between Anaheim, California and Las Vegas. This trip inspired my March 17, 2003, AmericanMafia.com column ”The Little Train that Couldn’t,” based on the ridiculous actions of the LVCVA commissioners who, as a favor to megalomaniac Steve Wynn, killed both mag-lev projects when we got home. The city officials, reporters, Snow, Kittinger and I flew tourist class, slept in economy rooms, and ate in coffee shops to save tax dollars. The LVCVA commissioners flew first class, stayed in luxury suites, and ate in gourmet restaurants at taxpayer expense. We were all there to ride on two different mag-lev trains. One was a People Mover designed for in-city transportation, and would be perfect for going up and down the middle of the LV Strip. The other train was the 400 MPH Transrapid (left), designed for city-to-city use. Snow, Kittinger, the reporters, two city officials and I were the only ones who attended all the meetings that were put on by the Westinghouse-Germany engineers. The LVCVA commissioners did not attend any meetings or ride on either mag-lev train, though that was the sole purpose of them taking this trip. Where were they? They stayed up all night eating and drinking at Nevada taxpayer’s expense at posh bistros. Of course, they could not get out of bet at the designated 6 AM each day to view the trains and talk to the scientists. As each day passed, and I attended meetings surrounded by empty chairs reserved for the LVCVA. I became weary of making excuses for the commissioners. I ended up telling our German hosts that they were the “worst moochers I’ve ever met.” One LVCVA commissioner even had the gall to leave the tour for four days to fly to Paris to visit a friend, then return on our last day to catch the taxpayer-paid first class flight back to Vegas. When we returned, there were a series of meetings with local and state officials to describe the technology we were supposed to evaluate. I loved the two trains, and couldn’t stop telling the press how wonderful it would be to have them in our city. Even the LVCVA commissioners who played hooky disingenuously sung the train’s praises. Then Steve Wynn suddenly appeared at a state Public Utilities Commission hearing. He told the PUC that he did not like the trains-on-the-Strip idea—that they would block the view of hotel marquees. He also protested that the Super Speed train was not going to stop exclusively at his hotel. The local newspapers ran a front page photo of him with his thumbs pointed down. Immediately after his testimony, the LVCVA commissioners who ate, drank, and slept through our fact finding trip testified. One of them said the trains “Need work.” The other questioned their safety—though they knew nothing of the technology. The PUC dutifully voted both projects down. I was highly embarrassed when the engineers from Westinghouse-Germany cornered me and asked what happened? I told them this is a company town run by a few greedy casino owners. That their wonderful project was scuttled by a few paid off LVCVA commissioners who did not want to offend Wynn. And that I was humiliated by their actions. After the meeting, Mandolay Resorts Vice President Mike Sloan told me that Wynn does not want a convenient means for his hotel’s guests to travel to competitor’s casinos, and that’s why he killed the Strip People Mover. He also said that if the Super Speed Train did not run exclusively to Wynn’s hotel, Wynn would kill it also. Today, the Transrapid is operating in Shanghai, China, and I-15, the artery from Los Angeles to Vegas, is a parking lot on Fridays and Sundays. The only way to get up and down the Strip is on a bus or in a cab, and Wynn is about to open his latest Strip hotel with no convenient way for his guest to commute to other Strip hotels or to Downtown. I compared his action to the lyrics of the Eagle's 1976 hit "Hotel California;" "You can check in, but you can never check out!" I believe the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor’s Authority is a complete waste of taxpayer’s money—a sham—and should immediately be decommissioned. In the words of Nevada Assemblyman Bob Beers; “When it was suggested during the last session that 1/4 penny be taken from each new dollar of growth from the LVCVA and given to roads and schools, the LVCVA acted as if the legislature was suggesting they take a vow of poverty. It seems their reaction had a valid reason, at least for Las Vegas, greed.” I think the assemblyman is completely right, but I also feel the past and present LVCVA commissioners are automatons for certain casino interest's whose agendas conflict with the needs of our local community.