The $231.2 million budget for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority – the group charged with the responsibility for attracting visitors to Las Vegas – will be punctuated by 12 months of spending cuts, a hiring freeze and ban on employee overtime.
“We’ve had to adjust in ways we’d never dreamed of,” said board member and MGMG Mirage executive Chuck Bowling, in a board of directors meeting last week.
The loss of $65 million from room tax is creating challenging budget choices, which is 11 percent smaller than the budget for the 2009 fiscal year.
The authority will save $23 million in the upcoming year as a result of a decision to suspend work on a proposed $890 million renovation of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
It will save an additional $2.4 million on salaries, wages and benefits across all departments, thanks in large part to a current hiring freeze that covers 50 open positions and tight overtime restrictions.
Their advertising budget is not immune from the axe, as the authority shaved $3.3 million, leaving a budget of $86.5 million to advertise Las Vegas to the world.
Declines are expected to become less steep in September, which will be one year since the Las Vegas economy went into a nose dive.
Vegas Backstage Access (VBA) 