Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during the Clean Energy Summit at Mandalay Bay on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014.
Monday, Oct. 13, 2014 | 12:41 p.m.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton ducks as an object is thrown onstage during an address to members of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries during their annual convention Thursday, April 10, 2014, at Mandalay Bay Convention Center.
Hillary Clinton will deliver a keynote speech tonight at a fundraising dinner for the UNLV Foundation at the Bellagio.
The appearance, which has caused controversy for Clinton, will raise money for the foundation and showcase the former secretary of state, who has all but signaled that she will run for president in 2016.
Confusion about the $225,000 price tag for the address caused a stir among some students and other critics when the foundation announced the Democrat as the speaker in June.
Students protested the speaking fee, thinking it was being paid from tuition, state or other students funds. Critics suggested Clinton should give some of the money back.
The fee, however, will be paid by the UNLV Foundation, a nonprofit that raises funds for the school. It will be donated to Clinton’s family charity, the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation, according to the foundation.
Like many politicians, Clinton is known to demand high-dollar figures for speaking at events.
Clinton told ABC in July that for the past year and a half, she’s donated all speaking fees from universities to her charity.
The controversy over the speaking fee followed Clinton telling ABC’s Diane Sawyer that she and former President Bill Clinton were “dead broke” when they left the White House in December 2000.
The Republican National Committee tried to paint her as out of touch, despite her promise of the charitable donation. The committee panned the UNLV Foundation event as “Clinton’s Nevada payday.”
It is Clinton’s third public appearance in Las Vegas this year.
She spoke about renewable energy at Sen. Harry Reid’s Clean Energy Summit in September. And in April, Clinton made headlines after a woman threw a shoe at her during an Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries convention at Mandalay Bay.
She has a good history and strong base in Nevada. She won the state’s Democratic caucus during her unsuccessful 2008 bid for the party’s nomination for president.
Before the UNLV Foundation event, Clinton will begin her night on the Strip at a fundraiser for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at the Aria. VIP tickets cost $10,000.
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