Where I Stand -- Bob Maheu: One phone call led to love for Las Vegas community

IN AUGUST Where I Stand is written by guest columnists. When a reluctant Bob Maheu moved to Las Vegas, he never dreamed he would become one of the city's most ardent supporters. As top aide to billionaire Howard Hughes, Maheu quickly became one of our community's most influential people. Life changed for Maheu when he was toppled from his position in the Hughes organization in bizarre circumstances that have since become a part of the legend of Las Vegas. In his guest column, Maheu discusses "life after Hughes."

I DO NOT REMEMBER who said, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans."

During the latter part of 1961 Howard Hughes promised me that if I moved to Los Angeles he would guarantee that I could stay there for the rest of my life. I closed my office in Washington, D.C., and my wife and I sold our home in Virginia. We then rented a completely furnished home in L.A. Since this was where we expected to be for the rest of our lives, my wife and I took our time in finding the ideal location and the house, which we renovated to include everything we had ever wanted.

Then, the anticipated direction of our planned life was irreversibly changed with one phone call. It happened at the ungodly hour of 2 a.m. in the height of the summer of 1966. The voice at the other end said, "Bob, put on your seat belt, we are moving to Nevada." I reminded him of the promise he made when I agreed to move to Los Angeles. "Oh hell," he said, "this will definitely be the last and by far the best. Trust me."

I am ashamed to admit that my move here was with great reluctance. I had believed much of the negative publicity about Las Vegas. Fortunately, my work placed me in the enviable position of enjoying an accelerated appraisal of people who live and work here. I had a multi-faceted career that had caused me to travel worldwide and meet good and bad individuals throughout the world. I soon realized that I had never met finer, more talented, compassionate and caring people in my life than those who lived right here in Las Vegas. I learned that the participation in the Boy Scout program was the highest per capita in the U.S. and that Las Vegas had more churches per capita than any city in the country.

With the passage of years, I have never ceased to marvel at the degree of respect and cooperation among the various religious denominations. Where else would Jewish business leaders donate the land enabling the beautiful Roman Catholic Guardian Angel Cathedral to be built on the Strip? Yes, I fell in love with Las Vegas, with Nevada and its people.

I fully recognize that Mr. Hughes and the corporate entities that followed him here deserve much of the credit for the successful growth of our city. But, we must not forget those who were already here and have continued to make contributions beyond comparison. I am talking about men, women and families who have innate talents which would have been manifested wherever they lived. Their ranks included the famous, whose names often reappear in the newspapers and on the news, as well as those who are less known, but who truly did God's work in constructing the social structure of this great American city.

The memories of my life here are not all pleasant, however. I remember the day when I was hit by what felt as though all the lightning and thunderstorms since the beginning of time had suddenly accumulated and struck me head-on. Howard had chosen to get rid of Bob. I thought the world had come to an end and for a while I prayed to die.

Amazingly, my wife and I continued to receive invitations to christenings, weddings, and bar mitzvahs of the extraordinary families about which I speak so fondly. Simultaneously, I was encouraged to continue on to the extent that today I can truly say that I have never been happier. I am very proud of having clients and being affiliated with companies and organizations that have name recognition -- all of which could not have happened without the help and assistance of so many people here in Las Vegas.

Yes, I am happy that Howard made the call, which caused me to change the original plan I had for the rest of my life. I am grateful to live in Las Vegas, where I intend to be for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, however, we have those perpetual complainers who live on the spoils of the real doers. There is a simple solution to the plight of these doomsayers -- let them get the hell out and make room for people who know how to be grateful.

Without hesitancy, I predict the "slow" areas of the Strip will revive and that the Downtown will recover. All the ingredients about which I write here cannot fail under the tutelage of our great business and civic leaders. These incredible individuals have been too busy with accomplishments. They never took out enough time to learn how to spell "DOOM." That is why the future of Las Vegas has only begun.

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