Venetian is digging deeper into LVCVA proceedings

The Venetian hotel-casino wants permission to seek additional evidence in its lawsuit against the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

A hearing will be conducted Thursday before District Court Judge James Mahan. In it, Venetian attorneys will ask the judge to broaden the scope of discovery in the suit in which the hotel-casino disputes whether the LVCVA can authorize bonds to pay for a convention center expansion without a public vote.

The Venetian also operates the Sands Expo Center, a private competitor to the LVCVA's Convention Center.

Since the suit was filed in July, the Venetian has called for the dissolution of the LVCVA, whose mission is to market the city as a destination resort for tourists and conventioneers.

Venetian attorney Stephen Peek bases his request to conduct additional discovery on responses from former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones in a deposition conducted Sept. 10. Until she left office in July, Jones served as chairwoman of the LVCVA board of directors

Jones was questioned about briefings conducted outside public meetings involving the proposed Convention Center expansion, the issuance of $150 million in bonds to pay for the expansion and the Nevada Legislature's approval of a bill giving the LVCVA authority to issue revenue bonds for the project.

Peek contends that because those briefings didn't occur in public meetings, the Venetian should be entitled to question LVCVA President Manny Cortez, vice presidents Rossi Ralenkotter and Tom Smith and other top LVCVA executives about communications leading to the board's June vote to approve financing the expansion with revenue bonds.

The Venetian also is seeking information on possible conflict-of-interest issues raised in light of Jones accepting a $250,000-a-year consulting position. Jones was named executive director of Nevada Resort Partners, a partnership between the LVCVA and the Nevada Resort Association.

In her deposition, Jones said she is a consultant as the sole officer and director of Jan Jones Inc. and a 50 percent partner with LVCVA board member Robert Forbuss in J&B Strategic Alliances.

Peek wants to ask LVCVA staff executives about what they knew about Jones' future employment.

Another issue raised by the Venetian request is the role a Bellagio executive had in the decision. Jones said in the deposition she was briefed on bond financing options by the chief financial officer of the Bellagio hotel-casino.

Bellagio chief financial officer John Strzemp is not on the LVCVA board, but offered background information on the agency's financial options.

The transcript of the deposition shows a sometimes contentious discussion between Peek and Jones. At times, the LVCVA's legal counsel, Steve Morris, questioned the relevancy of Peek's inquiries.

At one point, Peek asked Jones about whether she had spoken critically of Venetian Chief Executive Officer Sheldon Adelson.

Because the matter is in litigation, the LVCVA had no comment about the Venetian's motion. However, the LVCVA has filed its own motion for summary judgment to dismiss the complaint. Mahan is scheduled to conduct a hearing on that motion Sept. 24.

The trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 5. Mahan decided last month that he would limit discovery in the case in order to expedite the proceedings.

The LVCVA said the Venetian was attempting to delay construction of the expansion as long as possible in order to secure long-term leases with trade shows that need a large amount of space.

Venetian officials recently announced deals with the Men's Apparel Guild in California show and the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association Super Show among others at the Sands Expo Center.

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