Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

In Business 10th Anniversary

2008

Big stories



Palazzo – Las Vegas Sands Corp. opened its 3,000-suite Palazzo hotel-casino adjacent to the Venetian.

Housing Trouble – For the first time, foreclosures outnumbered sales of new and existing homes in January in the Las Vegas area.

George Maloof – The Maloof family opened its Palms Place condominium tower next to the Palms casino resort.

Harmful Image – The Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies reported efforts to diversify the economy had been harmed by the Sin City image of Las Vegas. Other long-standing problems cited included a poorly educated workforce, a weak school system and a lack of cultural amenities.

Ivanpah Airport – Airline executives in June questioned whether the planned Ivanpah airport south of Las Vegas would ever be needed given the recession’s devastating effects on the airline industry.

Alternative Energy – The development of the solar power industry received a boost when Ausra opened its flagship plant on Las Vegas Boulevard near Town Square.

Echelon Halt – Work halted Aug. 1 at the $4.7 billion Echelon resort on the Las Vegas Strip – by far the largest local casualty of the recession.

Eastside Cannery – Despite the difficult economy, Cannery Casino Resorts opened its newest casino on the Boulder Strip in August.

General Growth Properties – The developer of Summerlin and the owner of five major shopping malls in Las Vegas said it remained bullish on Las Vegas, despite mothballing the Summerlin Centre mall and seeing the High Street at Echelon project canceled. General Growth went on to file for bankruptcy in April 2009.

Airport Slowdown – The passenger count at McCarran International Airport fell in August by 9.9 percent as the recession deepened. This was the steepest decline since the 2001 terror attacks.

Encore – Wynn Resorts in December opened its $2.3 billion Encore property on the Las Vegas Strip, a sister hotel-casino to Wynn Las Vegas with 2,034 suites.



Notable Q&As



Rossi Ralenkotter, CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, was asked about arguments by Las Vegas Sands Corp. that the LVCVA should be dissolved and that marketing of the city be handled by the private sector.

“The model of the LVCVA is a model that has worked since 1959. We have achieved a lot of what we have achieved as a partnership with the hotel industry. We have been No. 1 in the Tradeshow 200 list for 13 years. We have been able to attract a variety of special events as a partner with the resort industry – the National Finals Rodeo, the first NASCAR races, the Las Vegas Bowl are part of that, the professional bull riders,’’ he said.

Wells Fargo Bank regional President Kirk Clausen was asked in September whether, given the deepening recession, it was time to panic.

“Well, no. I’m not just saying that because I’m part of the industry in terms of panic. There’s just so much solid infrastructure. Look at Wells Fargo, Triple A rated by both credit rating agencies, we’re well-capitalized, we still are growing market share. There are other institutions like us out there doing very, very well: companies that were smart enough to manage around the subprime issues and still be in the business,’’ he said.

Frederick Chin, chief restructuring officer at Lake Las Vegas, was asked about the development’s future.

“It is a mature project, but it has great potential. It has considerable development rights and, considering the other master-planned communities in the Las Vegas marketplace, we believe it has a very bright future. In terms of being iconic, desirable and unique and being one of the mainstays in the Las Vegas area, it does have those attributes,’’ he said.



Award winning journalism



Nevada Press Association awards won in 2008

First Place

• Best Business Coverage

• Best Business News Story – Mark Hansel

• Best Editorial Writing – Matt Hufman

• Best Special Section (Advertising)

Second Place

• General Excellence

• Best Local Column – Stephanie Tavares

• Best Local Non-staff Column – Jon Ralston

• Best Overall Design

• Best Illustration – Chris Morris



40 Under 40: Where are they now?

Craig Shute: Class of 2008



Shute earned a spot on the 40 Under 40 list in 2008 when he was serving as managing director of CB Richard Ellis.

He started with CBRE in 1998 and quickly rose to the position of managing director of the South Australian office before earning that role in the San Diego and then Las Vegas offices. He oversaw business performance, business development and recruitment in relation to leasing, investment sales and property management.

In August 2008, Shute began in his role as managing director of CBRE’s Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan offices, where he continues in that capacity today. He is charged with focusing the company’s development and expansion in that region.

He has more than 16 years of experience in the real estate industry. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in property from the University of South Australia. He also is a graduate of the Harvard High Potential Leadership Program.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy