Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Convention authority CEO cleared in spending investigation

Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame Ceremony

L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas News Bureau

CEO of the LVCVA Rossi Ralenkotter speaks about sports in Las Vegas during the 2018 Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame ceremony at the Orleans Arena, on Friday, May 11, 2018, in Las Vegas.

Metro Police found no criminal wrongdoing in spending practices by Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Rossi Ralenkotter. Other investigations by the LVCVA auditors and legal counsel also found no wrongdoing by Ralenkotter.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal accused Ralenkotter of using thousands of dollars in airline gift cards for personal travel. Ralenkotter thought the cards were given to the LVCVA as part of a promotion.

Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly, chairman of the authority’s board of directors, announced the findings Wednesday in a message to the board.

“This afternoon I received word from the Las Vegas Metro Police Department that they have found insufficient evidence to proceed with any criminal charges against Mr. Ralenkotter,” he wrote. “As you know, this reaffirms the findings from our auditors and legal counsel, as reported in the April 2018 board meeting, that Mr. Ralenkotter demonstrated no criminal intent or criminal wrongdoing.”

Ralenkotter, who began his career with the agency in the 1970s as a research analyst, was promoted to president/CEO in 2004. In that time, Las Vegas has become the international leader in conventions, hosting 60 of the world’s largest 250 trade shows, according to UNLV.

Ralenkotter led the charge to reimagine Las Vegas as a destination city, helping pave the way for millions of annual visitors and major sporting events and teams.

Ralenkotter in June announced his intention to retire, having realized during a four-decade career his vision of expanding convention space, enhancing visitation numbers and bringing more shows to Las Vegas.