The R&R Partners-LVCVA dollar deal was done in "good faith" although the entire transaction was mishandled, at least that's the conclusion of a San Francisco-based law firm hired by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board to investigate the deal.
But the question remains: How could a pair of master marketers and political players like the LVCVA's Rossi Ralenkotter and R&R's Billy Vassiliadis not understand that the dollar deal would be seen by many as the latest example of the valley's good old boys' network run amok?
The law firm's inquiry backed the rationale behind the sale of the "What happens here, stays here" trademark, a tourism catch phrase that has quickly come to rank with "I Love New York" for widespread appeal.
R&R argued that it needed control of the lucrative slogan it created for the LVCVA. The reason: R&R sued a California woman for selling T-shirts that read "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." Who knows how the courts will rule in the trademark infringement case?
But it appears to some observers of the local political and business scenes that the Rossi-Billy closed-door deal left the LVCVA's board in the dark and looks to be another example of political arrogance in a valley that all-too-often places little value on open government.
The LVCVA's a pseudo-governmental operation that earns the bulk of its revenues from a tax on the region's hotel rooms. Its board is composed of several elected officials, including Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson, who wants to be the state's next governor.
Some observers wonder how Billy V., the man who spearheaded Kenny Guinn's election to the statehouse, could have had such a tin ear on this one?
Meantime, the Vegas tagline could be worth tens of millions of dollars in the coming years, and the LVCVA sold it for a buck, potentially solidifying R&R's position as the LVCVA's outside advertising and public relations firm of choice, much to the chagrin of possible competitors throughout the country.
The lead front-page story in today's Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that on Tuesday Las Vegas-area gas prices hit a record high of $2.55 for a gallon of regular, up from $2.53 on Monday.
Among the culprits cited by the morning newspaper: Relatively high state and county gas taxes and dependence upon California oil refineries, making Nevada vulnerable to short-term supply disruptions from refinery fires.
Reporter Jennifer Robison quotes Michael Darda, chief economist at equity trader MKM Partners in Greenwich, Conn., as saying that as much as half the current price of crude oil is an "Armageddon premium" based on fears of future terror attack.
The Associated Press reports today that most businesses do not report cyber attacks to law enforcement officials, fearing that such disclosures would harm their images and benefit rivals.
"Today a command sent over a network to a power station's control computer could be just as deadly as a backpack full of explosives," laments FBI Director Robert Mueller.
The findings were the result of an annual survey conducted by the FBI and the private Computer Security Institute, which found that just 20 percent of businesses reported computer violations last year, a figure that has held steady for several years, reports the AP.
Business must overcome its fears of reporting such violations, Mueller said.
"Maintaining a code of silence will not benefit you or your company in the long run," he said. "We cannot investigate if we are not aware of the problem."
The Wall Street Journal reports that the FBI sees a big threat from Chinese spies.
"China is the biggest (espionage) threat to the U.S. today," says David Szady, assistant director of the agency's counterintelligence division.
The FBI has sent counterintelligence officers into the bureau's 56 field offices, many with a specific focus on China, reports the newspaper.
Chu Maoming, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, characterizes as "totally groundless" the FBI's assertion that Beijing is coordinating spy activities in the United States.
Many people in Silicon Valley are concerned that the FBI is overreaching, the Journal reports.
"Asian-Americans worry about a new wave of racial profiling and say the crackdown is reminiscent of the 2000 case of Wen Ho Lee, a Taiwan-born American scientist who was fired from his job at Los Alamos National Laboratory and was prosecuted for allegedly giving away nuclear secrets to Beijing. After months in solitary confinement, all the espionage charges were later dropped, though Lee pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of mishandling top-secret information, writes the Journal.
A story in today's New York Times reports that some of this country's top MBA students are bypassing internships in the United States for a chance to work for firms in India.
"The India opportunity grabbed me," said Omar Maldonado, a student at New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business. "I wanted to get a global feel for investment banking and not just a Wall Street perspective."
Students from Harvard, Duke and Georgetown are also mentioned in the piece.
Stanley D. Nollen, a professor of international business at Georgetown's Robert Emmett McDonough School of Business, said: "No longer is India thought of as a land of snake charmers and bride burnings. Now India means the world's best software services, and increasingly, pharmaceuticals and auto parts."
The online magazine Slate asks if there's a blue jeans bubble that's about to pop? Writer Michelle Leder wonders whether high-price jeans manufacturer True Religion, which charges as much as $200 for jeans, is about to experience a major drop in its stock price.
"The $110 million 'premium denim' market is beset by signs of excess. Consider the $128 jeans - for toddlers. Or the 400 percent markup: A pair that costs $60 to make retails for $300," Leder writes.
Jessica Simpson, J. Lo, Angelina Jolie and the cast of Desparate Housewives are among the celebs that have apparently popularized the True Religion brand.
