Carson City -  Governor Jim Gibbons has rejected an offer to momentarily meet President Barack Obama while the President is in Las Vegas on Tuesday.  White House staff offered Governor Gibbons the chance to greet President Obama at the airport. Governor Gibbons had asked President Obama to meet with the Governor and local business leaders to discuss improving tourism and business travel to Nevada.  

“While I appreciate the offer, I am not interested in a handshake and a hello from President Obama, I am interested in an apology and plan to undo the damage the President did,” Gibbons said, “Working families are suffering because of the President’s remarks, the President should retract his reckless statement about Las Vegas and make a public statement supporting business and tourist travel to Las Vegas and other destinations in the State of Nevada.”   

Earlier this year, the President told an audience in Elkhart, Indiana, “You can’t get corporate jets. You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayer’s dime.”  That quote was seen by many as an insult to Las Vegas and as a message to companies across the Nation to stay away from Las Vegas for corporate meetings and conventions. 

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reports over 400 conventions and business meetings scheduled to take place in Las Vegas recently have cancelled.  These cancelled events translate into 111,800 guests in Las Vegas and over 250,000 “room-nights”.   The cancelled conventions and meetings have cost the Las Vegas economy over $100-million, not including gaming revenue.   

“President Obama is coming to Las Vegas to take millions of dollars in campaign cash for Senator Harry Reid, while the President’s own words have hurt working families in Nevada and damaged the economy in Nevada for businesses large and small,” Gibbons noted, “Both men should be ashamed because people are suffering through the depths of the recession while they practice the height of hypocrisy.”  

Governor Gibbons is also calling on Senator Reid to firmly ask President Obama to encourage Americans to consider America, including Las Vegas and Nevada, FIRST when planning their vacations and business meetings.