Speaking in Las Vegas on Economic Development
I spent the last few days in Las Vegas and the Governor’s Conference on Economic Development. Attended most of the sessions. There was a great speaker from Texas.
The panel I was on was a private media-only event, so it turned into a ping-pong contest of quotables. I managed to get one that made it to print:
But Nevada shouldn’t focus solely on the Golden State, others said.
Dave LaPlante, CEO of Reno-based Twelve Horses North America, a developer of e-mail technology, said he was on a coast-to-coast conference call last month when the conversation turned to the just-completed ESPN Great Outdoor Games in Reno.
"They said, ‘We were watching ESPN, and that’s got to be a great place to live,’" LaPlante said. "We can shout about what we’re doing here, but it’s got to be tangible."
And the state must do more to shed its long-held image as a rough-and-tumble gambling destination, panelists agreed.
"The strengths of this state are not well known outside of this state," Castle said. "People don’t think of this as one of the best places to live in the country. They just don’t."
Judi Dohn of the Nevada Technology Council said Nevada should play its strengths rather than try something new against California’s proven successes.
—
