We think it's a sign of the times, but it also reminds us of an interesting period in Las Vegas' somewhat distant past, a historical period starting in the late 1950s and continuing into the late '60s.
For those of you who aren't up on the latest Vegas bashing, here's the deal.
Fancy corporate retreats have garnered criticism since the bailout last fall, when companies that took tens of billions in federal loans, such as AIG, continued to lavish boom-time perks on its executives. But business travel in general and Las Vegas and other gambling destinations in particular are now being cited as politically incorrect for banking and Wall Street events.
As mentioned, this calls to mind the good-old bad-old days in the 1960s, when Las Vegas suffered through a period known as "the Diatribe": the national and international media’s collective characterization of Las Vegas as the most corrupt, immoral, and crime-infested city of iniquity in the U.S. During that period, crime reporters, investigative journalists, magazine writers, and pulp novelists all descended on the tough town that refused, as late as the 1970s, to be tamed.
Books such as The Great Las Vegas Fraud by Sid Meyer (1958), Las Vegas: City of Sin? by Dick Taylor and Pat Howell (1963), Las Vegas: City Without Clocks (1961), and Gambler's Money by Wally Turner (1965) combined a wide-eyed view of the most glittery surfaces in the country with a good long look at the slimy underbelly. Diatribe journalism reached its apex with Green Felt Jungle, a savage indictment by Ovid Demaris and Ed Reid of early 1960s Vegas. Though highly sensational, Green Felt Jungle was lively and authoritative and it became a veritable desk reference for many expose writers to come.
The Diatribe petered out with the arrival of Howard Hughes and the corporate era, but 40 years later, the corporate culture is taking a bit of a beating, which is resurrecting Las Vegas' old reputation.
So it wasn't particularly surprising when President Obama announced in a speech (in mid-February), "You can’t … take a trip to Las Vegas … on the taxpayer’s dime." (One observer of our acquaintance commented, "I suppose the president won't be visiting southern Nevada in Air Force One anytime soon.")
Mayor Oscar Goodman demanded an apology from Obama (though he was roundly criticized for it, even by Las Vegas media, and had to quickly backtrack).
A few weeks later, however, Steve Wynn also took Obama a little to task, saying, "The president, in what amounted to a slip of the tongue, I imagine ... stigmatized the convention business that could come to Las Vegas." Wynn tempered his criticism, adding that he was sure the president didn't mean to demonize all conventions, trade shows, and meetings held here, just junkets sponsored by companies that receive bailout funds. Still, he said it has an effect on the perception of Las Vegas and mentioned that "a large corporation" that hasn't received taxpayer dollars pulled out of a $5 million convention at the Wynn.
"It was a direct result of the comment made by the president," Wynn said. "Whatever the president’s intentions were, it gives you an idea of how sensitive the public is.
"We have hundreds of thousands of employees here, more than the auto industry. I hope that Uncle Sam recognizes that and that the rhetoric that is used is more considered in the future, because it’s been demonstrated to us that it can have unintended consequences," he added.
While all this was going on, Wells Fargo canceled a 12-night "appreciation event" at the Wynn and Encore for its top mortgage managers and sales people. Goldman Sachs quickly followed suit, moving a three-day conference scheduled for Mandalay Bay to San Francisco. And Morgan Stanley canceled a trip for its top employees to the Monte Carlo.
Nevada Senator John Ensign was a little more harsh than Wynn in his criticism when he pointed a finger directly at
