The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority just approved a new three-year advertising and marketing deal with R&R Partners, creators of the "What happens here, stays here" advertising slogan.

Now I will give you that "What happens here, stays here" is probably one of the most successful marketing campaigns in the history of advertising, but I'm a little confused that R&R Partners won the contract without an open bidding process. We're talking $400 million dollars in spending by the authority over the past 5 years. Shouldn't other agencies at least have a shot at that kind of prize, especially since every other advertising campaign they've utilized since their homerun slogan have been total failures?

According to Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the Convention Authority, "We don't have the time to do on-the-job training for another agency"... Sounds suspicious. (kickback perhaps?).

We're in a very crucial period of time for Las Vegas and the nation in general. There's outrage all around with how large companies are being bailed out only to see the funds (that we pay for in taxes) get used for bonuses, vacations, and junkets for the very executives who got us into this problem to begin with. Meanwhile, many Las Vegas high rise condo buyers are stuck with horrible purchases, debt that will never go away, and thinking that walking away from substantial deposits is their best option in this market. Where's the Las Vegas high rise condo bailout?!?!

This competition-free, inner circle friendly, "nobody will notice" type deal with the LVCVA is just another story that makes me sick on how companies spend money and award contracts. Let's hope R&R lives up to their end of the bargain and comes up with something that'll get people to visit, spend, invest, and maybe even relocate to the Vegas area again - otherwise there's no hope that the Las Vegas real estate market will recover in a timeframe that will make the CityCenters of the world happy.