Vegas Events

President Obama made headlines in February when he said, "You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayer’s dime." But as I blogged earlier, just yesterday he made a trip to Sin City and stayed in a 22,000-square-foot suite at Caesars Palace. Does this mean he's changing his tune? Sort of.

The Associated Press reports that, during a speech at Nellis Air Force base, Obama said, "Washington's OK, but it's nice taking some time to talk to Americans of every walk of life outside of the nation's capital. And there's nothing like a quick trip to Vegas in the middle of the week."

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman asked the president to endorse the city during his trip, the AP reported, and was satisfied with this comment.

"He didn't go as far as we wanted," Goodman said. "But no sense kicking a sleeping dog. After today, it's certainly over as far as I'm concerned."

Should Obama made more of an apology for his previous remark, which at the time Goodman said could "have ramifications which affect the industry as well as all of the citizens who live in Southern Nevada"? Maybe. But at this point, I'd agree with Goodman that essentially what's done is done.

Whether or not Obama's original comment impacted Las Vegas events, any retraction or apology at this point wouldn't do much. I'd rather look at it as a positive move that Obama visited Vegas and stayed in Caesars. His actions alone could be sufficient endorsement of a new attitude toward the city.