Adelson Asks For "Most Boring City"

(MoneyWatch)  Sheldon Adelson, the embattled chief executive of the struggling Las Vegas Sands Corp., said he isn't apologizing for Las Vegas' entertaining atmosphere but he is going to search for the country's most boring city.

Adelson's sentiments were based on President Barack Obama's quote about businesses receiving bailouts shouldn't be heading to Las Vegas for extravagant outings ."You can't take a trip to Las Vegas or down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers' dime," Obama was quoted.
"The bad news is that because [Las Vegas] is a place for a good time, President Obama says that he doesn't want taxpayer's money to go there," he told Reuters. "But I'm going to conduct a survey and I'm going to provide a prize for people who will submit the name of the worst city in the country to go to, where people can enjoy it the least."

Adelson's views have received some response, including one from the UK's Independent, where a reporter enumerates why he believes Las Vegas is the country's most boring city. I'm fairly sure that Adelson's "prize" is a tongue-in-cheek one, but it's definitely his way of making a point. (At least it's a break from worrying about how Las Vegas Sands is going to pay its creditors.)

I think the public and most of the media gets it. Obama's remarks have been media fodder for almost a month now, made perfect for those in the industry wanting to spout vitriol they're feeling about the economy, their debt burden or the lack of credit available to them. We know it's not all based on Obama's soundbyte, but on a very tough recession that's making people less likely to gamble and more likely to stay home.

(By the way, Mr. Adelson, my vote is for Portland or St. Louis, voted most miserable cities in the nation by BusinessWeek. Las Vegas was ranked 7th.)

Photo of Sheldon Adelson courtesy of Las Vegas Sands Corp.