Sin City Heats up Battle for Businesses

(CBS)  Las Vegas is a city built on a gamble, but now it wants to be seen as a sure bet. So it's taking its show on the road.

The city is sending dancers to Hollywood and launching a series of snarky new ads on California air waves, reports CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy. It's all part of Nevada's effort to poach companies across the border.

Somer Hollingsworth is waging Nevada's war. His state, busted by the recession is now spending $1 million on ads to lure California companies.

"You've got to get out of dodge, we call it running for the border, you've got to run for the border and come to Las Vegas because it's a totally different ballgame," said Hollingsworth, the CEO of the Nevada Development Authority.

Nevada has the forth lowest business tax in the country, according to a recent study, and California has some of the highest.

Because when it comes to business, more of what happens in Vegas stays in your pocket. Nevada has no corporate income tax, no personal income tax, and no business inventory tax

That got Paul Allen's attention. His metal manufacturing business has been in California for 20 years. Now he's moving it and up to 30 employees to Sin City.

"I've yet to find one aspect of our operation that we wouldn't save money over there," Allen said.

The Nevada folks say they've had more than 70 calls from California companies since the ads started running. Now California is firing back with its own attack ad, calling Vegas a cow town.

California Assemblyman Jose Solorio thought Nevada crossed the line with an ad that featured a talking monkey.

"Yeah, for me, definitely that helped blow my top a little bit," Solorio said. "Sure, times may be tough in California, but they're even tougher in Nevada."

The odds are in California's favor as most companies don't move once they settle in a state. The average net annual job loss to other states is less than 1 percent.

"And maybe that's why we're the golden state and they're the silver state," one California ad said.

Still the border battle has given both states a reason to mind their own businesses.

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And as Arnold keeps cutting services, and raises taxes, business's will look for better options.