Obama: "I Love Vegas!"
"Let me set the record straight: I Love Vegas," the president said, to applause. "Always have." He then repeated that he "love" for the city and that he enjoys it "every time I've gotten an opportunity to visit."
Mr. Obama then made a gambling joke, saying the night previous he "drew a flush on the river and cut the budget deficit in half."
The president acknowledged that he "did receive a little bit of heat" when he said "folks shouldn't blow their college savings in Vegas."
Mr. Obama said the comment wasn't meant as a slight.
"I think everyone here would agree that the only place people should spend their college savings is in college," he said.
The president went on to say that he understands how hard the recession has hit the city, which depends heavily on tourism. Las Vegas, he said, has been in the "eye of the storm."
At other points he said it was good for people to spend money in Las Vegas he likes to see them doing so.
At a town hall meeting earlier this month, the president said, "When times are tough, you tighten your belts."
"You don't go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage," he continued. "You don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you're trying to save for college."
The comment, the second by the president alluding to people not wasting needed money in the city, prompted outrage from Las Vegas and Nevada officials.
Oscar Goodman, the mayor of Las Vegas, turned down a meeting with Mr. Obama earlier this week. Goodman, who said he had "other things to do," lambasted the president for the comment, saying "When he comes [to Las Vegas], I'll do everything I can to give him the boot back to Washington."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid -- who Mr. Obama complimented repeatedly at both Las Vegas events Friday -- also criticized the comments, saying the president should "lay off Las Vegas and stop making it the poster child for where people shouldn't be spending their money."
Mr. Obama insisted to Reid that he "wasn't saying anything negative about Las Vegas," adding that "there is no place better to have fun than Vegas."