Las Vegas Convention Center

Tall in the saddle we spend Christmas Day, driving the cattle over snow-covered plains.

Cowboys and cowgirls will have a herd of opportunities to stock up on boots, jeans, hats, accessories and memorabilia during the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

The National Finals Rodeo ? now formally the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo ? has been held in Las Vegas since Ronald Reagan was in the White House.It returns today for another 10-day run at the Thomas & Mack Center. For casual fans, or even those who wouldn't know a Brahman from a llama, here's some basic info to get you out of the chute.

LAS VEGAS SUN YOUTH FORUM. What happens when about 1,000 of Clark County's brightest high school juniors and seniors gather at the

Fans of talk radio, TV news shows and political rallies have grown accustomed to the rudeness, acrimony and vitriol that typically accompany discussion of politics and public policy. Civility seems a lost virtue. Imagine, then, what might happen when nearly 1,000 people gather to debate the issues of the day - Afghanistan, immigration, gay marriage, mandated health care, the national debt and education reform. Such hot-button topics were discussed this week at the Las Vegas Convention Center - with civility and courtesy. Speakers weren't interrupted, let alone shouted down; opposing views were offered with respect, and rebuttals were on topic and thoughtful.

It was one of those comic-relief moments of the monthly Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority meeting.

Convention Center upgrade part of plans. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is ready to call the Great Recession history and initiate a multiyear, multilayered plan to spur growth in the city's $36 billion tourism economy.

A federal judge is reluctant to sign off on the Las Vegas Monorail's plan to emerge from bankruptcy, saying he's worried that the private operators of the struggling system will simply drown in red ink again. The monorail's proposed bankruptcy calls for all but $44.5 million of its $707.5 million debt to be erased - a forgiveness that has been approved by bondholders in a creditor vote because the alternative would be to close the monorail and liquidate the tracks, cars and other assets. The monorail was developed at a cost of $650 million - but based on its meager ridership and revenue levels, it's now worth $16 million to $20Êmillion, or less than half what it would still owe after bankruptcy. On top of that, bankruptcy Judge Bruce Markell noted, the monorail's own financial projections show it facing a deficit of $38.4 million in 2019.

Spike TV, the cable network best known for airing "The Ultimate Fighter," "MANswers" and other male-oriented television shows, is adding another attraction to its lineup: technology.

They met in separate, completely unrelated conventions in halls about a mile apart. But their messages were strikingly similar: Why is the federal government making it so difficult for us to thrive?At the Las Vegas Convention Center was the National Business Aircraft Association. I did a double-take when I first saw "NBAA," thinking it was some new alternative basketball league.

Owners of corporate aircraft are breathing a little easier this week after the Senate dropped a proposal to add a $100-per-flight fee on business planes that had been part of President Barack Obama's American Jobs Act tax plan targeting the wealthy.

One day it houses thousands of slot machines. The next, hundreds of nurses. A week later, it's filled with rows of guns, bullets and camouflage gear. Today, it's a debate among Republican presidential candidates.

Investors in bonds of the bankrupt Las Vegas Monorail charge in a new lawsuit that they weren't told about a prophetic study commissioned for the Venetian resort in 2000 finding the Monorail's financial projections to be overly optimistic.

Lessons from the aging Jockey Club in the shadow of New Vegas. The room was booked over the phone because the website couldn't handle a same-day reservation. Valet parking cost $20 because the attendant couldn't break a $5 bill and, yes, they actually charge. Our belongings were dragged through a Byzantine maze of non-ADA-compliant steps and hallways to get to the bank of elevators that take guests to their rooms. And that's when the adventure really began. "Our guest elevators are under repair. Please use the service elevator," the lime-green sign announced. "We apologize for any inconvenience."

¶Las Vegas didn't became a world-class tourist destination overnight. It took decades to build that identity with the help of big dreamers who possessed the willpower, political savvy and financial capability to turn their visions into reality. Gaming mogul Steve Wynn, who ushered in the modern megaresort era when he opened the Mirage in 1989, quickly comes to mind. But for every realized dream, there have been dozens of bloated ideas that drifted away with the desert wind. Time will tell whether the latest batch of dreamers, those proposing new sports complexes across town, will become Southern Nevada's latest successful visionaries or join the following list of wannabes.