(AP) " Gov. Jim Gibbons wants President Barack Obama to meet with him and some key Nevada business leaders next month, when the president is in Las Vegas for a fundraiser, to talk about hardships faced by the state's tourism industry.
"I think a face-to-face meeting between the president, myself, and Nevada business leaders would do a lot to help overcome the perception that President Obama finds visiting Las Vegas somehow offensive," Gibbons said, referring to Obama's comment in February that corporations shouldn't use bailout funds for trips to the gambling mecca or the Super Bowl or to get corporate jets.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said a month ago that Obama wasn't discouraging travel to Las Vegas and instead was referring specifically to companies getting public funds.
Obama is scheduled to be in Las Vegas on May 26 for a fundraiser for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.