Insurance Conference Planner: 5th Annual Las Vegas Corporate Invitational

Byline: DAVE KOVALESKI

THE FAIRWAYS AND GREENS OF LAS VEGAS - not just the Strip - were where the action was during the 5th Annual Las Vegas Corporate Invitational Golf Tournament, held April 21 to 24.

About 100 corporate meeting and incentive planners and 75 Las Vegas area hoteliers and meeting service providers hit the links for the event, which was sponsored by The Meetings Group of Primedia Business Magazines, which publishes Insurance Conference Planner and its sister magazines (including Medical Meetings and Corporate Meetings & Incentives), and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Other key sponsors included the Antigua Group Inc., makers of Antigua Sportswear; HHG Brands Inc., manufacturers of fine leather goods; and the Alan Waxler Group, which provided transportation services.

Along with the opportunity to play golf at some spectacular venues and enjoy many of the amenities that Las Vegas offers, attendees had the chance to network at an event designed to showcase Las Vegas as a meeting and incentive destination for corporate groups.

Thirty-three teams teed up for the two-day tournament, which was held on two of the city's finest championship golf courses: the Bali Hai Golf Club, owned by Walters Golf, and the Siena Golf Club. The team sponsored by the Alan Waxler Group - made up of Alan Waxler, president, AWG Charter Services and The Alan Waxler Group, Las Vegas; Peter Shelly, executive vice president of HelmsBriscoe, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Daniel Neider, chairman, Meetings & Incentives, Caledonia, Wis.; and Patty Sabo, senior buyer, Carlson Marketing, Plymouth, Minn. - walked away the overall winner.

Nearly 40 other organizations contributed to the event as sponsors. Among them were 22 premier hotels, including Aladdin Casino & Resort; Bellagio Hotel & Casino; Caesars Entertainment (with five Las Vegas properties: Caesars Palace, Bally's, Flamingo Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas, and Las Vegas Hilton); CasaBlanca Resort; Green Valley Ranch Resort; Hard Rock Hotel & Casino; Hyatt Regency Lake Las Vegas Resort; Imperial Palace Hotel & Casino; The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas; Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino; MGM Grand Hotel; Mirage Hotel & Casino; New York/New York Hotel & Casino; Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino; Riviera Hotel & Casino; Westin Casuarina Hotel & Spa; and Wynn Las Vegas.

Golf sponsors - along with Walters Golf and Siena Golf Club - included American Golf Corp., Bear's Best Golf Club, OB Golf Management, Palm Valley Golf Club, SilverStone Golf Club, TPC at The Canyons, Tuscany Golf Club, and Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort. Baskow & Associates, USA Hosts, and Destinations By Design - three Las Vegas-based destination management companies - along with Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining and the Richard Petty Driving Experience, were also sponsors.

The Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, which is undergoing a $39 million expansion of its Pavilion Convention Center, played host for a fun-filled opening night reception that worked off the construction theme. Construction equipment decorated the venue; staff wore construction clothing and hard hats. To close out the festivities, the Mirage hosted the awards ceremony and banquet in the grand ballroom at the Mirage, where one of the highlights was the dessert extravaganza.