As a symbol of what can be accomplished even during a recession, the mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman, delivered the annual State of the City address from the Golden Nugget Casino in downtown Las Vegas.

The casino recently completed a major renovation with its acclaimed Rush Tower, despite the fact that the economy is weathering difficult economic times in Las Vegas.

The mayor began his address by describing a recent trip he took to London in order to fly on the inaugural flight of the British Airways new connection to Las Vegas. While in England Goodman visited the bunker where Winston Churchill, as Prime Minister of England during WW II conducted affairs of state and met leaders to discuss war related issues.

Learning a great lesson from Churchill and the people of England who endured the hardships of World War Two, the mayor explained,

“I don’t pretend to say that I have any similarities with Winston Churchill other than we both like martinis and we like Cuban cigars,” Goodman said. “But he was facing the dire times of World War II. And we in Las Vegas have the dire times of the economy.”

The attitude the British maintained throughout the war was, “There is no other course for us but to win.”
“That is the same attitude that must prevail in Las Vegas, and with that attitude we will prevail.”

Businessmen and other leaders in the community were happy to hear such an optimistic outlook, and people like Kirk Sanford, real estate investor in Las Vegas, are looking towards better economic times for Las Vegas and Southern Nevada.

On Tuesday, January 12th, the mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman, delivered his State of the City Address, an annual event. Despite the expected bad news considering the state of the current Las Vegas economy, there was a thread of hope weaving its way throughout the mayor’s words.

Mayor Goodman mentioned the hope that there will be a surge in the number of jobs available as several public and private projects get underway. The city is hoping to begin a process of diversification which will make Las Vegas a more stable and flexible economy, more able to withstand the inevitable economic crashes after enjoying years of growth and affluence.

The city is planning a new medical center, performance hall, and a spruced up downtown area. All this is news welcome to businessmen in the area such as Kirk Sanford of Sightline Acquisition.  As the mayor said, “Our priority remains the same — to have a world-class city. And we say that even in the throes of this economy.”  Kirk Sanford and others involved in Las Vegas business ventures are happy to hear this from the mayor.

Recently, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have been working to clarify some of the points in Obama’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). They are trying to speed up trial mortgage modification conversions so that homeowners will be able to obtain more permanent mortgage modifications.

A mortgage modification means that the lender rewords the terms of the existing home loan, usually in order to lower your payments and help you to afford to pay for your home. Under the plans that HAMP is creating, the borrower who is requesting a mortgage medication will have up to five months with a trial modification. This gives them time to submit all of the necessary paperwork, and to see if the modified monthly payment is something they can live with over the long term.

This will certainly benefit people in many cities, such as Las Vegas, where companies like Sightline Acquisition Corp and CEO Kirk Sanford, are also trying to stimulate the economy by investing in distressed properties.