v e g a s i n c . c o m | M ay 21 -
m ay 2 7, 2 0 1 7
Players compete on one of many courts during the Sin City Showdown pickleball tournament at the Plaza. (l.e. baskow/staff)
Carving a niche Off-Strip resorts host unique events to reach new customers By Danielle Birkin | Special to VEGAS INC
In early April, nearly 250 people from across the U.S. and Canada converged on the Plaza in downtown Las Vegas for the Sin City Showdown, one of few tournaments in Southern Nevada sanctioned by the USA Pickleball Association. ¶ Say what now? ¶ “Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country,” Plaza CEO Jonathan Jossel said of this fast-paced racquet sport that combines elements of badminton, tennis and table tennis and has about 2.5 million players, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. ¶ “When we remodeled our rooftop pool deck in 2016, we had four tennis courts that got very little play, and one of our vendors suggested we convert the courts to pickleball, which I had never heard of. But I was blown away by the emerging market. And the demographic, which skews a little older, was perfect for downtown Las Vegas.” niche events, Continued on page 15
$200M
Amount Mars is spending to make half of its individually packaged candy products under 200 calories by 2022. It is teaming with other major candy makers to decrease portion size.
2.3B
Estimated number of robocalls made in December, according to Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail, a robocall-blocking software. It was a nearly 60 percent increase over December 2015.