Las Vegas City Guide - Business Etiquette

Visitors to Las Vegas may discover that the city has two faces. The entertainment industry, although professionally run, is influenced by the liberal attitudes it encourages among its clientele. While conducting business in the entertainment industry, a lunch or dinner at one of the city's lavish hotels would not be unlikely.

However, the city's traditional industries are run by residents, many of whom are Mormon and eschew practices such as drinking and gambling. In these circumstances, meetings are more likely to be business lunches than dinners, and alcohol at meetings (unless initiated by the host) should be avoided. It is not usual to be invited into someone's home for business purposes.

During introductions, it is common to shake hands and address colleagues by their surname. On a day-to-day basis, however, people tend to address one another by first names. Gifts are not expected in business situations but are appropriate at the close of a deal or at Christmas and New Year.

Business dress tends to be informal in Las Vegas, due to the heat, although suits are not uncommon for sales calls or when meeting associates for the first time. The working day normally begins at 0800 and ends at 1700, although administrative hours in casinos are sometimes 0700-1500.