Ray Hagar

News and commentary from Nevada's Ray Hagar.
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Phil Satre, now Wynn chairman of the board, recalls the Harrah's days of wildly successful 'Total Rewards' program
News - July 13, 2026

"At the time, most of our competitors, Steve Wynn in particular, but others too, were really focused on building big casinos in Nevada. We probably missed the boat a little bit on that, but we were looking at it and saying our strategy is to have the largest database of casino customers that we possibly could have and much larger than our competitors." Gaming visionary Phil Satre, now non-executive Chairman of Board of Wynn Resorts, talking about launching Harrah's 'Total Rewards' program around the turn of 21st century.

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Amodei predicts Settelmeyer will beat Trump's endorsed candidate, critical of Nevada GOP chair, Turning Point USA
News - June 5, 2026

"I expect it to go for James Settelmeyer and I expect it not to be razor thin." Rep. Mark Amodei, predicting a Settelmeyer victory in GOP primary to replace him as Nevada's 2nd U.S. House District representative

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In future, small nuclear reactors could power TRI, other major data centers, U.S. nuclear commissioner says
News - May 11, 2026

"The Googles and the Metas and the Amazons are already looking at co-locating new, nuclear power near their data centers."  Brad Crowell, commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission & son of former Carson City Mayor Bob Crowell

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Democratic candidates for U.S. House cautious of rapid growth of data centers in Northern Nevada
News - April 29, 2026

"We have a saying here in Nevada, you fight for gold, but you kill for water. That's how important of a resource it (water) is to us." Teresa Benitez-Thompson.         "So right now, data centers don't make a strategic fit from the way I see Nevada's position. Even though I'm a tech guy, it doesn't seem like a fit for our state." Greg Kidd. "Data centers drive up our energy cost. Data centers drink up our precious water." Kathy Durham

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Sparks fly, accusations levied in Washoe DA debate between Hicks, Duncan
News - April 23, 2026

"He is a career politician who will say anything and do anything to get to the next rung of the political ladder, without ever gaining any meaningful experience," Chris Hicks on Wes Duncan.               "He (Hicks) can call me a liar as much as he wants. Facts are the facts, and they're stubborn things. This is quite simply incumbents supporting incumbents. Chris Hicks is in the pocket of every single special interest who've tried to run this town for the last 50 years." Wes Duncan on Chris Hicks

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State of nation, world raise stakes in 2026 election, Democratic congressional candidate Kidd says
News - April 13, 2026

"So there's a sense of real fear out there that the country is on a terrible course. And this fear is not just in one party, it's across parties, it's the non-partisans. Things are way off course." Greg Kidd, Democratic candidate for Nevada's 2nd U.S. House District seat

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Democrat Benitez-Thompson sees her shot in Nevada's 2nd U.S. House District race -- and takes it
News - April 8, 2026

"We're going to see some real challenges on the Republican side and perhaps an uninspired electorate that's really frustrated with this President and frustrated with this administration and that they're going to under-perform." Democratic CD-2 candidate Teresa Benitez-Thompson

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Not expecting Trump's endorsement, Settelmeyer runs for Congress on his extensive political record
News - April 5, 2026

"I've been very fortunate. You know, I grew up in agriculture my whole life -- fourth generation Nevadan." James Settelmeyer of Douglas County, who resigned as director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources last month to run for Congress.

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Sparks Mayor Lawson, honest while seeking re-election, says property taxes need to increase
News - April 1, 2026

"Our expenses over the last five years have gone up 55 percent. Revenues have gone up 35 percent. We have a broken system." Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson

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Bybee cites two major disagreements with Sparks mayor in campaign to replace him
News - March 30, 2026

"I'm not saying he (Mayor Lawson) doesn't (communicate well), but I think, his communication skills ... his communication skills are not as strong as mine are. And I hear that from voters at the door, other people who are frustrated, frustrated with a lot of things, a lot of challenges that we're facing right now." Sparks mayoral candidate Charlene Bybee, current city council member

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