Somer Hollimngsworth, President and CEO, Nevada Development Authority

"Where else could a family from Texas put a mattress on top of their car, rent a U-Haul and move west with really nothing going on and end up with this great life?" questions Somer Hollingsworth, president and CEO of the Nevada Development Authority.



That’s exactly what happened over time when the Hollingsworth family moved to Las Vegas while he was a child and lived on the outskirts of town in the old site homes in nearby Henderson. "It could only happen in Las Vegas. I am in love with this community, and have been forever, and now I am getting paid to sell it. I just love it."

Hollingsworth, a proud graduate of the Nevada state education system, spent most of his business career in banking. Eventually, he became president and CEO of the Nevada Development Authority in Southern Nevada.

Since 1956, the NDA has worked with a team of top business leaders in Southern Nevada with the purpose of attracting, retaining and expanding the business base here.

"I have said it time and time again. Today, people are looking to model their cities after Las Vegas. Nobody in the world, in the history of the planet, has grown like we have and stayed on top of it. What we have done is unprecedented, and how we have held it together is more amazing."

Nevada’s unique tax structure is one of the best in the nation for business, according to Forbes, Inc., and Money Magazine. The state has no corporate income tax, no personal income tax, no unitary tax, no franchise tax on income, no inventory tax, and no inheritance/estate/gift tax.

"Nowhere else in the world can you market a company like you can in Las Vegas. Almost every major U. S. city has nonstop flights here. Your clients visit on average about four times a year, too. If you ask clients to meet you in Las Vegas, chances are they’ll be very eager to come here.

"Nearly 38 million people visit Las Vegas annually. With the great hotels, restaurants and entertainment, it just doesn’t get any better than that. We’re always looking for quality companies who pay quality wages, and we want companies who are going to be good corporate citizens that give back.

"Our current California ad campaign is phenomenal. The first ad we ran simply stated, ‘Worst Case Scenario, You’re Out Of Business.’ From that ad we generated over $10 million in leveraged media nationwide, from ‘The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather’ to the Wall Street Journal. Businesses continue to move out of California, and all we are trying to do is to get our fair share."

This past year, the NDA, with the staunch support of its investors, has brought 50 new businesses to Southern Nevada, assisted 13 companies in their expansion and has brought in 3,500 new jobs to valley residents, with an economic impact of $414 million.

"I’ve been here for over 50 years, yet only 3% of our population is born in Nevada and 97% are from somewhere else. It is a huge melting pot."

Southern Nevadans are proud that the Hollingsworths from Texas took the pioneering journey to Las Vegas over five decades ago. Also, that Somer Hollingsworth and the NDA team have helped make Southern Nevada the most exciting, entrepreneurial, fastest-growing and most progressive place to do business in the nation. It is, indeed, a desert miracle.

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