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By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak said he has one more sports-theme re-election TV spot up his sleeve, but noted his ally, Raiders/Aces owner Mark Davis, will not be part of the ad.
Facing Republican gubernatorial candidate Joe Lombardo in November, Democrat Sisolak ran a TV spot earlier this month heavy on sports references to the Las Vegas Raiders, Las Vegas Aces and Vegas Golden Knights. Sisolak’s daughter works for the Aces after she worked for the Golden Knights, while Sisolak is a friend of Davis.
Running during the Raiders’ first preseason game against Jacksonville in Canton, Ohio August 4, the Sisolak re-election spot on TV used the growth of professional sports in Las Vegas as a main theme in the ad, contending it’s been a money-generator for the state.
LVSportsBiz.com spoke with Sisolak before Sunday’s Aces playoff game against the Seattle Storm, with the governor saying he has one more TV spot with sports as a theme in the pipeline.
At many WNBA Aces games at Michelob Ultra Arena in Mandalay Bay hotel-casino, Davis and Sisolak sit together.
Sisolak has backed sports development as governor after he was a proponent of the $750 million public subsidy in Southern Nevada to help build the Raiders’ domed venue, Allegiant Stadium.
He was also a big fan of the Vegas Golden Knights, appearing at fan events and games after the NHL franchise started in Las Vegas in 2017. The Golden Knights are controlled by majority owner Bill Foley, who has supported Republican candidates like former President Donald Trump with financial donations.
Sisolak also used VGK references in his gubernatorial run in 2018.
It’s not unusual for sports and politics to mix in Las Vegas. One of the market’s biggest sports figures, UFC President Dana White, is a Trump friend and spoke at the last Republican convention.