[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 30 (Thursday, February 15, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E152]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CELEBRATING R&R PARTNERS FOR 50 YEARS OF ADVERTISING EXCELLENCE IN 
                            SOUTHERN NEVADA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DINA TITUS

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 15, 2024

  Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and congratulate 
R&R Partners for 50 years of promoting Las Vegas around the world.
  On January 18, 1974, Sig Rogich founded R&R Advertising. The firm 
quickly made a name for itself by landing casino accounts and the Las 
Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. A short nine years later, Sig 
Rogich hired Billy Vassiliadis, then a 26-year-old Chicagoan and fellow 
Greek American. I had the pleasure of teaching Billy at UNLV where he 
was a political science major and already engaged in local politics.
  Just as Southern Nevada grew from a population of 350,000 in 1974 to 
2,300,000 in 2024, R&R Partners has grown from a small firm to an 
advertising and public affairs institution with hundreds of employees 
in offices around the country and in Mexico. Celebrating its 25th 
anniversary in 1999, R&R Advertising changed its name to R&R Partners, 
emphasizing the full service that R&R provides to clients. In addition 
to advertising, the agency offers legislative advice and often works 
pro bono for good causes.
  In a 2004 profile, the New York Times declared Billy, ``The Pied 
Piper of Las Vegas'', saying that, ``Every dream needs a merchant, 
every myth a mythmaker. In Las Vegas, the job falls to Billy.'' I've 
always said that while other congressional districts make cigarettes or 
cars, in Las Vegas we make dreams come true. And Billy and R&R Partners 
have played a key role in spreading that message around the world.
  In 2003, R&R developed their most famous advertising campaign, one 
that has made Las Vegas the international tourism destination that it 
is today. ``What happens here, stays here'' is heard in movies, music, 
and even commercials for nonrelated products.
  This simple and suggestive slogan ushered in a new era of tourism for 
Las Vegas. The iconic tagline was honored on Madison Avenue's 
Advertising Walk of Fame and won R&R Partners and LVCVA Brandweek 
magazine's Grand Marketer of the Year Award.
  Billy and R&R have not only created winning campaigns for Las Vegas's 
casino and tourism industry, but also for causes like the Andre Agassi 
Foundation for Education, Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Brain Institute, 
and ``Flip the Script'', a state-wide anti-bullying campaign. R&R has 
also assisted various public entities like the Southern Nevada Water 
District in its compliance campaign, ``It's a desert out there. Be 
water small.''
  Today, R&R remains at the forefront of advertising and public affairs 
in Las Vegas and around the world. Whether it is the 2020 remix of 
their famous slogan for LVCVA, ``What happens here only happens here''; 
campaigns for the Las Vegas Raiders, Las Vegas Grand Prix, and Super 
Bowl LVIII; or innovative work for Fortune 500 companies, and non-
profits and government entities, R&R continues to deliver for its 
clients and for Southern Nevada.
  I am honored and pleased to call Billy Vassiliadis a longtime friend 
and am proud of the work R&R Partners has done for our community over 
the past 50 years. I cannot wait to see what the future holds. What 
happens at R&R, does not stay at R&R.

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