As many know the month of January is usually the start of a slew of convention shows for Las Vegas. First the Consumer Electronics show followed by the ever popular Adult Entertainment show and now the International Builders Show.

Its seems a bit ironic to hold a builders convention in a state that is arguably the one state that feels the short comings of the current economic times the most.

So it comes without shock that the International Builders convention this year is experiencing a much smaller turnout that last years and of other years past.

Member rates in the overall association of Builders has shrunk a whopping 20%. Construction workers have lost over 3 million jobs throughout the US and interestingly enough of the over 6 million homes that are available and some are even vacant in the US today 1.5 million of those homes are beautiful new construction.

Its not yet known exactly how many people came out to the show in Las Vegas but of the 90,000 people that were present last year it is said that there were quite a few missing. And as most expected with fewer people come fewer showcases. The booths were less in numbers as were the innovations and displays.

Similar to that of last year the tune played by most in the industry was that of “going green”. Cutting costs was also a topic that rang through the air. And while in order to turn old construction green meant creating costs many companies should how this would be a cost savings in the near future and how much extra it would cost those that did not end up switching over at the nearest opportunity.

In this tough financial times it seems as though Las Vegas is playing their cards right. With a recap of what is happening in the city this year held this week by city officials, a common trend has risen; most projects are on hold indefinitely.

With hotels not seeing the return of what was seen this time last year and numbers down all around the hotels have had to open their eyes to what the economy is really facing and put some of the most anticipated updates and projects on hold.

Las Vegas hotels have tried to do several things to keep the traffic flowing through. They have lowered room rates by almost 40% in some cases, they offered plenty of two for one deals, they are giving away free dinners and other forms of relaxation and entertainment but nothing is bringing people back at the rate they saw last year and in years past.

While officials are saying even though the situation is tough it seems to have gotten a bit better in the last few weeks. But better definitely does not mean good!

There are still many vacancies to fill, people are not staying in Vegas as long as they used to, they are not spending what they used to on shows and food and they are surely spending much less on gambling.

And so comes a reaction from Las Vegas hotels and casinos; following the trend of their patrons they have put a hold on many projects that they had planned to be completed by the end of 2009. Projects such as the City Center and many other renovations for hotels and casinos. Perhaps these projects will start again in the near future, but not until other things change first.

The Las Vegas Monorail project that is built through Bombardier Transportation has decided to extend the contract with the company and keep them on board for further expansion for the next five years and $58 million dollars worth of business for the Transportation company that also specializes in subway systems throughout the world as well as airplane and other large machinery construction.

The Monorail currently runs a short 3.9 mile trip making several stops throughout the strip. There are only several places to board the monorail. The new project has plans for potentially extending the route of the train to the Las Vegas McCarran Airport in hopes of offering a service that is at a reduced rate from the current bus and cab fares that are currently the only form of transportation from the airport short of renting your own vehicle.

The train is a self operated fully automated machine that does not require a driver to run the operation. It is important to note that while no driver is present it is a fully monitored transportation vehicle and there is always someone present should a question or an unexpected situation arise.

The monorail has proved useful especially in times where the city is experiencing several conventions happening at the same time with line ups for taxi’s running in waiting times that run well over an hour. And while the monorail has only a few stops one of the most important stops is located directly near the convention center allow visitors to just jump on and arrive at there destination much sooner than they would if they were to wait in line for a cab.