Vegas clerk takes Some describe Las Vegas as Hawaii's ninth island. But there wasn't much aloha for Gov. Ben Cayetano and isle restaurateur Sam Choy when they arrived at the Stardust Resort & Casino for a three-day trade show earlier this month.
gov for a foreigner
Cayetano is asked for his passport
at a hotel hosting a trade showBy Rick Daysog
rdaysog@starbulletin.comThe May 9-11 event, dubbed the Great Ninth Island Expo, got off to a shaky start when Cayetano attempted to check in at the 1,500-room Stardust on the night before the trade show.
A newly hired hotel clerk asked Cayetano for his passport.
Cayetano, the nation's first governor of Filipino ancestry, told the clerk that he is a U.S. citizen and took out his Hawaii drivers license for identification, said Kim Murakawa, the governor's press secretary.
Cayetano, who attended the event with his chief-of-staff Sam Callejo, saw the incident as an "honest mistake" and "didn't make a big deal over it," according to Murakawa. But one witness said the governor was upset by the hotel worker's request.
Officials at the Stardust and its parent, Boyd Gaming Corp., apologized to Cayetano, saying it was an unfortunate mix-up.
Rob Stillwell, Boyd's vice president of corporate communications, said the incident involved a newly hired clerk who became nervous when told that Cayetano is Hawaii's governor. Stillwell said the company asks for passports from foreign nationals as a safety precaution.
"Undoubtedly, a mistake was made," Stillwell said. "There was no intent to embarrass" the governor.
Boyd Gaming was founded by one-time Big Island resident Sam Boyd. The company's Las Vegas hotels are popular with island residents.
The expo is a three-day trade show for made-in-Hawaii gifts and products. The event, which targets more than 85,000 former Hawaii residents who now live in the Las Vegas area, was sponsored by The Honolulu Advertiser, Aloha Airlines, Aloha Shoyu Co., the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and KINE Hawaiian 105.
Locally based Navcomm Marketing LLC organized and promoted the show and paid for Cayetano's hotel room. Aloha Airlines paid for air fares.
Hawaiian cuisine pioneer Sam Choy, who conducted a cooking demonstration at the event, also had trouble checking into the hotel.
Choy declined to discuss the details with the Star-Bulletin, but he told a local radio station that he and his family were assigned a room that was occupied. When he opened the door, he found a couple having sex, Choy told the radio station.
Stillwell acknowledged that Choy was mistakenly sent to a room that was already assigned.
He said the hotel has suspended one of its managers and offered to upgrade the Choy's accommodations.
Meanwhile, Choy said the event itself was successful. He said the trade show gave exposure to local vendors and their products in a new market. About 2,000 people attended the inaugural event, said Mark Horsley, Navcomm's president.
Horsley said he would consider holding future expos at the Stardust.
"I think the show went well," said Choy. "But they just need to find another resort."