Consumer show helps revive Vegas

They're expecting more than 120,000 at this week's Consumer Electronics Show, still nowhere near the peak of 152,203 in 2006, but much improved from 2009, when attendance plunged 20 percent to 113,000. Some hotels are even sold out, a rarity since the recession. The show formally opens Wednesday night with a keynote address by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, but companies are already announcing new products. From the WSJ:

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority estimates the 2011 CES will bring about $118 million in nongaming revenue to the city, much of it attributable to spending on lodging. Chris Meyer, the organization's vice president of sales, says this year's CES may be the first broad sellout of most major hotels in the city since January 2007. That feat is more notable, he says, in view of the fact about 16,000 rooms have been added since then, including such high-end properties as the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and the Aria hotel and casino in the CityCenter development.