Hey {{first_name|there}},
The deal
Waymo just opened fully autonomous trips to the first public riders in Las Vegas. This week’s rooms: BIZLINK capital day at Black Fire (Tue), Tech Alley’s AI Pitch in Henderson (Wed), HEALS + DisruptHR (Thu), and LevelUp (Fri) — then Zero Labs, Yotta, G2E, and ITC land the week after. If you’re picking where to show up before conference crush, start here.
The score
Waymo opens to first public riders in Las Vegas. Fully autonomous trips started Mon, Sep 14 for residents and visitors on rolling invites — more than 100,000 people had expressed interest. Service covers about 24 square miles: Boulder Junction up the Strip to Sahara, and the Spring Valley edge over to Winchester. Allegiant Stadium and The Venetian are among the destinations riders can hit. Vegas joins Denver and San Diego as the first cities with majority Ojai fleets (6th-gen Waymo Driver). Waymo
Zoox’s 100-robotaxi Nevada cap expires Sep 25. The NTA permit that limited Amazon-owned Zoox to 100 vehicles is set to lapse, clearing room for a larger commercial fleet in Las Vegas — the only city where Zoox currently charges for rides. Zoox still won’t say how many it’ll add; Robotaxi Tracker pegs ~30+ operating here now. TechCrunch
Lombardo signs EO 2026-005 on data center tax breaks. New abatement applications must keep Local School Support Tax (and sales/use) un-abated at a combined rate of at least 4.6%, and sign a Nevada Community Support Commitment covering power costs, water standards, and grid-emergency rules. Applies immediately to applications not yet before the Board — not already-approved deals. Nevada Independent · EO PDF · FOX5
Teachers’ union floats 8-point plan for data centers. Clark County Education Association wants data centers to pay Local School Support Tax (the union says ~$357M has been left on the table since 2015), own their power and water, and face community veto. Press hit Sep 9; they’re seeking a bill sponsor — not calling for a moratorium. Review-Journal
Reins launches AI Valuation for contractors. Las Vegas–based Reins shipped a standalone product that uses QuickBooks/ServiceTitan-style data so contractors can know and grow business value. The company has raised $5.5M to date; HQ Las Vegas. PR Sep 14. PR Newswire
Universal Entertainment forms UDN Gaming in Nevada. The parent is staging a re-entry into slot manufacturing and supply via a new Nevada entity — licensing first, with parent loans and IP behind it. SCCG
Soft Score: Odditt (Las Vegas) is raising a $1.5M seed (in progress, not closed) for its B2B sports-betting content/parlay platform. NewsX
Soft ticker: CleanSpark (LV/Henderson HQ) proposes $2.227B senior secured notes for a Meta-leased AI data center in Sandersville, GA (~175 MW) — local HQ, out-of-state facility. PR Newswire
The Strip (Tech Edition)
Spotlight
BIZLINK
Tue, Sep 22, 8:30 AM–2 PM | Black Fire Innovation
Capital, resources, and workshops in one day at UNLV’s hospitality/gaming living lab. If you’re raising, hiring, or hunting partners before the fall conference stack, this is the room. Event details
This Week, Day by Day
Tuesday, Sep 22
Wednesday, Sep 23
Tech Alley Henderson: AI Pitch Competition — 5:00–8:30 PM @ World Market Center #1615. Details
Thursday, Sep 24
Friday, Sep 25
LevelUp: A Night to Elevate StartUps — 6:00–8:30 PM @ WeWork | Founders pitch for panel feedback — free. Details
On the Horizon
Zero Labs Launchpad — Sep 25–27 | Free, no-equity gaming/casino accelerator before G2E (street TBD). Details
Yotta 2026 — Sep 28–30 @ Caesars Forum. Details
G2E 2026 — Sep 28–Oct 1 @ The Venetian Expo. Details
ITC Vegas — Sep 29–Oct 1 @ Mandalay Bay. Details
Insurtech on Tap — Tue, Sep 29, 5:00–8:30 PM @ Rí Rá. Details
Las Vegas AI Builders — Tue, Sep 30, 6–8 PM @ TensorWave. Details
Free Co-Working — Fri, Oct 2, 9 AM–3 PM @ IIC. Details
Further out: SAP Connect Oct 5–7 · LVIMA Fall Fling Oct 8 (venue TBD, members) · Founders Night Oct 14 · Tech Alley Oct 17 · Money20/20 Oct 18–21 · HR Tech Oct 20–22 · Oracle AI World Oct 25–28 · LinkUp Oct 28, 11 AM–2 PM @ WeWork Town Square (startup.vegas) · DigiMarCon Nov 4–6 (digimarconworld.com) · LevelUp Nov 6 · HLTH Nov 15–18 · RE+ Nov 16–19 · re:Invent Nov 30–Dec 4 · AI Agents Summit Dec 8–10 · CES Jan 6–9 · Startup Week Las Vegas Feb 17–20, 2027 (official site)
Running an event? Hit reply — or submit it on tech.vegas.
The stack
Black Fire Innovation (UNLV). Hospitality, gaming, and entertainment living lab at the Harry Reid Research & Technology Park — coworking, makerspace, RebelWork offices, and the venue hosting BIZLINK this week. Details
Zero Labs Casino & Gaming Innovation Launchpad. Free, no-equity, 3-day accelerator timed just before G2E — Sep 25–27. Applications still open (rolling). Apply
tech.vegas. The free Las Vegas tech & startup calendar — browse what’s on, join the list, or submit your own event. Browse the calendar · Submit an event
International Innovation Center @ Vegas. StartUpNV’s downtown hub near Fremont — 24/7 member access; hot desks about $150/month. Details
The ask
What’s your biggest tech headache in Vegas right now? Funding, hiring, finding your first customers, something else? Hit reply and tell us — we read every single one.
Haven’t taken our 30-second survey yet? Take it here so we know what to send you. Running an event or got a tip? Submit an event or hit reply.
Last call
One more thing: if VTP was worth your two minutes, forward it to one person building something in Vegas. That’s how this actually grows.
Running an event or got news we should know about? Hit reply — we’d rather hear it straight from you than miss it.
Vegas Tech Post
See you next week.
— Charles