Under Pressure, Wells Fargo Cancels Vegas Junket

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 3, 2009 7:51 PM CST
Under Pressure, Wells Fargo Cancels Vegas Junket
The Encore Hotel & Casino, left, is seen next to the Wynn Hotel & Casino. Wells Fargo, which received $25 billion in taxpayer bailout money, has booked 12 nights at the Wynn and Encore hotels.   (AP Photo)

Wells Fargo, which received $25 billion in TARP funds, has canceled a swanky corporate retreat in Las Vegas after criticism began to mount, the AP reports. The bank had booked 12 nights at two pricey hotels to recognize top employees. Wells Fargo initially defended the retreat when news of it became public, then reversed itself hours later "in light of the current environment."

"Let's get this straight: These guys are going to Vegas to roll the dice on the taxpayer dime?" said one congressman. "They're tone deaf. It's outrageous." Comments along those lines came earlier in the day, after a company spokesman defended the retreat because "recognition events are still part of our culture." No more, apparently. (More Wells Fargo stories.)

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