R&R Partners, the Las Vegas advertising agency behind the long-running “What Happens Here, Stays Here” campaign, has joined forces with Kansas-based MMGY Global in a deal that closed September 30, creating a combined firm with more than 800 employees spanning North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The combined firm has offices stretching from Washington, D.C. and Mexico City to markets across three other continents.
The merger, covered by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, links R&R with an agency that already shares several of its biggest public-sector clients. R&R and MMGY have separately worked with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Brand USA, Discover Puerto Rico and Explore St. Louis.
The scale of the combination is considerable: MMGY Global and R&R Partners now carry combined annual media billings of $500 million, and the addition of 281 R&R staffers pushes MMGY's global headcount past 800, according to the Kansas City Business Journal. Neither company has disclosed the deal's detailed financial terms, per the Review-Journal.
R&R Keeps Its Largest Client
At the center of the deal sits the LVCVA, which has a substantial marketing contract with R&R.
That relationship carries real financial weight. In May, the LVCVA board approved a three-year, $309 million marketing contract with R&R Partners running through 2029, with an optional two-year extension worth another $221 million, according to LVSportsBiz. The outlet reported that the contract bypassed a competitive bidding process because agency leadership had no intention of switching firms, with LVCVA officials noting that professional service contracts don't legally require competitive RFPs when existing relationships are working. That single award was part of a broader $464 million in multiyear marketing commitments the LVCVA board approved in May across five firms, including R&R, Grey Group and YKONE, with optional extensions that could push total spending past $815 million, according to Casino.org.
A Firm Built on Both Ads and Politics
R&R operates from multiple offices and serves the Mexico market, while also offering government-affairs capabilities alongside its marketing work. The combination brings destination marketing and government-affairs capabilities together within the newly combined entity.
The Nevada Independent reported R&R holds accounts with the LVCVA, Brand USA, Discover Puerto Rico and Allegiant Air.
R&R's Leadership
Billy Vassiliadis stepped away from daily management and serves as chairman, while Michon Martin is R&R's CEO.
For Las Vegas, the merger arrives as R&R continues refining how it sells the city to the world. In September 2025, the agency rolled out a global rebranding push called “Welcome to Fabulous,” according to Little Black Book. That rebranding followed a stretch of visitor slowdowns that Hoodline covered last year, as the LVCVA leaned on promotions to counter softening regional visitor volume.
