Andmore Celebrates Bob Maricich’s Legacy With Dedication of the Expo

2025.03.27

Andmore’s founding CEO and Chairman Bob Maricich has been honored both by Andmore and the City of Las Vegas. The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas has been dedicated to Maricich and the City of Las Vegas has proclaimed Jan. 25, 2025, as “Robert (Bob) J. Maricich Day.”

“Bob Maricich is a remarkable leader with a tremendous community impact,” said Jon Pertchik, Andmore’s current CEO. “When he stepped down from his role as CEO of Andmore last spring, the decision was quickly made that we needed a permanent way to recognize his legacy. The Expo represents the vision and passion that he has for our industry and the downtown Las Vegas community.”

Andmore celebrated the contributions of its former CEO at a private ceremony preceding the winter 2025 Las Vegas Market. Many of the community leaders who were influential in the Expo project attended the event, and Councilwoman Victoria Seaman read the official proclamation, declaring Jan. 25, 2025, as “Robert (Bob) J. Maricich Day” on behalf of Mayor Shelley Berkley and the Las Vegas City Council. Pertchik also unveiled a plaque affixed to the wall of the Expo highlighting Maricich’s work to bring the project to fruition. The plaque reads:

“In grateful recognition.

“In 2011, with his trademark salesmanship, optimism and pioneer spirit, Bob secured funding and founded International Market Centers (IMC) bringing together competitive market centers in Las Vegas and High Point to form the world’s largest operator of premier permanent showroom and tradeshow space for the wholesale furnishings, home décor and gift industries. In 2020, IMC constructed this state-of-the-art Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas, to accommodate the growing tradeshow component of its markets and address the need for exhibit and meeting space in downtown Las Vegas. Bob worked closely with longtime business associate and friend, then Mayor Carolyn Goodman, Councilman Cedric Crear, City Manager Scott Adams and Director, Economic and Urban Development Bill Arent to secure financing and approval for the project creating jobs for the fifth ward and driving economic development in downtown Las Vegas.

“We honor and celebrate Bob Maricich for his many contributions to the City of Las Vegas, and to the home furnishings and gift industries, and we celebrate his unwavering commitment to building an exceptional company of enduring value.

“Onward and Upward”

The dedication of the Expo “celebrates a highlight of Maricich’s long career.”

“He keenly recognized that the City of Las Vegas needed an updated exhibition space to drive economic development and offer more opportunities for community gatherings,” wrote Andmore in a release about the honors. “In 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, with support from Blackstone and the City of Las Vegas, he led the opening of the facility. The Expo is projected to create hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact for the City of Las Vegas from visitor spending to salaries and wages.”

The Expo is a 315,000-square-foot exhibition space in the heart of downtown Las Vegas. The purpose-built facility features sizable exhibit space, divisible into two halls that can accommodate up to 1,000 trade show booths, a large lobby and registration area, onsite shuttle bus depot, attached parking garage and permanent food service areas. It is described by Andmore as the “gateway to the World Market Center Las Vegas campus” with a connection to Building C and access to the courtyard.

The opening of the Expo enabled the launch of two trade shows for Andmore, the Las Vegas Apparel and Formal Markets Las Vegas. The Las Vegas community has also come together in the space for conventions, rodeos, performances, rallies and more