President Obama’s second verbal assault on Las Vegas is an “unacceptable assault” that demonstrates his bias against an industry that supplies most of Nevada’s paychecks, Nevada Lt. Gov. Brian K. Krolicki said Tuesday.

“First, President Obama’s reckless remarks scared off millions of dollars in Las Vegas convention business and hurt Nevada’s tourism industry at a time when our state is suffering the nation’s worst economic hit,” Krolicki said. “Incredibly, he does it again with an unacceptable assault aimed at Nevada’s casino industry, the finest in the world and a major provider of paychecks that feed Nevada families.”

Brian Krolicki

Obama, speaking in New Hampshire Feb. 2 , said, “You don’t blow a bunch of cash in Vegas when you’re trying to save for college.”

Krolicki, chair of the Nevada Commission on Tourism, said Obama may have gotten a pass from a number of people for his first anti-Las Vegas comment last year, when the president said bailed-out companies should not hold conventions in Las Vegas, but this time his remarks cannot be written off as a misspeak.

“President Obama has singled out an American industry in Nevada that employs our citizens and entertains millions of our visitors and held us up as a bad example,” Krolicki said. “No U.S. president should be so irresponsible.”