Las Vegas Day One
It was a great trip! Sorry I'm writing this backwards, but I was either too busy to blog, or too tired to blog. So I'm writing this at 25,000 feet, since they won't let me (nor SHOULD they) use my cell phone / Internet connection.Off the bat, Asa's (my enterprising brother) jaw dropped. Slot machines in the airport! We didn't walk 30 feet before we hit the cocktail bar in the middle of Southwest's C terminal at McCarran airport. I do have to admit, if you've never before been to Vegas, the baggage claim area can be quite daunting. Some 18 (or so) baggage carousels, and moving billboards, televisions, and people begin to assault you as soon round the corner from the escalator. I picked up a car from Avis, which was unusually expensive, and they talked Stephanie into upgrading to a Convertible (remember, it's 104 outside).
We road the bus, dropped the top, and were off. I don't have a picture, but Asa was quite the guy in the back seat, lounging along the entire backseat, staring at the people passing by as we zipped up Las Vegas Boulevard. We stopped at the light on Flamingo, and everyone stared at the Bellagio before we turned down and flew by the Rio. Asa marveled at their scale (which is QUITE impressive, and a great use of the word .... Brad). And then, the bubble was deflated when we “ripped” into the Gold Coast and parked to see if our rooms were ready.
Walking in, we let our eyes adjust to the light differences, and we all coughed in unison to the smoke. And immediately, the old jokes started. One has to agree, great video poker or not, the place looks like a care home for the dejected citizens of the early ages of Vegas. Do they stop everything during nap time? Does each floor have a defibrilator and hip replacement kit? Do the rooms have complimentary chocolates, wine, and Depends? I mean – a business HAS to cater to its customers needs.
In all seriousness, the place isn't a bad stay, considering it's across from the Palms and the Rio, and it's 1/5th of the cost. I'll walk 1000 feet for $200 a night! I don't much care for the never-ending halls, and if you've stayed there, you know what I'm talking about.
Business sideline .... I wondered seriously about how the Gold Coast keeps and attracts their younger clientele. I saw, maybe, ten people under the age of 40, the entire trip. I know they also own the Barbary Coast, and the new Sun Coast (which has plasma TV's, etc... trying to keep up with the Jones's ... or the Wynn's and the Mandalay Bays). But what happens when your core group of clients, who remember when you were “the thing”, die? They'll have to change and market to the newer, hipper crowd. I don't think the 20 and 30 something's will care about the 70 lane bowling alley. Or, will there always be the “older” crowd that will prefer the Gold Coast over the other properties? How many “yuppies” will stay there (or do they opt for the Bellagio and others?) Where do you stay when you go?
Day one finished with a stop at the office, where I introduced everyone, and found out that Sprint decided to install only one of the two T1's. Thanks. So we had data at the new client location, but no voice. Or vice-versa. Yuck. Makes my job hard for the client.
Stephanie and I went with Asa to eat lunch at PF Changs (why doesn't Lubbock have one?), off the strip, since I happen to know a crowd of people who recommend great places off the beaten path and where I don't have to spend $30 to see all the pretty people. Asa spent the rest of the day training to do sales work as an employee of my Vegas client, and I took Stephanie back to the hotel and worked on advertising.
Around 5pm, we met up with the client's head of finance, and my brother, and tore up the Bellagio's buffet. Oooofaa! Talk about great food.
We crawled out of there and headed to the Tropicana for some comedy at the Comedy Stop at the Trop. We laughed, we cried, I tried to fall out of my chair. I try and see stand up whenever I can (except in Lubbock, its comedy club is pretty bad), but the performers were just hilarious. If you have never head Greg Morton's one-man Star Wars rendition, I HIGHLY recommend it. I just wish the video was there also, because it's more humorous than the actual audio.
The night was young (2am CST) when we headed back for some well-deserved sleep.
Stephanie and I went with Asa to eat lunch at PF Changs (why doesn't Lubbock have one?), off the strip, since I happen to know a crowd of people who recommend great places off the beaten path and where I don't have to spend $30 to see all the pretty people. Asa spent the rest of the day training to do sales work as an employee of my Vegas client, and I took Stephanie back to the hotel and worked on advertising.
Around 5pm, we met up with the client's head of finance, and my brother, and tore up the Bellagio's buffet. Oooofaa! Talk about great food.
We crawled out of there and headed to the Tropicana for some comedy at the Comedy Stop at the Trop. We laughed, we cried, I tried to fall out of my chair. I try and see stand up whenever I can (except in Lubbock, its comedy club is pretty bad), but the performers were just hilarious. If you have never head Greg Morton's one-man Star Wars rendition, I HIGHLY recommend it. I just wish the video was there also, because it's more humorous than the actual audio.
The night was young (2am CST) when we headed back for some well-deserved sleep.
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