Actually it should be called Viva Las Vegas,as that's where we are so have changed it!. Day 1 was a ten hour flight and a fairly smooth passage through homeland security. Amusingly IBM have a kick off meeting here this week so there were a couple of ex-colleagues on the flight. They were a bit green when I outlined out travel plans!
I should check in with Ginny Rometty, the CEO, now that IBM has lost the latest court battle concerning the pension closures of the early noughties. It would probably ruin my chances of an invite to Augusta now she is a member.
The hotel has a golf course but I don't really have time to play during this short stay. Today we started with a full on American breakfast, then walked the strip from end to end. Paris won the best design award and the Bellagio won best Chinese New Year décor prize. The IBM crew are staying in the Hard Rock so well away from us.
Tonight is cabaret night with Penn and Teller then off to the Grand Canyon tomorrow.
Latest gambling position, I am $10 up.
Showing posts with label Las Vegas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Las Vegas. Show all posts
Wednesday, 25 February 2015
Friday, 3 August 2007
Wannabe
Vote rigging of one sort or another has been in the news recently, so an article about the Spice Girls caught my eye yesterday. The girls are all geared up for a world tour, and have very generously left one date free for fans to vote on a venue near them. The winning arena, church hall or farmers field will host the girls on that spare date.
So guess where is winning so far......Baghdad!!
Now there are two schools of thought here about how the voting has been targeting such a place. The sympathetic theory is that the locals need a bit of cheering up and, together with the GIs in the city, they have voted for a bit of glamour. Now whether Scary Spice is really that in light of all else that is going on remains to be seen, but if the locals want them, thats fine.
The conspiracy theory on the other hand is that the rest of the world think Baghdad is the best place to send the thirtysomething has beens, and true music lovers would not take issue with that, would they?
My person experience of vote rigging was centred on the work local in Croydon, which some of my older IBM colleagues may be able to relate to. The local brewery wanted to rename the pub outside East Croydon station and asked for names to be put forward against which the locals could register a vote. One such IBM employee suggested 'The Sweaty Sock' and upon hearing this was a nomination there was a mass vote by the IBM staff. It won hands down, but the brewery refused to accept the name for the pub instead choosing 'The Porter and Sorter', the name under which it still trades.
The BBC Sports Personality of the Year vote has suffered from tactical voting in previous years, with fishermen, non-league football players and sumo wrestlers all featuring in the voting process, although none of them have ever made the final five. Last year was a particularly disappointing array of talent to choose from though.
This year could be a bumper year for nominations although people are indicating that the racing driver Lewis Hamilton, will drive away with it. There is, however, a world athletics championship and the small matter of the Rugby World Cup to potentially throw up a name or two, and lets not forget Ricky Hatton should he floor Flloyd Mayweather II in Las Vegas in December.
That fight provides more bad news for the Spice Girls who are scheduled in Las Vegas the same night. Word has it they have been dumped from the MGM Grand into a smaller venue to allow the boxing to take precedence. 'Say you'll be there' could well be their tour slogan.
So guess where is winning so far......Baghdad!!
Now there are two schools of thought here about how the voting has been targeting such a place. The sympathetic theory is that the locals need a bit of cheering up and, together with the GIs in the city, they have voted for a bit of glamour. Now whether Scary Spice is really that in light of all else that is going on remains to be seen, but if the locals want them, thats fine.
The conspiracy theory on the other hand is that the rest of the world think Baghdad is the best place to send the thirtysomething has beens, and true music lovers would not take issue with that, would they?
My person experience of vote rigging was centred on the work local in Croydon, which some of my older IBM colleagues may be able to relate to. The local brewery wanted to rename the pub outside East Croydon station and asked for names to be put forward against which the locals could register a vote. One such IBM employee suggested 'The Sweaty Sock' and upon hearing this was a nomination there was a mass vote by the IBM staff. It won hands down, but the brewery refused to accept the name for the pub instead choosing 'The Porter and Sorter', the name under which it still trades.
The BBC Sports Personality of the Year vote has suffered from tactical voting in previous years, with fishermen, non-league football players and sumo wrestlers all featuring in the voting process, although none of them have ever made the final five. Last year was a particularly disappointing array of talent to choose from though.
This year could be a bumper year for nominations although people are indicating that the racing driver Lewis Hamilton, will drive away with it. There is, however, a world athletics championship and the small matter of the Rugby World Cup to potentially throw up a name or two, and lets not forget Ricky Hatton should he floor Flloyd Mayweather II in Las Vegas in December.
That fight provides more bad news for the Spice Girls who are scheduled in Las Vegas the same night. Word has it they have been dumped from the MGM Grand into a smaller venue to allow the boxing to take precedence. 'Say you'll be there' could well be their tour slogan.
Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Monopoly bored
I have just visited the new mega casino at the old Empire in Leicester Square. the last time I went, it was a night club, and Van Halen were the cabaret. We took a bunch of American rugger players from Old White RFC in Atlanta, Georgia. two double decker buses were arrange to get the chaps home safe, although i seem to remember alot of the local ladies took it upon themselves to ensure the Yankee boys were looked after well into the night!
The casino has been billed as London's answer to Vegas. Hmmm, I suspect, therefore, that nobody from the publicists has every been there. It is just a casino, albeit quite a large one, but is in no way comparable with the style of casino seen in Vegas or Atlantic City. If the battle for the first mega casino in Britain is going to provide the winning city with the Vegas experience it will need to try much harder than the Empire.
There are, however, some nice touches in the Empire. There is a Texas hold'em room for the popular poker game which seems to be taking University campus by storm, two good looking restaurants and a chill room presumably for you to go sob into the soft furnishings when you have lost all your stash. There are weekly cabaret nights, and show girls at weekends. but like all casino's, the big plus is reasonably priced drinks late into the night, in a mixed age environment which is hassle free.
There were lots of Chinese punters around, but not a huge Arab presence as there is in their Rendezvous outlet in Mayfair. I nearly traded my wife and youngest daughter in there once, for eight camels and an Abra.
The casino has been billed as London's answer to Vegas. Hmmm, I suspect, therefore, that nobody from the publicists has every been there. It is just a casino, albeit quite a large one, but is in no way comparable with the style of casino seen in Vegas or Atlantic City. If the battle for the first mega casino in Britain is going to provide the winning city with the Vegas experience it will need to try much harder than the Empire.
There are, however, some nice touches in the Empire. There is a Texas hold'em room for the popular poker game which seems to be taking University campus by storm, two good looking restaurants and a chill room presumably for you to go sob into the soft furnishings when you have lost all your stash. There are weekly cabaret nights, and show girls at weekends. but like all casino's, the big plus is reasonably priced drinks late into the night, in a mixed age environment which is hassle free.
There were lots of Chinese punters around, but not a huge Arab presence as there is in their Rendezvous outlet in Mayfair. I nearly traded my wife and youngest daughter in there once, for eight camels and an Abra.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)