Vegas Day 1

Nothing really about CES today since, as I had feared, I got to the hotel after 1600 (even though I left SeaTac on a 1000 flight), & didn’t get my show badge until 2030 from the coordinator. That means I have to cram a lot of exhibits & demos into the next two days.

But a couple of observations, based on walking about & conversations here & there.

The tanking economy has hit even Vegas. My cabbie actually returned to driving because his janitorial service business dried up; companies will clean their own premises when it comes to saving money. (I once worked for a failing concern in the Research Triangle; & they passed on cleaning a couple of months before they locked the doors.)

Also, according to a couple of fellows in the elevator, this CES isn’t a patch on last year’s, in terms of numbers of exhibitors. Didn’t look that way from the surge of badge-wearing tote-trudging showgoers, but I’ll see what I see when I actually get inside the LVCC.

I’m staying at the Venetian, & since I hadn’t had anything to eat all day, I trawled the in-house eateries. Came across “St. Mark’s Square”, a faux-Rialto ecosystem, complete with roving opera singers, jugglers in Renaissance get-up & those human statues. (What’s up with that, anyhow? They think no one will notice they’re essentially mimes in freeze-frame?)

Oh, (& I swear I’m not making this up) & gondola rides. Complete with house photographer taking pictures so you can commemorate your glide through the fakery.

There were several restaurants in imitation-Euro style. I ate at a Mario Batali outlet—Enoteca San Marco. First time at one of his places. I wasn’t much impressed with the Gemelli pasta—cooking time was about two minutes short of al dente, & it was over salted. But I’ve had the experience.

I walked around some kind of maze of upmarket shops (or “shoppes”, as they’re styled) between the Venetian & its sister property, the Palazzo; not a lot seemed to be doing much business. But the bars were certainly chockablock.

Learned something: I used to think the guys playing piano at Nordstrom had the worst job in the music world. Spending all those years developing your talent & here you are, next to the cosmetics counter come day, go day. After seeing the lounge singer at PDX, & the tricked-out opera singers at the Venetian, I realize I was wrong.