In and back out again

First my apologies for my tardiness in updating this blog, those of you who have been avid followers or even recreational readers know it is unlike me. Thank you for words of concern. I was not in some far off distant land, rather I was on my final business trip of the year to Vegas (yet again). Now Vegas is considered to be the sin city, and while I understand it, coming from Amsterdam this city is amateur hour. However since so much is only legal at arms length the city does accomplish the feeling of dirtiness. More on this later.

Keep in mind between Amsterdam and Vegas I had a precious 18 hours, laundry was out of the question, sleep and eating was about as much as I accomplished. So arriving in Vegas I was already a little zonked. Suffice to say I didn’t get much sleep once I arrived, between work and social engagements it was a rag-tag run around of events. Not only was my convention in town, a modest 1700 individuals, but there was a major pharmacy convention which attracted around 10,000 pharmacy students, residents, and pharmacists, keep in mind most of these are college kids. The third major event was the AMA or music awards attended by 50 cent, Eminem and all other variety of artists which come with their own fan clubs and paparazzi. Finally and the most pervasive group was the national rodeo competition/finals. This massive event lasts 10 days and brings in tens of thousands of attendees, you have never seen so many big hats, big boots, big belts and big ummm well egos all grouped in one place besides Texas. Suffice to say Vegas was definitely hopping by the time I got there.

Now I want to go back the nasty or dirty feeling of Vegas in the same vein as I talked about Amsterdam in my previous entries. In Amsterdam, prostitutes are legal and even protected by the state, thus providing an aboveground industry. Vegas on the other hand is anything but above ground and clean. First the city of Clark County has decided to take a legal trade throughout the rest of the state and make it illegal in a particularly small county of a city, and yet they turn a blind eye to the trade. How do I figure? Well considering as you walk down the street there are literally hundreds of predominately Mexican illegals handing out cards with a picture of a girl and a phone number, I would consider this fairly blatant. These are not individuals in trench coats waiting in back alleys, rather these are people with neon yellow and red shirts with the name of certain agencies plastered right on the front standing in the middle of the sidewalk offering every man, woman and child a card with a majority nude female offering anything desired to your room in 20 minutes. If that wasn’t enough walking into any casino between the hours of 7pm and 2am you will be inundated with a number of women hanging out at the bar drinking non-alcoholic drinks, looking at a video poker machine they are only haphazardly playing and smiling at every male person who walks by. Once you see the type and see a couple you can spot them everywhere you go, or even easier if you see the prettiest girl in a casino giving the ugliest guy an award winning smile give them a second look. Either way with both of these as prevalent as they are you can not tell me that the city is not turning a blind eye. And yet to talk to such a female or even get a card from the street has this feeling of breaking the law and all eyes are on you. It is a feeling of dirtiness that I think makes Vegas famous.

Although I do write about these actions I do not participate, rather I instead go to the dance clubs where I kick up my heels and meet random locals. This time was no exception. Vegas is infamous for creating massive lines for their clubs to ensure the entire club looks more popular than it might be in actuality and thus causes it to gain popularity. They will do this in one of two ways, at Pure for instance a club in Caesar’s they create a line that can stretch for an hour or two since they only let in a dozen or so people every 30 minutes, even if the club is absolutely empty. There is always a line for all female groups but that is to be expected. Although this might seem at eternity this is actually a good thing for us males. Other clubs like Light in Bellagio has no line, rather a mosh pit in front where the bouncer can pick and choose who they want to let in, go figure that it tends to be large groups of females that are let in. The best option for a single guy in this situation is to befriend a group of females and tag along with them, at least as long as it takes to enter the club (hence my love for the pharmacy convention). Does this seem like a lot of work? Trust me you have no idea, and this is just to get into the club.

Once in the club there is a whole unwritten system of rules about getting in and around and interacting with others, especially if out to dance with random people. This is not something I have perfected, but I certainly enjoyed my time anyway. Once I figure out all the nuances of these rules I will be happy to share.

I arrived home last night after a minor drama of losing my pager in the taxi, having to find which taxi was mine and having him drop it off at the casino to mail back to me. But I love good natured people, sure enough pager got shipped back and was on my desk this afternoon. Who said there are not good natured people out these days. Tonight I drive out to Reno and try my hand at skiing for the first time. I am excited so many more stories on this I am sure will follow. Have a great weekend everyone.