It’s no surprise to many of you that I work for a company called VMware. I’ve never mentioned it before because it’s not in any way germane to the blog or travel that I do, except that they have been (and remain) an amazing employer who has enabled me to travel all over the world for work, and my skills and expertise enables the life I’ve always hoped I would lead. This week that same enabling led to Las Vegas, and a week at the MGM Grand.
Work trips are always a positive, and a negative, in that I get to travel but I get to do the same thing here that I do when I’m in Colorado… I work a lot. For the first few days that I was here I saw mostly conference rooms and hotel rooms, finally venturing out to T-Mobile Arena just last night for a work party. I have a few thoughts on Las Vegas, some very negative and some very positive.
I think it helps that I’m not a gambler, that’s probably the first thing that you should know. I love a good few hours of blackjack, but I’m not coming here expecting to win money and look at it more as entertainment. I don’t try to keep my winnings separate and I do “have a system”, but I accept long before I walk in the door that the money I walk in with will likely not leave again with me at the end of the day. What this means is that even when I was walking to and from the event and constantly meandering through slot machines my entire gambling budget save for today was exactly three dollars. All three dollars went into a slot machine here or there, and were lost as soon as the first spin took place.
This doesn’t even address what I think is the most concerning part of Vegas… and that is the disorientation that comes from the constant barrage of stimulation. I had to check my flight time four times this morning, and I’ve even set an alarm on the phone to warn me when it’s time to leave. I’m really afraid I’ll get sucked in from a time perspective and not even realize it’s time to go. The stimulation is too fluid, and the companies here masters at manipulating our senses to confuse and confound. With so many vices so easily indulged, I can see why some people love it here, even though I don’t count myself among them.
I don’t see the interesting side to gambling for more than a few hours, I never have, and I think it gives me an outsider’s view of Las Vegas. I’m having a lot of fun, though, having some time now that my work week has essentially wrapped up.
On the way to the T-Mobile Arena last night.
Following four days of meeting after meeting, a few speaking sessions (which I rocked, and loved!), and long nights of preparing for the next day… I finally had some time to party. VMworld has some amazing parties, and this year both Bleachers and Blink 182 were the headlining acts. They are two of my favorites! They hit all the favorite songs, and I spent probably a good three hours wandering the Arena, listening to fantastic music, cheering on the bands, and seeing some of the people I miss throughout the company that I try to catch up with every time I’m able. With so many contacts all over the country, and world, from our business… this is one of the best chances!
Bleachers playing at VMworld 2017
The night ended quickly for me, I wanted to ensure I got some rest and some vitamins in me (I refuse to be sick again on vacation!) given how hard I’ve been working, and went to bed after the concert. It would lead to today as well, which was a full day of Vegas fun inside the MGM.
It started at checkout time, I don’t want too much time to gamble away my money, and contrary to my regular leanings above I hung around a friend at the tables. We started with roulette, and after I won around $30 overall my friend had enjoyed this game enough (he wasn’t as lucky). We went from there to blackjack, had minimal luck, and then headed over to grab a coffee (Yep, even in Vegas, I still need my Starbucks!). While my friend wrapped up a phone call, I sat down at a slot machine and fed it $5 while I sipped my drink. Three rolls later, I was up over $100, and immediately cashed out!
We went back to blackjack, where over a period of another three hours I worked my way down nearly $50, and back up $25 over my original starting point of one hundred (separate from my winnings above). Keeping tabs, I’m now up about $100 overall for the day, and decided after my friend left for the airport that it was time for lunch rather than pushing my luck. It’s about 2:30 PM right now, and I have all the way until 6:00 PM to play a bit more before I need to pick up my bags from the hotel and leave for San Francisco to meet Jen. I’ll get another good day of coffee and dim sum in San Francisco, as well as probably a great swath of laundry to do, and then it’s off to Australia in less than 24-hours!
What a week, and it’s not nearly over yet!
Just up the street…
