2008 CES

I attended another CES earlier this month and found myself busy with meetings at the Venetian hotel where my company had a block of rooms. I stayed at the the new Venetian Palazzo. It happened to be their soft launch with a more formal launch to follow a few weeks later. I definitely see the benefit of doing a soft launch as my stay was riddled with various problems from the elevators not stopping on my floor, poor food quality in their restaurants, NO internet connection, and poor service overall. This pleasurable experience only cost me $450.00 a night.

The suites were phenomenal as I had a nice office and living room area. There was a plasma TV located in the living room, bedroom, and bathroom. The bathroom was about as large as my own Master bath in my home. A seperate shower, jacuzzi tub, and bureau round out the amenities. The most interesting and cool feature were the remote controlled drapes. I know this isn't revolutionary but it was great to completely darken the room at the switch of a button. The drapes blocked out almost all light from the outside so if you needed the darkness to help you sleep, it worked.

As for the show and buzz, there wasn't anything very impressive. I think the two things I heard most about were the laser based TVs and a 150" plasma. Other than that, it was basically the same stuff from last year only 'bigger' and 'better'.

The dinners and evening events were the highlight of the trip.

On Sunday, I had dinner with the boss at Boa. It is supposedly the new highly rated steak house in Vegas. I started with the Caesar's Salad which is prepared table side. It's hard to make this salad wrong. For my main course, I had my favorite cut of meet which as the bone-in ribeye. I ordered it Medium Rare. It was Medium rare when I began easting it but it was unevenly cooked and for the most part raw. I left about 1/3 of it left on my plate. This was disappointing way to start off the trip. I really expected much more.

On Monday, Microsoft Games threw their annual party at Pure with DJ AM on the wheels of steel. It was a great time as I was able to secure a VIP pass. The party had decent food that consisted of Sushi, stone cold crab claws, and various meets on a stick. They even had sliders.

On Tuesday, we had a dinner meeting with Proxure at their favorite restaurant, Del Monico's. I ordered the Filet medium rare and it was outstanding. I avoided all appetizers in order to finish this amazing meal. I had creamed spinach and cheddar/bacon twice baked potatos. We drank a magnum of Prisoner to accompany our meal. I finished the meal with a warm fruit cobbler oatmeal crumb topping with caramel ice cream and an expresso.

For Wednesday, we went to Del Frisco's where I enjoyed 2 - 8oz Prime Lamb Porterhouse chops. This had got to be the best lamb I've ever had. I've always been leary of lamb as it usually is a make or break situation. It's either really good or really bad. There's no in between. We enjoyed two bottles of red wines which I forgot the names of. The wine paired well with my lamb. We finished with samples of all the deserts on their menu accompanied with a double expresso.

Later that night, we went to a industry event at Hugh Hefner's Playboy suite at the Playboy Club in the Palms. It was an amazaing two level suite with a beautfiul view of the strip. There is a pool that extends outwards and covers the whole balcony. It didn't take long for the alcohol at the open bar to factor in all the fun. In the blink of an eye, several women decided to jump into the pool and put on a show. Some cool things I saw were original photographs of some of the most famouse Playboy covergirls like Marilyn Monroe and Pamela Anderson. The other attraction was the rotating circular bed that had a grand view of the city.

Thursday night was a time to recover. I was due to fly out the next morning so we kept it fairly calm. We went to Pampas Brazillian BBQ Grille located inside Planet Hollywood. This is your typical all you can eat Brazillian BBQ where they serve you several cuts of meat on large skewers. I've always been a huge fan of Yoli's Brazillian BBQ on Paradise and I can say that this place doesn't come close. It seemed quantity over quality was the prevailing theme here. We closed the night with a visit to the Foundation room at the top of Mandalay Bay. This is an exclusive member's only clube that requires a membership of tens of thousands a year. We had connections and were able to get in with no problems. The view from the Foundation Room is amazing as it gives you a direct view of the whole Las Vegas strip from the south end to the north.