"Andre Agassi Penny Slots Are Here!"...

I was in Las Vegas for two days this week to attend a government conference held in conjunction with the enormous International Consumer Electronics Show. The government conference was really quite impressive for its speakers--in the government realm, this combination of congressmen, political appointees, and top government CIOs was top notch.

One thing I learned is that politicians are funnier and tell better stories than the rest of us--its just a gift. I have evidence. The 5 politicians I heard, told fascinating well-spun tales and funny jokes--and these are politicians with very different political views than mine. From the non-politicians, I heard jokes about (and I'm not making this up): a laptop versus lap dance joke, a condom and aspirin joke, and a joke about the nationality of the 9/11 hijackers. Amazing.

But hey, maybe these folks thought they were at the Adult Entertainment Expo, which was also in town.

Anyhow, I did have a good conference, learned quite a bit, and had some time to walk a bit in Las Vegas. Although, there is a definite downside to being in Las Vegas by yourself...you take pictures like the one below while you are waiting for your food!

I stayed at Caesars Palace for the first time. A beautiful hotel, and nicely situated at the middle of the Strip. Convenient for dropping by the Bellagio to watch the fountains. My room was OK...a sideways view of the strip AND the roof of the casino (check out the foreground in the sunrise picture below).

I have never been to the Consumer Electronics Show, and it is NOTHING like any show I have visited below. The sheer scale is magnificent. I wish I had had more time to explore--I only had a couple of hours in the main show after our conference ended. I did find a few things I would LOVE to buy :)