What Happens in Vegas.......

Wait! What happened?

Yes, I was in Vegas for a whole week and it was a blur...so the old adage - "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" is justifiably replaced by "Wait! What happened?".

Now, my week long stay in Vegas wasn't exactly all pleasure, it was actually mostly business. Vegas is convention capital and rightly so, with its palatial hotels, plenty of nightime entertainment (both the clean and sinful variety) and swanky restaurants - all eagerly awaiting our corporate cards and heavy expense accounts.

I attended a conference in Vegas this past week, and I got to admit we did end up with some useful customer feedback, more data points and industry trends that can drive product strategy and generally, became closer as a team. We had $1000 dinners, hundreds of dollars of expensive bottles of wine and visited as many bars and swanky restaurants as we could in our short stay there.

The hotel - Ceasar's Palace was really a Palace and quite possibly a modern version of Ceasar's abode...My room was uber cool - with flat screen TVs in the bathroom and bedroom, marble bathrooms with a jacuzzi tub and grande views of the strip.

My team deserted me on the last couple days of the trip, which was good in some ways, because I got to "explore" the strip. Apart from shopping, a massage and checking out the lavish interior decoration (rumor is the hotel I stayed at is planning a $2 billion renovation - $2 billion?! and the Bellagio has Baccarat crystal statues and ceiling frescos worth $65 million), I was also fascinated by the Fountains at the Bellagio that have water choreographed movements set to all kinds of music from hip-hop to opera. I actually watched the fountains "in action" 4 times!

I hadn't stepped out of the hotel when my team was around because we were partying non-stop till 2AM on or close to the hotel premises. Not that it hurt because every hotel on the strip is an oasis of entertainment in itself - the best restaurants from award-winning chefs, casinos on every floor and pools, spas and gyms built for a king himself. "Ostentatious" is the only way to describe these hotels.

I continue to be amazed by Vegas - the amount of money and glamor here is unbelieveable - Ferrari and Cartier showrooms vie for hotel guests'attention, thousands of dollars betted in an instant on poker and blackjack tables and everyone wining and dining at the most expensive restaurants in the US late into the night...

I, of course, din't get lucky at any of the slot machines, but hey! I tried. Now, before dawn breaks and I have to fly home, let me enjoy this city of Sin!

and Nope, I ain't givin' any more details about that;-)