Vegas, Baby

Got in late last night from Vegas. I don't know if it's from the dry desert air or the flying or both, but my skin is parched. And it was cold in Vegas... icicles on the fountains when I arrived Thursday night.

I stayed at Treasure Island (or "TI" as it is attempting to re-brand itself... in the same way that Kentucky Fried Chicken is now "KFC"). My previous forays to Vegas were in the mid-90s at the height of the "family-friendly" Vegas phase. The MGM Grand had just opened with its amusement park; Treasure Island was going for families with the whole pirate theme (and video arcades for kids). Well, the family thing just didn't work out. The MGM amusement park is long gone and "TI" has replaced the wholesome evening pirate show with something called the Sirens of TI.

This show goes off every 90 minutes in the evening, starting at 5:30. As it turned out, I was just starting an interview session in a room directly overlooking the pirate ship set-up. Soon, goofy narration, loud music, and fireworks were shooting up directly at us. I tried closing the curtains, but really, to no avail. It was very hard for the participant to focus with fireworks and sexy babes just below us... Oooh, Las Vegas... Ain't no place for a poor girl like me.

I'm glad to be home and glad to have the research study complete. Exploding pirate ships aside, it went very well and the client is pleased with the results. It feels good to have that all wrapped up.

Oh, and just for comparison's sake, here is the original Pirates of Treasure Island show, which I saw years ago and kind of liked, but then I'm a bit partial to pirates...even goofy Las Vegas ones.