At Work II - DMA in Las Vegas

As mentioned once or twice before, I made my way from Waco to Vegas last week to attend the Direct Marketing Association conference. DMA is always a blast - I've been twice before - and this year didn't disappoint. Speakers included marketing folks from Google, Facebook, Tommy Hilfiger, DirecTV, Zappos and so on. Most days looked something like...

There are empty seats only because we got to this session early.

I spent the better part of my first three days attending talks, panels, exhibit halls and lunches dedicated to marketing. The remainder of that, plus the couple days after, looked a bit more like this...

The view from my room. I lived in a pyramid.

The Strip.

The Fountains of Bellagio

Of course, it wasn't all sightseeing and being offered coke and weed by strangers on the street (yeah, that happened). I got some gambling in, too. And by "get some gambling in", I mean "played poker for the first time." My boss guided me on my Texas Hold 'em Journey, which had me looking like this more often than not:

See the stacks? See the stacks?!

I went in with the intent of losing all my money, but it turned out more like...

Day 1 Tables: +$357

Day 2 Tourney: -$130

Day 2 Tables: +$9

Day 3 Tables: +$64

...for a grand total of +$300! I'll take it. Don't worry, the tournament was really just a time sink that I had no intention of winning, and all the lost money was just for entry fees.

I did some time in the MGM Grand's Race and Sports Book, where I put this bet down using some of my poker winnings...

Explanation: If the Niners win by 8 or more, I win $90.90.

...it ended disappointingly.

(Quick Rant: This game ended SF 13 SEA 6, meaning I got my $100 back but didn't win anything. The last play of the game involved San Francisco getting a safety off a penalty, resulting in a 15-6 score that would have netted me $90.90, but the coach declined the penalty. The MGM exploded once when they got the points, and a second time when the points were declined. I've never seen a coach decline points before. Ever. I think he did it just to spite me. Me specifically. I'll never forgive you, John Harbaugh.)

I also had a couple of encounters with statues. FYI, statues are my Photo Kryptonite. I can't help but make an ass of myself in front of them.

I was doing my best Mysterious David Copperfield look.

He looks...cold.

(Fun Fact: This Guy the only reason I know how to spell Michelangelo without looking it up.)

The most impressive thing I witnessed was Cirque Du Soleil's Ka at the MGM Grand. Mindblowingly awesome. In talking with a couple of coworkers after, we settled on, "I'm not sure there's an adequate explanation for what we just saw. Wow, that was amazing!" Watch the below trailer, it probably does a better job than my fancy wordspeak can.

The trip back to Dallas was uneventful, except for one near-death experience (the entire American Airlines flight). But the trip from Dallas to Waco held a magical experience, one I always enjoy...

The only reason West, TX exists: Czech Stop.

...and then I went back to work today. Brutal. Speaking of work, next post: come work for me!