A Resident Geek’s Guide to Las Vegas during CES

I’ve been reading lots of advice about what to do and what not to do at CES and while visiting Vegas. I  thought I should add my .02 as I’m a rare breed – a middle aged, married IT professional living in Las Vegas that is not employed by the gaming industry. So here are my tips for geeks in Vegas:

CES TIPS:
Best places to Visit: I agree with some of the posts that the Sands is where it’s at in terms of cool stuff to see, in the “Innovations Plus” section. Other than that, Hall S3 and S4 (upstairs in the South building, farthest from the Hilton) houses all the little startup companies from Asia and Eastern Europe and elsewhere, not cool enough for an Innovations Plus booth - yet. I usually start at Innovations Plus, then move on to S3 and S4, then work my way downstairs and north through the main halls (mostly car audio and TVs) if I have time. 

Swag: Don’t bring a bag to the show if you can avoid it, they have swag bags all over the place if you need one. And don’t bring a coat. It’s hot in there. And yes, good shoes, the concrete floors suck the life energy out of your feet.

Best free stuff: The XM Satellite Radio booth usually has concerts, comfortable seating, and free Starbucks in the morning.  

Best onsite food: there’s an Indian food stall around Hall S3.

Off-hours CES: Vegas Tips:

This year, I’m looking forward to hanging out at the BlogHaus and the Blogger Reception. If this is not for you, or you just want to get away and experience a bit of Vegas, and you haven’t been invited to the myriad CES parties taking over all the cool bars in town, here are my tips: 

FOOD:
The Las Vegas Strip is a great case study on the meaning of expensive vs. overpriced. However, there are some diamonds in the rough…..If you’re on expenses or just want to splash out, I recommend Bouchon at the Venetian or Nobu at the Hard Rock Hotel.

For a good meal moderately priced I like Nine Fine Irishman (the seafood chowder is amazing) in the New York New York, Café Ba Ba Reeba for tapas in the Fashion show mall, or the Wynn Buffet, (IMHO the best buffet in town).  

Bargains: The few edible meal bargains left in Vegas are off-strip. My faves are both at the Hard Rock Hotel: : The $7.77 Steak and Shrimp (ask for it – not on the menu) at Mr Lucky’s, and happy hour 5-7 in the Pink Taco, 2-for-1 drinks and appetizers.

SPECIAL DIETARY NEEDS:
Lots of healthy food at the two Trader Joe's and two Whole Foods Markets in town.  Also many products for special diets: Parve, Halal, Vegetarian, you name it....They're all about 15-20 mintes drive from the strip.

DESSERT:
The best dessert in Vegas is at the patisserie in the Bellagio. And the floor-to-ceiling chocolate fountain is worth a visit. The white chocolate cheesecake is my favorite. The second best is across the street at the Paris hotel Patisserie.

DRINKS:
Again, I like the Nine Fine Irishmen Pub in the New York New York. A great live Celtic band starts at 9, and they have live step dancers! MIX in the Mandalay bay is a cool choice, with a great view of the strip, and free before 10, after that everyone is herded around into standing-only pens unless they want to buy bottle service. For sports bars, I like the one at the Bellagio or the Wynn, or Blondie’s in the Mall behind the Aladdin. And there’s a great Wine Bar hidden in the Mandalay Bay.

ROOM SUPPLIES:
There are ABC stores hidden in a few malls around the strip, otherwise the CVS and Walgreen’s pharmacies are down by the Monte Carlo Hotel. all have reasonable prices on bottled water, etc, and the pharmacies are open 24 hours a day.

ROOM PARTY SUPPLIES:
Lee’s Discount Liquors south of the airport on Vegas Boulevardis the best and closest place.

GEEK SUPPLIES:
Yes, Vegas has a Fry’s. If you don’t know what that is, it’s an amazing, huge and fairly cheap electronics superstore. If you can’t find it there it probably doesn’t exist in the retail world…..I call it Nerdvana….

Hope that helps!  Have Fun!

Comments

[John Furrier]

Get all those stories and swing by the PodTech BlogHaus at the Bellagio. It's open 24/7 with 20 mb uploading bandwidth

[Brian Benz]

John, see you there....

[Matthew Weyer]

Excellent tips!! I wish I would have found it this last CES. However, I'm sure a majority of the same tips apply for the 2008 CES. I'm going to forward to my friends, but do you have any updates for 2008?

@Matthew

[Mgaidys]

Briliant tips i like so much,thanks