The Numbers on My Trip to Vegas

I took my first trip out to Vegas last weekend for NMX (BlogWorld’s New Media Expo).

Here are the stats:

5.5The number of hours it took to fly out there. Could they make those seats in the plane any more un-breathable? It was so hot under my crotch by the time we landed that I could have soldered two wires together under there.

23The row I flew out to Vegas in. I fly in LOST number seats every chance I can because I’m an idiot.

(Side Note #1 – It was great meeting Cliff Ravenscraft, the Podcast Answer Man at the conference. Once I found out his first podcast to gain a lot of followers was one devoted to LOST, I hounded him like paparazzi on Beiber. Chances are, he now hates me as much as Beiber hates the photogs, too.)

7AM, to be exact. That’s what time it was when I went down to get coffee in the Rio Casino when my facial recognition super power kicked in. I noticed someone (from the side/back) getting out of the elevator who moved a lot like Dan Gheesling from Big Brother. I started following him and sure enough, it was him. I stopped him to tell him that his performance on the most recent season of Big Brother was the best ever, even if he didn’t win. Then we talked about how you suck right now because you are judging me for watching Big Brother. Dan was super nice, even grabbed this pic.

(Side Note #2 – Man does it chomp to switch coasts for a few days. My internal time clock was so far out of whack. I literally woke up with a headache all 3 days because my brain couldn’t figure out what was going on. Time zones are the worst.)

20The amount of dollars I bet on the National Championship game. Well, to be honest, my bet never even made it to the game. I parlayed ND (+9.5) and the OVER (40.5) with Kent St. (+3.5) the night before. Kent State lost by 4, so I didn’t even have a shot at winning on the next night…kinda like the Irish.

250The amount of speakers at NMX. Crazy, right? There were 4000 attendees there as well. My favorite speaker? Probably a tie between the aforementioned Cliff and Leslie Samuel, both of whom talked about Podcasting. (and one of whom will be appearing via video at the Killer Tribes Conference!)

15 – the number of seconds I took trying to clean the already been chewed gum off of my iPhone in front of ESPN’s own Matthew Berry. The story? After the podcast awards I go up to Matthew and introduce myself as a big fan of his fantasy focus podcasts. We talk football for a bit and then I ask his lovely wife to take a picture, only when I pull out my phone there is gum all over it. Outstanding, Bryan! She still took the picture, which was very nice of her.

15 – The amount of money I bet on the Packers to win the Super Bowl. I don’t know, just thought it would be fun and I liked their odds the best (5/1).

20 – The amount of money I tried to bet on the Packers to win the Super Bowl…with a credit card! Apparently Vegas Sports Books don’t let you place bets with credit cards, which is wicked smart if you think about it. Needless to say, the guy behind the counter was not impressed by me or my payment methods. (All I had was $15 cash on me…hence, the previous item.)

5 – the number of dollars I won on the slots/video poker machines. Yeah that’s right, I came out a winner!!!

(Side Note #3 – I did not technically come out a winner if you count the sports book loss or the $3.99 bottle of water or the $4.19 mini bag of Cheez-its. But hey, I came out a winner!)

6 – The number of pizza slices I wanted to eat at the hidden pizza place in the Cosmo Hotel. (I only ate 1 in a rare show of restraint.) Here’s the unmarked entrance.

7 – The amount of steps I took out of the bathroom before spotting Rob Cesternino, former Survivor contestant and current blogger/podcaster. I introduced myself and he stuck out his hand, at which point I realized mine was still wet from washing it in the bathroom. What do you do in that situation? Do you shake his hand with your wet hand and not mention it? Do you refuse the handshake because your hands are still wet? Do you give him the wet shake and explain that you just washed your hands? I went with the last option…not sure it went over well. (But hey, at least my hands were clean!)

10 – The amount of minutes it took for Erica to get the flu after I left. As you know by now, this flu season is awful and the flu itself is a doozy. So yeah, she was sick the entire time I was away. I felt terrible about it. (Thankfully she is finally on the mend.)

2 – The number of people who said I looked familiar (Cliff Ravenscraft and Matthew Berry). I resisted the urge to say, “maybe you’re thinking of Andy Roddick?” because that NEVER goes over well. Even if I do sort of look like him.

1 – The number of people I saw getting neck massages while playing slot machines. Because, you know, pressing a button for 90 minutes is tough work.

Had a great time in Vegas and would definitely go back again! Many thanks to my friend Peter Pollock for showing me around the city and hanging out.

Would love to take Erica next time, and I hope to maybe even speak there too!

PS…seriously though, what would you do with that hand washing situation? Not mention it? Not shake? Or just shake and explain?

PPS…How many times have you been to Vegas and what is a must-see?