During setup the carpets are covered with heavy plastic, to protect the flooring from all the traffic and mostly the wheels of small forklift trucks used to move display equipment around. It all gets gathered up and trashed, then after the show new sheets get put down to protect during the move out. It’s pretty heavy plastic sheeting, with nylon strings embedded for strength.
Outside walking in one morning I came across the local police starting to gather. This is the wide area of sidewalk just to the left of the main entrance doors, which are off to the right of this picture. It’s where the police cars park, a lot of regular black and white units, undercover cars and SWAT SUVs. Walking past I can see the SWAT guys putting on their armored vests and unpacking rifles and big guns. This is about 6:30 am; the show opens at 10 so these guys are getting ready early. The sidewalk will fill up, and more cars are put around the corner and also on the center divider as well
Around back before the show starts items are beginning to be delivered. Back by the loading docks these types of vehicles start to gather, waiting to drop off boxes and boxes of goodies.
Yes, pretty impressive array of vehicles used to deliver people and goods. It is the most complicated show we have all year, and the one that takes the most to put on. It does not bring in the largest crowds however, but is the most expensive to put on.
On Monday when my coworker J and I went for our lunchtime walk we ended up inside (well, it was 101 at that point and a little warm for us to be wandering in the sunshine outside dressed pretty) and the casino was packed. There was a long line for the poker area, a tournament had started last week and there were lines to get in every day since the opening, the first day (I think it was Wednesday) there were over 100 people in line and the room already looked full. There was also a slot tournament going on right across from the poker room, these run every month so are nothing real special, but we do stop and watch people just punching buttons like crazy. The rest of the casino was fairly crowded, with a lot of people at the slots and assorted table games. We were please to see all the activity, what with the publicity about reduced visitor count and gaming takes with the economic downturn.
When we got back to our facility in the rear of the complex we were discussing our summer slowdown. There are very few conventions during July and August, for some reason people don’t come to Vegas on business during those months. I guess they go on vacations, and hit cooler places for business trips. But the first week of September things pick up, with two months solid of all rooms in use. There was a billiard show last week, and a table tennis tournament, making use of two of our five halls. Then nothing up there until mid July when Wheel of Fortune comes to tape shows for five days. Contestants are in this week to be screened again for the shows, but that’s over in one of the ballrooms of the big resort hotel casino meeting complex next door. This week there are activities for kids – some type of boot camp to get your kid trained to be a model or something.
Back in the lobby we met someone from the accounting department, who discussed one of our tech guys getting laid off. Being out of the office we had not heard of any people leaving, but she talked about a half dozen other people being let go. J and I had just talked about this one and myself being the most expendable, and sure enough, after I sat down at my computer I got a phone call inviting me over to the Human Resources office where I was told I was also being let go. So these will probably be the last photos from that facility, and I am off searching for work here in town. Maybe I’ll find something with another casino, and can continue with Strip photos, if not we go back to general stuff around town.
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