Posted via email from CFH
31 August 2010
26 August 2010
Las Vegas' sad state of affairs
We just returned from a short stay in Las Vegas, my first visit there since 2006 and one of many visits over the past 25 years. I can't help but think this place is losing much of its charm and class. What once had a sort of earnest entrepreneurial feel, now seems a lot more like greed run amuck. We stayed on the north end of The Strip, also known as Las Vegas Boulevard, right across the street from the bankrupt Fontainebleu Hotel/Casino complex. Work stopped on it about a year ago when the developer ran out of money.
Just down the road, past the decaying Circus Circus, the massive Echelon complex sits abandoned, it's sprawling series of buildings behind a tall fence on acres of prime Vegas real estate. A story in the local paper today said Marriott may come to the rescue if the project can ever be completed.
Farther down the strip in the midst of a collection of glass towers, the Cosmopolitan is nearing completion and work is actually moving ahead. A wide swath of financial disaster fueled by a belief that there was no end to the money that would roll into the city if only the facilities were built. This is a city that is visibly hurting and badly in need of direction and vision.
Some of the new places are nice, but in general, the tacky is winning out over the classy. The classic hotel casinos still remain, like Caesars Palace, the Bellagio and Steve Wynn's twin towers. But a lot of the rest of it is decaying junk or worse, new junk. The Miracle Mile shopping center is a prime example of the latter. Hunkered up against Planet Hollywood (formerly the Aladin), the place offends most of my senses -- a load, tasteless temple to consumerism.
Vegas has grown so fast in recent years that it's lost its sense of perspective, not to
mention esthetics, quality and certainly direction. The schlock is starting to win out. And it's too bad because this once was a classy city that attracted classy people. Where is the civic leadership? Where is their sense of shame?
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| Mothballed Fontainebleau |
Farther down the strip in the midst of a collection of glass towers, the Cosmopolitan is nearing completion and work is actually moving ahead. A wide swath of financial disaster fueled by a belief that there was no end to the money that would roll into the city if only the facilities were built. This is a city that is visibly hurting and badly in need of direction and vision.
Some of the new places are nice, but in general, the tacky is winning out over the classy. The classic hotel casinos still remain, like Caesars Palace, the Bellagio and Steve Wynn's twin towers. But a lot of the rest of it is decaying junk or worse, new junk. The Miracle Mile shopping center is a prime example of the latter. Hunkered up against Planet Hollywood (formerly the Aladin), the place offends most of my senses -- a load, tasteless temple to consumerism.
Vegas has grown so fast in recent years that it's lost its sense of perspective, not to
mention esthetics, quality and certainly direction. The schlock is starting to win out. And it's too bad because this once was a classy city that attracted classy people. Where is the civic leadership? Where is their sense of shame?
19 August 2010
Better ideas rock
You don't always have to be first. Sometimes, just having a better idea is enough. Here are some examples:
My son needed a new notebook computer, but he also has a growing family and is moving into a new house. So, he opted for an iPad. Today, HP admitted that iPad sales are hurting its notebook sales. Geee, do you think. I love my iPad. It's a great product and I use it as a companion to my notebook, but for many, many people, it's all they need. Apple saw an opportunity in the market and introduced a brilliant product, catching the old guard PC industry napping . . . again. Does this sound familiar? Can you say iPhone? People like that kind of initiative when it empowers them.
I recently switching from Supercuts to Great Clips. (Sorry, I'm not a salon type of guy who has $50 to spend on one of life's necessities every few weeks.) Last time I was at Supercuts, the floor was peeling up, the outlets didn't all work and the staff was listless and bored. At Great Clips, not only is the staff enthusiastic and motivated, but they actually use computers so they know your preferences and who you are. People like that. Supercuts stayed in the analog world. Great Clips is providing better customer service by using technology and won me over.
A little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in our neighborhood has carved out a great niche by cooking great food and pricing it right for eat-in, but mostly take away. It's called Hapa Grill and the food is seriously good for around $7 a meal. They keep it simple -- great food at a great price. You get tired of pizza after awhile and their Hawaiian/Asian Fusion fare is something different. People like that.
It is this kind of innovation that will lead us out of the economic dumpster. It's happened before and will happen again. Just give it a little time.
My son needed a new notebook computer, but he also has a growing family and is moving into a new house. So, he opted for an iPad. Today, HP admitted that iPad sales are hurting its notebook sales. Geee, do you think. I love my iPad. It's a great product and I use it as a companion to my notebook, but for many, many people, it's all they need. Apple saw an opportunity in the market and introduced a brilliant product, catching the old guard PC industry napping . . . again. Does this sound familiar? Can you say iPhone? People like that kind of initiative when it empowers them.
I recently switching from Supercuts to Great Clips. (Sorry, I'm not a salon type of guy who has $50 to spend on one of life's necessities every few weeks.) Last time I was at Supercuts, the floor was peeling up, the outlets didn't all work and the staff was listless and bored. At Great Clips, not only is the staff enthusiastic and motivated, but they actually use computers so they know your preferences and who you are. People like that. Supercuts stayed in the analog world. Great Clips is providing better customer service by using technology and won me over.
A little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in our neighborhood has carved out a great niche by cooking great food and pricing it right for eat-in, but mostly take away. It's called Hapa Grill and the food is seriously good for around $7 a meal. They keep it simple -- great food at a great price. You get tired of pizza after awhile and their Hawaiian/Asian Fusion fare is something different. People like that.
It is this kind of innovation that will lead us out of the economic dumpster. It's happened before and will happen again. Just give it a little time.
18 August 2010
16 August 2010
15 August 2010
12 August 2010
Big Al's Opens in Beaverton
We attended the "soft" opening of Big Al's tonight. At $15 apiece, they raised $15K for the Beaverton Police.
This place is a bit hard to decipher. It's part adult and part kid. It's also BIG. So let me just run through what I liked, what I didn't like and what I couldn't figure out.
- This place is primarily about bowling. There are two bowling alleys and they're both very nice. But it's not like an old time bowling alley because it's not just bowling. We didn't bowl because the lines were too long. Better to come back later and try that.
- The building is well laid out and organized. The games (mostly for kids) are upstairs. The bowling and sports bar are downstairs.
- The food tonight was not great and barely good. But, it was a buffet. At $15, a buffet isn't going to be good, just OK. This worried me a bit. I hope this isn't any indication of what it'll be like on a regular basis.
- The Sports Bar is fabulous and to me the highlight of the place. It's like Vegas. A big terraced room with tons of tables and booths. The whole back wall is video screens and there are nine altogether, including one big one in the middle. In addition, there's a ticker with game updates and stats running across the top. This will be a great place to watch NFL, assuming they get all the games and have sound on the feature game.
- The mobile phone reception is awful in the place, at least for AT&T.
- There was no wifi and I would consider that a HUGE oversight and a must add. People are too hooked on their phones and want to be abel to use them even if the reception is crappy.
- When we asked about the menu for NFL Sunday mornings, we got kind of a blank stare. Not sure they're planning on serving breakfast on Sunday morning. Another potential massive oversight. They could essentially keep people there for three meals on Sunday IF they play their cards right AND have decent food.
- The upstairs game Arcade looks really fun, even for adults. Lots of ways to blow money.
Overall, Big Al's is a helluva beautiful place and it should do well if they can draw decent crowds during the week and not only on weekends. It's also about a mile from our house, so you can't complain about that. We will absolutely give it the benefit of the doubt and several tries. But, a beautiful building won't be enough without excellent execution on why people will come there -- to have fun.
Posted via email from CFH
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