We just returned from Las Vegas, where we attended the Diamond/Alliance Retailer Summit over the last two days. While attendance was dampened somewhat by travel fears related to the U.S. attack on Afghanistan that began Sunday, October 7th, a committed group of primarily Western U.S. retailers, vendors from across the country, and numerous Diamond and Alliance executives and employees gathered together to exchange retailing ideas, talk about upcoming releases, and discuss the burning issues of the industry. We counted between 200 and 250 people at the opening reception Monday night, and that's certainly less than the total number of attendees, since most convention and meeting planners assume that a significant percentage of those attending any Las Vegas conference are at non-conference events at any given time. In recognition of the circumstances, retailer Joe Ferrara was asked to open the proceedings with a stirring acapella rendition of America the Beautiful. Those that have attended the GAMA Trade Show at the Orleans Hotel in recent years will not be surprised to hear that the hotel did an excellent job of providing facilities and services for the event.
While we don't have a count of retailer no-shows, the vendor no-shows were more visible, and included Agents of Gaming, USAopoly, Dynamic Forces, and Palisades. Despite the handful of last-minute cancellations, over 90% of the scheduled exhibitors were in attendance, and both during presentations and on the exhibit floor, retailers and exhibitors engaged in dynamic interaction about the large and small topics of the day.
The Diamond/Alliance Summit was not the only event affected by current events. According to published reports, over 200 Las Vegas conventions and conferences have been cancelled since the attacks on the U.S. on September 11, and tens of thousands of hospitality workers have been laid off. Hotels were well below capacity, casinos had many closed pits and dealers standing at empty tables, and restaurants were uncrowded. One taxi driver told us 'I never thought I'd see Las Vegas like this.'
Security was visibly tight at some hotels. At the high-profile Bellagio, where we obtained a room that normally sells for $359 per night for $129, all cars going into the parking structure were searched, security roamed the entrance and lobby, and some parts of the parking structure had permanent concrete barriers erected. On the other hand, at the Orleans, where the Diamond/Alliance event was held, security was nowhere near as omnipresent and seemed close to normal.
