And not a moment too soon. We’ve acquired a major new collection that I’m in the process of…processing and we’ve got Roger Gros giving a Gaming Research Colloquium talk this Thursday.
If you’re not curious about what kept me away for so long, you can jump down a few paragraphs for some City Center-related comedy. But if you are, read on.
I was a lecturer on the Crystal Cruises “Adventures of Tycho” cruise that had the Crystal Serenity sail from Venice to Athens, which several stops along the way. I gave three talks (one on each sea day) related to three gambling movies that were shown on board: Ocean’s Eleven (2001), 21, and Casino.
It was a lot of fun–definitely not the kind of thing I thought I’d be doing when I was in grad school, that’s for sure. Everyone on the ship was great, and as a student of the hospitality industry I took away a lot from the experience. They’ve got incredibly high standards for service that make the guest feel very, very welcome–something that we in Las Vegas should be just as good at.
In between my lectures (and hosting duties at the movie screenings) I got to do some exploring at our ports of call. When we got off the boat in Kusadasi, Turkey, I was excited. This was my first time in the country, and I was eager to explore. Imagine my surprise when, just a few feet off the boat, I found a sign directing me to the latest MGM Mirage development:
When I saw the inimitable Chuckmonster’s post on the Mirage’s Los Angeles outpost, I just had to share this. Granted, this isn’t anywhere close to the City Center logo–it’s just a few English words rather crudely stenciled on a sidewalk. But I’m seeing a bit of a branding challenge for the project here. Just like Cosmopolitan can be a magazine or a cocktail, “City Center” might just be too vague for people outside of the Vegas orbit to grasp. I’ve already talked to people–quite intelligent ones–who’ve wanted to know about MGM Mirage’s big new project in downtown Las Vegas. This sign was just a reminder that, for most people, a city center is just the middle of an urban area. And seeing two words that I associate with gaming stuff, and hence work, pop up quite unexpectedly in another context was strange enough to record.
Kusadasi, by the way, is the gateway to Ephesus, and its bazaar is apparently home to some savvy salesman. True story: a few minutes after following the signs to “City Center,” I was walking through the bazaar while a stray but pleasant dog trotted a few paces in front of me (it’s amazing how easily a quick scratch behind the ears can make you friends). One of the shop keepers jumped out and confronted me.
“Is your dog?”
“No”
A short pause.
“Wanna buy him? I can sell.”
Setting aside the difficulties of smuggling a medium-sized stray dog aboard a six-star cruise ship, there were obviously some title issues here, so I declined. But boy, I’ve got to give the guy credit for trying. Timeshare hawkers have nothing on these guys…and that’s probably for the best.