Access Vegas Insider Vibe January 19, 2021

Hello From Las Vegas! – Wow, wow, wow, lots to talk about. Unfortunately, not a lot of good news. Every time we were ready to send this out, something else happened. This issue was going to be an upbeat New Years Eve recap along with an extended article on the best day (or 2-3 day) trips from Las Vegas now that our 4 weeks of winter is done!

If you are willing to rent a car, you can see “bucket list” sights during the day, a great round of golf (if that’s your thing), and spend your evenings enjoying some decent casino gambling. Without getting seared in the desert sun. So, that is next issue!

The Governor — once again lying about the facts and stats – has extended our “pause” until Mid-February. Which actually means that this will continue to be the best time (possibly EVER) to visit Las Vegas. We’ll go into it! (One must make lemonade out of lemons).

Venetian/Palazzo owner Sheldon Adelson has passed away after a lengthy cancer fight at the age of 87. He was already in the process of working to sell the hotel/casino/convention complex. What will that mean to you? And, to add insult to injury, Siegfried passed away.

With the current news about social media permeating just about every news outlet (including local news), I’ll be making a statement about our social use, both current and planned as the landscape and audiences are seeing a seismic shift.

If you don’t do social, you can skip that part. The core of what we do is right here. What you are reading. However, if you do, you’ll want to stay tuned.

Pause Through Mid-February – The 25% capacity limits will continue through mid-February. Which essentially means virtually no shows at least until then. While he made this announcement based on hospital capacity, I was online looking at the hospitalization stats. Which have continued to drop since the peak of the second spike. A brief recent news splash here highlighted that five local hospital ICU’s were at or just above capacity. Evidently briefly. 

However, University Medical Center continued to emphasize that they have no capacity issues, nor project to have any. More interesting is that two days later, the Governor — when asked — noted that he had not received a hospital briefing since mid-December.

So, off to the website of the Southern Nevada Health Authority to see the latest on hospital capacity. Here’s their data:

Notes: Hospitals were not built to run at low capacity. Capacity is the current range is normal, not abnormal.

Here’s the bottom line: The main problem continues to be private gatherings, where fewer precautions are taken. All you have to do is look at the liquor aisle at my local CVS to see that their stock has been running much lower than usual lately. With some more modest-priced brands either low or sold out, as bar capacity is not only limited, but reservations are required to attend your local bar and grill.

What the problem isn’t? Our tourist areas, where cleanliness, masking, and distancing is mandated as much as is legal and practical. I’ve repeatedly noted that the Department of Health and Human Services records show we’re sending an extremely microscopic number of visitors home sick. And, that is assuming that they caught it here.

If you’d like to visit and really experience a lack of crowds (which makes social distancing often the norm), come mid-week over the next few weeks. Without the usual winter conventions packing the town and driving up room rates, mid-weeks are almost like having Las Vegas all to yourself!

As always, don’t travel, visit, or even leave your home if you feel that you have any risk factors, need to care for those with risk factors, and the like. However, Las Vegas continues to be demonstrably safer than your local grocery store.

As noted, this is also an excellent time to do a different kind of trip, and knock off the bucket list State/National Park and other scenic wonders. We truly have a concentration of them within a very reasonable drive of Las Vegas. A collection not only unique to the topography and scenery most of you are used to, but “one stop shopping” that you’d be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. More on that next issue!

R.I.P Uncle Sheldon – We lost Sheldon Adelson to cancer. He had unfortunately been in declining health, putting Venetian/Palazzo up for sale a few weeks ago, and stepping down from control of his company for medical leave very recently.

While I still lament the loss of many Las Vegas Strip hotels, his replacement of The Sands with Venetian was a dramatic step up for Las Vegas.

The Sands was a small property, and had been relegated to $1 blackjack and 2 for a Dollar Budweisers during slow times. Which was great for me back then as a low roller, but not so good for a property attached to a giant convention center. Adelson was part of a group which started the massive and long-running computer trade show COMDEX (Computer Dealers’ Exhibition) which had quite the run until shows like the Consumer Electronics Show and the marriage of tech and daily living overshadowed it.

I was arguably the last civilian to ever set foot in the famed Copa Room. Best known for hosting the infamous Rat Pack, the list of entertainers it hosted is a “who’s who” of the most prominent performers in the second half of the 1900’s. I was the only one in there, perhaps 20 minutes before the property closed. What did they care? They were getting ready to blow up the joint (literally)!

I don’t claim that I felt any ghosts. However, the room had its own aura. You could almost feel the stories it held. To walk down and touch the stage which so many legends had set foot on was an experience which will stay with me forever. And, unlike modern day hotel closings, they didn’t kick the few remaining patrons out at closing! Two bars were open (cash… not free), and as employees clocked off work, they got drinks and reminisced for the last time. Quite the experience!

Here’s an overview of Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas run:

So Long Siegfried – What can be said about Siegfried Fischbacher, which hasn’t been. He and Roy, his onstage and life partner, absolutely ruled the Las Vegas show scene from the opening of The Mirage until the tragic tiger incident which left Roy unable to continue performing. Enjoy some highlights of their spectacular show, followed by an interview with them and their tigers, Circa 1995:

Social Media Statement – It is hard to ignore the social media upheaval of the past week. And, normally, I wouldn’t make any kind of statements. However, we live in a world where the smallest decisions, even when not politically motivated, are scrutinized.

For those not up to speed, “Big Tech” and Trump supporters have been involved in quite the game of chess. A product of a long-standing feud. (Go look at news regarding Section 230 from the past few months if you wish to explore that more). This has created an unprecedented shift regarding what various social media platforms people are using. It took years for Facebook to usurp Myspace as the prominent social platform. This latest abrupt shift has taken just days.

In short, Trump supporters bolted en masse to a toward platforms like Gab (similar to Twitter), MeWe.com (similar to Facebook),  Rumble (similar to YouTube) and Parler until they lost their web hosting. (They claim to be back soon). All platforms who have suggested that they have strong commitments to free speech regardless of someone’s political party or political ideology.

Where does that leave us?

– We have no intention of changing our current social use or postings. We have a Twitter account and Facebook account that are open to the public. With rare exception, we simply post the news links that we post here in the newsletter. Giving people a small taste of what we do.

For our Facebook AccessVegas.com Las Vegas Insider Vibe Membership Group, we go the extra mile. This is an added Membership benefit for those who enjoy Facebook. We post thoughts, answer questions, and interact with our Supporting (Paid) Members. Those not using Facebook are always welcome to use the Your Guy In Vegas question form in our Members Area, and we’re there to help. That is a Member Benefit.

Explore ALL of our extended Members Benefits. The level of help and benefit our members see is so vast and deep, that we regularly have members email and ask when their subscription is up. Because they want to cancel? NO! Because they note that they absolutely don’t want to miss an issue!!!

I’m always exploring and staying on top of the social media landscape. During this past year, I have been going through old hard drives and such, and organizing tens of thousands of Las Vegas photos — mostly taken by myself — from the past two-plus decades. (I won’t win any awards, but I’ve been a student of photography and do a pretty good job, if I say so myself).

This has me looking at the best way to get some of the better ones out there, thus also helping raise awareness of what we do. Hence, Pinterest and Instagram are under consideration.

I was already aware of Parler, MeWe, and Rumble, and had already been looking at whether those are platforms we’ll be expanding to. Much goes into play. Do they have active users? (It seems like they are certainly starting to). How easy is it to post to, and more importantly, can we plan our posts? A little secret that many are not aware of, is that many companies (including ours) who post regularly to social, schedule the posts.

I sit down for a few hours 3-4 times a week and comb the internet for Las Vegas news. If we posted a large number of links in a short time, it would swamp our feeds, and reduce the amount of people seeing each story in their feeds. So, we use the services of a company which lets us schedule them in advance. A company that currently does not support these new platforms. Note: companies which sell access to this kind of software have made it clear they are exploring servicing the upstart social companies.

Bottom Line: What we decide to do on social media, and which platforms we do (or don’t) participate on are not remotely political decisions. We’ll go where it makes sense, where there is an audience, and where we can interact in a manner which is consistent with the work flow needs of my small but loyal staff. For example, local Las Vegas Channel 13 is by no means right-leaning, but they have been on Rumble for a while now. In addition to maintaining their YouTube account.

I’m going to wait for the dust to settle. However, this really hits home why I’ve chosen to keep our email list at the heart of how we reach people. As opposed to building a large following via an app or on Facebook, only to see it be taken away if I say “booger“. I’ve been an outspoken critic of our governors poor handling and poor communication regarding restrictions and shut-down. And, I have a pile of evidence (stats and graphs) to back it up.

Which would not stop a social company from banning what I do if they felt that they, as judge and jury, decided that what I was saying was “dangerous” and somehow interpreted as helping to spread COVID! Donald Trump can take care of himself. If he is banned into oblivion, he simply goes back to a billionaire’s lifestyle. Me? I’m not quite in those shoes (to say the least), and I don’t want my passion for helping people be the most informed about Las Vegas as possible, taken away from me.

Hope You Are Enjoying This Issue!

Ted Newkirk
Founder/Managing Editor
AccessVegas.com