A medical problem prevented me from attending the MJ Super Bowl party (to be honest - my right nut hurt. Like a true male I ignored it for a day or two hoping it would go away; then I tried demented psychology - I kept repeating the following mantra to 'the boys' - "John Kruk/Richard Belzer, John Kruk/Richard Belzer" in hopes they would knock it off. No good. Had to go to see the doc, turns out to be no big deal, no knife, no worries). While recuperating I did a column on the super bowl party fiasco here in Vegas, parties cancelled, guests pissed off, etc.
To thank Jack for the invite and to make up for for not being able to attend I thought I'd share it here.
Thanks Jack, see ya next year.......
Vegas vs. the NFL,
Who is the real Super Bowl party pooper?
by Sonny Palermo
Once again it falls on me to be the only one to tell the truth about Las Vegas, this time in regards to what happened a few weeks ago during the super bowl. Though I have read numerous articles on the subject, and heard many news reports, none of them place the blame where it belongs ? on Vegas itself.
The NFL is being used as the fall guy. I?m not saying all the ?journalists? who reported on the incidents of Super Bowl parties being cancelled are party to a cover up. That?s not the case at all ? some of them are sheep who follow the crowd and repeat the same stories they hear. Others are just plain ignorant.
The Super Bowl is THE busiest time of year for Vegas. Most hotels are sold out months in advance and the runoff from the game increases the handle at all other revenue avenues ? bars, restaurants, table games and the all-important slot machines. To compete for business the hotels try to outdo each other in extravagant Super Bowl parties. But this year a few of those hotels were left out in the cold. Two days before the big game, AFTER tickets to parties had been sold, AFTER flights had already arrived, the NFL?s lawyers notified a few casinos that they would file suit against them if they went on with their planned Super Bowl parties.
The suit was based on copyright infringement, because of the casinos? announcements that they would show the game on wide screen TV?s and charge admission. The casinos were left with no choice but to cancel the parties and offer their guests the rather lame choice of watching the game for free on small screen TV?s in their various lounges, or watching it in the privacy of their rooms. In other words ? the same choices that they would have had if they had stayed home and NOT paid a bundle for round trip flights and room packages (and anyone who has stayed in Vegas knows that rooms during the Super Bowl can be more than double the standard rate).
This of course made for a bunch of very unhappy tourists who were told they would have no place to party.
Now somebody had to be blamed for this fiasco and that somebody was not going to be Vegas. The NFL stood ready to become scapegoats. This would bring the casinos (in their minds) back in good standing with their irate customers. And the public, being gullible, bought it. Not that they had much choice ? no other alternatives were offered. Until now.
Didn?t Vegas have these same kind of parties last year? And the year before? Yes.
Were they ever shut down before? No.
Did the NFL just find out about them? No.
So something was different this year than last year, right? Something happened to make the NFL come down on Vegas ? hard, and at the last minute, which would leave them scrambling with no viable options for hotel guests, right? Yes.
And what was it?
Tomorrow, part 2 and who really screwed the tourists......
To thank Jack for the invite and to make up for for not being able to attend I thought I'd share it here.
Thanks Jack, see ya next year.......
Vegas vs. the NFL,
Who is the real Super Bowl party pooper?
by Sonny Palermo
Once again it falls on me to be the only one to tell the truth about Las Vegas, this time in regards to what happened a few weeks ago during the super bowl. Though I have read numerous articles on the subject, and heard many news reports, none of them place the blame where it belongs ? on Vegas itself.
The NFL is being used as the fall guy. I?m not saying all the ?journalists? who reported on the incidents of Super Bowl parties being cancelled are party to a cover up. That?s not the case at all ? some of them are sheep who follow the crowd and repeat the same stories they hear. Others are just plain ignorant.
The Super Bowl is THE busiest time of year for Vegas. Most hotels are sold out months in advance and the runoff from the game increases the handle at all other revenue avenues ? bars, restaurants, table games and the all-important slot machines. To compete for business the hotels try to outdo each other in extravagant Super Bowl parties. But this year a few of those hotels were left out in the cold. Two days before the big game, AFTER tickets to parties had been sold, AFTER flights had already arrived, the NFL?s lawyers notified a few casinos that they would file suit against them if they went on with their planned Super Bowl parties.
The suit was based on copyright infringement, because of the casinos? announcements that they would show the game on wide screen TV?s and charge admission. The casinos were left with no choice but to cancel the parties and offer their guests the rather lame choice of watching the game for free on small screen TV?s in their various lounges, or watching it in the privacy of their rooms. In other words ? the same choices that they would have had if they had stayed home and NOT paid a bundle for round trip flights and room packages (and anyone who has stayed in Vegas knows that rooms during the Super Bowl can be more than double the standard rate).
This of course made for a bunch of very unhappy tourists who were told they would have no place to party.
Now somebody had to be blamed for this fiasco and that somebody was not going to be Vegas. The NFL stood ready to become scapegoats. This would bring the casinos (in their minds) back in good standing with their irate customers. And the public, being gullible, bought it. Not that they had much choice ? no other alternatives were offered. Until now.
Didn?t Vegas have these same kind of parties last year? And the year before? Yes.
Were they ever shut down before? No.
Did the NFL just find out about them? No.
So something was different this year than last year, right? Something happened to make the NFL come down on Vegas ? hard, and at the last minute, which would leave them scrambling with no viable options for hotel guests, right? Yes.
And what was it?
Tomorrow, part 2 and who really screwed the tourists......
