Vegas meet-up and formative society meeting

February 19, 2009 by Dave Haynes

Yes, there’s a place where it’s still 1974 — where, for a few carefree hours, one can sink back into a plush booth next to a bubbling pool of fire; where cocktail waitresses in full-length gowns bring you mai tais and zombies while you munch on salted almonds and bask in the hazy, blue- and red-tinged glow.

– City-Search review of the Peppermill Fireside Lounge

So I’ve been noodling, for a while now, organizing a mixer/meet-up kind of event in Las Vegas during DSE. I’ve asked around to a few key bad influences and got the predictable response: “Cocktails? Hell, yeah!”

I’ve also been noodling, for even longer, the appropriate time to launch a new trade body for the industry, and I can think of no better place than a Las Vegas bar with oversized fruit drinks, velvet couches and fire fountains to launch the Digital Out-of-home Professionals and Executives Society.

For those who are slow, like me, the acronym is DOPES.

Now what DOPES is for is unclear, but there will be secret handshakes. So far, the mandate seems to be getting together for a couple of pops at trade shows. However, I would imagine this will extend over time to negotiating with the North Koreans. Or having a golf outing.

As you have seen from the glorious imagery, the venue for the inaugural DOPES meet-up is the Peppermill Fireside Lounge, just off the strip in Lost Wages, past the Wynn and before the Riviera. It is actually stumbling distance from the LVCC. I have NEVER been there, so if you show and quietly mutter “WTF???”, leave me alone. It just kinda looked cool online and will get me in less trouble than suggesting the Hawiian Tropic bikini place that another unnamed guy advocated.

Most people should be in by Tuesday night, so we’ve very loosely fixed this for 7 PM. There is no booked area, as I have no idea whether I’ll be making S’mores at the firepool by myself, or 50 people will show. The place has been warned some people will be coming by, but that’s about it.

One unnamed fool has offered to pick up a round, and I assume he must be really good at cooking expense statements. Others are welcome to pick up a round or some nibblies. Having taken clients out for dinner and wine in Las Vegas, buying drinks for a bunch of DOPES might actually be the cheapest event on the social calendar for some sales guys.

The format will be much the same as the Toronto mixers, in that there is no format. People turn up. Shoot the breeze with people they know and meet some new people. They trade cards, tell lies. And at the end people spill out into the streets and, most typically, riot.

For Vegas it may be appropriate to instead wobble down the strip looking for $1 Margaritas and an Elvis show.

The logo you see is just the working version. I spent a good three minutes perfecting it!!!

Surrendering my pride of ownership, and in Gerba’s spirit of digital signage contests for all, I am also announcing a contest. Any creative type who reads this nonsense and wants to come up with a real logo, I’ll post the submissions and we’ll collectively vote for a winner (if I can figure out how to turn polling back on in Joomla). If Mr. Joomla continues to fight me, well I’ll just pick. The winner gets history-making status and I’ll buy him, her or them some of those $1 Margaritas.