The 16:9 Mixer Is Tonight – Tips For Registered Attendees

March 26, 2019 by Dave Haynes

This note was already sent a while back to registered mixer attendees, but we all know the open rates on emails ain’t great, so I will reproduce this message here on Helpful Tips for attending tonight’s 10th annual 16:9 DSE Mixer.

The Venue

The mixer is once again at the Hard Rock Cafe on the strip, down by the MGM and across from NY/NY and where the pro hockey team plays. The event is on the 3rd floor and that is where you check in.

The stretch of the strip is a little, shall I say, scruffy. Street people. Central American refugees handing out escort service cards. And lots of people in skimpy showgirl and superhero costumes. So be prepared for some serious Vegas weirdness. When I went by there about three weeks ago, I saw one guy sucker-punch another rough-looking fella, dropping him to the sidewalk.

It is NOT so rough you don’t even want to be there. I just wouldn’t linger. And the whole Strip is weird anyway. Proceed accordingly.

The sidewalk immediately in front of the HRC was under construction when I was through earlier in the month, and it will probably still be like that this evening. Because of that, you may want to get the taxi/rideshare to drop you across the street, where there’s a road leading to the MGM Park (reno’d Monte Carlo) and the T-Mobile Arena. That could work well for pickup, too.

Check-in and Badges

When you get to the 3rd floor by elevator or stairs/escalators, you will immediately see check-in tables and, probably, me.

How we do things is print off registered names on Dymo labels and lay them out alphabetically on tables. This is the 2019 batch, which have been mostly organized back home.

Find your name and bring the label to the people working check-in. They will give you a blank postcard-sized badge and a lanyard. Peel off your label and stick it in the white area on the front of the badge. The bottom of that badge has your two tear-off drink tickets, which you can redeem at the bar. You want a third adult bevvy – they’ll take cash. We don’t do the unlimited drinks thing, for a few reasons.

If your name is wrong on the badge, we can reprint on site. Please be nice about this, as some people have, in the past, griped about their name being wrong. If it is wrong, it is because of the way you or someone else keyed it in on the web form! I catch most stuff, but some mistakes squirt by. I’ve had reports from the check-in desk (my wife and one of her sisters) that some people are, well, dicks about this, and I don’t get it. Be nice, and realize the mistake was most probably your own.

Also, your company name may not be totally in there, as something like ACME Technologies Global LLC is just too freaking wide to fit on a label. So it might just say ACME. You’ll live.

Food

We’ll have mountains of fine cheese, veggies, and chips and salsa, but there’s no full meal that will make your mother happy about eating properly.

Plus Ones

Don’t. The event was sold out weeks ago. Showing up with your tag-along buddies is unfair to others who put their name on a waitlist. People will still do it, I know.

Timing

Things start at 5:30 pm, except for the thirsty Canadians who will be milling around by 5. Remember it is the Hard Rock on the LV Strip, NOT the Hard Rock Casino/Hotel way off strip.

THANK THE SPONSORS FOR TONIGHT!