Consumer Electronics Show Turns On Las Vegas
Consumer Electronics Show (CES) flips the on switch Monday at 10:00 AM to the 1.85 million square feet of display space for the 2008 edition of the long running Vegas convention. CES organizers said the attendees for this years premier digital coming out event will be in excess of 140,000 people from around the world. Unfortunately, the exhibits are not open to the public; but, I'll be there tracking down the latest innovations and posting photos direct from the convention floor.
The three decades long marriage of the Consumers Electronics Show and Las Vegas may be coming to an end soon. CES organizers said they are currently searching for another city to host their big show after exhibitors have complained they are being gouged by local hotels. Rooms that normally go for $90 to $150 a night are jacked up to $400 to $700. Many of the major properties require CES guests to agree to a list of demands including a minimum stay, food and booze guarantees, and minimum room block purchases.
Resorts in Las Vegas have always complained that the CES convention attracts non-gamblers and they take it on the chin when their hotel's are jammed with the tight fisted geeks that design slot machines but don't play them.
Will the CES really pull out of Las Vegas? Most locals would celebrate the exit. Gone would be the incredible traffic jams, overloaded cell phone networks, and impossibly long lines at restaurants. There was once another huge convention in Las Vegas that attracted a quarter of a million attendees before they folded the Las Vegas tent. If my memory serves correctly they were called COMDEX and since their exit Las Vegas has opened or is constructing more than $15 billion in strip resort projects...so much for the negative impact on the local economy when a convention leaves Las Vegas.
