Robin Camacho
Las Vegas Real Estate
David McKee
Stiffs & Georges
Jean Scott
Frugal Vegas
Cannery Casino Resorts (29) [RSS]
Melco Crown Entertainment (29) [RSS]
Morgans Hotel Group (32) [RSS]
Pinnacle Entertainment (60) [RSS]
Tropicana Entertainment (90) [RSS]
World Series of Poker (6) [RSS]
Illinois: No country for big casinos
JohnTerez said: What your name? , <a href="http://pdabooks.org/membe... noir wine&l... [More]
Nevada: The Stupid State
PortoM0n said: Don't go far away. , <a href="http://cool-wallpapers.ev... cool wall... [More]
They burned the Monte Carlo ... and may get away with it
JohnTerez said: Try see it. , <a href="http://smart.fm/lists/152... glass supplies</a>... [More]
Nevada: The Stupid State
PortoM0n said: Hi brothers and sisters! , <a href="http://boxesandarrows.com...... [More]
They burned the Monte Carlo ... and may get away with it
SoloJ3ss said: Great... , <a href="http://boxesandarrows.com... to make deer a... [More]
Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog.
alex yemenidjian ameristar animals architecture atlantic city australia baseball boulder strip boyd gaming california cannery casino resorts carl icahn charity cirque du soleil citycenter colony capital colorado columbia sussex cosmopolitan current detroit dining don barden donald trump downtown economy election encore entertainment environment florida fontainebleau g2e george maloof harrah's harry reid herbst gaming horseracing igt illinois indiana international internet gambling isle of capri james packer kansas kentucky labor lake tahoe laughlin lawrence ho louisiana lvcva m resort macau marketing massachusetts melco crown entertainment mesquite mgm mirage michael gaughan mississippi missouri monte carlo fire morgans hotel group movies neil bluhm ohio oscar goodman penn national pennsylvania pets phil ruffin pinnacle entertainment planet hollywood politics problem gambling regulation reno riviera sahara sheldon adelson singapore sports stanley ho station casinos steve wynn tamares group taxes technology the strip tilman fertitta tourism transportation tribal tropicana entertainment tv wall street
Posted At : September 2, 2008 05:55 PM | Posted By : D McKee
Related Categories:
TV,Internet gambling,Current,The Strip,Election
... or Gallic television sets, anyway. Last weekend, I had the decidedly surprising experience of being contacted by a reporter from French TV network Canal+. He was looking for someone to interview about the casino industry's role in the 2008 election.
Now, you're probably thinking that I wouldn't be your first (or even 10th) choice for this gig. I can tell you that the same thought crossed my mind several times over. But a friend in academe had put a kind word in for me and, besides, I'd never done the TV talking-head thing, so it looked like an adventure. Sort of like skydiving -- without the parachute.
Which is how I came to be pretending to casually stroll down Las Vegas Boulevard on a sticky Sunday evening, wearing a business suit. It's difficult not to feel like an idiot when you're doing that ... or when answering questions on camera and sensing that every fact you've ever known has just fled your brain. And that the further you bloviate, the more inflated with hydrogen you seem to become, ready to burst into a fireball -- a veritable Hindenblogger.
Filming almost came to a dramatic and violent halt when were accosted near The Venetian by several self-identified Nevada white supremacists, one shirtless, another in a wife-beater and nearly all of them spoiling for a fight.
Cooler heads prevailed, but not before each of us was called "a nigger" and advised to "go back to fucking France." In other words, it was little different than the average "Comments" thread following a Review-Journal story.
Although I'm hoping to get left on the cutting-room floor, the worst-case scenario is that if I'm not, it'll only be seen on French TV and then not until after the November election. Better still, I'll probably be overdubbed in French, which will lend some much-needed sangfroid to my babblings.
Whatever happens, it was a valuable learning experience, as the saying goes (and after seeing the video feed of the Podcast-a-Palooza,* I knew I could use the education). That includes developing a little extra respect for those ubiquitous TV pundits. It may look like falling off a log, but it sure as heck isn't. Except for the falling sensation, of course.
* -- and, no, I am not going to link to the online video feed. My appetite for public self-mortification has its limits.
Print | 
Send to Friend | 
del.icio.us | 
Digg It! | 
Linking Blogs |
As one of the most prolific Vegas bloggers out there, your long shelf life means that video or not, you'll be around forever.
I'm privileged to have you on the Vegas Gang and in all my years doing the Vegas blog thing, you're one of my absolute best sources for stuff to link to.
Keep it up.
My vote is for the feed.
Lolly
http://www.sparkyofvegas.com/Vegas_Gang_Palms.html...