The plane passes over Tucumcari at 35,000 feet when sleep finally takes hold of you, an amped Boating World journalist listening to the Rolling Stones' Casino Boogie with dreams of the giant MAATS and ICAST conventions dancing behind REM-fluttering eyelids. The assignment is to go to Las Vegas and cover the Marine Aftermarket Accessories Trade Show (MAATS) and International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades (ICAST) event. Normally these two events run at the same time, but due to a glitch in scheduling, this year they've become separated by four days - meaning the usual three-day stay is now extended to 10 days. Being well-versed in the perils of long-term visits to the "Sin City" by virtue of having read the book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - in which "gonzo" journalist Hunter S. Thompson embarks on a substance-enhanced romp of epic proportions through the Vegas desert as he also covers two events for a national magazine - there's a subliminal warning light flashing inside your head.
Arriving in "Lost Wages" at night is a light-driven spectacle that fully awakens even the groggiest travelers with a glow that can be seen from more than 100 miles away. Jumping into a cab, you head to the Westin Casuarina, a four-star boutique hotel with rooms a half-block off the Strip that you snagged on Priceline.com for $60 a night (the rack rate is $244). Staying there for the first three days means you're already ahead $552 ... which is a pretty good start for a town geared toward harvesting the maximum dollar amount from your wallet.
If you arrive at midnight, chances are pretty good that your adrenaline will kick in, thanks to sensory overload. So, when you step out of the last casino of the "night," you're not surprised to see the sun rising over the Mojave Desert as it begins heating the landscape to a balmy hundred-teen-something on this particular day - during which the temperature falls only a few degrees shy of the all-time record of 117.
The three-hour nap falls a wee bit short of recharging your batteries, but after a hearty breakfast at the Ellis Island Casino and Brewery - which you get paid $10 for eating - your day is off to a stellar start. Only in Vegas can you parlay an order of eggs, grits, sausage, toast and 2 gallons of coffee into a money-making proposition. You start by getting a $5 meal voucher for joining the slot club, which pays for breakfast, and then your placemat entitles you to a free $5 match play blackjack chip in the casino - where you play exactly one hand and win. Stick and move, just like Ali used to do at Caesar's Palace.
The MAATS and ICAST events take place at the Convention Center, which exudes excitement (left); the "ony in Vegas" theme runs strong on the monorail.
After a 50-mph ride on the monorail (half price when you buy a book of 10 at the convention
rate) that takes you past the fabulous Wynn Las Vegas' golf course - which hotel guests can play
for only five black $100 chips - you arrive at the 3.2-million-square-foot Las Vegas Convention
Center, the home of ICAST, where this year the show is celebrating its 50th anniversary. When you
walk in and make a quick visual scan, the floor seems to be inhabited by a giant porcupine. Your
first Vegas-inspired hallucination? Nope, just the net effect of hundreds of vertical rods on
display. Your initial stop is at the New Product Showcase to see the latest and greatest
innovations.
The first item that grabs your eye is a bright-orange fishing rod dubbed the E21 Carrot Stix that wins the "Overall Best Of Show" award, along with "Best Saltwater Rod" and "Best Freshwater Rod" honors. Figuring its moniker to be a descriptive nickname based on the color, you find that the rod is actually made from real carrots that are broken down into fine particles and mixed with resins. The resulting product shares many of the characteristics of carbon fiber, but isn't nearly as brittle. Various uses are projected for this strong, lightweight material, such as building snowboards, golf club shafts, and maybe even automobile body parts and boat hulls.
The Carrot Stix takes home "Overall Best of Show."
In the "Why didn't I think of this?" category are the Old Harbor Outfitters Technical Fishing Shorts, which feature built-in D-rings and a reinforced back, so you can clip a fighting gimbal right onto the shorts instead of fumbling with your belt when a fish hits. In addition, these 100-percent quick-dry nylon shorts, which win "Best Of Show" in the clothing category, have built-in pockets for a pair of pliers and a fishing knife.
Lowrance, which used to be known for affordable entry-level electronics, is now a major player in the high-end segment and proves it by snagging a "Best Of Show" with the LCX 38C HD Sonar/GPS Chartplotter Combo, which has a 30-GB hard drive preloaded with a vast array of electronic charts and maps, eliminating the need for expensive add-on cartridges.
Lowrance is the new king of electronics in Vegas.
Shimano also makes a giant splash by winning three awards for its new Stradic reel, Trinidad DC
conventional reel, and a unique portable livewell/tackle management system designed for kayaks that
has a pump system, rod holders, and tackle storage all in a soft bag. For those who like to fly
fish in addition to using spinning tackle, Shakespere/Pflueger has the PFLEX, which can do both and
comes in a hard-shell travel case. This winner of the "Combo" category comes in at an affordable
$100.
Strolling around the floor, you see a sight that stuns you for a second when you think about its implications. At the Zebco display, PR guru Gary Dollohan introduces youto the North Carolina State college bass fishing team. Had there been such a thing during your distinguished academic career, you might have been taking classes like "Bait Rigging 301" or "Advanced Jerk Bait Theory," and majored in "Bass Harvest Management" instead of journalism.
Why couldn't your college have had a bass fishing team?
After three days of fishing gear perusal, you're ready for your four-day break in between conventions, and decide to make it a mini vacation by flying your wife out. This proves to be an excellent way to avoid trouble - so instead of staring at green felt for 96 hours, you actually do some of the touristy stuff you've always wanted to do ... like renting a car and touring magnificent Red Rock Canyon. Your wife wants to check out the restaurant that you've been bragging about winning breakfast at every day, and you both eat dinner there, ordering the top sirloin steak special (not on the menu) at Ellis Island. The meal includes a beautiful 1-inch-thick steak along with a giant salad, a mound of real mashed potatoes bigger than your head, and green beans sautéed with garlic in olive oil, plus a bottle of the house's best red wine. Including tip, it comes to the princely sum of $30. It's one of the best meals you've had - not counting the Kobe beef flatiron steak with a blue cheese/butter schmear you've had at the N9NE Steakhouse at the Palms, where a toothpick and a glass of water costs $30.
For the next four days you check out exhibits like BODIES, which shows the inner workings of the human body in graphic detail. It sounds gross, but proves to be fascinating. One of the best vantage points to view Vegas at night is from the top of the Stratosphere, which stands 1,149 feet high and even has a scary sled ride teetering down over the edge that would probably kill an acrophobe.
The wife, Pam, keeping the author out of trouble at scenic Red Rock Canyon
While the wife finds a penny slot machine with a Spam - the canned "ham" theme she loves (whew!) - the gambling powers that be inexplicably screw up and allow you to multiply your puny bankroll to $900 at the craps table. Vowing not to give it back with four days to go, you quit while you're ahead ... for once. You switch overnight digs once again, leaving the Orleans Hotel, which is a nice off-strip property with some of the best rates in Vegas (four nights, including the weekend, plus four buffet coupons costs $208, counting a $40 rebate from www.hotels.com). The deal at the next hotel is even sweeter. Because you're a judge at the MAATS Innovation Awards contest, your accommodations at the Las Vegas Hilton are "comped" - a very melodic Vegas word. Checking in, you try something you've read about at www.thetwentydollartrick.com. Basically, you partially tuck a $20 bill under your credit card when checking in and slide it halfway to the front desk clerk and ask if there are any complimentary upgrades available. In Las Vegas this has become a standard, acceptable practice, and after first checking with the manager, you're upgraded to a suite ... sweet!
The MAATS show for boating accessories has an incredible number of creative gadgets for boating industry insiders to peruse. The interesting parade of 50 products vying for the Innovation Awards is daunting, but after getting together with the judges - who are all taking the assignment seriously and have done extensive research about each entry before arriving - a short list is agreed upon. The next step is to walk the floor and grill each representative about every aspect of their product. All factors are considered, including projected durability, relevance, and true innovation, as opposed to incremental improvement. After viewing the products in person, the distinguished panel retires to a room for a lengthy discussion on each product's merit. When needed, they request additional information or clarifications, but in the end, the judges are virtually unanimous in their choices.
Las Vegas is your home away from home for 10 thoroughly entertaining days.
The favorite is probably the Rope-A-Boat system (www.ropeaboat.com), which makes it easy for a boat's driver to automatically launch and retrieve their boat on a trailer by use of ropes and pulleys and an auto-winch system. This innovative design shares the win in the "Trailer" category with the Fulton F2 trailer jack (www.cequentperformanceproducts.com), which is the best boat jack you've seen.
The Rope-A-Boat Team
Another favorite is the FloatStep Dock Ladder (www.floatstep.com), which wins the "Dock Accessory" category with a clever design that uses a float on the bottom of a high-quality ladder to keep it out of the water - yet ready for immediate use - to free it from marine growth like sharp barnacles or slippery plant life.
The FloatStep team is notified of its Innovation Award.
Another unique product is the Engine-CheckUp (www.enginecheckup.com), which is sort of a "blood test" for your boat engine's oil. You simply place a drop of your oil onto a paper pad and use the supplied chart to interpret the results.
When a person who's not wearing a PFD falls overboard, seconds can mean the difference in life and death. Tossing a seat cushion or traditional life ring can be difficult and inaccurate, but the winner of the safety products category, Mustang's Survival Rescue Stick (www.mustangsurvival.com), is easy to throw both accurately and far, and upon contact with the water a horseshoe-shaped PFD inflates. Another safety product takes the "Aftermarket Electronics" category - the all-digital EPIRB from McMurdo (www.mcmurdo.co.uk).
