We need a Steve report 
Steve's doing fine thanks for asking Stu!
As for Vegas...well, being that it was my first visit there, I was blown away! Everything is BIG there and I even joked that my #@*&# looked bigger there too!
We stayed at Caesers Palace and I have never seen anything like it in my life. The size and detail of these facilities are mind boggling. We ate like kings and spent 99% of the time on the strip. Thanks to Mendocino, I got to see a part of Vegas that I wouldn't have in the older part of downtown (the old strip I guess). We had a blast and I'm glad he took me there to see it.
As for the show, it was also my first NSPI. I did expect far more people and I was surprised to see many of the major brands not in attendance. I understand the Aqua show played a factor but I still thought attendance would be higher. We did extremely well signing over 20 new dealers and I guess our crew were happy with that number. We have lots to follow on also so we'll see how it all works out. We had the second largest booth at the show and the set up was tedious. We had 5 stereo spas and 2 entertainment centers all linked to one so the same DVD or CD played throughout the booth.
I was disappointed in Beachcomber's booth and a few others. D1 seems to have really turned the corner and I was quite impressed with their spa designs. They looked interesting though I didn't sit in one. A very unique product and I think they'll have a very good year.
I was surprised to see the number of "soft sided" tubs offered and wonder about the appeal to the general public of these basic units.
Overall it was a huge show that I felt could have been better attended by prospective dealers and manufacturers. There was also very little in the way of western Canadian people that showed up but I kind of expected that.
I drank more in the last 8 days than I have in the last 8 years so now I'm home detoxifying my poor body!
My wife doesn’t drink so my next trip there will be viewed with a clearer head!
I'm going to surprise my wife with a 4 day trip back to Vegas to see Elton John in mid February for our anniversary. I'm also booking one of those helicopter tours into the Grand Canyon with a champagne lunch. 8 days is far too long to be on the strip and although I think everyone needs to see Vegas at least once in their lifetime, a 3-5 day package would be lots IMO!
Steve
