The village idiot of Las Vegas has a Q&A session with himself...Part 2

Of every $100 wagered in the United States -- $99 of it is illegal. Whether it be online, the neighborhood bookie, illegal card rooms, office pools and others. I've seen estimates as high as 300 billion a year as pertains to the revenue generated by illegal gambling. This years Super Bowl was estimated to have 10 billion bet illegally on it:

Let's cut to the quick; recently Nevada passed a bill that makes online poker legal in its boundaries. Nevada's population isn't large enough to support the online gaming business as a whole. So they're going to look at forming compacts with other states. At this juncture, online gaming is a state by state issue. California, Nevada's neighbor to the West, estimates an additional 150-300 million could be put in the state coffer if online gambling is legalized there. For the sake of not sounding redundant; I anticipate online gambling to be legalized throughout most of the country in the next few years. The revenue it will produce for those who are ready will be tremendous.

(Q). How does a novice like me get into a business like online gambling?

(A). Asians: Ex. Ernst & Young recently published a report. It stated by 2030, two-thirds of the worlds middle class will be of Asian descent. Couple that with the fact Asians account for 60% of all land based casino revenues and it becomes clear why they would be an obvious target market for online gaming.

(Q). How do you get to an Asian crowd as pertains to online gambling?

(A). First you must prove to them that you can be beneficial for them. The Asian community in Las Vegas is under served in many facets compared to traditional markets. Online food ordering and delivery coupled with creative marketing approaches like reality and Guerrilla Marketing will serve as the gateway to the greater market.

(Q). What's the competition entail with your approach to Asian growth strategies? Why don't you focus on a more traditional market?

(A). Competition in the Chinatown section of Las Vegas is non-existent for the ideas I'm proposing. That's what makes it so attractive! I've spent years developing the critical relationships needed. My cohorts in Chinatown have shown an eagerness to help; provided proper resources and a well defined plan are established. On the other hand, traditional markets are diluted with competition. I'm going to borrow an analogy from my colleague Kam, "In the traditional markets, you will find lots of dogs chasing a few rabbits. In the Asian markets, you will find a few dogs chasing lots of rabbits."

(Q). How many licenses have been granted in the State of Nevada for online gaming? How would you get in on the action without a gaming license?

(A). Currently, eight licenses for online gaming have been granted in the State of Nevada. The legislature has enacted a two year moratorium before any other licences will be awarded. The first thing licensees are going to be searching for once their gaming sites become active: DATA BASES! Ex: If a data base of Asian gamblers is created under ones control; it's going to be worth a substantial amount of money. Ex.--According to industry sources, gaming sites will lease a data base at a percentage of loss. The going rate is 35-40%. (A gambler can win and it won't cost you a thing if you're in a leasing agreement with a site. On the other hand, lessors of a data base would be entitled to 35-40% of total losses occurred by their data base). Industry norms for a well run gaming site are 4-5% net.

Summary

In the near future, online gambling is going to hit like an avalanche. According to industry sources: OG will grow from a cottage industry to North of 100 billion in revenues by 2020. Asian gamblers will contribute heavily to that number. I'm proposing a number of sensible strategies be put in play to capture the future growth.

The village idiot of Las Vegas has lunch with a Bruce Lee fan...

Today at lunch in Chinatown, my Asian colleague Kam told me he enjoyed reading my previous post about Larry Bird. Take one guess who his favorite basketball player is. If you guessed Yao Ming. You'd be correct.

"Kam, let me ask you something. Who was the main man in Chinatown when you were a kid?" Kam was born in Hong Kong and his family immigrated to the Chinatown district of San Francisco when he was eight. "Oh man, that's an easy one. It was Bruce Lee. My friends and I used to walk to school everyday and practice our karate kicks while pretending to be him. All of us wanted to be just like him when we got older. After he died, the flag at the post office was half mast for a week. That's how much everyone in Chinatown loved Bruce Lee."

I like to end every post of mine with a thought I'm having...Call it the village idiot thought of the day. "I got an e-mail from a friend of mine today. He said I was using the apostrophe incorrectly in a number of my posts. I went back and checked; he was right. I want to tell him thanks and that I appreciated his feedback."

The village idiot of Las Vegas talks about his boyhood idol Larry Bird.

Back in the day it was Larry Bird 24/7; and why not? A small town kid from the middle of nowhere ascends to one of the top basketball players of all-time. If you're a small town white boy and don't admire Larry Bird...Don't come around me!

The Larry Bird story starts like many others; born and raised in a small town, local hotshot, the wonder boy of French Lick. After a stellar high school career Bob Knight recruits him to play for the Hoosiers. He makes his way to Bloomington and things go to hell for him quickly. He was always use to being the man. IU had just completed an undefeated season the year prior and they had plenty of 'the mans.' Couple that with the fact Larry had never been out of French Lick...needless to say, he didn't last long.

After his brief stay at IU, Larry heads back to French Lick. He knew a job working for the city was waiting for him. The only job open at the time; garbage man. After a year on the garbage truck his mother can't anymore. So she calls the coach at Indiana State. He comes down and talks him into playing for them...The rest is history!

Recently, I watched a special on ESPN that documented Larry's life. My favorite part is when they are interviewing Bill Walton. He said this about him, "It's game 5 of the Eastern finals and everyone in the building thinks the Celtics are going to lose except Larry. The Pistons let their guard down thinking it was over and he made them pay. People forgot that Larry Bird never gives up!" For those tried and true Celtic fans. You remember the moment Walton is referencing. 

When I was a young, Larry was the king in small town Kansas, every kid wanted to grow up and be him. My friend Jack told me a story about a friend of his from Kansas who actually met him. He said the guy was driving past French Lick and decided to take a look at where his boyhood idol had grown-up. He then found out where he lived. He figured, "What the hell. I'll just go knock on his door." He does just that and Larry answers. He then tells him he was a fan and always wanted to meet him (this is my favorite part of the story). Well, Larry tells him to hold on for a minute and puts his shoes on. The two of them end up shooting baskets, shooting the breeze, chewing Skoal and having a good time for a couple of hours. That's got to be one of the best stories I've ever heard.

 I was in Chinatown the other day eating at a crowded restaurant with my colleague Kam: When an Asian kid walks in wearing a vintage Bird jersey. I told the kid I liked his jersey and asked him what he knew about Larry. He started rattling off everything and I become impressed rather quickly by his knowledge. I then thought to myself. 'Go figure, Larry Bird is popular in Chinatown as well."

The village idiot of Las Vegas talks about the coming onslaught that is online gaming...

According to the 2010 census; Clark County has over 200,000 residents of Asian descent. That's a 122% increase from the 2000 census. I'll say this with all confidence, "When I look into my crystal ball. It tells me the Asian population in Clark County will get bigger, much bigger. I'd be willing to make a future bet that Clark County will be a quarter Asian or somewhere in that neck of the woods by 2020." (The 2010 census stated Las Vegas' metro population at just over two million). I'm drawing a clear picture. They're a lot of Asians in Las Vegas that could be catered to immediately and their number's will only increase as time moves forward.

By now, anyone reading my blog on a consistent basis is familiar with my idea of creating a website for online  food ordering and delivery with the restaurants in Chinatown being the jumping off point for it. I'm going to give that a rest in this post and talk about something else coming down the pike; online gaming. The State of Nevada passed a bill recently legalizing online poker in Nevada. The initial licenses are being given to a handful of existing gaming companies in the state. As it's written now, you'll only be allowed to gamble online if you're a resident of the state; that will change soon. For now, the federal government is leaving online gaming up to the states. Nevada is the standard bearer in gaming worldwide. Once Nevada has the framework and regulatory process in place; they're going to look at striking compacts with other states; California being the first. Since most states in the Union are revenue starved; many people, including myself, hold the belief that online gaming will be legalized throughout the country because of the tax revenue it creates. If online gaming gets legalized full boat --sports, poker, etc.-- Estimates for revenue according to Ralston reports: 100 billion plus by 2020!

How does a person get in on the action of online gaming? That's a good question and I have a solid answer; Asians. Gaming revenue is dominated by them! Example: Macau is a gaming enclave located 30 minutes by ferry from Hong Kong. The gaming revenue there is six times greater than its nearest competitor; Las Vegas. 

The Asians who live in Las Vegas like to gamble! Many of them will gamble online when it becomes legal. If I'm able to implement a few of the strategies I've been blogging about as pertain to Chinatown and Asian growth (online food ordering and delivery, reality) and the Asians take a liking to them. Well, it opens up the door for more things such as online gaming. Basically, they've got to like you and trust you. Once that happens, you'd stand a great chance of selling other services to them such as online gaming. Once they legalize online gaming in other states; you'd look to sell the service there as well. Think of it as a 'snowball effect' and Chinatown Las Vegas would be the start of it.

I like to end every post of mine with a thought I'm having...Call it the village idiot thought of the day. "A well run gaming site is going to net 4-5%. The key is volume! An effective growth strategy aimed at Asian businesses and consumers would provide that volume! Think of it this way: If you've got 10,000 people signed up for a gaming site. And the total action for a day is one million dollars. The site would net $40,000-$50,000. I'm quoting a lofty number, but again, the key is volume. The most viable group to find volume for a venture of this sorts; Asians!"

The village idiot of Las Vegas gives his reality pitch to his friend from Nielsen...

"Whenever I start telling people that I've got an excellent idea for a reality show in Las Vegas, well, they tend to look at me like I have three eyes. I realize the idea sounds out there, but this is Las Vegas I'm talking about. Reality viewing is on the fringe of being the norm. I tell you this with all seriousness; it's an idea that would prove feasible given the right script." At the time, I was giving my reality pitch to a friend of mine who works for Nielsen's.

"What's the concept? What would it revolve around? You've got to have something really unique if you're going to get people to watch. There's a lot of them right now. So it better be something different from the norm." He was reiterating things that I already knew. "Look where we're at. Look at the big picture. Read the blog. How many small town white guys from Kansas will you find running around Chinatown that have the skills, connections and vision I do? I can answer that question for you in one word; none." 

Nielsen is one of the top rating agencies in the world, especially when it comes to television. "Who would be the target market for a show like the one your talking about? What would the characters look like?" At this point, I'm only giving the elevator pitch. I'm more than happy to go full out once I find an investor who shows interest. So I hit him with the basics.

"I'd be the protagonist (narrator), the show would revolve heavily around me interacting with a number of characters in not only Chinatown, but Las Vegas as well. I would also recruit a couple of other characters for the endeavor, sex it up some; I'm envisioning a Duck Dynasty moves to Chinatown kind of feel." Being that my friend works for Nielsen; I had one more stat to throw at him as pertains to a target market.

"You're aware that the season finale of 'Super Girl' had North of 400 million viewers." Super Girl is a Chinese reality show that would be akin to American Idol. "Think about this for a moment. If a reality show like the one I'm proposing could crossover to the greater Asian viewing market. Who knows what could happen?"  

I like to end every post of mine with a thought I'm having...Call it the village idiot thought of the day. "Out of all the stats I share in my blog as pertains to the Asian growth strategies and Chinatown; 400 million viewers watching a season finale of a reality show is the most astonishing! That's four times more Americans then watched the Super Bowl this year. For the sake of simplicity; I'm going to end my post this way. If a reality show about Chinatown becomes successful in its initial market. The chances of getting more people to watch are astronomical given the untapped potential that a market like Asia holds."

The village idiot of Las Vegas eavesdrops on a lovers quarrel at McDonald's.

"I know you were with her. Don't lie to me," it's hard not to eavesdrop when people are speaking within earshot of you, "She told me about how the two of you had sex when I was out of town. Is that true?" She was mid-twenties, he was the same. It sounded as if he'd been caught red handed, but still he was denying it - "I don't care what that bitch said. I was never with her. She's lying," both then fell silent as they ate their meal...it was a chilly silence.

The silence is then interrupted by her statement - "This isn't the first time you've done this to me. You are lying to me again. I told you that if you screwed around on me again we were finished," her voice is now full of rage and anger.

"OK, I'm sorry, it won't happen again! I was drunk and I didn't want to but she kept pushing things. I'm sorry, please forgive me!" He found himself cornered and decided best to admit his wrongdoing and deal with the consequences.

After hearing his admission from my neighboring booth I expected her to slap him or a big public blow up, but that wasn't the case, not at all. "Did you fuck her on our bed?" she asks calmly. He nods yes, she then says, "Our next stop is Furniture Mart and you are going to buy a new bed. The old bed is going in the trash," he nods his head yes again.

 

The village idiot of Las Vegas does a Q & A with himself...

Hyperlocal connotes information oriented around a well defined community with its primary focus directed around the concerns of its citizens ---Wikipedia.

(Q). Why do you think hyper-local is the best approach for marketing your service to Chinatown?

(A). Chinatown is small geographically compared to the whole of Las Vegas; but don't let that be deceiving. The four mile stretch that encompasses it is top heavy, to say the least, on restaurants that could use a service like the one I'm proposing (online food ordering & delivery). A scenario of this sort provides dream like logistics for a start-up of our nature.

(Q). Do you have the necessary connections to enter the Chinatown market?

(A). Yes, as stated in previous posts. I have two colleagues who are fluent in both English and Mandarin/Cantonese. We've acquiesced ten restaurants in Chinatown for the service so far and have commitments from a number of others. One colleague has worked in a Chinatown restaurant for the last 20 years and the other has been a Chinatown resident for 17 years. Both are highly respected members of the Asian community.

(Q). Currently, are there any existing competitors in Chinatown for the service you're proposing?

(A). This is the variable I find most attractive about Chinatown. Competition for a service like ours is non-existent. If we're able to apply an effective hyper-local approach. We would be the first of our kind in Chinatown. Thus giving us a foothold against any future competitors. As stated earlier, we have ten restaurants under contract with a number more on the hook. At this juncture; we lack an adequate website to place them on.

(Q). If Chinatown is such a good idea for a service like the one you're proposing. How come another company hasn't already moved in?

(A). That's a question I have given much consideration. I've got a few analogies; the first is that Asian proprietors have been stigmatized. Mainstream marketer's share a notion that they are hard to deal with or they only want to do business with themselves. My belief's rest on the notion that mainstream marketers are not clever enough to develop a plan like the one I'm proposing. My underlying opinion, the team and the approach that's been assembled is far superior to what any would be competitor could dream of having.

(Q). Shouldn't an online food ordering and delivery website have more than just Asian cuisine on it?

(A). Absolutely, the ideal situation is to have a wide array of cuisine to offer customers. This is another appealing aspect about Chinatown. It provides instant volume. I say this from the voice of experience. I worked briefly for another site and it only had three restaurants signed when I started. Before I made my way to Chinatown; I wasn't having much luck signing anyone up. The complaint I was hearing most. "You guys don't have any restaurants signed up." It wasn't appealing to proprietors because we appeared too small. The volume provided by restaurants in Chinatown will give us the credibility we need to sail past any complaint about appearing too small.

(Q). How much revenue are you entitled to once product sells on the site? What's the length of the contract?

(A). The introductory rate is 18% of total net. The initial contract length is 3-4 months. The long term goal is to show businesses that the service is beneficial for them. Once that's accomplished; a renewal rate of 22-25% will be quoted. In addition, a variety of industry standard charges will be added to the customer side of the equation.

I like to end every post of mine with a thought I'm having...Call it the village idiot thought of the day. "I'm believing that my message is getting across somewhat. I never really know for sure without feedback. I could go on further about how things work; but I'm going to save it for future posts. Trust me, I wouldn't be putting the effort in if my vision wasn't clear."

The village idiot of Las Vegas talks about strip land values and Asian gaming...

The Echelon was a planned mega-resort on the Las Vegas strip that mothballed in 2008 due to the recession -- Fast forward to present day -- A Malaysian gaming company recently purchased the skeleton and the 87 acres it sits on for 350 million dollars. Their intentions, according to the newspaper, are to build an Asian themed mega-resort with a replica of the Great Wall of China running through the middle of it. The paper also stated that they were intending a capital investment of two to seven billion over a four year stretch.

Here's something to gnaw on; the Asians paid 350 million dollars for 87 acres of North strip land (a skeleton of what was intended to be the Echelon is included in the purchase). The last major purchase of raw land on the strip (prior to the Asians) was 2006. An Israeli group paid 1.2 billion for 33 acres right next door to the Echelon. The market tanked right after the purchase and the land has set empty since. Let's do the math:

350 million (the price the Asians paid)/ 87 (amount of acreage purchased)=4 million per acre. Now take into consideration what the Israelis paid for 33 acres of comparable strip land in 2006 -- 1.2 billion (price paid in 2006)/ 33 (amount of acres purchased)=36 million per acre.

Compare and contrast: The Asians paid roughly 4 million dollars an acre for strip land in today's market while the Israeli group paid close to 36 million an acre in 2006. Off the top of my head; I'm calculating an 80-90 percent drop in strip land value compared to boom prices. Yikes!!

Macau is an island 30 minutes away from Hong Kong. A few years back the Chinese government deregulated the gaming market there; thus allowing a number of new gaming companies to set-up shop. Macau's 2012 gaming revenue number (40 billion) was six times greater than Las Vegas'. I have a theory about Macau and why it will be good for Las Vegas: The Asian gaming dollar is so massive and promising that it will eventually bleed back to Las Vegas. If you take into consideration the recent purchase of strip land by the Asians; my theory begins to make sense.

I like to end every post of mine with a thought I'm having...Call it the village idiot thought of the day. "I received some good news today. My father and brother are coming to Las Vegas at the first of the month to visit me for my birthday. I'm looking forward to it."

The village idiot of Las Vegas and his cousin Joel from Kansas City...

"What happens if you can't make it work? How long are you going to keep trying?" The other day I was chatting with my cousin Joel. He moved from Kansas City to Las Vegas a year prior to me. The last few months I've been in his ear constantly about my belief's as pertains to Asian growth strategies and Chinatown. He's been a great sounding board; but he's starting to worry about my obsession. "Let's face it cousin. You're holding a tiger by the tale. I'm not sure you have the wherewithal to wrestle it to the ground and I get the vibe that I'm not the only person who feels that way."

I appreciate him watching out for me; but I've made a commitment to seeing it through and it needed to be reiterated. "Look, I appreciate your concern. I know this idea I'm chasing is something most people don't understand or believe in. The thing is if I don't do it someone eventually will. The last thing in the world I want to be is that guy at the bar crying in his beer because he gave up and someone else didn't. It makes all the sense in the world to me. Take into consideration how much the Asian population is exploding in Las Vegas. Eventually they're going to buy the whole town up. Online food ordering and delivery is non-existent in the restaurants of Chinatown; and it's not because other companies don't want to be there. They don't know how to attack it like I do! The first person to successfully box Chinatown in is going to reap a reward that most only dream of."

He's heard the pitch before and agrees to a varying extent. "I know it makes sense, I'm not arguing that point; but still, what happens if it never works out for you?" I decided to cut right to chase with him. "I don't have a Plan B. I'm going to pursue it until it works or I'm in a pine box. If I didn't believe in it I would have abandoned it a long time ago. The numbers, the projections, the model, the connections. It all points in the direction of Chinatown!" After my explanation I thought I was done with the conversation; but Joel had one more legitimate question for me. "When are you going to find an investor for your idea?" That's a question I ask myself frequently, "Joel, one of these days the right person with resources will come along and appreciate all the legwork that's been done. They'll share the vision and that's how it will happen. When will that person come? I don't know, but they'll come."

I like to end every post of mine with a thought I'm having...Call it the village idiot thought of the day. "I received an e-mail from a reader of mine the other day. He said that he was tired of hearing about Asian growth strategies and Chinatown. 'Get back to writing about all the women in Las Vegas' were his exact words. I understand his gripe; but like everyone else. He doesn't fully understand how vested I am in Chinatown and Asian growth strategies. If it makes him feel any better; the first thing I'm going to do once I get my idea off the ground; have my partner Kam get me a suite at Hard Rock. After that happens, I'm going to invite every girl in Las Vegas over for a soiree."

The village idiot of Las Vegas and his 98 year old grandmother...

The only person who is really happy to hear from me nowadays is my 98 year old grandmother in Kansas. I cherish that fact. Well, I hadn't talked with her in a few weeks so today I decided to give her a call.

"Hi grandma it's your grandson Robbie in Las Vegas. How are you today?" The first thing to do when calling grandma is identify yourself. She has six other grandchildren and sometimes she'll get us mixed up. "Robbie, how are you doing sweetheart? How is Las Vegas treating you?" Once she tunes in everything is wonderful. "Same stuff grandma, just plugging away. What's going on in Kansas?" After a brief rundown on all things Kansas she then asks me how my deal with the Chinese is going.

"Grandma, it's going slowly but surely. I'm searching for more investment." I've told her a number of times how Asian growth strategies could be beneficial. I believe she understands what I'm saying. The truth is I'm not quite sure; but she always asks. "Robbie are there a lot of Asians in Las Vegas?" Questions like that are the reason I believe she's paying attention. "Grandma, there are a lot of them; and the number just keeps getting bigger." I'd love to run all my belief's and stats by her but I don't. She'd get confused and I don't want it to get in the way of us having a nice conversation.

We chat a little while longer about the weather and then she asks me if I had heard from my ex wife Melissa lately. "You know what grandma, she was out in Las Vegas last week and I got to spend some time with her. From the sounds of everything she's doing fine." Grandma then asked if I showed Melissa everything I was talking about as pertains to Chinatown and the Asians. I wasn't quite expecting the question; but nonetheless, I was happy to answer. "You know what she told me grandma. She said that it was a shame I didn't have it altogether when we were a couple. She would've have invested after seeing all the work I've done. Now, she lives back in Kansas and makes half the money so it's not feasible. She was being sincere about it. She wasn't just saying it to appease me."

Grandma calls it like she sees it and when I told her what Melissa had said; her answer was straight grandma. "I bet you wish you wouldn't have let her go. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20. Maybe you'll find someone else to show your work to. If I was forty years younger; I'd come out and see what you've been talking about."

I like to end every post of mine with a thought I'm having...Call it the village idiot thought of the day. "The best part about calling grandma is the end. I know that doesn't sound right at first glance; but let me explain it better -- she always tells me good luck and that she loves me -- I never hear those words from anyone but her. It makes me feel good."

The village idiot of Las Vegas walks into the wrong apartment...

Last week I moved into a huge apartment complex near Chinatown; the lease was up on my old place and I needed cheaper digs. Anyways, it's one of those places where everything looks the same. After I got off work Friday night; I decided to walk down to Chinatown and have dinner at my friend Mike's restaurant (Mike is one of the guys assisting me in my Chinatown endeavor). After dinner is over, I tell him that I will 'catch up with him later' and then proceed to walk the three blocks back to my new apartment.

I don't know how many apartments are in my complex for sure. I can tell you one thing is for certain; there's  a lot of them. As I'm walking through the complex I see a swimming pool; my new place overlooks a swimming pool. I then took a gander at the units next to the pool. Like I said earlier, all of the places at my complex look the same. I walk up to the door of my apartment. I decide to forgo the key and check to see if the door was unlocked; I reached down and turned the knob; it was unlocked. As I'm opening the door I hear a couple of voices. My initial thoughts at the time were that my roommate had company. I open the door fully and get ready to step in when I notice something bizarre. 

Sitting on an orange couch were two Mexican ladies and right next to them on the floor were a couple of kids playing with an erector set. The two women looked directly at me with a startled look on their faces. Something wasn't making sense. What were these people doing in my apartment? I take a quick glance around the apartment; nothing looked familiar. After that, I turned and glanced at the apartment number on the door; it read #197. My surprise turned to embarrassment instantly. I don't live in #197! I was in the wrong apartment!

The only thing on my mind was getting out of there before they decided to call the police or better yet take a shot at me. So I told them this - ''Lo siento Senorita's, I'm in the wrong Casa. Please forgive me." After my apology they both looked at each other and said something in Spanish. Whatever it was it must have been funny judging by the laughter they shared. After they were done laughing; one of them looks at me and says, "No problem amigo, but pay attention next time. I don't want my husband thinking I've got a wedo as a boyfriend."

I like to end every post of mine with a thought I'm having...Call it the village idiot thought of the day. "At the time I walked into the wrong apartment I was stone-cold sober. I'd have a much better excuse if I was drunk:  I told my roommate what happened, he couldn't stop laughing. 'Pay attention amigo and be glad that her vato wasn't there. If a Mexican male sees something like that; he's automatically going to think worse case scenario and that's never good.' One thing is a certainty; I'm going to do my best not to make a blunder like that again."

The village idiot of Las Vegas and the return of his ex wife to town...Part 4

"When you talk about reality television and Chinatown; people find it hard to comprehend. You've got to explain it better. Now that you've shown me everything in detail; I get it, but you've got to be more detailed if you want other people to understand." My ex wife Melissa has been listening to my ideas about Chinatown and Asian growth strategies for quite some time and for the most part it had gone in one ear and out the other; but now, things were different; she was seeing it firsthand; and it was making the intended impression on her.

I told her this: "People are attracted to things that are an anomaly. The plot line would be a small town bumpkin from Kansas promoting all things Chinatown and Las Vegas. The emphasis would be on keeping things humorous and informing. I'm putting myself in a unique situation with a format of this nature. You've told me that you like my blog. So think of it as bringing the blog to life. Now, if I wasn't in a town that was as unique as Las Vegas; I'd be the first to admit that it sounds crazy; but that's not the case. I live in Las Vegas and ideas like reality are on the fringe of being the norm. Remember, Las Vegas is a next level town and if you're going to try something like reality; you won't find a more cooperative atmosphere!"

Melissa is a big believer in karma; so am I. So when she told me this after my statement, I could tell that a bell was ringing in her head. "Look, you're a lot different than most people. You're reaching for the stars. The things that you're showing and telling me are finally coming into focus for me. Like I said earlier, how come you didn't have all of this in play when we were together? That's water under the bridge now. I don't know what else to tell you except to keep pushing forward with your belief's"

I like to end every post of mine with a thought I'm having...Call it the village idiot thought of the day. "I chatted with a relative of mine the other day and he told me this, 'You've been trying to get things going for a long time and I still don't see anything concrete from you.' In a way he was right, but, he was only looking at what was visible to him. So I told him this. "Come on out to Las Vegas and let me show you the core of what I'm talking about. It's unfair to judge a book by it's cover.' Hopefully, he'll take me up on my offer."