The village idiot of Las Vegas chats with a Senior Associate.

The other day I called a Senior Associate of mine. "Warren, am I the only guy in Las Vegas who sees what the hell is going on? Jesus, look at the gaming numbers the Asians are producing. That's just a precursor for what's to come!" My friend Warren has been around the block a time or two. Every so often I call and ask his opinion. Some times he will give it to me. "What do you mean when you say the gaming numbers are just a precursor for what's to come? I don't understand your philosophy behind that," he replied.

I often wonder if Warren and I read the same newspaper - but nonetheless - Whenever he asks a question, I always try in earnest to answer it. "Think of it this way Warren. When the market crashed back in '08. Well, it looked like the whole strip was going to have to file bankruptcy -That is until the China man came raging onto the scene - Today, Wynn and Sands are reporting record profits and it didn't come from guys sitting around a poker table in Kansas." The island of Macau, located 30 minutes by ferry from Hong Kong, deregulated their gaming industry in 2004. A number of American purveyors set up shop shortly after. Since then, profits have been at an all time high for the lucky few who had the foresight to do so.

"Now, I want you to listen real good to me Warren. If the gaming revenues in Macau are three times greater than Las Vegas produces in less than a decade of existence -The first American owned casinos were opened in 2008 - Just imagine what else the Asian consumer will spend their money on." I have been touting a food ordering/delivery website that focuses primarily on Asian restaurants in the Chinatown section of Las Vegas. "Warren, I hold this belief to be a true. If an outside business group establishes healthy business relations with Asian proprietors and consumers at the ground level in Chinatown, and thus is able to establish some solid 'American' concepts. Well, the sky is the limit!"

I never know if Warren is listening or not, so I asked him. "Warren, does what I am telling you make sense? I would really like you to come back out and take another look at Chinatown. This time come by yourself." After my statement, I patiently waited for his response. After a minute of silence I again asked if he understood what I was talking about. "Warren, are you still there?" I replied forcefully. Much to my chagrin, we had been disconnected. I immediately called back and the call went straight to voice mail.