A mere sliver.

Before I get started on this post I have to share a vision I am having about future Village Idiot Armada Days (VIAD). As everyone knows by now this will be the inaugural for VIAD. I am thinking much further down the road when the Raider's move to Las Vegas (2020). VIAD will be moved to the weekend that coincides with the KC- Raider's game. I realize it is still a long ways off, but I thought I would give people the heads up any way:

I chatted with a friend of mine in Las Vegas today in order to encourage her to attend VIAD - "You mean to tell me you handed over all those restaurants and didn't see any money out of them. Why did you do that?" She was referring to a previous post where I stated I signed ten restaurants in Chinatown a few years back for a food delivery site and saw nothing from it. - "The post said those restaurants have generated a couple hundred thousand in revenue for the site, but yet you saw nothing." She didn't have to rub it in, but you live and learn. The truth is only a few made it to the site. If all of the restaurants had been put on and marketed correctly the revenue number would have been triple. I told her such and she replies - "This whole Chinatown stuff you have been blogging about has me both curious and confused." I understand Chinatown is out of the wheelhouse of most people who read the blog. I get it. That's why I am encouraging people to attend VIAD.

"Look, I missed out four years ago because I had no control over things," I then add, "The restaurants I am telling people about are a mere sliver of what can be extrapolated from Chinatown. When you come to VIAD I will showcase a number of examples that will be clear for people. The key is coming to VIAD." She then tells me to sum up the idea so it is clear for her - "I'm not coming out unless I have a better understanding of what it is you are trying to accomplish."

It was a fair question so I told her this - "Orange County California has always been the center of the universe in terms of introducing new products and services to the masses. The thought has always been if you can sell a sandwich or shoes there it will act as a hallway to the rest of the country. Chinatown has that kind of muscle as a market. If you can get something to be successful there it is bound to be successful to a much larger market...and it is mostly untapped." She then requests another example. I have many but gave the one I believe most are familiar with.

"Do you remember when things went to hell in the recession?" She answers yes, I reply, "Every casino in town was going broke because of it. Tourism was literally cut in half. Caesars and MGM had to reorganize. It was a bad time for everyone." I then add, "I take that back. It was a bad time for everyone except Steve Wynn (Mirage) & Sheldon Adelson (Sands) their respective companies were pulling in more money than ever before while all their competitors were headed straight down the shitter. Do you know why?" She had no clue, I add with emphasis - "It's because they had the foresight to tap into the Asian consumer when all of their competitors were building monstrosities on the strip."

I could go on and on why I believe but than I start to sound redundant. I just want her to come VIAD and see for herself - "So you are telling me if you can be a facilitator in Chinatown there is enough to go around." Again, without trying to sound redundant, I answer her question the best I know how - "That is what I am saying exactly Sweetie. If it can work for Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson there is nothing in the books that says it can't work for Rob Astle. And I know exactly how to get to it! Come to VIAD and I will show you!"