I attended the NAB conference in Las Vegas last week and ended up riding lots of cabs to and from the Convention Center. Here’s what I learned from the taxi drivers:

NAB Is Not As Big as CES. News reports said that there were over 100,000 people at NAB but my cabbie said that it was really closer to 50,000 people. I don’t know if he’s right, but since I assume he’s talking to a lot of people he should have some insight. He said that CES in January had lots more people in Vegas.

NAB Attendees Don’t Spend Money. A few cab drivers mentioned that NAB attendees don’t tip well or spend lots of money on shows or events. One cab driver told me a joke about Comdex (remember Comdex?):

Comdex visitors come with one pair of underwear and a $20 bill and don’t change either of them.

Cab Drivers Want Big Tips. While waiting in a long taxi line at the Renaissance hotel, a guy in front of me said that he had a $10 cab ride and gave the driver a $3 tip. However the driver told the guy to keep the 3 bucks since it apparently wasn’t enough. “You seem to need the money more than I do,” said the cab driver. The man apparently did keep his tip and was still steamed when he recounted the story to me.

Taxis Have Touchscreen Computers. One taxi I rode had a big LCD touchscreen which I could use to look for shows or other events in Las Vegas. Annoyingly, it had sound that was too loud which I had to shut off every time I chose a new menu item. After searching I clicked on the “For Men” section which started playing a video and some crappy porn music. Apparently, it was some cheesy ad for a strip club. Maybe the taxi company should spend money on more important things than useless taxi gadgets.

Taxi Drivers Want You To Go to Strip Clubs. One night after attending the Penn & Teller show, I was riding back to my hotel when the cab driver said something like “I pegged you for someone that was heading to a strip club.” His thinly veiled conversation seemed like a sales pitch for the Spearmint Rhino, a popular adult club in Vegas. Later, the driver answered a cell phone call where it seemed he was recounting a story about almost getting some fare to a club. I wonder, is this really something organized going on in Vegas? Or was it something more casual. Maybe the driver just had a friend that worked for the strip club?

So that’s it from my first post-NAB report. In summary, I encourage all future NAB attendees to spend lavishly in Vegas. Tip the drivers well. Tip the bellperson. Tip the waiter. Tip the maid. Vegas is a service city. People are hustling for your business and working very hard. What would Vegas be without all these people?

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