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TAM 9 info

WillyWonka

Thinker
WillyWonka
Joined
Nov 21, 2010
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218
I am planning to go to the next Amaz!ng Meeting in July, but since I never been to any of the meetings, I would like some information.

Based on previous meeting, how much will the registration be?

Is it better to stay at South Point Hotel or is it fairly easy to get to the meeting from a Vegas strip hotel?

Will there be a limit in registration for the meeting?

Sorry if the questions seems rather mindless. I tried to get more info from some of the thread but could not get what I want.


WW
 
Given the fact that:
A. South Point is kinda far from the strip, with very few other hotels (if any) around it.

B. The rates at South Point can be awfully low if you watch for their sales. (Last year I think they had sales almost persistently.)

C. Everyone hangs out at the hotel's bar areas in the evening (where a lot of the "real fun" takes place, according to some disreputable people)

D. You are more likely to be able to hang around, casually, with the stars of the conference, the more you hang around the hotel.

E. All the other hotels are not quite as classy, anyway...

I would say that it is better to stay at South Point.

I don't remember how much registration cost, exactly. Somewhere in the $300 range, was it?

Have you ever been to Las Vegas before? If not, you might want to consider staying an extra day or two to see the sights.
 
Definitely South Point.

TAM is much more than just the talks--it's meeting and interacting not only with the speakers but with the large group of skeptics attending. That takes place between talks and during meals but also after hours--at the bars, the pool, and elsewhere. :)
 
WillyWonka said:
Is it better to stay at South Point Hotel or is it fairly easy to get to the meeting from a Vegas strip hotel?
Click to expand...

First, I'd recommend staying at South Point, for a few reasons.

But as to your specific question - it depends. If you're driving to Vegas, then the drive between South Point and the Strip is reasonably easy. If you're not driving, the cab fares will add up pretty quickly. Walking from the Strip to South Point isn't practical, particularly in July.

Okay, trying to walk 8 miles in 106F kinda goes beyond "not practical."

ETA: What the others said. Hanging out at the bar is one of the main features of a TAM. And it's easy to do if the bar is downstairs from your room. It's another thing entirely if your room is 8 miles away.
 
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If you really want to see the Strip, there's a shuttle from The South Point to the Strip. I went with a friend. The ride was OK, and we had a great time wondering the city that should not be. ;)
 
Thank you for all of you that responded.

It seems that the best option is to stay at South Point Hotel during the meeting and just move hotel after the meeting if I choose to stay a few more days.

I go to Las Vegas once in a while for events such as the LV marathon or to meet friends and such. The only thing that I do not do is gamble; I calculated the odds and they is not in my favour.

I am looking forward to the meeting and I have already blocked the time off on my agenda.


WillyWonka the radiation physicist.
 
WillyWonka said:
The only thing that I do not do is gamble; I calculated the odds and they is not in my favour.
Click to expand...


I've spoken about this with other TAM attendees and from what I heard, few people gambled more than a buck or two, if that much (I didn't gamble--or lose--a penny during my first visit for TAM8 this year).

At least from my non-representative sample, it seems that most TAM skeptics have also calculated the odds. :D
 
AdMan said:
At least from my non-representative sample, it seems that most TAM skeptics have also calculated the odds. :D
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Well, you know what they say: "If you don't play, you can't lose."

When I'm in Vegas, I usually gamble some just for entertainment value (or comped drinks). But losing bums me out, and I never get the 'I can win it back' feeling, so I don't gamble much. And, in fact, I didn't gamble at all during the TAM 8 trip. That wasn't through any conscious choice; I simply didn't get around to it.
 
I might gamble in a card game just to say that I gambled in Las Vegas. I certainly wouldn't expect to win in the end.
 
Cethis said:
I might gamble in a card game just to say that I gambled in Las Vegas. I certainly wouldn't expect to win in the end.
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Poker isn't bad. Unlike Blackjack, which takes my money away and then depresses me, I feel confident walking into a poker room and knowing that if I play smart and tight, chances are good I'll catch a few decent hands and walk away with some change.

It's also fun to enter a poker tourney, which doesn't cost much, and just play until you run out of chips -- you know at the outset how much you're probably going to lose and you can look at it as paying for the experience, so it's more fun than painful.
 
saganite said:
Poker isn't bad. Unlike Blackjack, which takes my money away and then depresses me, I feel confident walking into a poker room and knowing that if I play smart and tight, chances are good I'll catch a few decent hands and walk away with some change.

It's also fun to enter a poker tourney, which doesn't cost much, and just play until you run out of chips -- you know at the outset how much you're probably going to lose and you can look at it as paying for the experience, so it's more fun than painful.
Click to expand...

The main issue is whether or not you like the experience. I do not. I do not have any interest in sitting at a table or a slot machine and giving away my hard-earn money. This activity does not provide me any satisfaction. I have the same feeling about going to the beach.

In return, if you are talking about running a marathon, or going down a steep slope on skis, this is a different matter. Once again, at my age (mid-fifties), the odds are still not in my favour...


WillyWonka, the radiation physicist
 
WillyWonka said:
The main issue is whether or not you like the experience. I do not. I do not have any interest in sitting at a table or a slot machine and giving away my hard-earn money. This activity does not provide me any satisfaction. I have the same feeling about going to the beach.

In return, if you are talking about running a marathon, or going down a steep slope on skis, this is a different matter. Once again, at my age (mid-fifties), the odds are still not in my favour...


WillyWonka, the radiation physicist
Click to expand...

I get what you're saying -- for you the experience isn't enjoyable regardless of what game you're playing, and so is best avoided altogether. My comment was meant for Cethis, because he/she expressed interest in playing some cards in Vegas for the sake of the experience, and if you're going to play a little bit then why not play a game where skill comes into play so you can sway the odds a bit further in your favor?
 
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