As you know, I tend to rail on Caesars Entertainment Corporation (CEC) for a few main reasons. First, their table games typically have horrible rules, especially for us average Joes. Second, they try to build consistency and brand recognition but in doing so have taken unique properties and turned them into blah. Finally, navigating (and even looking at) CEC websites is a painful experience.
For a major corporation who has a stake in all things Vegas, they sure don't make their sites very appealing. Remember your dad's old paisley ties that were wide enough to be bibs? Remember how you wanted to hurl when he kept wearing those well into this decade? That's how I typically respond to CEC websites.
However, I like to be a positive person. I like to give credit where credit is due. I like to avoid hurling. So here it goes.
The Flamingo website contains a cool video on the home page that makes me think maybe, just maybe CEC is starting to turn it around. Now, granted, it's a modest little video that only lasts about 30 seconds, so it's not like it's going to win a Webbie or anything. But it's good. Be sure to watch it (at 30 seconds, you can't go wrong), but here's a synopsis:
It begins with an old station wagon, complete with a radio (not a stereo with a CD player or Auxiliary jack for your MP3 player, just a radio that you tune to stations) and an old analog clock. It drives into the desert, and then you see the sparkle of a pool. The familiar Flamingo sign is out of focus, but you can see the classic Vegas neon lights, and you know we're getting closer. Then, some beautiful women. Of course. A woman puts on her lipstick, then there's scenes of them by the pool. The Flamingo sign comes into focus. Then, fellas in sunglasses are enjoying a drink. Everyone looks happy. Then the station wagon drives off into the sunset.
What's so great about this? Here's what I like about it:
- It's perfect for the web. They pack a ton of good stuff in half a minute. Lots of good images, cool music, and few spoken words. Even with the sound down, this is a fun video to watch.
- It blends the modern and the classic. It's in black-and-white, but yet you get a sense of modernism through the pool and the young folks enjoying drinks.
- It has character. This is what I'm craving from CEC. Nowhere in the video does the narrator say "Flamingo" or "Caesars" but you know when he's talking about "a place" he means that the Flamingo has always been a Vegas staple. That's their niche - Ben Siegel and pink flamingos. 1946 and a cool pool. Showgirls and art deco. Now blend that with modern Las Vegas and you have something.
And that's the feeling I get from the video, in a nutshell. The guys driving the station wagon aren't just going to meet some gals. They are going to meet some gals in Vegas, and they're going to have fun at a classic stop on the Strip. Bingo.
Now, if they would only change their blackjack tables to pay 3:2 instead of 6:5 in the 6 deck shoes, I might just play there....
Viva,
Mike
