DeTomaso Mailing List: May 2000, Message #44

Tom wrote:

>So..that's the "sour puss cop" story.......let me know your thoughts on MY
attitude!

>>>Sorry to hear the cop was a bit belligerant, but he was just doing his 
job.  Whether you're in Vegas for four days or 15 minutes, the event still 
costs something (which varies with duration.)  And the hospitality suite is 
extremely off-limits to anybody who hasn't registered and paid (except, of 
course, for those that are in the process of doing so.)  The lady official 
you mentioned is Sandi Snyder, one of the co-founders of the event and one of 
the nicest ladies around.  

In fact she did make the effort to come and find me and told me you were 
looking for me, and that she'd sent you to the ballroom.  She didn't mention 
that you hadn't signed up for the event, and the possibility never even 
occurred to me.  I didn't see any sense of urgency, so I finished up my 
conversation and then went looking for you, but you'd left.

You shouldn't be surprised that nobody invited you inside, nor should you 
consider it to be anti-social--to do so is akin to people "inviting" you 
inside a movie theater through one of the fire exits.  Sure, it's not hurting 
anybody, and they're showing the movie whether you pay to see it or not, but 
there are principles involved, as well as simple pragmatic economics, and one 
of the most important ones is that only the people who pay for the 
hospitality suite and all that it offers (in a four-day open bar, the 
greatest per-unit expense is WATER by the way) are authorized entry.

Sorry you weren't clear on the rules of engagement.  The guard is given 
strict orders and has to carry them out.  He should have been professional 
when he did so, but the underlying action is perfectly justified and proper.

That said, I had a great time wandering around Fremont Street and the parking 
lot with you, and wondered where the heck you had gone.  I had hoped to 
introduce you to a host of fine people, and I think that you really missed 
out.  Next year! :>)

I met another very nice would-be owner skulking around in the lobby, who had 
travelled hundreds of miles but didn't want to pay to enter.  I've been 
helping him find a car that meets his needs but had never met him before.  He 
really blew it by not making the Giant Leap into the heart and soul of this 
club, the POCA hospitality suite.  Had he done so, he could have picked 
literally hundreds of brains, and perhaps even spoken to people that could 
have helped him in his search.  All to save a lousy fifty bucks...

Curious...

Mike