How do veteran NAB Show-goers measure a crowded show? There are no more acute observers of NAB Show traffic (in both senses of the word) than Las Vegas cab drivers, and the news from that front is optimistic. Wondering why Sunday’s cab lines at McCarran Airport were so long? (Your correspondent measured a 40 minute wait time for a cab at midday.) Turns out Vegas officials decided not to add more taxi licenses, which pleased the drivers, if not those of us cooling our heels at McCarran or the convention center. The cabbies are also pleased that a planned extension of the monorail to the airport is on the back burner. It’s been a slow year for them so far, and they’re hoping this week will be busier.
We’ll get a better sense of the other traditional NAB Show traffic barometer as the day goes on: if the lines for the men’s rooms in the show halls get long, that’s a sure sign of a busy show.
Buster Smith covers radio from Reston, VA