Defcon 19: [So tell me about the Rio] (recon and intel)

[hexjunkie]

Re: Defcon 19: [So tell me about the Rio] (recon and intel)

I'm a Vegas local, so it's easy for me to get to the Rio. If any specific intel on the venue is needed, send me a message & I'll see what I can get for you.

We are going to need everything sometime closer to con next year.. usually starts around March or April people go down take pictures of all the hot spots, lets us know what good things we should be at next year.

[astcell]

Re: Defcon 19: [So tell me about the Rio] (recon and intel)

I was at the Alexis Park last weekend and I was amazed we had Defcon there at one time. There are some great thins about the AP that are not available at the Riviera, and may or may not be available at the Rio.

In the AP:
- we could have gatherings in the outside hallways. They ranged from S&M whippings to pizza sales.
- each pol had its own DJ and other activities. They were self contained and independent.
- folks set up tables and computers in the hallways between speaker rooms. One guy stayed awake though the entire Defcon 8 weekend.
- the entire venue was more open and accessible. You could see people across the pool or in another building of rooms.
- Being non-gambling, the security was not as hard nosed.

I know I can wax poetic about the AP just as others will end up loving the Riv more than anything. At the Riv I felt like a mole, going from room to room always indoors and in the dark. Gathering places were limited, and they were never the same ambiance as the AP. There is just no place to plant one's self for the weekend.

Next time I am in Vegas I'll make a Rio run and see what I can gather.

[[Syntax]]

Re: Defcon 19: [So tell me about the Rio] (recon and intel)

So here's what I know about the Rio. I trek over to the buffet there about every other Defcon.

It has the largest Buffet in the city "Carnival Buffet", has about 7 cuisines. It used to be almost $30 but now has been lowered to $24. I ate there this last con. It is included on the buffet wrist band that they were offering this year, $40 all day pass to 7 buffets at 7 different casinos. Its also the only buffet to offer duck (they have a whole operation devoted to preparing duck) also a huge pastry kitchen. They have gelato and a bunch of other items not normally on buffets, Mongolian BBQ, made to order pasta ect..

Additional restaurants I saw while there was a burger/steak looking place I think it was called (All American Grill) possibly the cheapest place to eat but still pricey , and Gaylord Indian restaurant. They have the Seafood Village Buffet which is about $30-$40. I think they have a mexican place and an asian place as well, but Ive never seen or eaten at them.

They have a bowling alley at the back of the building where the shuttle stops, I think it may have black light (UV) bowling. It can be booked for parties, this last time there was a reserved sign on the door.

The Shuttle runs from (possibly 10am) to 1am every 20-30 minutes and travels between Paris, Harrahs, and Ballys, and is free both directions.

Food costs there seem to be a bit high, I don't think there are any "fast food" style places like Riviera had.. so plan to spend $$$ or eat the Con Food if its available.

Casino area is pretty small.

Its definitely a more up to date location, but at the same time, the ground floor of the hotel seems small, its off the strip, so the shuttle is the only salvation, but after 1am anyone not staying at the Rio will have to catch a cab to get back to their hotel.

Ahh which brings to mind, Palms is about a half block away.

[alklloyd]

Re: Defcon 19: [So tell me about the Rio] (recon and intel)

Just my 2 cents and my mileage...some of this may be dated a bit.

Cons: Pools close early.
Much more "off strip" than Riv.

Pros: Nicer rooms than the Riv, I mean seriously.
Free shuttles to other Harrah's properties (but they won't take you to the airport).
Seafood buffet is pretty good. I mostly ate at the burger place; about $10 for a very good burger.
Security doesnt seem to hassle people too much. But then again, I never tried hanging my pants outside my window.
Pools are much nicer (when open).
Cheap poker tournaments daily.
Penn and Teller show within stumbling distance of room (also they have no excuse not to come hang out now, if they are interested).

Not sure about con facilities or speaker rooms, didn't really notice.

Al

[sintax_error]

Re: Defcon 19: [So tell me about the Rio] (recon and intel)

[Copied from: DC19 Rio Recon Thread] Because I'm a douche who forgot about the sticky... Mods please delete/move other thread if you see fit.

Just got back from Vegas and did some *very* early recon. Won't go into too much detail just yet as I'm I'm tired, and a lot can change in 10 and a half months.

Food: Counted 5 casino-side bars, usual Vegas pricing. Food from just about every part of the world you'd want to eat, and damn good based on the 2 places I ate (Pablo McFadden's and Iforgetthenamerightnow Chinese). Skimmed every menu in the hotel, expect prices to start around $15/plate and go to $50+, give or take a couple bucks.

Pool area: Fecking awesome chillout space, staff is cool, chlorine smell is a tad harsh.

Con space: Some IBM thing was going on while I was there, speaker space and hallway width trumps the Riv no questions asked, apparent reg area also huge in comparison. Many "Guest Internet Access" pay for time internet kiosks littering the area, and the walk between the con space and the casino floor can be a little treacherous when inebriated, a lot of sloping going on there...

Stuff to do: Drink, gamble, gamble with cocktail waitresses dancing half naked atop your chosen slot machine, Penn & Teller, drink, eat.

Pictures may or may not go up sometime soon when i go through all my crap.

[calypso]

Re: Defcon 19: [So tell me about the Rio] (recon and intel)

Okay, I'm sold....so umm who do you have to shake boobs at in order to get party invites??

I kid I kid

Seriously though I'm hoping the price doesn't increase too much if the con moves to the Rio. I've never been to that one but I hope it's interesting.

[TheCotMan]

Re: Defcon 19: [So tell me about the Rio] (recon and intel)

I don't know if the boobs thing would work as well as you might guess. Getting to know people seems to be more reliable towards getting invites. Recent history suggests that use of boobs can provide an opportunity for getting attention, and sometimes causes some people to compensate such displays with something desired, but the ultimate "desired" result seems to be short-lived, and can easily backfire, especially with cameras and open policies of taking pictures at Defcon now, leading to long-term consequences through the internet with social networks, and alterations with photoshop.

Historically, the Rio has rated higher than most other hotels where food is concerned, especially their Buffet compared to other hotel Buffet. One suggestion mentioned in many places for saving money on Vegas Buffets is to arrive near the tail end of the breakfast run, so you pay breakfast buffet prices but after a short time, get access to lunch buffet food items without having to pay Lunch buffet prices. Many people know about this, so lines can get long at that time... so long that you get pushed into the lunch-time cost for buffets.

Last time our group went to the Rio for food was probably 7 years ago, though. I have no recent experience with their food to compare how it was to how it is now.

A few weeks ago, I talked to DT and Neil about the FAQ, and pointed out places that updates would be needed, and mentioned price for Defcon as one of them. I think Neil updated it, as it has been revised:

https://www.defcon.org/html/links/dc-faq/dc-faq.html

I did not see any change to cost of admission to Defcon in the FAQ, and it is possible that may still change in the future, but for now, it still says $140 after it was updated.

Hope this helps.

[stits]

Re: Defcon 19: [So tell me about the Rio] (recon and intel)

Just thought I'd throw this PBX intel out because the Rio is a fresh hotel for us. I imagine the Phone Losers of America and others are already on top of this but here it is.

I did a little digging, the hotel is running on a Nortel Meridian system. No shock at that, the place is huge.

I did a quick search on Google with the string "Rio hotel Nortel PBX" and the first page is a resume that puts pretty much everything on the table as of 2002.

It contains the following:

"Contracted to Nextiraone Communications as Sr. Tech For The Rio Hotel & Casino
Responsible for Nortel Meridian 1 81C PBX and NEC 2400 ACD
PBX, Nortel Meridian Mail, NEC Navigator
reporting systems including upgrades and carrier conversions.
Daily moves, adds & changes, all voice and data line installations.
Responsible for all telco entrance facilities "

I doubt it's been upgraded to VOIP, last time I was there nothing was yet.

[arahel_jazz]

Re: Defcon 19: [So tell me about the Rio] (recon and intel)

I am going to Vegas around St. Patrick's Day (March 17-20).

Any requests for recon of the Rio? I was planning on heading over there on Saturday the 19th.
Pictures? Wi-fi scans?

[Club81]

Re: Defcon 19: [So tell me about the Rio] (recon and intel)

I am going to Vegas around St. Patrick's Day (March 17-20).

Any requests for recon of the Rio? I was planning on heading over there on Saturday the 19th.
Pictures? Wi-fi scans?

Exactly what I was planning on doing during my April trip. I'd like to walk around the convention area and try to imagine 10,000+ people crammed into the hallways and see how it goes.

[snideology]

Re: Defcon 19: [So tell me about the Rio] (recon and intel)

I am going to Vegas around St. Patrick's Day (March 17-20).

Any requests for recon of the Rio? I was planning on heading over there on Saturday the 19th.
Pictures? Wi-fi scans?

-----
Yeah, actually I've never been to the Rio, and would love to see pics. The ones I found online suck, and are at highly advertising-advantageous angles. Don't give a crap about the casino, but DO care about negotiating nasty slopes & never-ending mazes while my liver tries to strangle me before I abuse it any further.

I realize you probably can't get into the rooms, but I have wondered if the rooms the con will get will be big enough for a kegger? Not, of course, that I would bring in outside alcohol; this is just for the sake of knowledge. The standard rooms are supposed to be 600 sqft, so at least it's better than the Riv's closet-sized rooms.

Uh, and yeah, so any advance Wifi info would be ummmm appreciated...

TIA!

[TheCotMan]

Re: Defcon 19: [So tell me about the Rio] (recon and intel)

https://www.defcon.org/html/links/dc-faq/dc-faq.html

I did not see any change to cost of admission to Defcon in the FAQ, and it is possible that may still change in the future, but for now, it still says $140 after it was updated.

In checking the FAQ today, I see a price of $150 quoted. It is only a $10 difference, but the price has changed, and this is important enough to reply to this older thread.

Also, this is a "sticky" which means the last post date is not as important when replying to "old" threads.

[Gigs]

Re: Defcon 19: [So tell me about the Rio] (recon and intel)

The sushi at the Rio at Hamada of Japan is absolutely horrible.

I forget why, but somehow I wound up at the Rio during one of my previous trips to Vegas. The line for the seafood buffet was too long, so we decided to do the sushi. It was the worst sushi I have ever had.

The rice was very sweet, they used thick cut julienned carrots in the rolls, and the tuna smelled so fishy I could barely eat it.

The kicker was that it was about $70 per person to eat there. It's "all you can eat" but made "fresh", as fresh as their crappy ingredients are, at least.

[arahel_jazz]

Re: Defcon 19: [So tell me about the Rio] (recon and intel)

Sitting in the Sao Paulo cafe in the Rio.

On logenet wireless with the iPad. No authentication needed except T&C agreement.

Bring your bankroll - breakfast for two is going to run $30.
There is a respectable Starbucks by the Penn&Teller box office.

Nice www lodestar hallways to the con center. <yay!>

Got some wireless scans I'll post later.

Anything specific you want to know - I'll check this thread later today and find out.

[TheCotMan]

Re: Defcon 19: [So tell me about the Rio] (recon and intel)

Sitting in the Sao Paulo cafe in the Rio.

On logenet wireless with the iPad. No authentication needed except T&C agreement.

Bring your bankroll - breakfast for two is going to run $30.
There is a respectable Starbucks by the Penn&Teller box office.

Nice www lodestar hallways to the con center. <yay!>

Got some wireless scans I'll post later.

Anything specific you want to know - I'll check this thread later today and find out.

Having more information on the Rio is great! This will especially be useful to anyone that has never been to Las Vegas, or the Rio, or Defcon.

The only thing to caution you on is the publishing of scans on the forums. If you do publish scans on the forums, please be sure to only publish what is legally obtained, because I'd rather not rebuild the services on this server when law enforcement comes to take away the disks because of an investigation triggered by a casino in Las Vegas filing a report. (This is a big reason for why I so strictly enforce the "nothing illegal" here, on the forums.)

Thanks for your information and any other (legally obtained) information you find while you are there.

If anyone else happens to be at the Rio in Las Vegas before Defcon and you find (legally obtained and) useful information, please post it.