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

[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

[[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.

[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.

[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.

[Fuzzyneoprene]

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.

[shrdlu]

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

This was the first year I actually saw prostitutes working DEF CON. Just standing in the hallways trying to pick up a John. Amazing. Must be tough times in Vegas from them to become that direct, invading a conference and all.

They've been there since (at least) Defcon 5. When you were younger, you may have just believed that they were genuinely interested in you (and you were also not an age that they would normally expect to have disposable funds). I suspect also that there are more actual technical and knowledgeable women attending, which makes the "professional" women more apparent.

Times were hard last year, too. I actually overheard a conversation in the halls that went something along the lines of "Well, how much money *do* you have then?"

[kive]

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

This was the first year I actually saw prostitutes working DEF CON. Just standing in the hallways trying to pick up a John. Amazing. Must be tough times in Vegas from them to become that direct, invading a conference and all.

To be fair, there were a few back at the Aladdin, too, as I recall, as small as DC was back then. They were just somewhat misdirected in order to be there. ;)

My girl was absolutely and positively entertained watching the working girls do their thing on Thursday and Friday nights; several "attendees" wandered off, as it were.

-kive

[Dark Tangent]

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

Okidoki, this is what We have to do; next year, you give me some of those invites and badges, I sacrifice myself and will suffer all that tit-grabbing and BJ's for the sake of Hackerdom
Nah, now being honest, I mean, common, those gals who do that, that's just cheap psychological manipulation. I think you should show more value than that. I mean, everybody wants to see girls in their parties, but, some parties are more "1337" than others, if you know what I mean

This was the first year I actually saw prostitutes working DEF CON. Just standing in the hallways trying to pick up a John. Amazing. Must be tough times in Vegas from them to become that direct, invading a conference and all.

[I.T. Warrior]

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

Yeah, I had one ... She scanned all the ports, but that girl just had NO finesse.

Okidoki, this is what We have to do; next year, you give me some of those invites and badges, I sacrifice myself and will suffer all that tit-grabbing and BJ's for the sake of Hackerdom
Nah, now being honest, I mean, common, those gals who do that, that's just cheap psychological manipulation. I think you should show more value than that. I mean, everybody wants to see girls in their parties, but, some parties are more "1337" than others, if you know what I mean

[bluknight]

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

seriously, when it gets to the point where chicks are grabbing there tits at me and smiling saying things like "how do i get one of those, don't you want me in your party?" and trying to buy party badges off people for 2k+ somthin needs to be done -_-

Yeah, I had one (who, honestly, I think was pretty much drunk/wasted) try and pull that on me at the Attack Research party. I'm pretty sure if I had told her to blow me, she would have whipped it out then and there. I'll say this for her, however. She scanned all the ports, but that girl just had NO finesse.

[I.T. Warrior]

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

seriously, when it gets to the point where chicks are grabbing there tits at me and smiling saying things like "how do i get one of those, don't you want me in your party?" -_-[/QUOTE]

grabbing tits=social engineering

[Vyrus]

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

What sucks is that Defcon is turning into a corporate event, ie BlackHat lite. What happened to the hijinks? The stolen GTE doors, the phone system hacking? Unfortunately I think that the Rio will be better for sitting in talks (bigger rooms, less lines) but far worse for having fun. For me, the talks are the LEAST important part of con, they all end up online anyway!

lack of fun / shenanigans needs to be fixed, first it was the influx of fedz, past few years its been the influx of "omg im not a hacker and they all look strange and scary but i came to you cus you look kinda normal and i wana know where the parties are cus i here there kewl how do i get in?"

seriously, when it gets to the point where chicks are grabbing there tits at me and smiling saying things like "how do i get one of those, don't you want me in your party?" and trying to buy party badges off people for 2k+ somthin needs to be done -_-

[securityninja]

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

It turns out that my brother and I were going to see Penn and Teller after the closing ceremony so we got a good chance to look around the Rio.

We came away from the Riv thinking that place had two major problems when it came to DEFCON being there:

1) Rooms for talks too small
2) Hallways way too small

I felt the same way last year and I think I might have said the same on the DEFCON 17 forum.

In my opinion (and my brothers) the Rio has considerably wider hallways but I didn't get to see the conference rooms they have. According to people in this thread they are bigger which is good.

My only concern was that the Rio didn't "feel" like a DEFCON venue but I've only been to the last two so I'm not as qualified as a lot of other people on this forum to comment on that. I would guess it will be more expensive to stop at than the Riv and it seemed a very busy hotel when I was there compared to quite a few of the hotels I visited on the strip. The Riv felt like it was just open for DEFCON and I'm not convinced that feeling will be there at the Rio.

Overall though I think its a great choice, I mainly attend DEFCON to speak or listen to others speak so the hallway space and room sizes are my biggest gripes.

SN

[greatscott]

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

So I cannot find more mention about the Rio's pools on their site, than the VooDoo page, mentioning 4 pools. They also note that they close at 6pm! I suppose this seems somewhat petty, but is there a way we could keep one pool open very late or all night, for those of us who are firmly of the opinion that alcohol & night swimming mix quite well?

Seriously, if they had just one open, maybe 'just for' DC attendees (we pay for a late-night lifeguard maybe?), I do think some of us would enjoy that.

You can see the 4 pools (well 3.5... the one on the left is cut off a bit) in the first photo I posted on page one of this thread. The second pool picture I posted I *believe* (not confirmed) is the one we would be given.

I inquired with the Rio staff about volume loudness and hours for this. They said it can probably be kept open, bumping, and loud til 12am or 1am (the outdoor club at the top of the Rio is supposedly CRAZY loud anyways). A lovely step up from the Riv, I'd say. Now to check up on if there are gates, and what the gate policy is ;)

[snideology]

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

So I cannot find more mention about the Rio's pools on their site, than the VooDoo page, mentioning 4 pools. They also note that they close at 6pm! I suppose this seems somewhat petty, but is there a way we could keep one pool open very late or all night, for those of us who are firmly of the opinion that alcohol & night swimming mix quite well?

Seriously, if they had just one open, maybe 'just for' DC attendees (we pay for a late-night lifeguard maybe?), I do think some of us would enjoy that.