America's most wanted
17 April 2023It was great to see so many readers at the recent ConExpo show in Las Vegas and, boy, what a place! Although this was my third time attending the show the spectacle of the city never ceases to amaze me.
Las Vegas literally means ‘the meadows’ due to water found in underground artesian wells which enabled grass to grow in the desert soil despite the city having an annual rainfall of around four inches. And it's funny, looking at it now, to think the Strip started as just a two-lane road running through the desert...
Today Vegas attracts over 42 million people each year – with around 42 percent of those coming for a holiday and around 6.6 million people coming for conventions.
The largest convention in Vegas is the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The second largest is the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), followed by ConExpo. And ConExpo's popularity is growing. This year broke visitor records. Read more about the show, and the interviews we conducted with Lampson International, Link-Belt Cranes and Bik Boom Trucks whilst there, starting on page 26.
All these people visiting the city need somewhere to stay and so it’s not surprising that Vegas is home to more than half of the 20 largest hotels in the world. It was fascinating to walk past the construction site of the soon-to-open Fontainebleau Las Vegas luxury hotel on the morning walk from my hotel to the Festival Lot and watch a Liebherr crawler working on the building (see page 34. I remember it being built last time I was at ConExpo but work stopped due to Covid. It's now due to open in Q4 2023. The story around the hotel itself is worth reading about, too. Maybe next ConExpo I'll get to stay there!
