The Vegas Rebellion
How Idea Rebel beat the November Rain
“A little bit of this town goes a very long way.” – Hunter S. Thompson
Not all fiscal quarters are created equal. On the heels of Idea Rebel’s biggest four months EVER, our hard work was rewarded with a company-wide trip to Las Vegas! Here’s the highlights reel…
Start your engines
The Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal offices arrived at Treasure Island Resort within an hour of each other, which made check-in (relatively) painless. In no time, we were packed into the dev guys’ hotel room, ramping up for a Saturday night with the whole Rebel crew. This was the first of several nights out on the Strip, punctuated by pit-stops at countless clubs and bars. Favourites included the Rhumbar at The Mirage and world-class super-club Hakkasan at the MGM Grand.
Place your bets
A trip to Vegas isn’t complete without some serious gambling. We hedged our bets between blackjack, poker, roulette and slots. Lady Luck was kinder to some of us than others but the big winner was UX Lead Logan Greer who walked away from the slot machines a richer man. We’re not about to divulge numbers but let’s just say he could have comfortably bought a new TV with his winnings.
Aaaaaaand Team-building!
Few things are funnier than watching a pack of exhausted people swaying in the unforgiving morning sun, mustering the willpower for a Sin City-wide scavenger hunt. But what we lacked in energy, we made up for in enthusiasm and by the time we reconvened in the afternoon, we were ready for more action! Incidentally, it was boss Jamie Garratt’s team who won the grand prize – a $100 chip, which they doubled on the roulette table, only to lose on the second spin. Welcome to Las Vegas!
Rebel Awards
Señor Frog’s was the venue for the Rebel Awards – our annual shout-out to the staff members who distinguished themselves by going above and beyond the call of duty. 2016’s winners were:
REBEL OF THE YEAR AWARD – Carmela Samonte-Rowe
TENACITY AWARD – Andrew Mowbray
IDEA AWARD – Nevin Peterson
BUDGET BUSTER AWARD – Chris Tasker
TEAM SPIRIT AWARD – Logan Greer
CLIENT LOVE AWARD – Pam Dunn
Something for everyone
This town doesn’t disappoint! In addition to the bars, clubs, buffets, spas and casinos, there were two particular events that stood out as quintessentially Las Vegas: a few of the staff hit the Gun Garage and shot up some targets, courtesy of an intimidating arsenal of machine guns; and that night, a bunch of us hit New York, New York for Zumanity, Circe du Soleil’s ‘grown-up show – a seductive cocktail of sexy, sensual, funny acts featuring unforgettable performances from a drag queen ringleader, a bathing Chinese contortionist, a high-flying, climaxing redhead and a trapeze dude who looked like a My Little Pony on steroids.
Las Vegas is one helluva town. And Idea Rebel had one helluva time. Here’s to another huge quarter!
January 4, 2017