[New-York-News] National Convention - New York State

[Mike Robinson]

Greetings;

 

Our NFB National convention is only a few days away and I look forward to
seeing everyone in Las Vegas.  I wanted to take a few minutes to give a few
details you may or may not have heard.

 

The New York State Caucus will be on Tuesday July 9th from 7 to 8 pm in
Shell Seekers A.  I have no idea where that is but I assume we will all be
figuring out the lay of the hotel.  Please bring your banquet tickets to the
Caucus or give them to me when you see me.  If I don’t get your ticket I
won’t be able to ensure you will be seated with New York at the banquet.

 

I have membership coins for each person who is attending convention.  I will
only give each person their coin, I am not bringing extras for chapters and
I will not give you one for someone else so please don’t ask.  See me any
time during the week for your coin.

 

After the caucus will be our affiliate gathering.  At this point I don’t
know what form this will take as I also am unfamiliar with the hotel but I
will have details as soon as possible.

 

We will have a table in the exhibit hall to help raise a few bucks to help
offset our expenses.  I encourage everyone to take a shift at the table.
Please contact Nihal Erkan at supurge.li at gmail.com
<mailto:supurge.li at gmail.com>  to reserve a time.  

 

At the end of this email I have pasted some information which I plagiarized
from an email from Joe Ruffalo.  It contains a lot of important information.

 

My telephone number is below.  If you have questions or concerns please
reach out to me.

 

Mike Robinson, President

National Federation of the Blind of New York State, Inc.

 

716-222-3632

716-222-3NFB

 

 

1. Airport shuttle Services

 

Here are the shuttle companies that pick up curbside at McCarran Airport.
Please contact each for additional information including pricing.

 

ODS - 702-688-7353

 

Bell Transportation- 800-274-7433

 

AWG Limo- 702-740-3434

 

SuperShuttle-800-258-3826

 

2. Coffee in the hotel rooms

 

Each room has a Kurig machine; a  "kit" with ONE Kurig cup plus hot drink
cup, etc.  is 6  DOLLARS per person for one serving!

 

Concierge says we can bring our own Kurig capsules and unbreakable cup and
fixin's.

 

3. National Convention Q and A

 

Q1. Do the bathrooms have hair dryers?

 

          Answer: Yes, all of the bathrooms have hair dryers.

 

 

Q2. Do you have to pay for the regular pool chairs?

 

Answer: The answer is challenging because the Mandalay "Beach" area has a
number of pool areas and they have different rules for entry, I think. The
Wave Machine Beach and Lazy River require only a room key for entry and I
believe first come gets the first choice of a number of chairs or loungers.
If you want a private space -- a cabana or bungalow - then there is a
significant fee which could be hundreds of dollars. All of this is explained
on their website. There are other smaller swimming pools adjacent to the
main Beach area and I don't think you pay for chairs.

 

 

Q3. I noticed the hotel is close to the airport. Is there much disturbance
from the planes?

 

Answer: I have stayed at Mandalay Bay several times. I have never noticed
any noise at all from the airport. The location is a benefit, because a cab
ride to and from Mandalay Bay from the airport is much cheaper than going
mid strip. Be sure to tell the driver ...NO tunnel.

 

 

Q4. Do the bathrooms have separate shower and bathtubs or shower/tub
combinations?

 

          Answer: The shower and bathtub were separate.

 

 

Q5. What level is the lobby located on?

 

Answer: First level. As you enter at the main entrance you are right near
check in desks and the lobby. They may call it Lobby level because the
pools, beach and some shops are the level below the lobby!

 

 

Q6. Which of the cabanas is best for relaxing pool side?

 

Answer: Depends on your preference. They are all great. My favorite is one
on the beach side because we play in the wave pool a lot. However, if you
are looking for more peaceful or quiet area, try the lazy river cabanas.

 

 

Q7. What is included in the resort fee? Do you have to pay to use the pool
if you are a guest?

 

          Answer: If you are a guest, you can stay by the pool without a
charge.

 

 

Q8. How fast is the lazy river?

 

          Answer: Not fast at all, very calm, mellow and relaxing.

 

 

Q9. How many pools does this resort have?

 

Answer: The main pool area is a beach, which is an outdoor wave pool. there
is also a lazy river and another pool area that does not have sand and a hot
tub. The other side (Moorea) has a private cabana area with a private pool &
one long pool for all to use & long hot tub by the bar.

 

 

Q10. Does this resort have a breakfast buffet?

 

Answer: They do have a breakfast buffet but we did not eat there for
breakfast. We did have brunch one day and dinner one evening and found the
buffet to be very good. We ate breakfast at the House of Blues every
morning.

 

 

Q11. Does anyone have the list of how much the mini bar items are? Is there
champagne in the mini bar?

 

Answer: A minibar is super expensive, one bottle of water cost 20
dollars(for the same money at the supermarket you can buy 100 bottles of
water ), everything else in the minibar is way more expensive than a bottle
of water and yes they do have champagne. I suggest you buy outside of the
casino save money.

 

 

Q12. How many restaurants does this resort have?

 

          Answer: 25.

 

 

Q13. What time do the trams start in the morning?

 

          Answer: 9am.

 

 

Q14. I know they charge for the in-room coffee maker, but can you use it to
just heat water for free?

 

          Answer: You can use the coffee maker for free. Just don't use
their coffee pods or cups.

 

 

Q15. Do they have irons and ironing boards in rooms?

 

          Answer: Yes.

 

 

Q16. Are towels provided for the pool?

          Answer: Yes, towels are provided for the pools.

 

 

Q17. Are smoking rooms available?

 

          Answer: No, they do not have smoking rooms. Just in the casino.

 

 

Q18. Do the suites come with a fridge to store items?

 

Answer: Unfortunately the refrigerator in the room is fully stocked with
liquor and Mixers. Leaving no room for you to put anything in it.

 

 

Q19. Is there a convenience store on the property?

 

Answer: No, only an expensive gift shop.

 

 

Q20. Is smoking allowed at the pool?

 

          Answer: No, non-smoking signs are posted.

 

 

Q21. How far is it to get to the center of the strip? Is it an easy trip?

 

Answer: Yes very easy, you can Uber (best bet) or the hotels are connected
pretty much with trams and such....sometimes you have to walk to the hotel
next door but everything is easy and accessible in this area. There is a
tram from Mandalay Bay to a resort a little closer to the center of the
strip. It is quite easily walkable provided you are able to do some stairs.
It's not like walking straight down a sidewalk like in most towns. But to
tell you the truth, the walk is part of the entertainment.

 

 

Q22. How far is the Mandalay Bay from the main strip?

 

Answer: The Mandalay Bay is "technically" on the main strip. It is just at
the very end of the main strip. You can take the Tram from Mandalay to
Excalibur and walk from there to central parts of strip. Also, Uber and
Taxis are available to take you wherever you want. It is at one end of the
strip beyond which there's only the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. It is about
2.5 km from the Bellagio which can take about 35-45 mins in Vegas.

 

 

Q23. Do they have fridges? I am diabetic and need it for my insulin.

 

Answer: The hotel policy is a spare mini fridge is provided free of charge
for medical use. The charge is $40.00 per day for personal use.

 

 

Q24. Is breakfast included in this hotel?

 

Answer: No, Mandalay Bay did not have breakfast included and even the coffee
in the room was at a cost.

 

 

Q25. Is the "One" show on premises at Mandalay or is it across the street at
the MGM?

 

          Answer: It is on the premises of Mandalay Bay.

 

 

Q26. Do you have to pay entry to the aquarium if you are a guest?

 

          Answer: Yes.

 

 

Q27. Does Mandalay Bay have working Ethernet/wired internet connections in
the room, or is it Wi-Fi only?

 

          Answer: Both are available.

 

 

Q28. Is there a laundry room or just laundry services?

 

          Answer: Only laundry services are available.

 

 

Q29. Is the alcohol free while gambling?

 

          Answer: Yes, while you gamble the drinks are free but don't forget
to tip your waitress.

 

 

Q30. How far of a walk is it to the nearest Walgreens or CVS?

 

          Answer: Approximately 15 minutes - across from the New York New
York hotel/casino.

 

 

Q31. What is the incidental amount per night at the Resort Casino?

 

Answer: Around $35. If I can put this out there, hopefully it will answer
many questions. Even if you're only playing small amounts in the casino, get
a PLAYERS CARD and use it. Even a very low limit player will get free
things, food, gifts, room service .It will always cover small incidentals.

 

 

Q32. Is there a shuttle service to and from the airport?

 

Answer: Yes. Bell Trans offers a shuttle service. You can make reservations
but you can also pay at the pick-up location. Shuttles depart for hotels
every 10-15 minutes. After retrieving your luggage simply exit Baggage Claim
Door 8 at Terminal 1, or proceed out Door 51 in Terminal 3 to the booth. The
greeter will direct you to the appropriate vehicle and the driver will
provide you with a ticket for your return from the hotel to the airport. The
phone number to book is (800)-274-7433.

 

 

Q33. Are there any other restaurants outside of the hotel within walking
distance?

 

Answer: Yes. Across the street from the hotel is a small plaza, called Akita
Plaza. In this plaza is a Panda Express, McDonalds, Liquor Outlet, Subway,
Chikita Daiquiri Bar, and Mirchi South Indian Kitchen.

 

 

***

 

 

4. 2019 NFB National Convention Materials available

 

Received from Scott White, Director, NFB-NEWSLINE

 

 

Good news! The 2019 National Federation of the Blind National Convention
agenda is now available on NFB-NEWSLINE. The Convention is from July 7-12 in
Las Vegas, Nevada. To read the agenda using the telephone access method, go
to Option Five for Newspapers in Different State, then Option Five for
National Meetings of Interest to the Print Disabled and follow the prompts
to select the item of your choice such as the 2019 NFB Convention Agenda,
the 2019 NFB Convention Exhibitors, 2019 NFB Convention First Timers Guide,
or the 2019 NFB Convention Restaurant Guide. If you're using NFB-NEWSLINE
Mobile, choose Publications, Publication Options, and All Publications to
find the 2019 NFB Convention Agenda, the 2019 NFB Convention Exhibitors,
2019 NFB Convention First Timers Guide, or the 2019 NFB Convention
Restaurant Guide.

 

 

As we have offered in the past, we are hoping to have the 2019 National
Federation of the Blind National Convention available for streaming on the
telephone portion of the service and through the NFB-NEWSLINE Mobile app.
Check back often for any updates to the 2019 National Federation of the
Blind National Convention materials for updates on the convention stream
plus other convention happenings. The restaurant menus are being finalized
and will be available soon.

 

 

National Federation of the Blind | nfb.org | 866-504-7300 |
<mailto:nfbnewsline at nfb.org> nfbnewsline at nfb.org <
<mailto:nfbnewsline at nfb.org> mailto:nfbnewsline at nfb.org>

 

***

 

 

5. Additional National Convention Materials

 

 

2019 National Convention Live Stream:

 

We are proud to provide portions of the 2019 National Convention via our
live stream for those who are unable to be with us in person. The convention
will be streamed during the Board of Directors Meeting, General Sessions,
and the Banquet. Find the media players available to access and the sessions
scheduled to be broadcasted at  <https://www.nfb.org/livestream>
https://www.nfb.org/livestream.

 

 

Agenda and other convention documents available on NFB-NEWSLINE:

 

To read the agenda or the other convention-related documents using the
telephone access method, go to Option Five for Newspapers in Different
State, then Option Five for National Meetings of Interest to the Print
Disabled and follow the prompts to select the item of your choice such as
the 2019 NFB Convention Agenda, the 2019 NFB Convention Exhibitors, 2019 NFB
Convention First Timers Guide, or the 2019 NFB Convention Restaurant Guide.
If you're using NFB-NEWSLINE Mobile, choose Publications, Publication
Options, and All Publications to maneuver to the documents.

 

 

Google Calendar:

 

Below is a link to a public Google calendar for the upcoming national
convention. You can access and subscribe to this calendar from within apps
if you want to see the whole convention agenda or just add individual
events.

 

 
<https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/pqckoub820qm8r0s3i12vidl3c@group.
calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics>
https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/pqckoub820qm8r0s3i12vidl3c@group.c
alendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

 

 

***

 

 

6. [NFB-Conventions] location of restaurant menus?

 

Received from John Bergren National Convention Chairperson, NFB

 

 

some of the most popular menus can now be found on our website off the main
convention page  <https://nfb.org/convention> https://nfb.org/convention or
be visited directly by visiting
<https://nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/menus>
https://nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/menus. In addition, you
will be able to access the hotel menus on NFB-NEWSLINE very soon.

 

 

***

 

 

7. [State-Affiliate-Leadership-List] Clearing up confusions about Wi-Fi at
convention hotel

 

 

Here is a message directly from our National convention chair, John Bergan,
in regards to questions about Wi-Fi at the hotel.

 

 

Guests will need to purchase a WIFI package.

 

When they log on using MGMRESORTS WIFI, if they have a conference access
code, they may enter that.

 

 

Visitors may place their e-mail address in:

 

*        no-charge low speed (for only an hour or two, I believe).

 

 

Premium purchase :

 

*        Up to 5 Mbps

 

o   For 4 hours - $7.99

 

*        Up to 20 Mbps

 

o   1 day - $39.99

 

 

***

 

 

9. Description of hotel layout

 

NAVIGATING THE HOTEL:

Welcome to the Las Vegas Strip and, specifically, the southernmost hotel on
the Strip, the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. As with many of the newer Las
Vegas hotels, the Mandalay Bay is enormous, boasting more than 3,200
sleeping rooms, several pools, and its own convention center. While the
property is aligned neatly to the cardinal direction grid of South Las Vegas
Boulevard, the entrance faces more of a NNE direction. Because this is a bit
inconvenient for navigation, I’m going to rely on the age-old metaphor of an
analog clock face. In fact, we’re really just interested in the afternoon
hours for our needs.

 

Before we get started, it’s helpful to know that the middle of the clock
face is covered with Mandalay Bay’s pools—the wave pool, the lazy river, the
lagoon pools, and more. You’ll visit the center of the clock when you need
to cool off after a long day of convention activities. The hotel and its
various parts wrap around the pools nearly encircling them. Traveling
through the hotel, our path will slowly arc around the pools
counter-clockwise. Our navigation begins at the bottom of your clock face at
six o’clock.

When you arrive at the front entrance, you will enter the Mandalay Bay’s
palatial lobby on the Casino Level. As I said, we are at six o’clock. Take
several steps into the lobby. The bell desk is immediately to your left.
Continue straight into the lobby and a long registration desk is on your
left. At the far end of the lobby in front of you are floor-to-ceiling
windows looking out onto the pools. On the right side of the lobby, across
from the registration desk, is MB Lifestyle where you can purchase locally
logoed clothing, snacks, and other souvenirs. In between the registration
desk and MB Lifestyle is a large statue of Michael Jackson. The square base,
with benches backed up to all four sides, make for a good lobby rendezvous
point.

 

If you had entered the lobby at the front doors and turned to your right,
you would find the mobile check-in counter on the right. As you continue to
the right through the lobby, your path splits. To the left are the elevators
to the sleeping rooms. To the right, you will begin to hear the sounds of a
water feature and find railings that lead you to both an escalator and
stairs that take you down to the Beach Level. Head down to the Beach Level
and to your left are the doors leading to the transportation lobby and one
of the dog relief areas.

Instead of taking the right branch of our lobby split, we travel down the
left branch through a short hallway to the guest room elevators. Imagine
that the circular elevator lobby is a wheel with six spokes. Three of the
spokes contain banks of elevators and three of the spokes are hallways. The
two types of spokes alternate. Let’s focus on the elevator banks first. Each
bank of elevators contains eight cabs, four on each side, and serves
specific floor numbers. The floor ranges are 2-16, 17-30, and 56-69.
Entering from the main lobby, the elevators for floors 2-16 are immediately
to your left. You will find the floor ranges increase as you move clockwise
around the hub of the wheel. One level below, on the Beach Level, the spokes
are organized in just the same fashion.

 

You need your room key not just to get into your room, but to take the
elevator to your sleeping room floor. The key is an RFID proximity card,
meaning you need only hold it against the lock on your room door for your
room lock to open. There is neither a need to slide the card into a reader
nor is there a front or back side to the card. Like the sleeping rooms, the
elevators also have card readers. When you step inside an available
elevator, you must hold your room key up to the reader before pressing the
button for your floor. Just above the center column of buttons for selecting
your floor is a rectangular-shaped box a little smaller than a three by five
index card—this is the card reader. Please note that your room key will take
you to YOUR FLOOR ONLY.

When you reach your floor and step out from the elevator bank, you will
again be at the hub of a wheel. However, there are now only four spokes to
the wheel. One spoke contains the bank of elevators from which you have just
disembarked. The other three spokes contain sleeping rooms. Each spoke has
signage indicating its range of room numbers. Again, the room number ranges
increase as you move clockwise around the hub of the wheel.

 

Let’s head back down to the Casino Level elevator lobby. As mentioned
earlier, three spokes of the wheel are hallways. The first comes from the
main lobby. The second hallway, between the low-floor and the middle-floor
elevators leads out to the casino. The third hallway, between the middle-
and high-floor elevators leads to Hazel Coffee &Cocktails. For those of you
needing an early morning coffee fix, Hazel opens at 5:00 a.m. to serve
premium coffee and a variety of breakfast items. Hazel also stays open late,
beyond midnight, to serve those interested in a jolt of a different variety.

 

Taking the hallway leading into the casino, we are approaching five o’clock
on our clock face. There are wide carpeted paths heading off to both our
right and left. Take the path to the right and the casino will be on your
left while a number of shops are on your right. Among the retail stops are
Hazel Coffee & Cocktail (a different entrance) and a number of high-end
clothing options. Following this path to the end of the casino, you can head
straight to catch the Mandalay Bay Tram to the Luxor and Excalibur
properties. Turning left instead of heading to the tram, you can find the
House of Blues, the Shoppes at Mandalay Place, and the entrance to the
Cirque de Soleil show, Michael Jackson ONE.

 

As we emerge from the guest-room elevator lobby into the casino, though, the
carpeted path to the left is of greater interest to meeting attendees. This
time, the casino is on the right and, save for a handful of slot machines,
food outlets including The Noodle Shop and Seabreeze Café begin to appear on
the left. We’ll essentially be traveling in a straight line from the five to
the four on our clock face. As the carpeting gives way to a faux riverbed
stone floor, the casino ends and the restaurant options multiply.

The arc between four and three o’clock on the face of our clock are filled
with a broad variety of options, too many to mention them all. The menus for
many of these restaurants can be found both on our website and
NFB-NEWSLINE®. To the right is Mizuya, while Bayside Buffet and Fleur are on
the left. Nearly straight ahead is Citizens Kitchen + Bar, serving American
comfort food twenty-four hours a day. To the right of Citizens are a few
more restaurants including Lupo, Wolfgang Puck’s first Italian restaurant.
Continue past Citizens to the left for another half dozen options including
Libertine Social and Steakhouse. It’s this left path that takes you towards
the meeting space. You’ll notice a slight incline as you emerge from the
gauntlet of dining options. I should point out that on the right side is a
Starbucks which will no doubt be an important stop for many.

 

MEETING SPACE:

 

We have now reached nearly two-o’clock on our metaphorical clock face. The
Mandalay Bay’s convention center begins with a flooring change from riverbed
stone to terrazzo. Immediately to the right is a hallway leading to the
hotel’s Event Center; none of our meetings or activities take place in the
Event Center. Straight ahead is a wide hallway. The left side leads to the
Border Grill, the food court, and the South Convention Center. The right
side of the hallway gives way to a staircase flanked on either side by a
down escalator and an up escalator. Continue down the left hallway just
beyond the escalators and stairs to find elevators on the right wall. All
three (down escalator, stairs, elevator) will take you down to the North
Convention Center’s lower (ground) level where you will find the entirety of
our meeting space for the convention.

 

After descending the escalator or stairs, the Bay View Patio is to the left,
the Islander Registration Desk is straight ahead, and the meeting space is
to the right. The elevators are just off to the right between the stairs and
the registration desk. The Bay View Patio is straight ahead when you step
off the elevator. The doors out to the Bay View Patio will take you to a
second guide dog relief area.

 

If you take a right at the bottom of the stairs or the escalator (or make a
U-turn to the left when stepping off one of the elevators), you will enter
our convention meeting space. The corridors connecting our meeting space are
L-shaped and you are standing at the intersection of the two arms of the
‘L.’ The short arm of the ‘L,’ called the Conference Promenade, extends out
in front of you to the breakout spaces. Bay View Court, the longer arm of
the, ‘L’ is to your left and leads the way to the Islander and South Pacific
Ballrooms. It could be noted that this is one hotel space that conforms
cleanly to cardinal directions. The Conference Promenade runs east-west
while Bay View Court runs north-south.

 

Heading straight ahead along the Conference Promenade, you will find on your
right a large breakout space called Tradewinds. It is broken into six
sections, lettered A through F. Sections E and F are immediately to your
right while the remaining sections are further down the promenade on the
right. Beyond Tradewinds B is a small hallway to the right providing access
to Tradewinds A and breakout rooms Mariners A and B. On the left side of the
Conference Promenade are a series of smaller breakout spaces, each of which
break into two or three sections. Closest to the intersection of the arms of
the ‘L,’ you will find Shell Seeker B and A followed by Coral C, B, and A.
At the end of the promenade on the left are Tropics B and A.

If, from the intersection of the ‘L’, you instead head left down Bay View
Court from north to south, you will first pass Islander Registration Desk on
the left which will be home to consolidated registration activities
beginning on Tuesday, July 9. Next on the left you will find men’s and
women’s restrooms. Across Bay View Court from the registration desk and the
restrooms is Islander Ballroom, home to the Exhibit Hall and the
Independence Market. When you reach the end of the Islander Ballroom, there
is an intersection of sorts. The South Pacific Ballroom is ahead on your
right. Immediately to the right is a hallway that runs between the Islander
and South Pacific Ballrooms. Along the left side of this hallway are four
large sections of the South Pacific Ballroom lettered D through A, all of
which host meetings throughout the week.

 

Back at the intersection, opposite the hallway on the left side of Bay View
Court are stairs that lead up to the Border Grill, a contemporary Mexican
restaurant serving both lunch and dinner. Continuing further south along Bay
View Court are additional sections of the South Pacific Ballroom. Sections F
and J, both on the right, will be used for meetings on Seminar Day such as
Rookie Roundup. For the remainder of the week, the doors to South Pacific
Ballroom F and J are the entry doors for Resolutions, the NFB Board Meeting,
General Sessions, and eventually the Banquet. Opposite the South Pacific
Ballroom F is another set of restrooms. On the wall between the men’s and
women’s restrooms are ten mobile device charging stations.

 

At the end of Bay View Court, a modest hall turns to the right. Down this
hall are a set of elevators and an escalator that will take you up a level
to the food court in the South Convention Center. Head straight out of the
elevators or turn left off the escalator to cross the foyer to the food
court. If you’ll remember the transition to terrazzo several paragraphs ago,
there was a wide hallway, the left side of which led to the South Convention
Center. Had you continued down that hallway, you would have passed the
Border Grill and the stairs leading down to the lower level of the North
Convention Center. Beyond the stairs, still on the right side of the hallway
is BBQ Mexicana, a quick service counter open for lunch. At the end of this
long corridor is the same food court I mentioned above. At this stage of the
journey, you have reached the twelve on the face of our clock.

 

The food court is host to a number of reasonably priced food options
including Bonanno’s New York Pizzeria, Johnny Rockets, Nathan’s Hot Dogs,
Pan Asian Express, and Subway. The food court is accessed via a gradual
incline on its right side or three steps on the left. There is a variety of
seating within the food court. Many of the booths and high-top tables offer
outlets and USB charging stations.

 

Beyond the food court are the ticket counter and entrance to Mandalay Bay’s
Shark Reef Aquarium, host to sharks, giant rays, sea turtles, and more.

 

 

 

 

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