Benjaminfeenstra.com http://benjaminfeenstra.com Personal Blog Wed, 08 May 2013 12:59:07 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 The contrast of Festival 316 http://benjaminfeenstra.com/2013/05/the-contrast-of-festival-316/ http://benjaminfeenstra.com/2013/05/the-contrast-of-festival-316/#comments Tue, 07 May 2013 21:16:15 +0000 Benjamin Feenstra http://benjaminfeenstra.com/?p=2954 Several days ago, I was part of the Festival 316 video crew. Me and seven team members were responsible for the live video broadcast of this great event. The thing I love most about this particular festival is the contrast between the ‘day before’ and the show itself.

Check out the two images below. The first one shows the empty tent which we filled with lots and lots of technology including five camera’s and a fully equipped control room. This all happened on the day before the actual show took place. The second image (a still image from this video - not our broadcast) shows the same tent, during the final hour of the show, with 4000 people going crazy. And the remarkable thing, less then two hours later, the entire tent was completely empty again. Oh boy, I had a great time!

Above – The empty Festival 316 tent (Friday, 9AM)

Above – The filled tent (Saturday, around 11PM)

]]> http://benjaminfeenstra.com/2013/05/the-contrast-of-festival-316/feed/ 0 Meet the new Dutch royal family http://benjaminfeenstra.com/2013/05/meet-the-new-dutch-royal-family/ http://benjaminfeenstra.com/2013/05/meet-the-new-dutch-royal-family/#comments Wed, 01 May 2013 21:57:39 +0000 Benjamin Feenstra http://benjaminfeenstra.com/?p=2930 On April 30, 2013, I was one of the tens of thousands of people who stood outside the royal palace on Dam Square in Amsterdam. Via huge screens, we watched Queen Beatrix end her 33-year reign with the stroke of a pen, signing the act of abdication in the palace. Doing so, she transferred power to her son, the Prince of Orange who’ll be the first king in 123 years. It was a historic moment for sure!

After a short wait, the new king, queen and their three daughters emerged on a balcony above the square. It was great to see King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane from this close (see my photo above).

Any rational person would say a monarchy is nonsense and we should get rid of it. However, I just think we’re very lucky to have Willem-Alexander and Maxima as our new king and queen. I wish them all the best!

]]> http://benjaminfeenstra.com/2013/05/meet-the-new-dutch-royal-family/feed/ 0 Meanwhile in Amsterdam… http://benjaminfeenstra.com/2013/04/meanwhile-in-amsterdam/ http://benjaminfeenstra.com/2013/04/meanwhile-in-amsterdam/#comments Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:36:27 +0000 Benjamin Feenstra http://benjaminfeenstra.com/?p=2918 Tomorrow, Queen Beatrix abdicates the throne, thus her son Willem-Alexander becomes King. This all happens in Amsterdam, which is now buzzing with activity.

Today, I was fortunate to see the Queen on the last full day of her reign. This unedited video (above) is shot at the rear entrance of the Royal Palace on Dam Square.

]]> http://benjaminfeenstra.com/2013/04/meanwhile-in-amsterdam/feed/ 0 The color of luck http://benjaminfeenstra.com/2013/04/the-color-of-luck/ http://benjaminfeenstra.com/2013/04/the-color-of-luck/#comments Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:30:11 +0000 Benjamin Feenstra http://benjaminfeenstra.com/?p=2850 My summer holiday of 2012 was a 3000 mile road trip in the United States. It was one of my best holidays ever. So, how come I never wrote about it here? The answer is simple. Since I arrived back in the Netherlands, I’ve been quite busy creating something (more on that in the future). Surprisingly, I finally found some time to write about the USA trip… Today, it’s time for part seven; “The color of luck”.

In Las Vegas, I met Dave. He told me everything in Vegas is done for a reason. For example, the Chinese color of luck is red, which is something you should remember in case you ever want to start your own casino.

Dave works at the Encore casino in Las Vegas. Together with the adjacent Wynn, which is owned by the same organization, this is one of the most luxurious hotels and casino’s in the world (with a combined price tag of about five billion dollars). One day, I strolled around the casino floor, where almost no people were present. Actually, the ratio of staff to customers was about 3 – 1, which means there’re way more staffers than customers. This was also true for the game Dave was responsible for.

He supervises a game – of which I don’t know the name of – but it involves a long table, some dice, five staffers and by the time I walked by, just a single customer. The supervisor wasn’t too busy supervising, since the other four employees needed something to do as well. This allowed me to ask him the one obvious question: “Why are there so many employees present at this table?” The supervisor, Dave, told me it’s a money issue. Over a million dollars was present on the table… sigh.

After that, our conversation continued for about an hour. Dave allowed me to ask him anything, like what happens when the power goes out (there’s an entire protocol for that), how much money he ever saw someone win on a single day (over 10 million dollars), or lose (over 4 million) and I asked if he ever met a celebrity (he met Ben Affleck just a short while ago). While this was all fun, the most interesting part of the conversation came when I started to ask questions about the architecture and design of the casino. I learned about the bold vision of Steve Wynn (the owner) for the Wynn and Encore casino’s and why casino’s are built the way they’re built. Also, Dave told me about the impact of the economic crisis (the Encore opened in 2008, just a few months after the crisis broke out). Then, our conversion shifted to China.

The Chinese elite continues to have deep pockets, which is why Steve Wynn – the owner of the casino – wants to attract as many people from China as possible. Therefore, Dave pointed out, the Encore casino has lots of ‘little’ details to appeal to the Chinese. Everything inside is done for a reason. For example, the Chinese color of luck is red… so, take a guess which color is most abundant inside the casino (hint: Check out the photos below). This ‘little’ detail is one of the reasons why the Encore is the most popular destination for Chinese gamblers in Las Vegas, which keeps the casino afloat during the economic crisis and gave me a reason to write about it. Thanks Dave!

The Encore is a true red casino. Most notably, it has a red floor and red chandeliers. These chandeliers are extremely expensive, they cost tens of thousands of dollars a piece.

Does this feel Chinese to you? To me, it does.

There’s more of the outdoor inside the Encore than at any other casino in Vegas. For example, check out these beautiful skylights.

Previous posts

Part 1: Exceeded expectations
Part 2: Google vs. Apple
Part 3: Look left! … No, look right!
Part 4: Johnny Depp
Part 5: Big, bigger, biggest
Part 6: The most beautiful road of the world

]]> http://benjaminfeenstra.com/2013/04/the-color-of-luck/feed/ 0 Stunning view from the World Trade Center http://benjaminfeenstra.com/2013/04/stunning-view-from-the-world-trade-center/ http://benjaminfeenstra.com/2013/04/stunning-view-from-the-world-trade-center/#comments Sat, 06 Apr 2013 18:24:04 +0000 Benjamin Feenstra http://benjaminfeenstra.com/?p=2834 Yeah, I’m biased, but I think New York City is the most beautiful city in the world. A few days ago, this feeling was reinforced after checking out the Daily Mail. This British newspaper published a “mind-blowing picture” (see above), which they snapped from the observation deck of One World Trade Center. Isn’t it incredible?

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