Our latest COED adventure took us to the middle of the Mojave desert for a exclusive / top secret series of events that lead up to the Las Vegas Premiere of Spectre with Heineken. Like many of our excursions, we had little to no knowledge of what would lie ahead, only the promise of an awesomely good time shrouded in ‘secrecy, intrigue, adventure and sophistication’… oh, and a sh*t-ton of Heineken. I am pleased to report, Heineken delivered on all accounts and then some.
We arrived in Las Vegas Wednesday morning and were shuttled to the the Red Rocks Casino and Resort in Summerlin. Upon check-in we were told to head immediately to our rooms for a very special delivery. About 30 minutes later, a butler rang my door with a Heineken and opened a sliver cloche revealing a new Sony Xperia z5 phone, credentials and a card with a phone number on it. So, I called the number and received a brief from Agent H. He said this phone would be my lifeline for the next 48 hours and all details and updates would be communicated though this device. I was also notified that my next appointment would be in the penthouse suite at 17:00 hours.
So at 17:00 hours we hit the penthouse for an opulent shindig right out of a 007 flick (imagine that?!?!). I was loving that the staff looked like Bond girls and the Heineken was flowing freely. I threw back some beers with my friends from Edelman, the Roosevelts and Elite Daily. It was here we learned we were only a few of 200 from around the world chosen to take part in this once in a lifetime event. Still not knowing much of anything about the day ahead, I was definitely up for the challenge.
And yes, there was an emerald green-lit hot tub filled with ice and Heineken on the deck. As the evening moved on we were informed that we had a 4:30 am leave the next morning. I had no doubt, the wake-up call would be the worst part of this trip.
And it was, but ultimately well worth it. At the ass crack of dawn we headed out to what seemed to be the middle BFE. We loaded up into dune buggies as the sun came up for a trek across the desert. Our final destination- breakfast.
Fittingly, we ate a good old fashioned English Breakfast with service to prepare us for the day ahead. Fortunately for me, the coffee was as free flowing as the Heineken the night before.
The sound of helicopters filled the air as we were finishing breakfast. Out of nowhere, Agent Black appeared. We learned our mission was to take part in the world’s first selfie from space, dubbed the “Spyfie”. Mission location: The Hoover Dam.
On the bus from breakfast, we were each assigned a “locator beacon” that would be used to identify our individual position from a Deimos-2 cam, an ultra-definition video camera mounted on the International Space Station. Yup, pretty cool stuff.
I had driven across the Hoover Dam as a kid, but had never walked the grounds. All I can say is DAMN it was impressive.
We took our position on the massive Heineken disc set up in the visitors parking lot in what I believe to be the Arizona side of the dam, but don’t hold me too it.
As the countdown began, Bond’s latest bad boy Dave Bautista, a.k.a. Hinx rolled in a super slick Range Rover Sport. He took his place in the center of the disc and we all looked to the strategically placed helicopter in the sky for a focal point. The countdown clock hit 0 and boom, it was done.
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The ground breaking selfie, a.k.a. The Spyfie.
After the Spyfie, we bussed down the other side of the dam and loaded up into rafts for an up close and personal look at this amazing architectural marvel. Built in 1931-1935, it was the largest concrete structure in the world, utilizing enough concrete to make a road from the North to the South Pole. It took 500 men and 5 years to finish construction. An incredibly impressive feat considering NYC has been trying to get the 2nd Avenue Subway done since 1919 and there is still no end in sight.
We cleaned the desert off and headed of the pre-party and premiere of Spectre. Naturally, there was a Heineken green carpet instead of the traditional red.
I was super psyched to show off my Heineken bottle cap cufflinks. Believe it or not, I don’t get too many / enough opportunities to wear them.
The Spectre premiere was nothing less than spectacular. Acrobats dangled from hoops and a dj pumped out the beats mid theatre. We proceeded to drink more Heineken as the movie began. The movie did not disappoint. Like all the Spyfie events in the 48 hours before, Spectre had amazing twists at every turn and only left us wanting more.
One of the most unexpected highlights of the night was running into COED’s favorite polish model Natalia Siwiec. She was looking gorgeous as ever.
Post screening, we all hit the afterparty and the after-afterparty and made a ton of new friends along the way. And after 2 days of epic adventure, it was now time to sleep.
Disclosure: Heineken provided the press trip. COED and I did not receive any monetary compensation or special consideration. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
