Why my towels are on the floor

So, I just got back from a business trip in Las Vegas.  It was a geek conference, not interesting to anybody that isn’t excited by terms like TCP, IPv6, SAN, NAS, and virtualization.  If you are thinking “huh?”, don’t worry that means you are normal.  Anyway – I noticed a few things about Vegas that I thought I would share:

1. Everyone wants to engage you on a “what casino are you staying in” conversation.  And whats more, the minute you tell them, there is a follow up conversation about where that hotel is in relationship to other well known hotels on the strip. “Oh, you are at MGM?  That’s right across the street from New York, New York.“  — “You are at Mandalay Bay?  I stayed there last year, but I like the Lexor much better” — By the way, I stayed at the Lexor, since I’m sure you care – I’m guessing you are already typing an email to tell me what hotel and what site like Slotsformoney.com that you used while you have stayed here and where it is on the strip…
2. Everyone has a joke derived from the Vegas trademark line “What happens in Vegas…”.  Here are a few I’ve heard for this trip:
   1. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, unless its really good – then it ends up on youtube.
   2. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas – so does your money
   3. STDs don’t stay in Vegas
3. There really aren’t any cheap buffets in Vegas.  The buffet in the hotel was $20 for dinner.  Just to give you an idea of the prices on the strip – The cheapest placed to buy a soda in Vegas was the movie theaters!

So what does that have to do with towels?  Nothing – keep reading… Those aren’t the only things I noticed about the strip that I care to share.  When I got out of the airport I took a shuttle to the hotel where I stood in line to check in.  There are a large fountain there behind me where people were throwing the pennies they had left after gambling.  I get my key and start the walk to the room.  I walked past a water fountain in the hall way, notice another one in the food court, I see one in front of the reastraunt as well.  After dropping off my bags, in an effort to get my barrings I walk from my room to the conference in Mandalay Bay where I pass no less than ten water fountains – some with lights, some where the water just runs down the wall to a pool below.  Water was spraying, falling, spitting from every corner of the two casino hotels and the mall like corador that connected them.

So I get back to my room, unpack my bags and jump in a shower.  When I get out – I see this sign:

Dear Guest,

Southern Nevada and the West are experiencing
extreme drought conditions.
Please help us conserve water by re-using towels
when possible.

• Hang the towels on the rack to re-use them
• Place the towels on the floor to receive
  fresh towels.

Huh???  Hey guys, I know where all the water is — the hallways!  So… that’s why my towels are on the floor…