Being from New York City, I get asked a lot through phone calls, emails, and text messages "Why Vegas?" I then proceed saying " I am so glad you asked, you see, there are no taxes here." Most people don't like that answer. In fact they always ask me to clarify "Really, no taxes? That's that reason?" Well, it's true! There is no personal or corporate state income tax in Nevada... and it's not like I am going to move the company to Carson City. Let's get real. So Las Vegas was my weapon of choice.

Las Vegas is absolutely great in more ways than one. Despite popular belief, there is a world outside of the strip. However, I knew my co-workers and clients are not going to want to hike to Sumerlin for meetings. For those of you who don't know, Sumerlin is a beautiful family oriented community about twenty minutes from the strip. So why not move smack in the middle of the strip (City Center)? When I arrived, I knew that Vegas had much more to offer than meets the eye, however I thought to myself, this is nice. Little did I know, I was in for a overwhelming experience of convenience and luxury.

So without further delay, here is a list of things I love about living and working in Las Vegas.

Ok, well these aren't my cars, but they are sexy. I spotted the Jaguar sitting outside of our building, a fully optioned 2010 XK. The second is a right hand drive TVR Tuscan. The funny thing is that this guy thinks he is going to sell it for more than 150k. You can get these cars on eBay.co.uk used for under 30k. Either way, it's still a nice car. I'd love to own one.

2010 Jaguar XK

2005 TVR Tuscan

Top Gear TVR Tuscan Review Part 1:

Top Gear TVR Tuscan Review Part 2:

Jaguar XK Review:

Ebay Listing TVR Tuscan: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-53-TVR-TUSCAN-S-4-0-SPEED-SIX-380-CONVERTIBLE-/150563443255?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item230e47d237

Ever walk into Neiman Marcus and have someone hand you a Wet Cement t-shirt that retails for eighty bucks? "Here, take it. We can't sell it" the man boasted. Well, it happened to me last month. The Large fits perfect too (hint I accept these t-shirts as bribes). Kudos for the MySpace worthy snapshot of myself. Oh, and thanks to Phillip at Neiman Marcus - Fashion Show Mall for the hookup.

Joey Avino, CEO Amedia Creative

Oh man. I don't care where you live and how fresh your Lobster is. I've eaten Lobster pulled right out of the waters of Maine and have dove the waters of Cozumel 60+ feet to literally pick up dinner. Maybe your Lobster is better, but your food isn't. Every (worth my time) restaurant in the world has been duplicated in Las Vegas. With restaurants from executive chefs like Jean Georges, Wolfgang Puck and Bobby Flay, these are places people dream of having at their doorstep. Well, not only can I walk to all of these (more than I can count) world renowned restaurants, I get half off since I'm a local. So you sir, enjoy your Lobster, while I enjoy everything else. Oh, and I think I'll get Lobster too.

Jean Georges Steakhouse, Aria

Porterhouse for Two at Crafsteak, MGM Grand

Tuna Tatar at STK, The Cosmopolitan

Dessert Platter at STK, The Cosmopolitan

Unless you're one of the two people that live in the Miami Viceroy Hotel, not many people can say they live in a Kelly Wearstler building. Either way, this world famous decorator has been contracted to redo our lobby. Construction starts after Labor day. Thanks iStar, Kor Group, and everyone else involved!

The Tides, Miami (Design by Kelly Wearstler)

Madison 140, Beverly Hills (Design by Kelly Wearstler)

The Viceroy, Miami (Design by Kelly Wearstler)

Plenty of people hate City Center. "It was a waste of money" they say, "People died building it." I have news for you mister negative. People died building the Brooklyn Bridge too, but on nice days thousands walk across it without thinking about it. Well people come from all over the world to experience the largest privately held construction project in the United States. There is absolutely no place like it. Made up of some of the best hotels like Aria, The Cosmopolitan, The Mandarin Oriental, The Vdada Hotel, a world class shopping mall, and two leaning residential buildings called Veer, City Center will eventually recover and be a benchmark for new architectural expectations for our future.

City Center, Las Vegas

Lobby, Aria

Crystals, City Center, Las Vegas

Some of you may be reading this thinking "After I finish this I'll take my 15 minute cigarette break." I am thinking when I am done writing this, I'm going to take my 15 minute pool break. Yes, that's right. I can only think of 30 days out of the year that I won't be able to leave the office and go for an afternoon swim due to inclement weather. Some days after my swim, I'll strap on ski gear and drive forty five minutes to hit the slopes. Is it ok that I wear Speedos under my ski gear?

The Mandarin Oriental Pool, City Center, Las Vegas

Mt. Charleston

Ignore the strip for a second. If you put thousands of people crossing the road, of course there is going to be traffic. With that being said, there is always a parallel road in Las Vegas with no traffic. Even in the middle of the day, roads are clear. The other day I stopped and take a picture of the temperatures on my instrument panel. Don't worry, this isn't hot for Vegas. It's just right for my riding commute.

Nicky Hayden Ducati 848

At one point, Las Vegas built night clubs faster than the housing market crashed. Regardless of how many exist here, every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night each nightclub has huge lines, and unsuspecting guests will wait hours to get in. Crazy right? Living in Vegas gives me plenty of options to entertain clients within clubs without having to worry about them drawing a decent crowd.

On top of that, the folks over at Tao Group decided to add another club to their list right in my backyard. With already hugely successful nightclubs (Tao & Lavo), most thought that they couldn't possible figure out how to pull off a hat trick. Well along came Marquee. The busiest night club in Las Vegas, and probably will be for a while.

Situated in The Cosmopolitan Hotel, it's convenient to walk there. Since I'm a local, I get right in, no line, no cover. Yeah... I'm not waiting in their line... sometimes it's more than four hours long, can you believe that? I would rather spend the time ironing my coin collection.

Marquee Door Cluster F, The Cosmopolitan

Marquee Nightclub, The Cosmopolitan

Peter Lik described Las Vegas as one of the most beautiful places in the world. Why did he say this? Probably because living in Las Vegas, means you're close to just about everything. Have you seen that documentary Planet Earth? Well some of the most beautiful places in the world featured, are only a few hours away from Las Vegas. I'll let the facts talk here. Here are some places I can get in my car and drive to comfortably.

City Center (0 Minutes from Las Vegas)

The Hoover Dam (30 Minutes from Las Vegas)

Lake Mead (30 Minutes from Las Vegas)

Mt. Charleston (45 Minutes from Las Vegas)

Zion National Park (3 Hours from Las Vegas)

Death Valley (3 Hours from Las Vegas)

Area 51 (3 Hours from Las Vegas)

Palm Springs (4 Hours from Las Vegas)

Los Angeles (4 Hours from Las Vegas)

Sedona (5 Hours from Las Vegas)

San Diego (5 Hours from Las Vegas)

The Grand Canyon (5 Hours from Las Vegas)

Lake Powell (5 Hours from Las Vegas)

Park City (6 Hours from Las Vegas)

Not going into detail here, but everyone will be able to save a bit more money.

So you see ladies and gentlemen. These are reasons why I absolutely love Las Vegas. Most people say "I couldn't imagine living there" but the truth is, if you stay out of the bar and casinos, Las Vegas has plenty of  things to do. On top of that, if you ever get bored, some of the most beautiful parts of the USA are just a quick drive away.Not going into detail here, but everyone will be able to save a bit more money.

Joey Avino
CEO, Amedia Creative