Vegas Escapism, Broadcom Style
By ANDREW SIMONS
The reception area screams exclusive chic.
A buff security guard stands ready to send away undesirables. The ground floor of The Ghost Bar at the Palms Casino Resort has black curtains around the elevator that shoots partygoers up to the 42nd floor for a breathtaking view of Las Vegas.
This isn’t a club. This is an intimate get-together for Broadcom Corp.
It’s the second night of Comdex, technology’s biggest annual bash, and Broadcom chief Henry Nicholas,along with his lieutenants,are toasting the company’s newest chip that networks computer gear wirelessly at higher speeds than current chips.
And he’s showing that despite lawsuits, layoffs, patent fights, pro-forma accounting, economic woes and edge-of-your-seat quarters, Broadcom still parties.
The company’s stock jumped earlier in the day on news of the new chip, making it again Orange County’s most valuable company,a bragging spot Broadcom has traded with Aliso Viejo-based QLogic Corp. several times in the past month.
The party seems a fitting escape from the busied Comdex floor and the cold economic winds facing most of the chip industry.
The fact that this party, Broadcom’s gala for Comdex, is at the Palms isn’t an accident. MTV’s “Real World Las Vegas” recently was shot in an apartment a few floors below, giving it a sense of swank. The hotel is the hippest of Vegas’ fantasy palaces.
“This bar has just what we were looking for,” one Broadcom marketing manager said. “It’s elegant. It’s intimate.”
The Broadcom bash is small, but it’s one of the most exclusive Comdex parties this year. Along the lines of Microsoft Corp.’s reception with Bill Gates.
It’s a little after 6 p.m.,the Comdex show floor closed only an hour ago,and the party has yet to get going. There are just a few people here, most dressed in chic black attire.
There’s an open bar that’s keeping libations flowing. Two double doors open out onto the terrace. A portion of the floor overhanging the rest of the building is glass. Several partygoers stand on the glass, getting the feeling of tempting death if the glass were to break.
Along the walls, Broadcom has set up displays of the company’s newest chips, but nobody seems to be paying attention. The view of Las Vegas from the terrace is too tantalizing to care.
Nicholas walks into the room and begins talking to customers.
It’s a night to discuss business, but also a time to talk about other stuff,like his workout.
“I’m in a serious atrophying phase right now,” confesses a wearied Nicholas about his legendary state of fitness.
The swarthy chief is known for his vigorous workouts, but his demeanor seems a bit subdued.
“I’ve been traveling overseas too much, meeting with people,” he says.
Tired maybe, but 42 stories above Las Vegas amid the swagger of his party, Nicholas still seems the giant.
More of Broadcom’s customers start flowing in. Nicholas begins to hop around the party talking to several of them.
The customers get cigars. Others don’t
Jeff Thermond, vice president of Broadcom’s wireless networking business unit, starts to talk about the company’s speedy wireless chip that’s the toast of the hour.
For about five minutes, people listen attentively. But the attention gives way to conversation. Rude? Nah.
“These people are our customers,” a Broadcom spokesman said. “They can talk if they want.”
The speaking doesn’t last long, and neither does the party. It ends at 9:30 p.m. and everyone starts to move to the elevator. Back to Comdex. Back to the downtrodden economy. Back to reality.
