Waking Up in Vegas

Now, I can understand that it's not very good for the federal government's image for federal employees at conferences to go all Katy Perry on agency time. Conferences are a chance to learn things, share ideas, work on joint projects, etc., and not necessarily to gamble, drink, get facial peels, and kick Penn and Teller out of their hotel suite. And none of those things should happen on the government dime, obviously.

But the news that the Obama administration is trying to deter agencies from holding conferences in "resort" locations or places where gambling is a big local industry strikes me as a tad silly. As long as a)the conference is set in a place that is economical and convenient, and b) participants make full and effective use of their experience there, I don't think there's anything wrong with holding a conference in Las Vegas, or Orlando, or whatever. If there's a specific part of the conference that involves bonding activities, spending 24/7 with other participants, etc., then it seems reasonable to require that everybody to show up to every mandatory event and to hold the event in a setting conducive to that kind of experience. I can also understand choosing venues that are sensible to folks who suffer from gambling addictions. But if Vegas is the cheapest and most convenient place to hold a large conference, it's silly not to hold it there out of squeamishness.

And, as we know at Government Executive, location is not exactly a barrier to a federal employee, or to anyone, acting like a fool or a lunatic while out of the office.