Update: at the request of the hotel, we have removed the name of the property and the celebrities who stay there.
TruAudio integrators got to feel like a big-time rapper or champion boxer… at least for a moment… during he 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The company hosted dealers at an $11,000-per-night suite at the [redacted] Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip where [celebrities redacted] both prefer to stay when they are in town, according to TruAudio president Bryan Garner.
Because TruAudio is the audio vendor for the swanky hotel, which is one of the most well-appointed resorts in Vegas, the St. George, Utah-based audio manufacturer gets access to the three-story bungalow during CES. The suite features direct access to the swimming pool, several lavish bedrooms with spacious private baths, and multiple balconies, several of which overlook the fountain show at the nearby Bellagio Hotel.
TruAudio tricked out every area of the bungalow. On the first floor, visitors are immersed in audio from two 85-inch soundbars with custom metallic paint jobs, a set of in-ceiling speakers with Zebra decor and uniquely installed SAT3s speakers. Just outside on the patio are some of TruAudio’s SubTerrain and AS-1 and AS-2 speakers.
On the second floor, a SLIM-PWR44 powered soundbar is featured in one of the bedroom suites. The soundbar features wireless Bluetooth AptX technology. Both second-floor suited have hidden TVs behind movable floor-to-ceiling mirrors. On the top level of the bungalow, there are more wall-mounted speakers surrounding the hot tub and balconies. Natalee Hoff, TruAudio’s vice president of sales, said the area was an ideal environment for dealers to be able to experience so many of the company’s products in one location.
Among the dealers who got to check out the suite were Golden Ticket contest winners Rob Arend and Aaron Renschaert of 24/7 Audio Video in Tempe, Ariz. Arend was the first lucky winner of the Golden Ticket promotion that sent him and on an all-expenses-paid trip to the show.
Arend himself didn’t even know about the promotion, but his purchasing guy did. So they made sure to check out the TruAudio units they have in their inventory.
“We opened up the third box and there was the ticket. What in the hell are the chances of that!,” says Arend, who was not planning to come to CES this year.
“My friends say I am the luckiest guy in the world,” he comments, noting that he once found $600 in an envelope in a parking lot, and another time found a money clip with a few dollars in it, but it had his first name “Rob” engraved on it.
“TruAudio is one of our most valued vendors. They stand behind their product and they have helped make us a successful custom installation business,” says Arend.
The other winners of the Golden Ticket contest were Jason Zuniga of Austin Home Systems and Bill Simpson, co-owner of Innovative Systems & Services in Baton Rouge, La.
