Checking out Gamma-O

There’s been more and more advertising every year since Harrah’s bought the World Series of Poker. Now it’s everywhere—even the plastic spray minimizers in the bottom of the urinals are adorned with Gamma-O’s logo. Gamma-O bills itself as the world’s first testosterone-powered energy drink, guaranteeing to make you harder, tougher, and stronger. On impulse I check out their booth, located just outside the Amazon room. It is staffed by an absolutely gorgeous 6’4” classy blonde (in Vegas this merely means a minimum of tattoos, no absurdly enhanced breasts, and midriff-free dress). On the video monitors behind her muscular young athletic black men dance and writhe with models on the dance floor. In total contrast, a couple of pasty poker players cluster around, no doubt as seduced by the blonde as the promises of Gamma-O. I pass this booth several times a day, and while there are times I could sure use an energy boost and “harder, tougher, stronger” has a certain appeal as well, I can’t quite bring myself to try it. Still, I think it takes a certain marketing genius to realize that the bottom of the urinals is the perfect spot to put their logo, where poker players can most readily compare their own shortcomings with the models for Gamma-O. (http://www.gammao.com/ccp0-display/gamma-o_girls.html)