WPPI, Mandalay Bay and a Little Well-Deserved Sarcasm

I finally found the perfect application for the in-camera star filter. Meet the "stars" of the show!

While at WPPI two years ago I shared a little sarcasm when a small bottle of water was $9.00 at the convention. Well, I'm back in Las Vegas and Mandalay Bay has put a new twist on dealing with the challenge of absurd pricing.
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• At check-in, the hotel automatically hits your credit card with $300 for incidentals. While they inform you right away this is only a deposit, and the unused portion will be refunded to your credit card upon check-out, it doesn't change the fact that before you even get to your room, you're a little cautious about what you're about to spend.
• It was late last when I got to my room and I wanted a bottle of water and just grabbed one out of the mini-bar. Well, the 16.9 oz bottle of Aquafina was $8.00. Thank God I didn't open the bigger bottle of Fiji water - it's $15.
• If you're going to treat a bottle of water like it's from the Fountain of Youth, Ponce de León spent his life searching for, then make the rest of the accessories in the room match up. I get paper products are expensive, but one-ply toilet paper? And honestly, it doesn't get upgraded because you put a gold gift sticker on each roll!
• Then there are the goodies on the in-room snack tray. I picked one up to see what it was and didn't put it back on the tray, not realizing the tray was wired...*poof* bet it shows up on my bill. There is a small sign on the tray warning me in 8 pt font, and I know if it shows up the hotel will credit it, but it doesn't make you feel good about the process.

I get how hard it is to run a luxury hotel in Vegas, and I'm glad to help with the economy, but whatever happened to good old common sense? Sorry, I've got to run. They just delivered my $24.00 bowl of oatmeal on room service.