Over the next few weeks, San Diego-based Media In Development will conduct interviews and auditions in Las Vegas to test the concept for a new reality television series focused on Las Vegas Teamsters Forklift Jousting.
Yes, jousting on forklifts. The idea is to knock the other operator off his rig.
Executive Producer Lou Volpano said the reality show will center on men who love playing with extremely dangerous machinery.
“This concept that I developed came from doing research into the extreme machine market and realizing that although a fork lift can raise 5,000 pounds, it can only move 3 to 5 mph,” he said.
Volpano said the show will target men in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and mixed martial arts market and he hopes to have teams from different cities compete against each other.
“The Las Vegas Teamsters have a fantastic reputation for being tough, animated characters and the pool of talent in Las Vegas is big there,” he said. “I have plans to do it in every city that has teamsters such as Miami, New York and Chicago.”
Volpano said he hasn’t secured distribution yet, but hopes to begin filming this summer and debut the show in the fall.
“The Teamsters union correlates into what knights are today as compared to what they were in medieval days,” he said. “It’s never been done before.”
Officials at Teamsters Local 631 in Las Vegas, however, said the project is news to them and they aren’t involved.
Nevada No. 8 for business
Nevada retained its eighth place ranking among the best states in the U.S. for businesses, according to Chief Executive magazine’s 2015 survey, “Best and Worst States for Business.”
Top 10 included Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Nevada, Arizona and South Carolina.
In the annual survey, completed by 511 CEOs across America, states are measured across three key categories to achieve their overall ranking: Taxes and regulations; quality of the workforce, and living environment, which includes such considerations as quality of education, cost of living, affordable housing, social amenities and crime rates.
Texas remained the best state for business for the 11th straight year. Since the recession began in December 2007, 1.2 million net jobs have been created in Texas, while 700,000 net jobs were created in the other 49 states combined.
California ranked last in the survey, followed by New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Massachusetts. CEOs gave these states the lowest ratings because of their high tax rates and regulatory environments.
For complete results, visit http://bit.ly/1L0xW5M
Summer in Vegas a hit
Travelzoo, in conjunction with Fly.com, discovered that Las Vegas is the No. 1 most-searched destination for summer vacations this year.
After Las Vegas ranks Miami; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Los Angeles; Orlando, Fla.; New York, San Francisco, Denver and San Juan, Puerto Rico; which are both new on the top 10, and Phoenix.
Travelzoo, a global Internet media company, publishes deals from more than 2,000 travel, entertainment and local businesses.
“The top tip to getting the best travel deal is — and will always be — flexibility,” Travelzoo Senior Editor Gabe Saglie said in a statement. “The more flexibility you have on your travel dates, the better deal you’ll get.”
Saglie added that end-of-summer ticket prices are the lowest.
“We’re seeing summer ticket prices start to fall on or about Aug. 20,” Saglie said. “You’ll also run into much smaller crowds in popular tourism destinations.”
For more information, visit www.travelzoo.com.
