Las Vegas
In one of the most unique Sin City experiences yet,
groups get to move the earth on Caterpillar big rigs
By Kinley Welly
Ed Mumm (below), owner of Dig This, wants Las Vegas groups to pound
out their aggression on his five-acre site akin to a super-sized sandbox
Dig This!
Las Vegas might be an adult play- ground, but even it has never seen anything quite like Dig This.
How does one get the idea to start a
heavy equipment playground, where guests
pay to play on 15-ton Caterpillar
315CL excavators and 10-ton
Caterpillar D5 bulldozers?
For Dig This owner Ed
Mumm, the lightbulb
came on in 2005,
when he was building a house and was
floored by contractors’
quotes for work. He
and a friend ended up
doing the work themselves and realized how
fun it is to play with big rigs.
Dig This opened in 2007 in
Steamboat Springs, CO, but Mumm
was lured to Las Vegas largely because of
the access to groups. The number of meet-
ings and conventions in Las Vegas “totally
dwarfs the number in Colorado,” he says.
“You have the world coming here.”
Dig This officially opened its Las Vegas
operation in May. Every experience begins
with a classroom orientation, followed by
a safety and equipment overview, an
in-cab orientation, a warm-up, and then
the activity. Participants don’t need
driver’s licenses, but they do need to sign a
waiver form (Mumm notes that the com-
pany has an impeccable safety record), and
it helps if they have a little pent-up aggres-
sion before embarking on their earth-
r s
moving adventure.
The experience takes place on five acres
of land located five minutes off the Strip.
Programs run for 90 minutes (Mini Dig),
three hours (Big Dig—the most popular
choice), and five hours (Mega Dig).
For groups, Mumm says the
company prides itself on tai-
loring teambuilding pro-
grams. “We really mix it
up and try to focus on
what teambuilding is
really about—organiza-
tion and communica-
tion,” he says. “They
are very intense, and
everyone is working; no
one is standing around.”
According to Mumm, the
ideal group size for a Dig This
teambuilding activity is 30 to 40
participants. And for those who think
that this is clearly an experience for men,
Mumm is quick to point out that 50 per-
cent of Dig This clients are women.
Dig This has partnered with local hospitality suppliers to put together combination
group programs like Excavate and Exfoliate (a Dig This experience followed by a
visit to the spa at the Trump International
Hotel), Dig and Destroy (bulldozing and
shooting at the Gun Store range), and Dig
and Dine (a wheels-and-meal pairing at the
Margaritaville). ■
