Larry Ellison snubs Microsoft and conference goers to attend boat race

One of the highlights of the Oracle OpenWorld conference is attending CEO Larry Ellison"s keynote presentations. The opening keynote on Sunday was both entertaining and educational, so attendees were expecting more of the same during the Tuesday afternoon keynote discussing Microsoft and Oracle"s partnership.

For those of you keeping track at home, Team USA (sponsored by Oracle) has been making an amazing comeback in the America"s Cup racing tournament. Team USA was down early, but with New Zealand one win away from winning the Cup, the Americans have been winning race after race. It just so happened that the race to tie up the series at eight wins apiece was scheduled for the same time as Ellison"s keynote. Choosing between giving the keynote presentation at his own conference and watching the America"s Cup race, Ellison chose to snub his paying customers to watch Team USA.

Upon hearing the news, mumbles of discontent circulated through the auditorium, followed by a large number of people getting up and leaving the auditorium. The general mood of the conference took a turn as most people made comments about Ellison being "arrogant," but others understood why he would want to attend the race. Ellison also skipped Oracle"s earnings call last week to attend a race.