1-16-03 - Some Questions
1-15-03 - 2002 Movie Review
1-14-03 - Thoughts for a New Year
1-10-03 - My Life, Up Until Now
12-22-02 - Christmas Thoughts
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A group of friends and I decided to go to Las Vegas for the opening weekend of the Men's NCAA basketball tournament. We figured that it would be the ideal male bonding trip...sports, gambling, and maybe a stray stripper or two. We didn't count on losing an obscene amount of money. This is our story.
The participants (in order of their gambling problem)
1) Me- This may cause some debate among the participants...I'll elaborate later.
2) Chris - My absolute favorite person to gamble with. Casinos should start flying him in and comping him rooms soon...they'd still likely make a profit.
3) Kevin - Is always game and certainly feels the gambler's rush. Is pretty good at knowing where to stop.
4) Jeremy - Likes to gamble, but has a higher degree of self control. Appreciates the value of the one dollar table, something I have never been able to discover.
5) Nick - Will lay down bets on the table, but seems content to watch friends lose their shirts.
6) Jeff - Surprisingly controlled at casinos. I think the only reason he even sits at tables is for the free drinks.
7) Rob - I'm not even sure he likes to gamble.
1) "Our Love" - Rhett Miller
2) "Make You Feel That Way" - Blackalicious
3) "Dressed Up Like Nebraska" - Josh Rouse
4) "Geezers Need Excitements" - The Streets
5) "NYC" - Interpol
6) "You Were Right" - Badly Drawn Boy
7) "No One Knows" - Queens of the Stone Age
8) "A Stroke of Genius" - Freelance Hellraiser
9) "The Way We Ball" - Lil' Flip
10) "Yao Ming Song" - Chance McClain.
Within 5 hours of arriving, Nick, Jeff, and I witnessed a man propositioning a prostitute. And with that, Jeff's Vegas cherry was popped. (Ed. note - It wasn't Jeff propositioning the girl...though I can see how you can get that impression from what I wrote).
On Friday night, we started the night in 3 different places. Rob, Jeff, and I were at Bally's, our hotel... Nick, Kevin, and Chris were at Imperial Palace, and Rob went to dinner w/ his sister, who lives in Vegas. We all agreed to meet up at Treasure Island, and then meet up with Rob later. At our designated meeting time, five of us were there, but Kevin was nowhere to be found. It was left to Chris and Nick to explain...apparently Kevin's blackjack table would not allow him to leave. Prominent among the table was a thirtysomething woman who was alternately described as fat (Chris) or a little thick (Nick). I guess she and Kevin were flirting and even touching a little bit at the table. There was a couple hours of potentially sexiled suspense, but Kevin eventually arrived, claiming nothing happenned. But he did have a big smile on his face. Kevin...I kid because I care. I was right there with you in Reno.
One of the highlights of the trip was just watching the basketball on the big screens at the Sportsbook. That night, while waiting for bikini bullriding to start at The Frontier, we caught the back-to-back-to-back endings of the Indiana-Alabama, Butler-Mississippi St., and Maryland-NC-Wilmington. The changing emotions in the room were simply exhilarating. The room exploded when Drew Nicholas hit that fadeaway three. One of the best shots I have ever seen...we'll be watching that one for years.
After that game, we decided to hit the blackjack tables. We were lucky enough to find a table where we could all sit together...the only problem is that the dealer was an Asian female. If this sounds racist or sexist, forgive me, but you should NEVER sit at a table with an Asian woman dealer. Without fail, they have unbelievable luck and take all of your money. This particular women was a little different, than your usual hot dealer, though. Usually if the dealer is regularly turning 16s into 21 and flipping blackjacks, they react stoically or even apologetically. Not this woman. She reacted with glee as she took chip after chip from us. She insulted us. She told us we smell. She accused me of picking my nose. She called Jeff "Big Bear". She even stuck her tongue out at us. All while turning over 8 21s in a row. As she laughed at us and mocked our manhood, it became apparent who we were dealing with. She is the Anti-Christ.
We were licking our wounds and calculating our losses as we walked up the strip to meet up with Rob. Not even the bikini bull-riding could keep us in The Frontier any longer. Nick and I were leading the group of 6 when we caught sight of this gorgeous brunette in a short, tight Playboy bunny t-shirt talking to some guy. As we tried to raise our jaws back to their original levels, something else caught our eye...the guy she was talking to was Rob! Nick notices this first and quickly encourages me not to stare and to just walk past. Unfortunately for everyone but Anne, Rob quickly notices our arrival and shoos the hottie away. Rob, to quote the vastly overquoted movie, Swingers, "You have so much game and you don't even know it.
If you don't know Jeremy very well, you may not realize what a belligerant little bastard he can be. The night before we left, he decided to try to pick fights with Nick, Kevin, Jeff, and I on different occasions. Bad move. We all now know that Jeremy yelps like a little girl when he is pinned down and scared.
For Chris, it is all about the recovery bet. A recovery bet is just like the name sounds...one big bet to try to recover all of your previous losses. It is good in theory, if you don't think about the potential to go deep in the whole. We have gone to Vegas as a group twice, both times Chris left one last sports bet on his way to the aiport...he's 1 for 2. You have to respect the cavalier attitude, but if I were Amy, I'd hesitate before consenting to a joint checking account in the future.
I was pretty sick the entire trip, so it was a little bit of a downer. The illness would not let me sleep, but it did lead to one of my favorite memories of the trip. At 5 AM Saturday morning, everyone else was asleep but me. Since trying to sleep was futile, I decided that it would be a nice time to walk the strip and watch the sunrise. I have a hard time believing that any time in any place is more surreal than 5AM in Vegas. You see quite a mixture of people just waking up, people not yet asleep, and those who never sleep. I saw quite a few people staggering out of clubs, proud to have lasted until sunrise. More interesting though, were the people standing in line TO GET INTO A CLUB. Who goes to a club at 5AM??? Do they charge a cover? What is the appropriate dress? Let it be known that it is also very fun to order a Corona that early in the morning. Las Vegas...there is no place quite like it.