9-8-02 - Summer Recap
7-25-02 - Randomly Collected Thoughts
7-23-02 - Rice Standards
7-18-02 - Thursday Musings
7-17-02 - Life Decision
7-16-02 - GAY CLUB Rules
7-15-02 - Cell Phone Roulette
7-12-02 - Friday Thoughts
7-9-02 - Vacation Rules
7-5-02 - Threesome Etiquette
7-2-02 - More Reader's Mail
7-1-02 - The Tubing Trip
6-28-02 - Guest on Cheating
6-27-02 - Semi-Political Ramblings
6-25-02 - Ode to the Marquis
6-21-02 - The It Factor
6-20-02 - Some More Ramblings
6-17-02 - Reader Mail
6-14-02 - Encore, Please
6-13-02 - Birthday Thoughts
6-11-02 - Soccer Masturbation
6-8-02 - Objective Ratings
6-6-02 -Thursday Thoughts
6-5-02 - World Cup Bandwagon Jumping
6-4-02 - Mayer, Comfortable
6-3-02 - Mayer, City Love
5-30-02 - Thursday Thoughts
5-29-02 - Memorial Day Weekend
ARCHIVES
Step One - Win Big - First, you have to build yourself up a nest egg. I won $220 in Vegas, so I figured that these small fries in Reno would not be able to handle me. I sit down at the same table with Jeremy and Kevin, play for a few hours, and come up another $140. Neither of them even broke even. This served multiple purposes - 1) I am convinced that I am the most skillfed blackjack player ever. I sit at the same table as my friends, they lose, I win. I pull a 5 when I hit on 16 with a large bet down. Now that is skill. 2) I drink about 6 of the complimentary drinks. This will help eventually lead to my downfall.
Step Two - Pull Away - At this point, it is still early in the night and reason still rules. I'm happy with my winnings. I realize that my luck is bound to run out, so I pull away and call a friend to brag about my good fortune. My friends fo to drown their sorrows in 48 ounce margaritas.
Step Three - Drink More - Get a 48 ounce margarita. Join my friends. I should still drink more and be social with my friends, right?
Step Four - Return to the Tables - After all of that tequila-ey goodness, do I really have any other choice. I have to gamble more.
Step Five - A Jovial Atmosphere - This one is the key. Kevin and I sit at this quiet table with two girls between us who are down to their last chips. As soon as we sit down, the table becomes hot. All of a sudden, I have won another $140 dollars. The girls sitting between us who were practically bankrupt now have huge stacks of chips. We brought the luck, they now love us. Our table is rocking! We're all a little drunk and we are yelling at every good card that comes up. We find out that they are sisters (in their early thirties) who both teach in Portland, Oregon. I am wearing nametags from both of the sisters to add to our good luck. Here is where I make two comments I will greatly regret later. Comment 1 - "I am the luckiest blackjack player in the world." Comment 2 (to Kevin) - "This is where I would normally walk away, but I'm having so much fun."
Step Six - It's not about the Money - So I start to lose money. I place bigger bets, but it is all for fun. I am having a good time, flirting a little. I was channeling Trent from Swingers and those girls were feeling my vibe. Don't listen to Jeremy, he said the girls were fat, but they were cute, Kevin and I agreed. So maybe they weren't exactly skinny...but it is the whole older women fantasy that begins to grip guys our age. Anyways, I fail to think that my luck has turned when the $240 in front of me disappears. It doesn't occur to me that buying in for another $100 is a bad idea. That occurs to me 20 minutes later when that $100 is gone.
Step Seven - The Justification - I get up to leave the table, and the last of the sister goes to leave with me. Here is the point where I could recoup my losses, but I was dating a girl I liked a lot, so it wasn't anywhere near worth it. So I go down stairs and justify that I am still playing with the house's money. This becomes a familiar, stupid refrain. Right before we leave, our dealer comes up to me and puts her had on my shoulder. She was 50+ and hardened...exactly what you'd expect from a Vegas dealer. She says to me, " Sorry you lost so much...if it makes you feel any better, that girl you were sitting by was really into you.
Step Eight - Rock Bottom - I try to win it back...I lose $60 more. I stumble back to my hotel room, drunk, broke, alone and go to sleep on the floor.
Step Nine - One Last Big Bet - I withdraw another $100. Yes, I know, it was a bad idea. But I have fun with it, play with it for an hour or so, am down $30, and then make my last of many fatal mistakes. The whole one more big bet thing. I bet $30, won, and let it ride. The dealer shows 6, I have two 4s. Something possesses me to split, leaving all my $120 on the table. I pull 14 and 13 (ouch), but the dealer has a face card (yes!!), but draws a 5 for 21 (ugh, gut punch). Now this was rock bottom, and I was sober this time. To be honest, it wasn't the money that hurt, it was having to live with my stupidity.
1) "Bullets" - Bob Schneider
2) "Girl Like You" - Pete Yorn
3) "Fast Car" - Tracy Chapman
4) "Brown Sugar" - D'Angelo
5) "Brown Sugar" - Rolling Stones
6) "The Factory" - The Vines
7) "Blues Music" - G. Love and Special Sauce
8) "Criminal" - Eminem
9) "My Ride" - Nappy Roots
10) "Come Away with Me" - Norah Jones
