This weekend was Iwan's bachelor party in Vegas.
I flew out on a 1:45 pm flight on the day of my red-eye arrival from Hawaii, so I was still in kind of a fog. Iwan and others were planning on golfing that afternoon, but I decided that with no sleep the night before, a round of golf would absolutely kill my chances of being able to hang out past 8pm. Instead, I took a nice nap in the hotel and did a little exploring on my own.
By dinner time, the rest of the party had trickled in, and the whole group was all finally together: Iwan, Adam, Baditude, Discostup, Gabe, Little Buhr, Ben, Nate, and Little Jay. An official wrecking crew. We headed out to dinner at the Burger Bar in Mandalay Bay, where I enjoyed the absolute best hamburger I've ever had in my entire life. I raved about it then and I'll rave about it still. So good. The way the place works is you build a burger from all the various components, choosing bun, meat, cheese, and toppings all a la carte. I had an onion bun, with Black Angus beef, cheddar cheese, peppered bacon, and some leftover caramelized onions off Gabe's plate. Doesn't sound like too much, I guess, but it was delish.
The rest of the evening was filled with raucous frivolity which shall not be recounted here.
Saturday, after a quick breakfast, we headed down to the pool (we were staying at Treasure Island), which was quite a scene. It wasn't too far into the day until the pool was packed with bodies, drinking and dancing and having fun. There was a DJ playing music and doing a hit-and-miss job of getting the crowd fired up. We had rented a cabana, which meant we had a nice shady spot to hang out and people watch. Drinks were consumed, relaxation was enjoyed, fantasy football was discussed, and pictures were taken. Good times.
In the middle of the afternoon, I signed up and played in a $65 poker tournament. I was hanging in there for an hour or so, but the blinds started rising and my chips started fading. The last hand, I was dealt QQ. I raised, and there was one caller. The flop came 6-7-8. There was a bet, I raised, and was called. The turn came 9. There was a check, and I pushed all in, and was called without hesitation. He flips up A-10, for a straight. Bummer. It was fun, though, and I enjoyed the company at the table.
Returning to the cabana, we decided we were hungry, so Baditude and I cabbed it out to Capriotti's and picked up some sammiches. I split a Bobbie (light mayo) with Gabe, yielding an easy tie for first for best meal of the trip. The Bobbie is turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce in their delicious fresh bread. Very good drinking or hangover food.
That night, we headed downtown for a nicer dinner at the steakhouse on top of Binion's, which was decent but a bit overpriced for the food, in my opinion. Dinner was followed by gambling downstairs, where we absolutely dominated a craps table. I haven't traditionally been a craps fan, but had a ball taking money left and right. It was awesome.
Here follows the extend of my gambling:
Friday evening: While walking around waiting for the golfers to be done, I lost $40 in various slot machines. I've had good luck at slots before, but not that night.
Saturday day: Gabe brought a sheet of paper from the sportsbook detailing various baseball bets. I don't know anything about baseball, but parleyed the top three favorites to all win outright (Red Sox, Rays, and Cards). I bet $20, and all three teams won, winning me $41. The poker tournament was -$65.
Saturday evening: As people were getting ready, we started meeting up in the bar downstairs. Makers Mark in hand, I wandered over to the craps table to watch and remember how to play. It looked easy enough, so I got $20 in chips (at a $10 table). I put $10 on the pass line, and the mark was set. I backed it with $10 odds, and the mark was hit. Get paid $22 or something like that.
Saturday night: $5 craps at Binions. I got $100 in chips, and never went below that. At some point, I was up about $70, but then went down almost to even. I then started winning a bit more, and decided that if I got up above $100 that I'd quit. That happened, and I put a big handful of chips in my pocket, leaving only a few more to play with (enough for one bet and 5x odds). Then Baditude started rolling. He'd set the mark, and I'd back my single bet with 5x odds. Then he'd hit the mark, and I'd get paid with two $5 chips and a $25 chip, which would go straight in my pocket. That repeated a few times before he stopped rolling. I run away to the cashier with my pile of chips, and cashed out for $325. Sweet.
-40
-65
+41
+22
+225
====
$183
That profit from gambling did a pretty nice job covering all the other incidental expenses from the trip (cab rides, meals, drinks, etc), and is by far the best luck I've ever had. So that was pretty fun.
Sunday was up and out. I drove home with Iwan and Mick and Baditude, which was fun. Got home just in time to see Allison in the bath and help put her to bed, which was great.
All in all, a great weekend. Congrats to my boy Iwan, and I was happy to be a part of sending him on his way to the other side.
I flew out on a 1:45 pm flight on the day of my red-eye arrival from Hawaii, so I was still in kind of a fog. Iwan and others were planning on golfing that afternoon, but I decided that with no sleep the night before, a round of golf would absolutely kill my chances of being able to hang out past 8pm. Instead, I took a nice nap in the hotel and did a little exploring on my own.
By dinner time, the rest of the party had trickled in, and the whole group was all finally together: Iwan, Adam, Baditude, Discostup, Gabe, Little Buhr, Ben, Nate, and Little Jay. An official wrecking crew. We headed out to dinner at the Burger Bar in Mandalay Bay, where I enjoyed the absolute best hamburger I've ever had in my entire life. I raved about it then and I'll rave about it still. So good. The way the place works is you build a burger from all the various components, choosing bun, meat, cheese, and toppings all a la carte. I had an onion bun, with Black Angus beef, cheddar cheese, peppered bacon, and some leftover caramelized onions off Gabe's plate. Doesn't sound like too much, I guess, but it was delish.
The rest of the evening was filled with raucous frivolity which shall not be recounted here.
Saturday, after a quick breakfast, we headed down to the pool (we were staying at Treasure Island), which was quite a scene. It wasn't too far into the day until the pool was packed with bodies, drinking and dancing and having fun. There was a DJ playing music and doing a hit-and-miss job of getting the crowd fired up. We had rented a cabana, which meant we had a nice shady spot to hang out and people watch. Drinks were consumed, relaxation was enjoyed, fantasy football was discussed, and pictures were taken. Good times.
In the middle of the afternoon, I signed up and played in a $65 poker tournament. I was hanging in there for an hour or so, but the blinds started rising and my chips started fading. The last hand, I was dealt QQ. I raised, and there was one caller. The flop came 6-7-8. There was a bet, I raised, and was called. The turn came 9. There was a check, and I pushed all in, and was called without hesitation. He flips up A-10, for a straight. Bummer. It was fun, though, and I enjoyed the company at the table.
Returning to the cabana, we decided we were hungry, so Baditude and I cabbed it out to Capriotti's and picked up some sammiches. I split a Bobbie (light mayo) with Gabe, yielding an easy tie for first for best meal of the trip. The Bobbie is turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce in their delicious fresh bread. Very good drinking or hangover food.
That night, we headed downtown for a nicer dinner at the steakhouse on top of Binion's, which was decent but a bit overpriced for the food, in my opinion. Dinner was followed by gambling downstairs, where we absolutely dominated a craps table. I haven't traditionally been a craps fan, but had a ball taking money left and right. It was awesome.
Here follows the extend of my gambling:
Friday evening: While walking around waiting for the golfers to be done, I lost $40 in various slot machines. I've had good luck at slots before, but not that night.
Saturday day: Gabe brought a sheet of paper from the sportsbook detailing various baseball bets. I don't know anything about baseball, but parleyed the top three favorites to all win outright (Red Sox, Rays, and Cards). I bet $20, and all three teams won, winning me $41. The poker tournament was -$65.
Saturday evening: As people were getting ready, we started meeting up in the bar downstairs. Makers Mark in hand, I wandered over to the craps table to watch and remember how to play. It looked easy enough, so I got $20 in chips (at a $10 table). I put $10 on the pass line, and the mark was set. I backed it with $10 odds, and the mark was hit. Get paid $22 or something like that.
Saturday night: $5 craps at Binions. I got $100 in chips, and never went below that. At some point, I was up about $70, but then went down almost to even. I then started winning a bit more, and decided that if I got up above $100 that I'd quit. That happened, and I put a big handful of chips in my pocket, leaving only a few more to play with (enough for one bet and 5x odds). Then Baditude started rolling. He'd set the mark, and I'd back my single bet with 5x odds. Then he'd hit the mark, and I'd get paid with two $5 chips and a $25 chip, which would go straight in my pocket. That repeated a few times before he stopped rolling. I run away to the cashier with my pile of chips, and cashed out for $325. Sweet.
-40
-65
+41
+22
+225
====
$183
That profit from gambling did a pretty nice job covering all the other incidental expenses from the trip (cab rides, meals, drinks, etc), and is by far the best luck I've ever had. So that was pretty fun.
Sunday was up and out. I drove home with Iwan and Mick and Baditude, which was fun. Got home just in time to see Allison in the bath and help put her to bed, which was great.
All in all, a great weekend. Congrats to my boy Iwan, and I was happy to be a part of sending him on his way to the other side.
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