Vegas, Baby!

I should rename my blog "Treats for Blogging" and perhaps then I will be a more reliable blogger. It's been a while.

I went to Vegas last weekend with my mom and my brother, Frank. The trip itself cost us nothing, air and hotel were free for all of us, so our only expenses were eating and gambling. We ate a lot of crumby food because it was cheap -- I had low expectations for the steak and lobster special for $10. It was okay, but I'd have preferred a great hamburger for $7. Alcohol, of course, was free so long as we were gambling. Frank, who had never been to Vegas was really intrigued by this concept. He asked me: "So, what's the deal with the free drinks?" I told him to tip the ladies $1 and he was good to go. He soon got the hang of it, and started asking for the better stuff: "Do you have Samuel Adams?" he'd ask. "Guiness?" Me? Water and vodka tonics all weekend. Mom even had a beer or two.

I astonished Len by arriving home with a few more dollars than I left with. Frank did about as well, but mom was the big winner with her $900 gain. I was actually down the last night by $150 and was pretty sick about it when I played a quarter slot (had been playing roulette all weekend) and won the 1000-coin jackpot. $250! I was redeemed. I played it safe the rest of the time and came home happy.

While at the roulette table one morning, Frank and I, playing our 50 cent chips, watched a young guy from Iowa walk up with his friends. They'd been gambling and drinking all night and were just about to leave for the airport. The kid dropped a $100 bill on red and doubled his money. His friends were in awe. This energized the kid and he played another hundred on black and won again. Now his friends were sure he was God. Kid got cocky and lost $100. Kid raised the stakes and won $500. This went on for a while and everyone at the table was really having fun watching this kid clean up. He walked away $1700 richer.

Too bad that's not the end of the story.

About a half an hour later the kid came back and dropped $500 on red. Lost. Another $500. Lost. I said out loud: "Go home with your $700 and be happy." But the kid from Iowa had to redeem himself in front of his buddies. Frank noticed that the last time he pulled bills out of his wallet, there was nothing left. Kid went home broke.

But, he's got a story to tell for the rest of his life, right?

Otherwise, we all had fun watching the Vegas sights. We saw an Elvis impersonator and an Al Green impersonator (yeah, who knew?). Frank and I did a lot of walking down town -- we stayed in the old area and walked through the Neon sign museum areas and looked for trinkets for his girls. I almost got an airbrushed tattoo -- just to freak Len out. Fremont street has become an attraction all its own, with a canopy covering the street with all the old-school casinos: Fitzgerald's, the Four Queens, the Golden Nugget, etc. It was 109 degrees outside, but in true Vegas fashion, the hotels were blowing cold air out under the canopy and it was actually comfortable. A half-block walk outside the canopy and Frank and I felt like we were actually on fire. It was hot.

That's Vegas, baby.