I was in Vegas for a trade show the last few days and came back unscathed. I know that’s harsh for the circumstance, but it has to be on people’s minds who visit even though you can’t really tell.

I stayed at the Luxor which is attached to the Mandalay Bay. I’ve been to Vegas many times so the glitz and glamour are nothing new. Even the gambling aspect loses its luster because I have a casino 5 minutes from my house. Nevertheless, the city is fun and I’ll go over a few of my observations.

• Gluttony Galore – The tourists are fat and lazy.  I’d go out on a limb and say 75% of people are overweight. It’s a problem that America is not dealing with and extremely transparent in Vegas.
• Absurd Pricing – In all of the hotels the beers are about $7. I also had a Gin and Tonic for $17. If you buy a PBR pounder on the strip side stores, it’s $1.19. Where all the money comes from is confusing. I can’t imagine most people have this money to blow like Birdman.
• The Vigil – I ran down to the Vegas “Welcome” sign and there was a memorial dedicated to all of the victims and it’s extremely sad. I read a card created from an elementary school class to their deceased teacher which shows you how far and personal these attacks reach. Sad stuff.

My Gambling

I won’t bore you with the trade show as I’m sure everyone only cares about my action. I started off losing the first 2 NBA games on Boston and Golden State for a combined $80. Then I rolled my account on the Sixers and hit the Raiders last night to put me in the green about $50. I used Bovada instead of booking the action at the book like Adam would prefer.

My first BJ session happened with 4 male students from Notre Dame. That didn’t cum out right. Shit. I started off playing 1 on 1 with the Dealer and all was going well. Then these 22 year old finance students show up with scared money and cocky attitudes. They bought in from ranges of $40-$100 and would jump in and out of the shoe. They wouldn’t hit their 16’s either. Then one hand I had a 12 against a dealer 3 and I hit it. I busted and the guy told me “oh man, sorry, that wasn’t what the book says, I should have told you.” Nice kids but not people you want to play blackjack with. I lost $200 in that session.

My next session was a 1am session where I sat down for a 1 on 1 session against the dealer and I was Joined by a meathead after not so long. He would stay on 5’s and 6’s. No lie. Then his GF got there and the dealer would tell her to hit and she wouldn’t understand what was going on. I lost $200 in this session too.

On my final day I played 1v1 against the dealer and finally had some success She was a nice and we had a fine time for about 3 8 deck shoes where I won $250. I left because at one point a fat gentlemen joined and didn’t hit his 16’s and I said, “fuck that”, no more putting up with people ruining the deck. I was always aware of this but am not a firm believer that you are fucking yourself by putting up with nonsense.

After the show I took one more stab at it and sat down with a guy who knew what he was doing. We played for a while relatively even when a 24 year old gamer sat down to my left. On one hand he had a pair of 6’s against a dealer 5, easy split. He doesn’t split and hits, catches a 5, and then HITS again to bust. The dealer flips over a ten and then a 6.  I nearly lost it when my 20 got beat on that hand and I walked away losing $125.

I was pretty steamed after that but I sat down 1 more time and finally had some luck. I bought in for $200 against and Asian female (the absolute WORST type of dealer) and started off with a $15 bet which won, then $30 which won, then $60 which won. I went for it one more time with a $100 bet and got 20 only to lose to her BlackJack 21. She left and a new dealer came in and I was joined by 5 other people who actually wanted to play blackjack the right way. I was pressing a bit at that point because I had to leave to catch a flight, and I ended up on the last hand betting $75, getting a double opportunity, and then winning which put me up $350 for that table and relatively close to even for the trip. I tipped the dealer $25 because at that point I was ecstatic to have clawed my way back after a losing trip for 99% of the time.

Fun times but glad to be home.