Vegas On My Mind

Went and saw Ocean's 13 last night. It was pretty good, still not near as good as 11, but much, much better than 12. Anyways, throughout the movie they showed multiple aerial shots of The Strip, and I could feel my heart rate increase every time. And as I predicted to Jill as we left the theater, I had trouble sleeping last night, and when I did fall asleep, I dreamt about playing blackjack in the high-roller area of Caesar's Palace.

I have always enjoyed gambling. First it was innocent one dollar bets on baseball games with my dad when I was 8 or 9 (remember Sid Bream scoring ahead of Bonds's throw? Yeah, that cost me a week's allowance.) Then it was college basketball pools, and random bets (usually with Dunph or Bergman) as I got older. Then I turned 18 and Gamblor (the feeling in our stomachs we would get when we wanted to go the casino, as coined by Mike Haley) took over. Our senior year of high school consisted of geting out of class at 12:30, jumping in Ike's truck and driving 100 mph to Mahnomen to make it there in an hour, gambling til 5, and racing back to make it to basketball by 6:30. A couple years later the poker craze hit, and I got the fever like everyone else in the country. After that cooled off, an online gambling account with Dunph and three trips to Vegas within 12 months ensued. This progression was all fairly predictable, and probably inevitable. With my personality, gambling was gonna be in my lifestyle. I probably enjoy gambling too much, but despite the recent shellackings that Vegas has handed out, I am still up money over my whole life, and I know when to quit (with a couple memorable exceptions.)

However, Vegas has undoubtedly taken it to a whole new level. I enjoy gambling, I enjoy drinking, I enjoy joking around and busting balls with buddies, and I enjoy bullshitting with random people. When all these things are together in one setting, it's no surprise I love Vegas as I do.

When I sift through this rambling and try to find my point, I guess it's this: I don't think I can wait for Ike's bachelor party next May. Vegas must come sooner.