Vegas: Wednesday Night

The last night, and we decide to go to a club. A real, honest for real club. We decide to go to Studio 54 at the MGM grand. We get there early, at around 8:30 for the doors to open at 10:00. We thought there'd be a long line up, but it was only about a dozen or so people.

We get in, and it's really, really dead. In fact, there was only one dude dancing. By himself. Wow. His moves were styling, better than I could be on my best dancing day.

A few hundred people start coming in and it's getting hopping. I'm back on the horse and drinking again. We start by having some Jag. They don't serve Jag in a shot glass, but a drinking glass, and fill it up about three fingers. More than a gulp. $8.00 a shot. Yeah, it's expensive.

Studio 54 is amazing, and I can see how it was so popular back in the day. Even though I'm having a good time, there's a lot of money in my pocket looking to find it's way to a blackjack table. About 11:30, I leave Trev at the club and play an hour of blackjack. This is about as obvious sign of my gambling problem as you can get. Have you ever abandoned your siblings to gamble? I can hear a cousellor say in a future "group." My answer will be hell yes. I'll qualify that by saying that I was IN LAS VEGAS! The next question from the cousellor will be, "How many times have you been to Vegas?" I'll think for a few minutes, and say "This year?"

At the tables and having a good streak. Playing $10.00 per hand, at a table where the dealer stands on any 17, and surrender is allowed. Good tables. After an hour, I was up $100.

I met up with Trev at the club and started to drink again. We start to wind down the club and get back to the hotel. I forget what time it was, but it must have been 3:00 or so.

Trev hits the bed, and I'm ready to gamble some more. Have you ever sacrificed sleep to gamble? Hell yeah, this is VEGAS!

I cash in starting around 4:00 with $200. Playing the $10 tables. I sit down with a group of young guys, maybe 22 or 23. A range of dealers come and go. These dudes didn't know how to play blackjack, but were winning anyway. (A lot of people don't really know how to play blackjack, but play anyway. They give me advice to say "You don't always have to do what the book says." They usually don't last as long as I do on the tables. hehe)

I find later that they were from the Orange County and hadn't been any farther than Vegas. I played a game with most of the people down there to guess where I was from. Most were able to say I was from Canada, a few even volunteered the info after I said a few words.

These young boys answered my question of where I was from by saying "Hmm, the OC." Wow. How sheltered can one group of guys be? I then answered by saying I was from Saskatchewan. Blank stares was their response. I then usually tell them the states that are close to SK. North of Montana and North Dakota. Still only blank, unknowing nods (as if they are trying to bluff there way out of this one). Morons.

I end my session $180 up and gave the dealer a $10 tip. Cash in my chips and do the math to find I was down only $43! The last day of winning $280 really helps.

I still have US$683 at the end of the trip and will open up a US dollar account for my next Vegas experience. It should be in a few weeks.