Superbowl in Vegas recap

Standard Las Vegas disclaimer apply's (ie what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas). I will only speak of my own actions on the weekend in order to protect the sanctity of those I traveled with, except when those actions are pure and altruistic. To get the big question out of the way, yes I did lose money. Oh please, you can't win every time you go and I lost a pittance compared to previous years.

We got in early Friday and I immediately went for a run while most of the group hit the tables. I was only going to run an hour, saving my legs for a hard Saturday run the next morning. To my surprise I felt very strong and continued to run for 2:04:00 and the distance of a half marathon. A pace of 9'28". Afterwards I went to the spa and spent a couple hours relaxing.

The group I was with all meet up for a dinner at a high society joint called Carnevino. I really wasn't in the mood for steak which they are world famous for. But I was cajoled into splitting a large two person cut of their award winning signature steak. It was delicious, creamy, fatty. Not only was it much more sophisticated than boring universe of normal foods, it was much to rare for my taste. Otherwise the evening progressed long into the morning with me gambling little and drinking an occasional cocktail. Mostly I just talked up everybody I met.

Some things never change. In my almost twenty years of Vegas trips, most all of them involve maximum people in a minimum room. The only thing that has really changed is the quality of casino and the size of the room which this years room at the Venetian was superb. I awoke on a great couch but not feeling great. In fact I felt quite ill and my stomach was killing me. I envisioned my previous couple weeks of stomach flu and remaining cold coming back. While everyone else headed to the buffets or the tables I puked myself silly in the bathroom. Other than a forced trip mid afternoon trip to get some bland food and water for the rest of the day, I stayed on the couch till Sunday morning with a horrible stomach.

Sunday I woke up much rested and feeling good. I went down to the gym to ride the bike for a bit and lift some weights. Afterward, I felt good but my stomach still not right. Luckily all of us agreed to meet for a classic buffet and Harrah's hit the spot with a awesome breakfast spread. It was great. I had a very good traditional breakfast, twice. Hey, it was all you could eat. I walked out with a waffle cone, not filled with ice cream, but with key lime pie. Waffle cone and pie. No better combination. Have no fear I ate less than half of it. Damn it.

Between the buffet and the Superbowl, we hit a couple of casinos and played some cheap tables. One lady asked a friend if he was winning this weekend. He looked at her with a straight face and said, "Lady, I'm playing $5 blackjack, do you think I'm winning this weekend?"

I didn't put anything on the game, so had no stake in the results. I am amazed at how little I gambled this trip. Usually we watch the game at a big crowded party, but I was not the only one who suffered from the Friday dinner so we all watched the game in a penthouse my partner was staying in, separate from us. After all was said and done in this town, it cames down to just the classic group of guys hanging around a flat screen and one-upping each other based on bets placed between them and how they played out during the game.

So many Las Vegas trips lose points because of disintegrating group dynamics revolving around morality, debt, communication and commonality but this one continued to get stronger each hour. with us. For me, this trip ranked somewhere in the high middle of all my Vegas outings. I've had 1's (worst) and 10's (best ever) and give this one a 7. Even though I was sick and on a couch for 24 hours, the group I was with was really tight and made up for all the other stuff.

It's not enough to exist. I am going to live.