Legal age for casino's/alcohol... - Las Vegas Forum ...

Hello there! I just found this subreddit. Also I’m not too sure this belongs in the subreddit but i think it might. Also on mobile so if I miss anything I apologize!
So a bit of backstory:
At the time of one of the many times this has happened to me, I was visiting Las Vegas with my family for Christmas. I was 21 at the time, my birthday was that past August, so I was in legal age to gamble and/or drink. I just wanted to try to gamble at one of the casinos.
We were staying at the Treasure Island hotel and casino, in which I loved staying there and would recommend anyone whom asked me where would they stay. Anyways, I’m am from and still live in Texas as I have a bit of a Texan draw and accent, but my voice was still a bit higher than it is now. I had made a few friends at that casino that were around my same age, and we were playing the Dragon Spin slot machine. I made a joke about the luck I had, I had hit one of the three slot games where the dragon would roar and shake the game, and got close to $200 I think. With it happening 3 years ago I’m not for sure on the little details.
Then came the incident.....
I told my two friends that I was sitting with that I was going to go cash out because I didn’t want to gamble what I had earned away and I was going to start over on $20 that I had brought with me specifically for the trip. (In all I saved around $500 for the trip to buy souvenirs or to gamble a bit). At the time I’d only used about $50 for gambling and I was happy with that, and with the money I got from the slot game, I was well over what I had brought with me. (No im not bragging! This is part of the story!) So I go and pull the cash out and put it in my wallet that I was carrying around with me when I am grabbed by the arm by a woman with a casino manager and a security guard.
Meet the entitled windbag!
EW: this whore took my wallet and stole my money! This girl is too young to even be in here! I saw her drinking alcohol and smoking! She has to be no younger than 14 and you won’t even let my 16 year old daughter in her! She should be thrown out of here!
My eyes are as wide as saucers at this woman’s accusations. Now this grip actually bruised and ALMOST broke my arm! She grabbed me by the part of my arm closer to my shoulder. (Edit: I completely forgot the name of that bone to be honest 😅😅) Her grip was a mix of an alligator bite and a vice grip! Or at least it felt like it to me then.....
I continued to try to pull myself free when my two friends saved me.
F1 and F2 will be called Jane and Kira for the sake of the story.....
Jane: what’s going on?
Kira: you’re hurting her!
The woman let me go and practically threw me to Jane and Kira.
EW: you see she isn’t alone in soliciting her body! Throw them out NOW!
Me: hold on a second! You haven’t even let me tell my side!
I glared at the EW.
Me: first off.... this bag is mine! I have MY room key, MY license, and MY money in here so you ain’t taking shit from me lady! Secondly, I am 21 years of age yeah I look young but who cares?
When I said that I pulled out my license and room key showing what room I was in.
EW: THATS MY KEY GIVE IT TO ME NOW!
She swiped for my room key. Before she could take it, I handed it to the manager and security guard.
Me: here check my name and see which room I’m in.
Jane and Kira saw this next part but told me afterward.
The EW lunged for my wallet. Kira stood to my left side while Jane stood on my right.
Manager: -to the security guard- watch them no one leaves until we find out the truth
The Manager walked away as Kira, Jane and I glared to the EW. She began sweating and stuttering to try to pull something else.
As it turned out?
The EW wasn’t even staying at the hotel/casino! She was trying to steal from not only me but anyone she could sucker into getting money and then use the person she suckered into giving her anything she tried to ask for. I laugh at that every once in a while but cringe and get pretty hot-headed if someone insults me or anyone I know about stature, age, looks, etc.
But the most idiotic part of all this?
When the EW called all three of us hookers, whores and other profanities:
I was wearing boot cut jeans, a long sleeve t-shirt, a Jean jacket and boots!
Jane was wearing skinny jeans, a short sleeve t-shirt, a sweatshirt and converse.
And
Kira was wearing some clothes she borrowed from me which were, regular blue jeans, a tunic top, and some sandals she brought.
So were we looking like some kind of hookers? Or was this woman just too drunk?

Homeless In The Time of Pandemic
https://pwrobinson.com/photos/
I'm a 60 yr. old white male, a writer, with 58 years of experience in all aspects of indoor-living.
Ask me anything about working hard, paying bills, household management and adult responsibility and I'll happily answer in detail, just like any other adult my age.
Just like nearly every single homeless person in our country.
We--the unhoused--all came from the indoor world, spent the vast majority of our lives in that world, and we plan to return to it as soon as we can find a safe, affordable place to live. Unfortunately, 'safe' and 'affordable' rarely go together.
After becoming legally disabled by way of Bipolar I and ADHD a decade or so ago, I secured a kind of subsidized housing. I hung on in that condition, in section 8 type housing, for nearly a decade, studying and writing but not producing sale-able work, until I finally had absorbed too much malaise and hopelessness.
My neighbor ran off my beloved little cat, and I called 911 when my plan to pay him back became far too detailed. As I hung up the phone, I looked to the sky and thanked God for the upcoming fresh start. I knew it couldn’t be worse than it had been, and I was confident it would be better.
I went, strapped to a gurney in the back of an ambulance, to a mental health facility and received the treatment everyone should always get in places like that-- though often they do not--and I healed.
I also found a newer med while under treatment there that had somehow slipped through the cracks and eluded me. It ended my bipolar depression immediately, a miracle, at age 58, by any measure.
No longer thinking of suicide each and every day had a marvelous, immediate, and entirely predictable effect on me, and I accepted an offer from a friend to travel with him out of state and begin new work. After checking everything out, I packed all my belongings into his rental and off we went.
I didn't register that by giving up my home without having money for backup, I was making myself vulnerable to whimsy or catastrophe. Or both.
I voluntarily gave up one of the very few essential elements of life--shelter--because I took it for granted. I didn't ask myself what would happen if something went wrong with the plan, because I was too eager to get started on it.
He'd mentioned that he wanted my help "to get away from his wife" but I didn't give it the proper weight at the time. I put aside the question of exactly what might concern a three-tour Special Forces soldier enough to ask a buddy for some help, and didn’t ask.
We immediately encountered some...difficulties...upon departure, were pursued, and had a lengthy, intense, and otherworldly altercation in a motel just short of the Nevada border, where I was finally able to… (redacted).
Much later, I looked at my phone and realized I’d dialed 911 eleven times, each call had been answered, each time they’d confirmed a squad car rolling to our location, and no one had ever showed up.
Unfortunately, after witnessing the entire (redacted) scene, my friend was not able to drive very far. He'd seen and heard what had happened and was unraveled by it. He pulled far off the highway, just outside of Vegas, unable to communicate, eyes vacant, and we waited for the police.
I remembered he'd said "help me get away from my wife", but maybe I’d just thought... ‘well, sometimes girls can be lively and unpredictable’ or something...I think that's what I thought. Anyway, they sure can. Confirmed!
That moment, when they drove him away strapped to a gurney while the cop told me I could ride my no-drivers-license-having ass into town with the wrecker when it came out to pick up the rental, marked my initial realization that everything had just dramatically changed, and nothing would ever be at all like it had been.
And that's how quick it can happen, homelessness. In an instant.
All of a sudden...
I didn't dedicate one single prior thought to becoming homeless, and I have to wonder if anyone else around the country has recently taken the entire concept of their own potential homelessness directly in the face, like I did. Don’t wait until you're outside under the stars to begin thinking about it.
It really is possible to be genuinely surprised all the way out the door to the street.
All it takes is for the friend who said you could crash with him to have something come up at the last minute, you can't go back where you came from, and you find yourself standing in a hostile and unfamiliar environment and realize you've suddenly arrived at your life.
This is what must be meant by 'real time', because that particular time was the realest I’ve ever experienced. Outside, alone, under the stars, digesting the news that I would now be living outdoors, at least for a while. I’d never even given thought to visiting Las Vegas, let alone living on the streets of it. I don’t drink or gamble, and Vegas was never on my bucket list.
Every single thing that night (and day, for that matter) was different, surreal, especially audio and sound. And standing out there in the desert outside of town, I realized the significance of the silence, as an option.
I knew there might not be too many quiet times in the near future, or quiet places where I was going.
Things were real for me, for the first time ever.
Since then, in a wide variety of settings, I've lived with and interacted with the unhoused. They’re my family. I understood right away that I’m meant to do something about it, and I appreciate that the unique circumstances under which I’ve made my journey through homelessness have been no accident.

I’ve come to understand that between finding a new effective medicine after decades of searching, having my trauma removed by the magic of the 5150 template, and re-connecting with God in such a vibrant way, I’d received the antidote to homelessness before contracting the condition. I haven’t suffered like all other homeless folks do, because I don’t suffer.

I’ve been fully cognizant and engaged the entire time, so I write about the condition and the cure like no one else ever has or could. No one embeds with the homeless, no one would last undercover for more than an hour.
I’ve learned that the way to end homelessness is by first healing, then housing.
Now, I’ve been homeless for two years, and am currently quarantined 23hday in the low-barrier shelter I’ve stayed in for the past year.
After only two years outside, do I still have more in common with indoors-dwellers than homeless people? No. Since becoming homeless, I’ve learned all the things that no one talks about, and some things some folks won’t believe. I've also learned many things about the homeless--as a group, and as individuals--that I've never heard or read anywhere else.
Because they're my family, and are suffering real injury every moment of every day, I have an obligation to tell the real truth about them.
I’ve grown sick and tired of all the lies that are told about us.
I’ve learned many things while homeless, none more important than the fact that trauma affects the poor in ways the wealthy can’t imagine. And trauma is what directly affects our world in more significant ways than any other element there is.
One way to measure the level of trauma inside an individual is by observing how they relate to domestic animals. Those who abuse animals have been abused themselves, without exception. Any distance from a loving and protective vibe toward helpless animals is an indicator of past and current unresolved trauma.
In the same way, we can grade the level of trauma inside of communities and groups of people by how they treat the most helpless and vulnerable human beings in their midst--the homeless.
The problem is that residents rarely know what their elected officials are up to. A typical indoor-dweller might have a normal, healthy protective--or disinterested--vibe toward the homeless, while just around the corner from where they live, local elected officials are telling their cops to never let us rest, to make certain we’re suffering every minute of every day.
In other words, it’s possible to be homeless in an area where most of the residents have plenty of love and compassion for all things, including homeless people, yet still be constantly and relentlessly abused and harassed.
The public--those poor souls who both pay toward our tab and bear the nuisance of our existence-- have no idea who we are as individuals, and absolutely no idea how we’re actually being treated in their towns.
People learn everything they don’t know about the homeless from what they’ve been told about us by other people--politicians, news media, the movies, TV and other truth-benders-- people who also don't know anything about us.
They also learn about us through personal observation and/or interaction, which rarely results in a positive opinion of us. I think it’s because we’re dicks.

By the time you run into us in our natural habitat, we’ve fully become the characters we invented to get us through this scary, dangerous time in our lives. When you live without a door, you quickly create and cultivate a hostile and/or crazy vibe, because you can see right away you’re gonna need it.

Other factors that mold us into poor dinner guests include living in an environment where we are quite a bit less valuable than everyone else, and the constant, daily absorption of hate, disgust, and pity from everyone we encounter.
It isn’t that we lose our empathy, we just bury it because it hurts less that way. I’ve had people stop in the middle of a conversation when they realize I’m homeless, and therefore couldn’t possibly be of any use to them. They seem miffed that they’d wasted even a moment on someone so clearly of less value than themselves..
When it comes to personal opinions about the unhoused, most Americans fall into one of several camps.
Folks think we're either
a) bloodsucking leeches
b) dangerous criminals
c) batshit crazy or
d) all of the above
And some traditional and ongoing community solutions have been:

Beat us to death
Light us on fire
Hit and run/train track murders
Try to help and/or shelter us
A combination of the above

It all comes down to the residual trauma levels inside a few key people, specifically the ones who manage the cops. People take their cues from how cops treat us. In some areas, even those with several wonderful and dedicated homeless-helping entities, abuse of the homeless is a real community thing.
I don't think anyone who lives outside has a problem with absorbing non-violent hatred--we get it full blast as soon as we hit the street, and it's our primary societal function, after all--but I personally resent being hated by the ignorant and uneducated.
If you have trauma and need to aim it at me, be my guest. You're welcome to use my diminished example to try to feel better about your life. I don't mind at all. That’s the truth.
But I'd prefer if you knew SOMETHING about who your victims really are.
You see, we--the original half-million homeless cited in wikipedia in the pre-pandemic days--ain't who you think we are. We’re actually...people, believe it or not.
People. We're people, just like you; valuable, vulnerable, utterly unique.
Prodigiously talented and innately flawed. And, now, traumatized to the point where we don’t even have a place to live.
My personal two-year odyssey into homelessness feels like it’s going to conclude soon, at which point I’ll use what I’ve learned in that time to build the solution.

Now is the time for me to get on the record about who we are and who we're not before another few million start heading out here to join us.

00.17% Our percentage of the USA population. A number so small it is truly beyond imagining. A number that also means that the portion of society that does not know one single thing about either the topic or us stands at 99.83%.
Sadly, this includes those who are working the hardest to help. They see a horrible thing, they want to help. It’s a loving and warm and wonderful instinct, but what if I told you that the only essential step in treating the condition of homelessness is always, always skipped?
So...who are we, really?
We are The Other.
My family is made up of engineers, architects, teachers, musicians, artists, doctors, dentists, civic leaders, entrepreneurs and business owners, etc. Former and future high flyers.
No one is immune to becoming The Other.
The table can get set up that way as soon as a person--often, a child-- shows any sign of non-conformity--in our looks, our demeanor, our dress, our actions. In grade school, the Others were identified by their set-apart status--whether self-motivated or not, we later came to understand that most of these children had been abused at home throughout this period.
They’d absorbed more trauma than they could bear, and could no longer maintain a visible air of normalcy in their everyday lives.
Some of these kids, these ‘Others’-- but not too many, 00.17% doesn’t go very far-- grew up to become the unhoused. The rest of us continued to absorb more trauma until we exceeded our own capacity and that of our reserve tank.
Some of us grew into our Other status just by doing things differently for a lifetime. And sometimes when ‘doing things differently’ meets up with ‘financial setbacks’ and ‘estrangement from family’, a perfect storm can develop. And, once unhoused, the journey back is long and incredibly arduous.
I'll try to bring to light some of the environmental changes I've experienced, as a homeless person living in a homeless shelter, pre- and post-pandemic.
I've had a unique opportunity to witness a homeless shelter adjust in a time of crisis like no other. There was no template for quarantine, or anything like it. I’m limited to an hour outside the barbed wire, due to the lockdown, and have been for several weeks. I can leave for a night, but will be kicked out for 30 days if I do
None of these realities will be easy for the public to swallow. They simply aren't used to getting the real scoop about the homeless. I’ve had all my previously printed articles and letters scrubbed from local news websites when I stopped thanking everyone and started to write about the abuses I was seeing, so even if you have the rare homeless writer in your area, his voice will be squashed if he actually complains about anything.
Conditions for the homeless in this country have always varied dramatically by municipality, and the same will be true throughout this pandemic and afterwards, unless enough of us take a moment to pipe up. There are places in this country--I live in one of them-- where it is basically legal to abuse us.
Where I live, in Oxnard, the local press lies about us and make us out to be monsters, local tough boys terrorize us in their vehicles, cops and hospitals fast-track abusive interactions, our advocates are hostile to us, local government blatantly misuses the funds allocated to us, etc.
I live in a town where all the public restrooms have been locked for the last year and a half--pure old-timey hatred--yet the local paper ran a front page article about the homeless relieving themselves outside. It’d be comically evil, if there weren’t real victims.
That we have the highest homeless death rate in the nation should be a matter of some intense study. Warm, mild, lovely Ventura County. Deadliest place in the nation for the homeless, has been for some time, and it ain’t close.
I'll wager that any other place carrying a 5% homeless death rate--if you can find another one, I couldn’t--has either a serial killer, or locally concentrated hatred and mistreatment on an epic scale, as we do here in Oxnard. And breaking a story is one thing, while getting someone to give a rat’s ass about the story is something else entirely.
Robinson reviews the high homeless death rate in Ventura County
I hope that the current, pre-pandemic homeless will be one of the few groups that will come out of this thing trending upward, but I’m skeptical.
We'll likely be first in line for housing, or should be, which we noticed suddenly became available when talk of rounding us up began.
But shelters or group homes require the compassion of the neighbors, and that can be hard to come by. And before you respond, remember that I lived indoors for most of my life, all of us have. We share your opinions without sharing much of your hatred.

Let's be clear: there is plenty of housing and sheltering availability. It depends on the will of the community to step forward and decide that no one has to sleep outdoors there. Period.

Especially women! How in the world do we still have women sleeping outside in this country?
I wish people had some idea of just how much it takes to unravel a woman until she is living outdoors. It’s everyone, especially men, turning on her at once-- family, work, parents, neighbors, friends-- and taking her heart and all her stuff, taking advantage of the very things that make women special: compassion and forgiveness. Taking everything, and more.
Homeless women have absorbed more trauma than anyone else alive, and they should be loved and protected and taken care of by the rest of us. They should be able to sleep the entire night through, and not be cold or hungry or in fear.
Homeless Girls by Concrete Chrysalis
Shelters help with that. It isn’t housing, which is a ridiculous fever dream for 95% of us here in SoCal, but it is a place of safety. That’s a start, step one in the right direction.
There has never been a study, not one, that showed either property values diminishing or crime rising around any homeless shelter, anywhere. That complaint isn’t valid, so please stop making it. If it’s pure hatred you’re running on, just say it out loud. Trust me, no one will take offense for us.
Last night, standing outside in the yard, guarded by security personnel and surrounded by barbed-wire fences, I listened to live music coming from three different parties in our immediate area. There were festivities, fireworks, and we could hear laughter and merriment. I wondered how much longer we’d be quarantined.
I thought about how we’re relying on people who have demonstrated nothing but aggression toward us to give us the go-ahead and lift our restrictions.
One immediate positive result of the pandemic was that we could tell all the guys who wore scary masks BEFORE the pandemic--and we have a bunch of them around here-- that our four year old daughter's hamster has a scarier mask than he does.
Next time I'll write about the shelter I stay in, the adjustments it’s had to make, and the essential human element necessary in the successful staffing of these vital 'triage' shelters.
I’ll write about what happens when a small California city makes an official decision to create a third-world environment for their homeless residents, right smack in the middle of privilege and affluence.
Step by step, I’ll review exactly how they’ve gone about their dark work and why, and I’ll try to personalize the experience for you, just in terms of the accumulated toll of pure human suffering.
I’ll compare and contrast the various shelter theories, provide the short list of what we know works, and expose the twisted and ignorant views of the ‘just lock them up’ crowd.
I'll also introduce the Paradise Project, an initiative designed to cure the state of homelessness and relegate the entire issue to the dustbin of history. It's an end-game solution that we’ll prove first here, in Ventura County, then export to other parts of the nation. Then we’ll pivot to healing and restoring first-responders and ending suicide.
Thank you for reading.
PWR

Hello old friends of Geosim, I come to you with news.

Story Time

As I'm hoping most of you guys have noticed, I have not been here or even responsive for the past couple weeks. This is because of my life changing for the better (and busier)and thus having a lot less time for playing this wonderful game that I've dedicated myself to for the past year and a half. As such, I have told the other mods that I am stepping down from being a mod, and will no longer be the Indian player. While I write this from a Starbucks not too far from my home, I cant help but look back and remember all of the virtual memories I have made with you all, and look back at what this sub was when i first joined.
When I first joined, I was but one of the few fresh faces in a large group of Veterans that knew each other and how to play around each other. This moment and joining in on conversation in this discord reminded me of how terrifying joining a new group can be for everyone, even at my old age (almost 23 is old here lol). That is why even during my first season I made it my point to always be friendly to new players and welcome them. This culminated in creating the Afribros server, and making what i'd like to say are two friends in u/UncleByrone and u/Keegantroye, and making good experiences for countless other players who tried to raise their shitholes of the problems affecting them. Between this and my ever rising quality as a player helped the mod team pick me as the newest and final China player for that season (IMO), and also allowed me to continue caring for my baby/Frankenstein creation that was the FSA. And while some players who now controlled 2 Major powers would think to exploit this fact, I stayed true to myself and my standards (even in an online roleplay game) to always do the right thing, and follow the rule to not have my 2 nations interact with each other (not to much though, the FSA had some great uses for the Tolong BA). During this time I got to interact more with great players like u/Irishball u/AgonyfortheMasses u/ran338, learn to fear and respect u/VarianLogic, and get to talk to with another 2 people that I consider friends: u/Eragaxshim and u/MassaF1Ferrari.
From this point on would see me being chosen as a mod, Helping choose the next mod immediately after me. This time would also have The return and 2nd fall of Piment, TruebestKorea kind of imploding on himself and sicking comedycemetery on us for some reason; the Declaration of Rape and subsequent fall of Baophan; the rise of Cav as head mod, and some other moments that made this whole time here worthwhile.

So Here It Comes...

...the list of people that deserves mentions that no good goodbye post would have. So In no particular order I'd like to thank the following people:

u/KapellmeisterKraut - for always being a friend and having funny memes to show me. I wish you nothing but the best in the future, and if you ever need a voice of reason or an ear to talk to, dont hesitate to PM me.
u/MassaF1Ferrari - Probably the person who has helped me the most in my time here, you've also been a great person to talk to when we weren't protecting Uygheristan from Eurasia or trying to move Africa forward through different techniques of industrialization
u/ran338 - always my go to for various small things from budget posts to venting about former problem players. I'll always be glad to have been a moderator with you
u/Eragaxshim - your incredibly well determined, and despite your age you know the crazy psuedo-science that is economics way better than me. I wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors.
u/UncleByrone - one of my OG's, and my favorite African player (other than myself and Han). I will never forget the fact that you just have a way with words that makes me laugh a lot.
u/Cavulan - I dont really have anything particularly nice to say about you, but I do thank you for starting the unity that was the FSA and stopping the infamous 37 dams. I will say you were the best Head-Mod Geosim has ever had.
u/Varianlogic - you terrify me any time we border each other, or are at least in the same region. And I'd like to say its because of your ability to make a country punch above their weight class. When your book comes out you can expect at least one copy to be purchased from Las Vegas, Nevada.
u/Insertusernamehere02 - You were a fun person to talk to and you seem to understand how to be a person unlike most socialists I meet. And while I enjoyed you as a person, I enjoyed more your pain from the hands of lady luck more. Please save yourself and your money and dont gamble.
u/HanbaobaoZainar - You blew my performance as Liberia out of the water, and Im so unbelievably happy you did. If there is one thing I am now, its a Liberian Nationalist because of this sub.
u/SlimeChap - you were an unbelievable help even before you became a mod, and I was glad to see you join on when you did.
u/Macmillan_the_First - Your humor is the best part about you, and thank you for selling me Galils when I shouldn't have even tried to buy them. It helped give me my start that its only a wrong thing if you get caught.

and to the countless others, I also thank you for the fantastic time that I've had here. I would like to give a big shout out to all the people and bots I've banned, you were all hilarious for the wrong reasons, and got what you deserved.

So What Now?

Well, this isn't my final season on Geosim. I made a very public promise to myself that my final season would be playing as Liberia. And seeing as how I'm not rude, I'm going to wait for Season 7 to come to play as the country where I started, and then fade into the history books of Geosim. In the meantime, I will be debating on what my next and final season claim should be, and y'all should be expecting a claim post from me within the next 2 weeks.
And with that I'd like to end my (premature) goodbye post with 2 statements.
1) yes I still remember that pings in a post dont actually ping the people. I just think it looks nice
2) If any of you are in Vegas, hit me up and we'll get a beer together (if you are of Legal drinking age*. If not I'll get a beer and you'll get some apple juice that you can call beer to make you feel better) Just send me a PM on reddit.

So, you wanna go to SHOT show? You think it's all fun and games? Get to play with guns? See Jesse James and R. Lee Ermey? SHOT show is the annual pilgrimage of the unwashed masses to Las Vegas to rub elbows with youtube celebrities, bloggers and overseas businessmen copying US made equipment and share infectious disease.
If you love guns, gambling and gonorrhea - SHOT show is for you! It is not my typical idea of a good time. I am not a big fan of Las Vegas.
However: I do attend for a few reasons. First, I do enjoy travel and I'm platinum on AA so I can usually score an upgrade. Second, industry people are in there that I do hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars with business with so it's nice to put a face with the name and see what deals are out there. SHOT for me has been a bust for the past few years. Being a value guy, I want to buy at $1000 and sell at $3000 and as of recently the gun business is more like buy for $1 and sell for $1.10 if you get what I mean.
We used to do business at SHOT and now it's just checking in on foursquare, instagram and rubbing elbows with bloggers and the like. I want to make money, not spend money so this is very annoying to me.
Anyways, onto the play by play.
Monday, January 16th. One day before SHOT show.
http://imgur.com/a/HoFUm
Every time I've been rejected by a woman, I move $1 from checking into savings and I take the bankroll down to the Wynn for some play. Lets do this.
The TSA line is a shitshow thanks to, well TSA.
I slog my way to the lounge, as shitty as it is to wait for my winged chariot to DFW. I have gone from being in an abusive relationship with Delta to being in an abusive relationship with AA. Although if you really want to experience the battered spouse feeling, UA is a few gates over. This trip's light reading is trying to finish "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell. Such a good book as well as "Outliers" if you want a good read.
I walk up to the podium to find out that my upgrades do not clear, even as an AA Plat thanks to the addition of a FOURTH elite tier. Goddamn fucking W. Doug Parker. Asshole. I gate check my bags to make life easier for me and the rest of the folks. The gate agent calls concierge key and executive platinum passengers. I look down and realize I'm wearing a suit and board with the executive platinum folks because I do not care and I look the part. If you walk with a purpose and are dressed reasonably well, you fit the profile. I settle into my window seat and try to finish outliers. I pass out before takeoff and I'm awoken by the dulcet tones of the flight attendants preparing for landing. We land at Dallas a few minutes early and I hightail it to the Centurion for a quick bite to eat. I grab a plate and help myself to some of the excellent brisket, pecan encrusted chicken and some roasted jumbo asparagus. Yes, my pee is going to smell funny. No, I do not care. The lounge is packed. The bar is full and I grab a quick single malt as I have my meal since American's not going to feed me. They begin boarding to Mccarran as I walk out of the lounge. No time for a stop in the spa on this trip. I make it to the gate just as the call group 2 boarding.
I bypass the main line and walk up through the priority line giving no heed to the people that have been waiting there before me as I hold up my paper boarding pass with PLATINUM to the gate agent. I board and take my usual seat - the exit row without the seat in front of it. I'm aghast to see this sight.
http://imgur.com/a/dygil
The savages. Literally. The savages.
I put my loathing away for a moment and look down at the exit row. I have the window. The aisle is a large middle aged man and in the middle is what I believe to be a formecurrent linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys wearing a 52 regular sports jacket. He's not a fat guy in a little coat, he's a big fucking hulk of a man stuffed in an exit row seat that is already an inch narrower due to the tray table. I grimace as I take my seat and give him the manly nod. He does not look happy about the fact that his knees are in the seat in front and I'm stretched out like a Cheshire cat in front of a fireplace on a cold January afternoon.
The boarding door closes for an on time departure and Stephanie the FA takes her seat. He leans over and asks if he can take the empty row across the aisle and she takes one look at the three of us and gives him the nod. I bail out to give him a path of egress and suddenly the trip to Las Vegas has just become way more comfortable. I finish The Tipping Point somewhere over west texas, so I pop a xanax and dr pepper and zone out for the rest of the ride. I awake to feel one of the FA's jostling me awake telling me to put my seat up. I do so and we have a ride so smooth that not even the Delta guy behind me can complain about light chop. We catch the TYSSN4 arrival and the next thing I know it the Messier Dowty landing gear of the A321 touch the paint at Mccarran for a smooth rollout down 25L.
My phone battery is approaching grim death since this seat has no power plugs and I find bartman383 has sent me a message. He has been enjoying LV with his wife and their due to bad weather they are in the city of sin for a few extra nights. He invites me to dinner. I'm still pretty full from DFW and I tell him I'll be over there once I get my bags and the car and I'll see him when I see him. He gives me the info for the hotel as we pull up to the gate.
First stop: Centurion lounge. AA's app tells me bags being unloaded. I grab a quick bite of fried chicken and brussels sprouts since they are good for you and a chocolate pudding. The brisket and pecan encrusted chicken from DFW still has me full but I'm well aware of the speed of a union baggage handlers nowadays and who doesn't like chocolate pudding? Terrorists. That's who. Want to know how to screen for terrorists TSA? Set up a table of free chocolate pudding at the airport. The people who don't take any are members of ISIS. It's just that simple.
I grab my bag and hoof it to Hertz. I'm an idiot and I am an hour late for my pickup. Oops. Will an Audi A3 suffice? I sigh and I accept my Teutonic quattro chariot. I do a burnout in the parking garage and hightail it to the exit. I flash my #1 card and my ID and the gatekeeper gives me the go ahead. I get onto the the strip and traffic is awful. I'm going to be late for dinner. I make a left onto Russell Road and hightail it up the 15. I manage to get the car up to 100 as I pass the Luxor. My phone is dead so I can't message Bart about being late. Fuck. The exit approaches quickly as I put the 4 wheel disk brakes to work and sling the car around and head south on Las Vegas Bl. I accidentally turn into the Bellagio and I'm now running even more late. Fuck. Eventually, I get the car into the garage at the Cosmopolitan and head upstairs. I cannot remember the name of the restaurant but I head up to the third floor where all the restaurants are and I see this sign that's reminiscent of my days in retail.
It says RESTAURANT - LOUNGE - PAWN SHOP.
I laugh. I walk in. It's literally a pawnshop. I look around puzzled.
FC: Is this a restaurant?
Bald Headed Guy: Yes, through that door.
He points towards a door. I walk in to find a bustling restaurant, lounge via the entrance of pawnshop. This is insane. I pass a mirror and check myself out. I adjust my tie, after all it is YSL and the ladies LOVE YSL. Remember that. I find the hostess and inform her I will be joining some friends for dinner. They probably do not have me on the reservation though but I turn on the charm and she smiles and says no problem at all. She asks if my tie is from Hermes. I say no, I'm a YSL guy. She looks impressed as I tell her I'll make a quick lap of the room to see if they're there and surprise them. She gives me a nod and tells me to go right ahead. Still got it.
I spot bart and his wife who I can only remember vaguely from gunnitlive after party video and I pull up a chair. Bart is surprised to see I made it and they are in the middle of dinner. They offer to ply me with food and beverage but I decline as I'm driving so no booze for me and no food since I am stuffed from Dallas. We chat about life and liberty over libations. Bart's wife thinks I am hysterical. She's had a few drinks and they are already into their main courses. The brussels sprouts are way too salty and we have to send it back. No bueno.
Bart invites me up to his suite on the top floor of the hotel where we are to meet Brogelicious later in the evening. I say, when in rome......we head to the top floor of the hotel tower where Bart shows me his view from the balcony and cracks open the mini bar for some more libations. He asks if I want a drink and I say I better not. I'm driving.
Not 30 seconds after arriving, brogel shows up. Bart's wife hugs brogel. She's infatuated with him. We start shooting the shit and bart opens up the minibar and tells us to take anything we want, it's on the hotel. I laugh and I look outside as bart opens his yeti 110 for some silver bullets. Apparently he is so baller the hotel will send up a yeti 110 filled with beer to make him happy. His wife is apparently such a baller. I ball on a budget. They just ball. Hahaha.
We shoot the shit some more about guns, gun stuff and people on the reddit for a while. I get a little thirsty and I crack open bart's cooler. I ask him how long the stuff in the cooler is supposed to last and he says until Wednesday.
I look down and I am agape at what I see.
We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a saltshaker half-full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers... Also, a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether, and two dozen amyls. Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can. The only thing that really worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge, and I knew we'd get into that rotten stuff pretty soon.
I mentally prepared my butthole and I decided to help myself to a coors light against my wishes but Bart, Bart's wife and Brogel are all drinking so I let peer pressure take hold as I cracked open a beer with them. We head out to the balcony to smoke some cuban cigars together as bart's wife takes a photo of all of us. We all look like hell. Haha.
As bart downs his second beer, he asks me a question.
Bart: ever go hunting?
Me: Ducks a little bit but not much
Bart: ever want to hunt some deadly game?
Me: Like on african safari?
Bart: No, I mean like.........man.
Me: Hahahahhahaaha you're just fucking with me. Hahahahahhaa. That's really funny.
Bart: No really, the concierge here at this hotel will set it up for us. It's amazing. I remember my first hunt......
Brogel starts laughing and I realize they've been doing a bit. I've been had.
We bullshit about SHOT and Barrett's shotguns and other things and next thing I know, it's late but bart hands me a mixed drink. I sip it a bit and I was in the middle of a tirade complaining about my customers. Suddenly, there was a terrible roar all around us, and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the city, and a voice was screaming: Holy Jesus. What are these goddamn animals? Nobody seems to understand what I'm talking about. It's cold on the balcony. Our cigars are done. We head indoors. No point in mentioning these bats, I thought. Poor bastards will see them soon enough.
Back indoors I realize Brussels sprouts and coors light is a bad choice. Seriously no bueno. I excuse myself to the bathroom and drain the vein. The asparagus funny smelling pee and the side effects of beer and brussels sprouts is a noxious combination that a defense contractor should weaponize it. It's pretty bad and not even cuban tobbaco can mask the smell.
I sit back down and continue to talk about guns and stuff with bart and the gang and bart asks who ruined the bathroom. I apologize as he sprays a bunch of febreze around and opens the balcony. I apolgize to brogel. He is not accepting my apology. (sorry :( )
Nearly 11, it's about time to pull chocks and mosey on down the dusty trail. I don't want to prompt an evacuation of the hotel due to noxious odors so I decide to leave and bart seems to be kinda mad that I've ripped ass and polluted the sanctuary of his hotel. Half a coors light and brussels sprouts are no bueno in my book now. Bart decides to party hard with his wife and I offer brogel a ride home. He seems skeptical to share a confined space with me after I have just destroyed bart's hotel room. The car has 4 windows and the Uber will cost him a few bucks he can put towards ammo. He relents as we head down to the garage to find my car. Thankfully we find it quickly and I manage to contain the weapons of ass destruction for the 16 minute ride off strip to casa de brogel.
He says I'm not that bad a dude and I agree as I hightail it to my hotel. I cannot find my hotel reservations so I call my travel agent to see.
Apparently the Wynn was not in my travel budget this year. I have come to find out I have been booked at Circus Circus, much to my chagrin. How bad could it be? I've stayed at the Wynn. I've stayed at Encore. I've stayed at the hotel that Elisabeth Shue's character got raped in in Leaving Las Vegas - but Circus Circus? Did I mention that I HATE CLOWNS? I HATE CLOWNS. Fuck.
I pull into the parking garage and the check in line resembles something straight out of the TSA line at Mccarran. 45 minutes to check in. The clerk is friendly and says he's also from Louisiana which is neat. He asks if I've stayed there before and I, being a connoisseur of old vegas history I decide to make a joke and I tell him the last time I was there, Jay Sarno owned the place. He got a laugh. I head up to my room and unpack. The lobby is clean as an old vegas casino can be, the room is clean and there's no way to plug anything in since the hotel predates personal electronic devices. I plug my phone into my external battery and collapse on the bed. I message Bart and chugbleach instead of falling asleep about show tomorrow and I offer to pick bart up early since there is no shuttle from the cosmo.
Tuesday, November 16th SHOT Show Day One
I awoke several hours later in a daze......the clock said 10AM. The show opened at 8:30. Fuck me to tears. I hurry up and get dressed and down to the sands convention center. The parking lot is FULL. The entire complex is a mess. When my man Steve Wynn built his joint he didn't build enough parking. So people would park at the Venetian and now FUCKING NOBODY CAN GET A PARKING SPACE. Holy shit. I eventually say fuck it and park over at the Wynn and walk over to the Sands. I meet up with a few of my regular suppliers and I see nothing interesting at all. Bart went to bed at 6AM after spending all night partying with his wife over at the palazzo. I joke and say that he just should have stayed there. Bart is amazed at the size of the show and we have lunch at the most disgusting place in las vegas - the convention center bistro snack bar. Bart is a wise man as he grabs a powerade and a fruit cup. I decide to try an "italian beef" and a fruit cup instead of fries to stay semi health conscious. The "italian beef" is the most disgusting thing I have ever eaten. It is flat out depressing. They give me fries with it and I demand a fruit cup. The sassy black woman working the stand asks me "DID YOU ASK FOR FRUIT? CAUSE RIGHT HERE SAYS FRIES" and I channel my inner Louis CK from the "this is how I talk" bit from SNL as I shoot back "WHY YOU FRONTIN ON ME I ASKED FOR FRUIT AND YOUR ASS BETTER BACK UP AND GET ME SOME FRUIT" so she goes back and gets me some fruit.
The "italian beef", my fruit cup, bart's fruit cup and powerade comes to $81. My platinum amex comes out and I treat bart to "lunch". We bullshit about guns and stuff in the Springfield booth as we wait at the world's worst concession stand. We eat and Bart is so hungover that he thinks he is in need of physical therapy and a wheelchair. There is no way he is going to party tonight before his trip home. Or so I think. Haha.
I meander around the show a bit more and I find this, the most USELESS PRODUCT OF 2017. It's made by a company called radetec.
http://imgur.com/a/GOiCB
It's a shot counter. For your gun.
A digital odometer, for your gun.
The only person that would buy this is the guy like my dad that kept a spiral bound notebook in his car where he documented how many miles he traveled per tank, gallons dispensed, PRICE, service station and whether they had a different price for cash/charge, oil consumption, tire rotations, alignments, all services - scheduled or otherwise, and a running odometer. Does anyone know the gun owner who asks for a round count when they are looking at a used gun? The question I always shoot back is "do you want to be lied at a little or do you want to be lied at a lot?" because that's what you're asking for when you ask for round count.
UNLESS YOU BUY THIS PRODUCT!
I roll my eyes so far back into my head that I nearly lose my balance. This is idiotic. I cannot fathom anyone willing to buy this. What a waste of perfectly good exhibition space.
Bart heads back to his hotel after visiting SHOT show for a few hours, not getting any swag and to get an IV of fluids since he looked like he was rapidly approaching grim death.
I wrap up visiting prime vendors and checking out the new products, or lack thereof because I have something on the schedule. At 4:30 there's a suicide prevention for retailers seminar hosted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. As many of you know this is an issue that is important to me and perhaps we as retailers should be doing more. The keynote was from their chief medical director talking about the accessibility of firearms and the mindset of the "typical" suicide. Mostly men. If you are a veteran you are at a significantly larger risk. The information was presented very not surprisingly and one of the things discussed was that we only spend around 21M a year on suicide prevention.
A few take away facts from the keynote:
When suicide barriers are put up on a bridge, suicide rates for the entire area drop. The key to preventing suicide is getting people to talk about their problems. Once you can get someone out of that mindset, they are statistically less likely to do it and live productive lives afterwards. There are certain terms that they are trying to get away from - for instance, they are not saying "committed suicide" they are now saying "died by suicide" in order to bring awareness and tell it like it is.
One thing that really was interesting to me was my reading on the flight in from Dallas. In The Tipping Point, Gladwell discusses how things stay the same and suddenly they all change. One of the things that he discusses is in micronesia - where teen suicide was practically unheard of became an outright epidemic. One teenager did it, for reasons passing understanding to me as an outsider and then all the other kids realized that they too could escape their pain by hanging themselves as well and suddenly the suicide rates in micronesia became so high to where it became a public health issue. I wish I could show you all the article I wrote on TTAG about my friend's death but it has been lost in the cloud and I am unable to find the last draft I sent to print, but it echoes some of the problems we have with suicide and mental health in the firearm industry.
After the keynote, the good doctor opened the floor up for questions. Her keynote posed a lot of statistics but not a lot of answers. I am a detail oriented granular data guy and I did not get a solid grasp of the AFSP solutions posed, if any.
Several firearm dealers discussed the lack of a cohesive solution and the takeaway was they're trying to develop awareness for the suicide problem. Their goal is to lower suicide rates but how they get there is yet to be determined. I didn't like hearing that and the comments from the crowd reflected the lack of a "here's what you can do TODAY to help this problem" part of the initiative.
Going around the room, one dealer who used NICS said that if a customer was just flat out acting funny - he'd lie to the customer and say there was a delay with NICS even though there was an approval just to get them to not be able to have a gun for a few days. The crowd applauded this initiative, however I'm not sure lying to customers is the best way to run a business and treat them with respect. Another dealer brought up an interesting point. When someone comes in looking to buy a gun and they don't know what kind of gun they want, what caliber, and are generally clueless - they're either buying a gun to kill themselves with, OR perhaps they are a very uneducated prospective customer - and there is no clear way of finding out which is which.
The problems presented by the AFSP are real. The solutions aren't there though. Yet. Ideally I'd like to see some change to that. However, there's some problems.
I hung around and asked the good doctor and her staff some questions and I am in no way denigrating her life's work and her dedication to preventing suicide since she has dedicated her life's work to the issue, but the conversation went something like this.
Did you do any research on the accessibility of firearms from a retailer from the legal standpoint?
"No, we haven't"
Do you know how the NICS or state POC background systems work in regard to mental health holds, etc?
"No"
One of the problems that I foresee right off the bat is that you talked about how you are fighting time, and if you can get someone out of that suicide mindset - even for a few hours, you can get them into that higher survival bracket. If we apply a one size fits all solution to it like California and put a 10 day wait on everything with the goal of protecting someone from their own life, how do we balance that with the needs of the woman who has been hiding from her abusive spouse and needs a gun right away?
"That's a good question that I don't have an answer for."
Their initiative, I admire - the lack of solutions is a little off putting however. I tell the doc about how my friend's suicide has impacted me and she seems to be sympathetic to the situation as does her colleagues. I am given her cards and told to call the next time I'm in New York so we can get together and discuss things within the industry. I'll give them a buzz in a few weeks when I'm up there on business. On my way out of the hall, I run into Massad Ayoob. Nice guy. I've admired his work over the years. Bart invites myself and chugbleach to dinner, I can't reach Chug and even though I am beat I decide to hang out with Bart and Mrs Bart
Bart: What do you want to eat?
FC: Let's find a nice seafood restaurant and eat some red salmon, I feel a powerful lust for red salmon.
I begin vomiting.
God damn mescaline. Why the fuck can't they make it a little less pure?
We eventually head downstairs and order too much food. We are tired and not very hungry. Bart is still hungover and barely able to process food. His wife is grazing on all sorts of meat products. I am in awe of how they are both still upright after six nonstop nights of partying. I've only been here one day and I feel like I am about to die.
Dinner concludes with an awkward hug with bart's wife - I don't know how other men feel about wife hugs so I have just avoided the prospect entirely. Like flying through Denver on Frontier. Or flying on Frontier. Ever.
I drive over to the Wynn to set up my markers and the poker room is full. I draw a $2500 marker at the craps table and watch the game a bit. I have never played craps before in my life but the three people there seem to be having fun.
I look down at my phone and I realize a plane has landed. fluffy_butternut has landed in Las Vegas on business. I had lost a bet and offered to pick him up from the airport. I cash back in my chips against my casino credit and head back to my car. I cannot find my car. Fuck. I wander the wynn garage which is covered in construction debris. I eventually find it and haul ass to the airport. Now, I didn't know this but fluffy has the WORST SENSE OF DIRECTION AT ALL. Seriously. I have no idea how he even made it to the correct city. He lands and has to get his bag and stuff and I circle the airport. He lets me know he's at door 77 wherever the fuck that was. I drive into the pickup portion and I see no sign. He then says he's coming up a level, and I tell him that I'll be there shortly. I park the car and Metro PD starts yelling.
Metro: You can't park your car here.
FC: Why not? Is this not a reasonable place to park?
Metro: Reasonable? You're on a sidewalk! This is the sidewalk!
I give the man a $20 and tell him to keep it running as I wander Mccarran screaming FLUFFY! HERE FLUFFY! I message fluffy to let him know I am the car parked on the sidewalk. I instantly figure out who he is having never seen a photo of him and I throw his bags into the car as we head for his hotel. I haul ass out of the airport and get the A3 on the highway.
Now this was a superior machine. Thirty nine grand worth of gimmicks and high-priced special effects. The rear windows lit up with a touch like frogs in a dynamite pond. The dashboard was full of esoteric lights and dials and meters that I would never understand.
We check in at the Rio where the desk clerk is friendly and flirty. I express amazement there is no line. Fluffy checks in and we take his bags upstairs and he offers to buy me food for driving him to the airport. I decline. We head to the bar anyways. He orders two beers and we decide to call chug. He's staying out in Summerlin or something because his company is apparently run by cheapskates. He asks if we want to hang out and shoot the shit. I say sure and ask if he wants us to pick up food or anything from CVS or something since I have the car and I'm able to do anything I want. He asks for some toothpaste. No problem. I may be an asshole on the internet but I have a heart of gold. We get some toothpaste get to the hotel.
Arriving at the lobby, we have no idea where he is. It turns out he gave us the address for the hotel across the street. We laugh and go to that lobby and shoot the shit till 3AM much to the chagrin of the hotel clerk. Fluffy has some beers and we plan on dinner the next day. I drive fluffy back and arrive at the hotel at 4. Fuck me to tears.
Wednesday, January 18th. Day 2 of SHOT show.
Alarm goes off at 7:30 AM. I wash up, eat and get breakfast. In the garage by 8:15. Nice. I get some dillo dust and check out the new Sig 220 DA/SA and SAO legions. Daddy likey. I go to a competing firm and I piss of my state sales manager by telling him his newer designed triggers suck ass. He says the company tested them and they're the same in every way. I ask him why the triggers have two different part numbers in the catalog and how come they're not interchangeable and if that's really the case, how come there's X changes in the supposedly identical pistol parts that he's holding side by side. He gets mad at me and says I'm not an expert on their product and perhaps I should take his job since I'm so smart. I agree that I'm smart and I hold firm that if he didn't want me to complain about the shitty trigger, they should stop selling guns with shitty triggers. I am nearly kicked out of the booth.
I meet up with some of my wholesale reps and I'm mid convo when I see Itsgoodsoup and his friend walking around the show. I yell SOUP but he does not hear me. So I grab his friend and find him and I tell him we should get together at dinner with fluffy and chug. He agrees.
The show winds down, I get some business done and nothing much else. We break for a shitty gunnit live lite and I take a few questions from the crowd in fluffy's suite at the Rio. Dinner is at 8 and we arrive at the restaurant late to find soup and his friend sitting at one table and chug and his girlfriend sitting at another. Perhaps we should have gotten here a little earlier. Hahaha. So, fluffy said the place is really good and I order a few of the specialties of the house. Apparently according to yelp they do a kickass peking duck. Soon to be mrs chug is a vegan. But we can eat meat in front of her. I wonder how it's served and Soup's vancouver raised asian friend tells me that they normally carve it tableside. Our vegan says as long as there's no head she's cool. We're not sure if they can fulfill that request. So we order and food starts coming out and we tell tall tales of shot show BS and other stuff. Sure enough, the duck comes out with the head. No bueno. Haha. But I decide to treat us to vegan donuts at the vegan bakery across the street later. Seven courses later we are full. Vegan bakery closed. I am committed to getting her some vegan donuts though. We head to Fremont street to gamble. Fluffy wanders about and we try craps and we're not impressed. We hit some slots and eventually I hit the craps table where chug explains the game to me. We start betting on dice. And somehow we start winning. I find that the house allows you to take 10X behind the line. No idea what this means so I plop $5 on the pass line and the point hits 6. I drop $50 behind it and it hits. We go a few rounds and leave ahead. It's 2:30 AM. Fuck. I drive everyone back to their hotel. I get to sleep around 4.
Thursday, January 19th. Day 3 of SHOT show.
Wake up at 10AM feeling like crap. Debate whether to head straight to show and wander about. Fuck it. Went to halal guys for some halal. Delicious. Got vegan donuts. Dead drop them at the Palazzo lobby for chug and his girl. Show is a bust. Literally nothing exciting. Fluffy offers to buy me dinner. One of my customers who lives in Summerlin offers to take me to dinner. I pass on fluffy and he destroys the seafood buffet at the rio. I head to Sinatra at the Wynn for dinner with my customer. All good in the hood. Chug has been invited to the Glock dinneafter party and I'm not so we all go our separate ways. I call foghorn5950 and due to some weather, he's flying home early and our plans to hangout are fucked up unless I go tonight. I grab fluffy and we head to Whiskey Down. He orders a makers and I give him a funny look. I tell the waitress make it a bulleit. Everyone laughs. I talk shop with Jeremy also from TTAG and we shoot the shit over cigars and talk about useless products. Next thing we know, chug is out of the dinner and wandering the strip. We decide to meet up at the Linq. It takes us nearly 30 minutes to get out of Whiskey Down at MGM because the waitress was awful and messed up everyone's tab. It was a fucking disaster. To boot, MGM is now charging for parking.
FC: What a bunch of fucking jews
Fluff: You should just tailgate that lady in front of you out and screw them out of the $7
FC: I should
We pull behind her and watch as she gets flustered at the awful parking machine. Her nevada license plate says VETERAN. As the gate goes up we haul ass and screw MGM out of $7. I shout "THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE" out the window as we blow right by her up to the Linq. Through fluffy's awful navigation, we wind up at the loading dock for the Linq. Eventually we find chug and gf hanging at the penny slots. They are holding vegan donuts, which she is very appreciative of. Least I could do after showing her the head. Fluffy plays the House of Cards slot machine.
He stuck $100 in, played for 6 minutes and then got really mad and hit the cash out button and $80 was left after 5 minutes.
ITS EXACTLY LIKE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT!
Chug's gf asks to play a special slot machine called kitty glitter. We ask and the linq does not offer it but Harrahs next door does. So we head over there and the slot tech finds the kitty glitter machine. Fluffy sticks a C note in there and tells her to play and have a blast. So she's banging away at the one armed bandit WHEN SUDDENLY I HEAR THE SOUND.
It's PUTTIN ON THE RITZ in shitty .wav file internal speaker format. Hahah. She's just hit the progressive jackpot on the penny KITTY GLITTER machine. THIS PLACE IS AWESOME! We cash out after some play and a good time was had by all. I dump off fluffy at the rio since it was very close and drive everyone else back. It's late, I'm tired and the Palace Station oyster bar is open 24 hours......I head over there and there's a 45 minute wait.
So, I pull out my backup bankroll and using everything chug and fluffy have taught me about craps I belly up to the $3 min table where they let you take 10x behind the line. I'm still learning and the table is slow so one of the boxmen start explaining the game to me.
Box: So if you place the 6 or the 9 or individual numbers you can bet those but you gotta pay a little juice on it like a commission
Me: Like when you buy the hook?
short pause
Box: Yeah! Exactly like that! You got this!
So I played a little and went up a bit and down a bit. As you do. Plunked $5 down on the pass line and took full odds and the point hit. This game is pretty cool! So I hung around and watched for about an hour and finally decided to eat my winnings. I take $5 off my stack and, drop it on the pass line and announce dealer bet - $5 to pass. It hits. The dealers love me.
Maybe Vegas isn't so bad after all.
http://imgur.com/a/LGhDj
I have the pan roast at the oyster bar. No line. It is DELICIOUS. I get back to the hotel at 5AM. I don't care when I wake up.
Friday, January 20th. Day 4 of SHOT show.
Wake up around noon feeling like crap. Go to show. Debate destroying milk cart with wheels with an ax borrowed from fire station. Decide against it. Gas up car and find myself out by palace station again. Played some craps, hit the buffet and went for an early sleep.
It's midnight. The neighbors in my the hotel are having sex. A LOT OF SEX. I can hear everything. I gently knock on the door. No answer. I knock slightly harder. No answer. I head back to my room and close the door just as I hear their door open. I zoom back out to find a puzzled middle aged stocky and perhaps sticky Latino man looking both ways.
I get in his line of sight.
Me: Hey. I'm next door. It sounds like you're having a lot of fun. I get it. I really do. In fact I haven't had sex since the bush administration so I'm gunning for you man I really am. But it's midnight and I have a 6am flight and a rental car to return. So trust me when I say I'm really happy for you but if you don't mind I really need to get some sleep tonight okay?
The awkward silence is deafening. He nods without saying a word and mouths okay. I give him a manly nod and thumbs up.
Me: thanks. I'd shake your hand or fist bump but well you know.....
I give him a peace sign as he goes back into his little pleasure palace and I turn to realize that I have just locked myself out of my room. I am wearing boxers, a tshirt and barefoot. I head downstairs to the lobby. The check in at the front desk resembles the TSA line at Mccarran. Normally I would not be this rude but desperate times call for desperate measures.
The line is 50 people deep. I walk past every person. Fuck your queue. I approach the desk where someone is helping a guest and I raise my right hand as if I were in a deposition to get them to stop. The staff and guest looks puzzled as the angry barefoot man clad in nothing but boxers and a "uzi does it" tshirt approaches the desk.
Me: excuse me. I don't mean to interrupt. I have an emergency. I'm up on 8 and my neighbors are having a lot of sex. I mean a LOT of sex.
(This is the same front desk clerk who actually checked me in Monday night by coincidence looks back at me very awkwardly and puzzled.)
Me: this isn't your regular sex. I'm talking this is your (I begin air humping the front desk and slapping the granite counter with my palm and grunting loudly) sex. You could hear the plan B packaging open.
At this point - the ENTIRE FRONT DESK STAFF HAS STOPPED CHECKING IN GUESTS. The people in line and are watching the show. The clerk is stunned. Speechless. Shock and awed. Crapped out and busted. The women are covering their children's eyes and ears. The men are wondering if this show requires a 2 drink minimum.
Me: now I get this is Vegas. Everyone wants a good time. It's midnight. My flight leaves at 6 which means I have to be up by 4. And this just isn't working. So I asked them to keep it down and I locked myself out of my room. So if you can make me another key or move me I'd appreciate it.
The clerk nods.
Clerk: of course. may I see your ID?
Years of ballet have prepared me for this day. I step back to make sure my genitals are still ensconced in my boxers as I pirouette and gesticulate wildly.
Me: DO I LOOK LIKE I HAVE ID?
The floor manager steps over and asks me to head down to the end of the desk where she will make me a key. I give her the room number and thank her after she offers to have security sent up to shutdown the best little whorehouse in Vegas. I tell her it may not be necessary. As I take my keys and walk away the people in line break out in raucous applause.
I take a bow and miraculously my boxer shorts don't rip. These people are my subjects and I have been crowned the the king of the three ring circus that is the circus circus lobby. Im offered a $1 tip from a kind soul but I decline.
My walk back to the hotel elevator bank is uneventful. So much so that I realize it is going too well. The other shoe, if I were wearing one felt as if it was about to drop. Suddenly a dumbass in a rascal scooter is heading toward me at flank speed as his head is turned to look at everyone BEHIND HIM. There's no way this will end well.
For you gentle readers joining us mid conversation - it's midnight and I need to be at the airport in 4.5 hours. I can just see it now. (Cue the harp noises)
Scene: Emergency room
Nurse: Allergic to anything? Me: NKDA Nurse: cause of injury? Me: what's the IC10 code for "run down by drunken buffoon on motorized wheelchair?"
I saw my life and confirmed upgraded first class seats home being given away by the Mccarran gate agent flash before my eyes and my catlike reflexes kicked in and I jumped to my left into the wall, mid 1960's Las Vegas union construction being the path of least resistance. Think "The Bodyguard" with Kevin Costner.
The buffoon barely realizes what happens. Children are amazed. "HEY MOM! Look! That guy just ran into a wall!"
Me: it was that OR GET RUN DOWN BY SOME JACKASS ON A GODDAMN SCOOTER GOING FULL SPEED DRIVING LIKE A....
I look down and a midwestern nuclear family with two children of formative age are waiting for the elevator. I change my last word.
Me: LUNATIC!
I look over to the parents.
Me: I'm really sorry. This is a family joint and I shouldn't have cursed the drunken scooter driver like that. Sorry kids.
Parent: no big deal. They've heard fucking worse.
I crack a smile at her word choice. Fucking worse. Yeah. That sounds like my evening.
After jumping into a wall, I'm now wide awake and unable to go back to sleep. I make the plane and push on time. The 737 comes to a stop short of the runway and holds. Something is wrong. The pilots come on and say that they loaded more cargo and passengers than planned so they have to redo their numbers. We're waiting on the taxiway with both engines running as they do this and the waiting music comes on. What's the first song?
Whitney Houston - "I Will Always Love You"

This past weekend I ran the inaugural Laughlin / Bullhead City Half Marathon, a.k.a. "Best Dam River Race."

Background
Laughlin is a town in Nevada on the Colorado River. For most of the year it's a sleepy little casino town, a far cry from the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas; the big draw in the summer, aside from gambling, is the river itself. Across the river is Bullhead City, Arizona. Just above these two towns is the Davis Dam.
Some friends from my running club invited us to join them for a weekend in Laughlin centered around this inaugural race. They go to Laughlin every summer with their non-running friends, and apparently spend quite a lot of money there. Everyone in that town seems to know them; as a result, our rooms were totally comped, and we got VIP treatment at the hotel. Score!
All told, there would be 6 of us from the running club, and 7 non-runners who planned to walk the 5K.

Training / Goals
Due to a lingering hamstring tendon problem, my training mileage was relatively low leading up to this race. Therefore I had no aspirations of racing or going for a PR here.
Weekly mileage was: 12.1 / 13.3 / 15.1 / 13 / 16.3 / 24.8 / 11.8 (taper the week of). Clearly not enough to go for a serious result, so I expected to run this race nice and easy. Just go out and have a good time with friends. My only goal was sub 2-hour, which should be no problem whatsoever. Maybe sub-1:50 if my tendon felt ok.
Most importantly, this race would serve as a benchmark to determine if I should go ahead with my marathon in January. It's out of state, so I need to get plane tickets; but I didn't want to do that without being confident that I could actually finish (again, not race) 26.2 in another month. If this half went well, I would go ahead with next month's full.

Race Day
Alarm at 5:15, quick shower to wake up, ate a banana and a Clif bar. Weather report said 37F, so I decided to wear a long sleeve tech shirt under my short sleeve. I debated putting on another layer, but was glad I didn't; as it was, the long sleeve was a little too hot late in the race. Not a cloud in the sky, so it would warm up fairly quickly.
Down to the hotel lobby to meet our friends by 6:15. 5 of the 7 non-runners had apparently opted to sleep in and skip the 5K, so it was just 8 of us. 4 doing the half marathon and 4 doing the 5K.
The start line was about a mile down the hill from our hotel, so I thought this would be perfect for a little warmup jog. Nobody else agreed, to the 7 of them drove down while I ran it nice and easy. With parking time, we arrived at the same time.
The event was fairly small - 295 half finishers and 158 5K finishers - so navigating the start area was easy. After the worst-sung national anthem I've ever heard (they tried, so I respect that, but it was baaaaaad), the half starters were asked to informally organize into 2 "corrals" - sub 2:30 and above 2:30. Our group moved up to get in the front half. While there, we met a guy who noticed my club shirt and said he went to school with another member of our club. Cool!

The Race

Miles 1-5:

7:29, 8:10, 7:52, 6:45, 8:12
The first half mile was flat before turning up, up, up out of town. The next 2 miles gained about 500 feet. As soon as we got off the main drag in Laughlin, we were blasted by a major head/side wind. So, climbing plus wind.
At mile 2.6, we turned to a 1.8-mile drop of nearly the same elevation, but directly into the wind. I felt like I was pushing hard just to go downhill, though the mile 4 split clearly shows I was having an easier time than on the climb.
The race environment got the best of me, and I went out a lot faster than planned. I blame my fellow running club member Chris, who went out at an impressive pace (and eventually finished about 1:45s ahead of me). I stupidly kept up, and then felt I was committed to this pace - dropping back to a more comfortable easy pace after going out fast would make me look like a newb.

Miles 6-10:

8:13, 6:44, 7:57, 7:39, 6:44
More wild variation in pace due to wild elevation swings in the course.
At mile 4.4, we turned up a winding gravelly/sandy dirt road for another climb on an out-and-back. The desert scenery up this little canyon was breathtaking - if I hadn't committed myself to racing, I would have taken a few photos. We passed a crazy cowboy at about mile 5, hootin' and hollerin' at us, all part of the fun. That gave me a little boost and I was able to pass 2 people on the way up.
Mile 5.8 was the turnaround, back down the dirt road where I passed another unsuspecting runner. At mile 7.2, we returned to the main road and headed up another steep climb to the Davis Dam. Once on the dam, we crossed the state line to Arizona and gained an hour. Across the dam and up the hill for a little ways before turning around and running back over the dam the way we came.
I picked off another 2 people coming back down and across the dam; according to my calculations at the turnaround, I was now in 17th place overall.

Miles 11-13.1

6:39, 7:03, 6:51, 0:33 (6:46/mi)
The final 5K was mostly along a flat paved path following the river, with a nice tailwind to push us along (finally!). I gradually reeled in my next victim, passing him at mile 12, the only short climb of this stretch. Good thing, too - he was in my age group!
My hamstrings both felt tight during this stretch, but no cramping or other forced stoppage, so good news. The problem tendon felt ok - good enough to keep up the pace, but not great.

Final time: 1:36:54 (sprint to the finish pic]
This was good for 16th overall and 2nd place in my age group (the guy I passed at mile 12 was 17th/3rd). Not exactly the easy non-award performance I envisioned, but nothing hurt too badly after, so I'll take it! It's also about 5 minutes off my PR, which makes me wonder how I would have done on a flat course without wind. Or how far a real injury-free training cycle could take me.

Post-Race
Every participant of legal age got a ticket for a free beer in the beer garden, provided by Pints Brewery from the nearby Colorado Belle casino. I think this was the best post-race beer garden I've ever experienced. So much better than the typical Michelob Ultra crap!
They served a choice of their Pints Premium Golden Ale, Jackass Stout, What the Puck Pale Ale, or Bodacious Blueberry. Since my wife doesn't drink, I used her ticket too, trying the stout and the blueberry ale. Both were good, but I wanted more of that blueberry! It can be hard to get the balance right with a fruity beer, but they absolutely nailed it. Yum.
Age group awards were a little weird - they didn't split out male and female. This worked out ok for the 5K, which had a number of women in the top 3 of each age group, but I don't think many made the cut in the half. I've never seen this and wonder if it was an oversight by the race director or what?
Either way, 3 of our group of friends placed in our age groups - Leo, 1st in 65-69 5K; Chris - 2nd in 45-49 half, me - 2nd in 40-44 half. We got a nice stein with the race logo, a ribbon, some Hershey's kisses, and a certificate for another free beer inside the aforementioned brewery. I really should have used my ticket for another blueberry ale, but never got back over there the rest of the weekend.
The rest of the weekend was resting, bowling, food, and karaoke (I abstained from the last one).

Thoughts
Given the low training mileage, my chronic tendon problem, and the tough course, I'm very pleased with this result. Compared to my last half marathon in October, this was a significant improvement even with fairly little mileage.
Will I do the marathon in January after this? Probably. I'm giving it a few more days to rest up from the race, and also for the cortisone shot I got yesterday to kick in. As long as my tendon feels good, I figure I can do a full marathon at an easy ~8:30-9:00 pace next month. No racing!
Would I do this race again? Yes, definitely (especially if the hotel is free again). It was a fun weekend, a beautiful and challenging course, and a great beer garden. Despite a few minor first-time organizational issues, the race was well-run.
I just wish they'd had the start line in Arizona (Mountain time) and the finish in Nevada (Pacific time). I could have run a world-record 0:36:54 half marathon! :)

TLDR
Hilly, windy, and beautiful course. Ran 1:36:54 for 2nd place in my age group. Pleased with the result, all things considered. Great beer garden afterwards. Would run again.

My story is quite unique, I was introduced to gambling by my parents in my home country, where gambling age restrictions were NOT in place. My parents were not gambling addicts and do not gamble to this day, but took me to play video poker when I was 7 and I ended up winning two jackpots and greatly rewarded for it. I then did not gamble with my family until we relocated to US at age 11. It was somewhat of a difficult transition since I left my loving friends, a lot of family back home and it was hard to "fit in" with the kids in US schools (even though I wasn't much different from them at all).
Growing up, I had a very good life, worked hard in school (even though I suffered from mild ADHD and self-esteem issues), took up interest in technology and computers at age 7 and was quite a nerd, likable guy. I had a lot of friends, loving grandparents with good examples, however my young parents at the time were smoking and drinking heavily and at times would get violent because I didn't approve of their habits and they would get somewhat violent and lash me. They also were over protective and filled me with a lot of fear about drugs, life choices etc, so it created a lot of conflict inside of me and self-doubt.
Fast-forward to me being 16, I am a non-gambler. I have travelled to Las Vegas with my family for vacation (just to see Cirque and stay at Mandalay Bay for recreation), but have not had any interest in gambling at all. At the same time, I started experimenting with smoking, drinking alcohol and ecstasy because my friends were doing it. I still maintained it pretty well, had a part time, well paying IT job. I finished high school with good grades, got accepted to a good university in my city and pursued computer science/business, but dropped out of school at 20 due to gambling and working full time for a good company.
My biggest downfall: At age 18, my friend introduced me to PartyPoker and said he "figured the game out". He wasn't a brightest guy and was a losing player. I right away remembered video poker from the back of my childhood. However, being a rational, educated guy, I didn't start playing Poker. I bought books on theory, signed up to forums, learned the game and started beating the games online. Soon, I was making 3K a week, playing part-time poker tournaments and cash games. When UIGEA hit, games got very tough and by the time I was 21 (able to legally gamble in US), I was a degenerate gambler to the max. Even though I had a great job where I performed well, gambling was on my mind all the time. I would lose paycheck, after paycheck, after paycheck playing poker, thinking I can improve and win, only to run up big scores and lose it all in one night. One time I won 120K in one session of 200/400LHE and ended up losing it during a friends house party while high and drunk. My drinking escalated, my drug use (coke, ecstasy) has escalated. I was gambling non stop until I hit rock bottom, maxed out my CCs, loans, money borrowed from friends and stakers. I contemplated suicide and ended up being hospitalized for severe alcohol poisoning twice. I then had to file for bankruptcy. I attended GA meetings, got counseling, stopped drinking, doing drugs, maintained a good job and did not gamble for 5 years, started my own business and continued my IT education.
Today..or shall I say in last 2 years: 7 years later after my BK, I relapsed. Small time poker games escalated to high stakes where I would be losing my monthly salary. Everytime I would feel lonely, I would go to Casino. I banned myself from all casinos in my state, yet I drove to different states to play. At the same time I got addicted to the game of Blackjack and Baccarat and things got even worse when I won/lost 80-100K in separate sessions, but the money didn't make me happy. I wanted to die again. I started going to GA, see counseling, doing a lot of self work, improvement, exercise, taking Lexapro for mild depression and low-serotonin, I don't drink alcohol or do drugs, but as of today I am still gambling and digging myself deeper and deeper into a hole where the second BK is imminent. I fucked up my credit again, I let my family down. I just don't know what to do and how to once and for all defeat this demon that has robbed me of a good quality life. I am now 30, with a good job, 0 savings, 75K in debt, credit tarnished again.

CONTENT COURTESY OF COLUMBIA CVB

ON STAGE

Eclipse in Movement Friday-Saturday 7 PM at Missouri Theatre. Missouri Contemporary Ballet continues the excitement of the 2017 Solar Exclipse Totality by exploring its effects in their original production: Eclipse in Movement. This performance includes several world premieres and inaugurates a 12th Season of entirely live music, a new benchmark for the Company. Choreographed by MCB’s Artistic Director Karen Mareck Grundy with Resident Choreographer Fernando Rodriguez and the talented Penny Saunders, world renowned dancer and choreographer. Eclipse in Movement includes original compositions by local and national composers with one work by a new composer from the MU School of Music.

Elements: A Fashion Show for Missouri River Relief Friday 8:30 PM at The Blue Note. Two Columbia fashion powerhouses, Muse and House of VanSickle, come together with The Blue Note to showcase the vibrant community of our local fashion scene as a benefit for Missouri River Relief. Expect fiery fashions, enchantingly powerful performances from Moon Belly Dance Studio, and striking wearable art, all set to a fashion show with the strength, beauty, and natural grace of the Missouri River. This isn’t your average fashion show, DJ Requiem will be spinnin’ through the show and beyond as we sip cocktails and dance into the night.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Brewery Night Live Friday 5-10 PM at Bur Oak Brewing Co. Brewery Night Live is back! Join us for our final 2017 edition of Brewery Night Live on Friday, November 17th as we welcome Friendship Brewing Company to share our taps for the evening. We’ll have live music from Midnight Pilot, Coopertheband, and Austin Jones and the Bootheel Boys AND BBQ from Como Smoke and Fire! Not to mention, the night will be full of an aerial performance from CoMo Aerial Arts, raffle prizes and giveaways, and the release of some speciality beers! We can’t wait to see you there!

Sweet Night of Jazz Friday 7 PM at Rock Bridge High School. Participants will enjoy live music by the award winning Rock Bridge jazz band and ensemble as well as jazz bands from Gentry and Jefferson Middle Schools. The evening will also feature a dessert buffet, swing dancing with the Mizzou Swing Society, door prizes and a silent auction. This is a family-friendly event open to the community. Students $10, adults $20.

Columbia Holiday Festival Friday 6-9 PM, Saturday 8-5 PM, Sunday 11-4 PM at Holiday Inn Executive Center. The Holiday Festival provides unique items every year including stained glass, custom pottery, specialty food and beverages, custom jewelry, fur accessories, Christmas décor, children’s clothing, books, toys and much more. One of the highlights of the Holiday Festival is helping to raise funds for local charities. This year, ticket sales from the festival will go to one of the four charities of your choosing. Each charity has a booth to sell products and raise awareness for their cause! If you would like to donate, please select a charity from the drop-down menu at checkout.

Columbia Farmers Market Saturday 8-12 PM in the ARC Parking Lot. Fresh vegetables & fruit, meat, farm fresh eggs, cheeses, honey, cut flowers, plants, artisan items & more. As a producer-only market, everything sold here is offered by the farmers and artisans who help sustain our region. SNAP (food stamps) accepted at all markets. Live music every Saturday! Rain or Shine!.

Miles for Smiles 5K Saturday 8 AM at Stephens Lake Park. Miles for Smiles is a 5K fundraiser for the non-profit organization, Happiness Now. Happiness Now works in a community of Haitian refugees in the Dominican Republic. These families lack proper sanitation and access to clean water. Happiness Now provides them with clean water, a meal every day, and the opportunity to learn how to provide for their own families. All the proceeds (registration and donation) from Miles for Smiles will go towards the construction of a medical clinic in the village, Los Cocos. The race will be held at Stephens Lake Park in Columbia, MO on November 18. Sign-in will begin at 8am and the race will begin at 9am. Registration Fee is $25 until October 31, then $30 until the day of the race, and $35 at the race. T-shirt is included.

Sip and Shop Saturday 8-3 PM at Columbia Country Club. Let Columbia Country Club help you with your holiday shopping. During brunch, sip complimentary wine, and browse over 40 vendors including Scentsy, LuLaRoe and It Works! Pro tip: Arrive before 10 a.m., and pay to upgrade your ticket for bottomless mimosas.

Fall into Art Saturday 10-5 PM and Sunday 11-4 PM at Parkade Plaza. Now in its eighth year, Fall Into Art blends art, music, and education to provide a weekend destination for the entire family. Parkade Center is the oldest mall in Columbia, Missouri and rich in memories. We invite you to be a part of Fall Into Art 2017.
Kings Daughters Holiday Shopping Mart Saturday 10-4 PM at Country Club of Missouri. Shopping Event with local stores and craftspeople. Admission fee benefits the Dental Aid program of Columbia.
Meet the Author: Howard Wight Marshall Saturday 10:30 AM at the Boone County History & Culture Center. Author of Fiddler’s Dream – Old-Time, Swing, and Bluegrass Fiddling in Twentieth Century Missouri. In this sequel to Howard Marshall’s earlier book on old-time fiddlers in Missouri, Play Me Something Quick and Devilish, the author uses oral history, archival photographs, and transcriptions of selected tunes to trace the evolution of traditional fiddle music in Missouri from the early 1920s through the abrupt changes in American society and traditional music in the 1960s. Doors open at 9:30 AM, SMALLTalk presentations featuring local teen writers begin at 10:30 AM with the professional authors beginning at 10:40 AM. Book signings and sales at 11:30 AM.

Smores and More Beer Tasting with Logboat Saturday 4-8 PM at Gunter Hans. Join Gunter Hans & Logboat for our Gourmet Smores & More Beer Tasting event. We’ll be roasting up smores, drinking logboat beer and enjoying all Fall has to offer on the patio.

38th Annual Holiday Parade Sunday 3 PM in The District. Join us for the 38th annual Columbia Jaycees Holiday Parade! The route will be posted once it’s finalized, but we plan on sticking to a similar route as last year (Start at the interesection of College/Broadway, progress west on Broadway, turning south on 6th Street).

GALLERY

Vanessa German: through Nov. 16 at MU’s George Caleb Bingham Gallery. Poet, performer, photographer, and sculptor Vanessa German creates works that explore the power of transformation and healing. She scours her Pittsburgh neighborhood searching for objects to incorporate into her art.

The Joan Crawford Effect: through December 17 at Lela Raney Wood Hall, Stephens College. This exhibition looks at the manufacture of glamour showcasing by-products and inspirations for the collaboration between Academy Award-winning Hollywood star, Joan Crawford (1904-1977) and costume designer, Adrian (1903-1959). 1930s and 1940s suits and evening gowns from the permanent collections—including a ’30s Letty Lynton-inspired gown—will be on exhibit. The exhibition includes never-before-exhibited archives related to Joan Crawford’s experience as a fledgling student at Stephens College in the 1920s.

Autumn Exhibit: at Sager Braudis Gallery, 1025 E. Walnut St. Exhibiting artists are Peregrine Honig, Chris Morrey, Hannah Reeves, Joel Sager and Andrea Wan. sagerbraudisgallery.com.

Kansas City Cartoonists S. J. Ray and Lee Judge: Cartoonists from Two Millennia Critique Culture: Through November at the State Historical Society of Missouri. Through a wide array of over 60 cartoons by Ray and Judge from the SHSMO collection, this exhibition displays humorous and creative approaches to contemporary issues. Viewers can compare the styles, perspectives, and attitudes of two artists. Shsmo.org.

Impression of Modernity: Prints from 1870 to 1945: through Dec. 10 at the University of Missouri Museum of Art and Archaeology, 115 Business Loop 70W. This exhibit explores how artists such as Cassatt, Kandinsky, Picasso and Rivera used prints to express certain sides of their work. maa.missouri.edu.

The Lasting World: Simon Dinnerstein and the Fulbright Triptych: Through Dec. 22 at the MU Museum of Art and Archaeology. Numerous major works by the esteemed artist are on display. maa.missouri.edu.

SPORTS

Show-Me State Games 3v3 Soccerfest Saturday-Sunday.

Stephens College Basketball vs. Columbia College SAT 1 PM at Silverthorne Arena.

Granny Basketball – Hoopin’ It Up Again SAT 2:30 PM at Smithton Middle School.

Mizzou Volleyball vs. Arkansas 3 PM at Hearnes Center.

LIVE MUSIC

Friday

Flyover Country 5 PM at Rose Music Hall; free.

Kevin Greenspon, Quartz Prawl, Azure Witness, Trivia Night 8 PM at Café Berlin; $5.

neXt2rock 9 PM at Rose Music Hall; $6.

Saturday

Kopn's Porchlight Storytelling With Ironweed And Swampweed Bands 7 PM at Café Berlin.

Liz Moriondo 9 PM at Nash Vegas.

Are You Experienced: Salute to Jimi Hendrix 9:30 PM at Rose Music Hall; $6.

Sunday

“We Always Swing” Jazz Series: Cécile McLorin Salvant 3:30 PM at Murry’s.

MOVIE GUIDE
BATTLE OF THE SEXES - From the directors of Little Miss Sunshine comes this boisterous chronicle of the Battle of the Sexes, a famous 1973 tennis match between women’s world champion Billie Jean King and ex-men’schamp and serial hustler Bobby Riggs. Off-court each was fighting more personal and complex battles. The fiercely private King was not only championing for equality, but also struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality, as her friendship with Marilyn Barnett developed. And Riggs, one of the first self-made media-age celebrities, wrestled with his gambling demons, at the expense of his family and wife Priscilla. Together, Billie and Bobby served up a cultural spectacle that resonated far beyond the tennis court, sparking discussions in bedrooms and boardrooms that continue to reverberate today.
BLADE RUNNER 2049 - After discovering a long-buried secret that jeopardizes what's left of society, a new blade runner (Ryan Gosling) embarks on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former blade runner who's been missing for 30 years.
DADDY’S HOME 2 - Stepfather Brad (Will Ferrell) and biological dad Dusty (Mark Wahlberg) have set aside their differences, and are content to work together to care for their children. However, their family get-together at Christmas is complicated by the arrival of Brad's fusty dad (John Lithgow) and Dusty's hell-raising pop (Mel Gibson).
THE FLORIDA PROJECT - Warm, winning, and gloriously alive, Sean Baker’s The Florida Project takes place on a stretch of highway just outside the imagined utopia of Disney World. It follows precocious, ebullient six-yearold Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) and her rebellious mother Halley (Bria Vinait) over the course of a single summer as they live week to week at “The Magic Castle,” a budget motel managed by Bobby (a career-best Willem Dafoe), whose stern exterior hides a deep reservoir of kindness and compassion. Despite her harsh surroundings, Moonee has no trouble making each day a celebration of life, full of mischief and grand adventure. Unbeknownst to Moonee, her delicate fantasy is supported by the toil and sacrifice of Halley, who is forced to explore increasingly dangerous possibilities in order to provide.
THE FOREIGNER - London businessman Quan's (Chan) long-buried past erupts in a revenge-fueled vendetta when the only person left for him to love -- his teenage daughter -- is taken from him in a senseless act of politically-motivated terrorism.
GEOSTORM - Satellites designed to prevent natural disasters begin to fail, threatening to create a worldwide geostorm that could wipe out everything and everyone.
GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN - The latest film from Simon Curtis (Woman in Gold) offers a rare glimpse into the relationship between beloved children's author A. A. Milne (Domhnall Gleeson) and his son Christopher Robin (Will Tilston), whose toys inspired the magical world of Winnie-the-Pooh. Along with his mother Daphne (Margot Robbie), and his nanny Olive (Kelly Macdonald), Christopher Robin and his family are swept up in the international success of the books; the enchanting tales bringing hope and comfort to England after the First World War. But with the eyes of the world on Christopher Robin, what will the cost be to the family?
JIGSAW - One of the highest grossing Horror franchises of all time is back, taking the Jigsaw killer’s signature brand of twisted scenarios to the next level.
JUSTICE LEAGUE - Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman's selfless act, Batman and his new ally Wonder Woman recruit Aquaman, Cyborg and the Flash to help them save the planet from a newly awakened enemy.
MARSHALL - Directed by Reginald Hudlin (House Party), Marshall is based on an early trial in the career of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. It follows the young lawyer (Chadwick Boseman) to conservative Connecticut to defend a Black chauffeur (Sterling K. Brown) charged with sexual assault and attempted murder of his white socialite employer (Kate Hudson). Muzzled by a segregationist court, Marshall partners with a courageous young Jewish lawyer, Samuel Friedman (Josh Gad). Together they mount the defense in an environment of racism and Anti-Semitism. The high profile case and the partnership with Friedman served as a template for Marshall's creation of the NAACP legal defense fund.
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS - A lavish train ride unfolds into a stylish & suspenseful mystery. From the novel by Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express tells of thirteen stranded strangers & one man's race to solve the puzzle before the murderer strikes again.
ONLY THE BRAVE - A drama based on the elite crew of firemen from Prescott, Arizona who battled a wildfire in Yarnell, AZ Iin June 2013 that claimed the lives of 19 of their members.
THE STAR - A small but brave donkey and his animal friends become the unsung heroes of the first Christmas.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE - A group of U.S. soldiers return home after serving in Iraq, but their attempts at reintegrating into civilian life are complicated by their traumatic memories of war and pressure from military brass to remain stoic as an example to others.
THOR: RAGNAROK - The mighty Thor finds himself in a lethal gladiatorial contest against the Hulk, his former ally. Thor must fight for survival and race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela from destroying his home and the Asgardian civilization.
VICTORIA & ABDUL - Directed by Stephen Frears, Victoria & Abdul is an extraordinary true story set during Queen Victoria's rule. When Abdul Karim, a young clerk, travels from India to participate in the Queen's Golden Jubilee, he is surprised to find favor with the Queen herself. As the Queen questions the constrictions of her longheld position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance with a loyalty to one another that her household and inner circle all attempt to destroy.
WONDER - Based on the New York Times bestseller, WONDER tells the inspiring and heartwarming story of August Pullman, a boy with facial differences who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.

CHECK EACH THEATRE FOR SHOWTIMES
RAGTAG CINEMA – 10 Hitt Street 573-443-4359
REGAL STADIUM 14 THEATER – 2800 Goodwin Pointe Drive 573-817-0770
GOODRICH FORUM 8 – 1209 Forum Katy Parkway 573-445-7469

My story is quite unique, I was introduced to gambling by my parents in my home country, where gambling age restrictions were NOT in place. My parents were not gambling addicts and do not gamble to this day, but took me to play video poker when I was 7 and I ended up winning two jackpots and greatly rewarded for it. I then did not gamble with my family until we relocated to US at age 11. It was somewhat of a difficult transition since I left my loving friends, a lot of family back home and it was hard to "fit in" with the kids in US schools (even though I wasn't much different from them at all).
Growing up, I had a very good life, worked hard in school (even though I suffered from mild ADHD and self-esteem issues), took up interest in technology and computers at age 7 and was quite a nerd, likable guy. I had a lot of friends, loving grandparents with good examples, however my young parents at the time were smoking and drinking heavily and at times would get violent because I didn't approve of their habits and they would get somewhat violent and lash me. They also were over protective and filled me with a lot of fear about drugs, life choices etc, so it created a lot of conflict inside of me and self-doubt.
Fast-forward to me being 16, I am a non-gambler. I have travelled to Las Vegas with my family for vacation (just to see Cirque and stay at Mandalay Bay for recreation), but have not had any interest in gambling at all. At the same time, I started experimenting with smoking, drinking alcohol and ecstasy because my friends were doing it. I still maintained it pretty well, had a part time, well paying IT job. I finished high school with good grades, got accepted to a good university in my city and pursued computer science/business, but dropped out of school at 20 due to gambling and working full time for a good company.
My biggest downfall: At age 18, my friend introduced me to PartyPoker and said he "figured the game out". He wasn't a brightest guy and was a losing player. I right away remembered video poker from the back of my childhood. However, being a rational, educated guy, I didn't start playing Poker. I bought books on theory, signed up to forums, learned the game and started beating the games online. Soon, I was making 3K a week, playing part-time poker tournaments and cash games. When UIGEA hit, games got very tough and by the time I was 21 (able to legally gamble in US), I was a degenerate gambler to the max. Even though I had a great job where I performed well, gambling was on my mind all the time. I would lose paycheck, after paycheck, after paycheck playing poker, thinking I can improve and win, only to run up big scores and lose it all in one night. One time I won 120K in one session of 200/400LHE and ended up losing it during a friends house party while high and drunk. My drinking escalated, my drug use (coke, ecstasy) has escalated. I was gambling non stop until I hit rock bottom, maxed out my CCs, loans, money borrowed from friends and stakers. I contemplated suicide and ended up being hospitalized for severe alcohol poisoning twice. I then had to file for bankruptcy. I attended GA meetings, got counseling, stopped drinking, doing drugs, maintained a good job and did not gamble for 5 years, started my own business and continued my IT education.
Today..or shall I say in last 2 years: 7 years later after my BK, I relapsed. Small time poker games escalated to high stakes where I would be losing my monthly salary. Everytime I would feel lonely, I would go to Casino. I banned myself from all casinos in my state, yet I drove to different states to play. At the same time I got addicted to the game of Blackjack and Baccarat and things got even worse when I won/lost 80-100K in separate sessions, but the money didn't make me happy. I wanted to die again. I started going to GA, see counseling, doing a lot of self work, improvement, exercise, taking Lexapro for mild depression and low-serotonin, I don't drink alcohol or do drugs, but as of today I am still gambling and digging myself deeper and deeper into a hole where the second BK is imminent. I fucked up my credit again, I let my family down. I just don't know what to do and how to once and for all defeat this demon that has robbed me of a good quality life. I am now 30, with a good job, 0 savings, 75K in debt, credit tarnished again.

My story is quite unique, I was introduced to gambling by my parents in my home country, where gambling age restrictions were NOT in place. My parents were not gambling addicts and do not gamble to this day, but took me to play video poker when I was 7 and I ended up winning two jackpots and greatly rewarded for it. I then did not gamble with my family until we relocated to US at age 11. It was somewhat of a difficult transition since I left my loving friends, a lot of family back home and it was hard to "fit in" with the kids in US schools (even though I wasn't much different from them at all). Growing up, I had a very good life, worked hard in school (even though I suffered from mild ADHD and self-esteem issues), took up interest in technology and computers at age 7 and was quite a nerd, likable guy. I had a lot of friends, loving grandparents with good examples, however my young parents at the time were smoking and drinking heavily and at times would get violent because I didn't approve of their habits and they would get somewhat violent and lash me. They also were over protective and filled me with a lot of fear about drugs, life choices etc, so it created a lot of conflict inside of me and self-doubt. Fast-forward to me being 16, I am a non-gambler. I have travelled to Las Vegas with my family for vacation (just to see Cirque and stay at Mandalay Bay for recreation), but have not had any interest in gambling at all. At the same time, I started experimenting with smoking, drinking alcohol and ecstasy because my friends were doing it. I still maintained it pretty well, had a part time, well paying IT job. I finished high school with good grades, got accepted to a good university in my city and pursued computer science/business, but dropped out of school at 20 due to gambling and working full time for a good company. My biggest downfall: At age 18, my friend introduced me to PartyPoker and said he "figured the game out". He wasn't a brightest guy and was a losing player. I right away remembered video poker from the back of my childhood. However, being a rational, educated guy, I didn't start playing Poker. I bought books on theory, signed up to forums, learned the game and started beating the games online. Soon, I was making 3K a week, playing part-time poker tournaments and cash games. When UIGEA hit, games got very tough and by the time I was 21 (able to legally gamble in US), I was a degenerate gambler to the max. Even though I had a great job where I performed well, gambling was on my mind all the time. I would lose paycheck, after paycheck, after paycheck playing poker, thinking I can improve and win, only to run up big scores and lose it all in one night. One time I won 120K in one session of 200/400LHE and ended up losing it during a friends house party while high and drunk. My drinking escalated, my drug use (coke, ecstasy) has escalated. I was gambling non stop until I hit rock bottom, maxed out my CCs, loans, money borrowed from friends and stakers. I contemplated suicide and ended up being hospitalized for severe alcohol poisoning twice. I then had to file for bankruptcy. I attended GA meetings, got counseling, stopped drinking, doing drugs, maintained a good job and did not gamble for 5 years, started my own business and continued my IT education. Today..or shall I say in last 2 years: 7 years later after my BK, I relapsed. Small time poker games escalated to high stakes where I would be losing my monthly salary. Everytime I would feel lonely, I would go to Casino. I banned myself from all casinos in my state, yet I drove to different states to play. At the same time I got addicted to the game of Blackjack and Baccarat and things got even worse when I won/lost 80-100K in separate sessions, but the money didn't make me happy. I wanted to die again. I started going to GA, see counseling, doing a lot of self work, improvement, exercise, taking Lexapro for mild depression and low-serotonin, I don't drink alcohol or do drugs, but as of today I am still gambling and digging myself deeper and deeper into a hole where the second BK is imminent. I fucked up my credit again, I let my family down. I just don't know what to do and how to once and for all defeat this demon that has robbed me of a good quality life. I am now 30, with a good job, 0 savings, 75K in debt, credit tarnished again.

Basically, I've been dating my boyfriend (21/m) for about a year and a half now. Before we had started dating I suffered with pretty bad depression and anxiety, occasional self-harm, over thinking everything, and was going through some family issues. Even though he did not know of my issue at first he helped me get through them, and while I still suffer with my insecurities and anxiety for certain situations, he has become my rock and I think I rely on him to help me from slipping back into my old ways. Sometimes it seems like he is the only thing truly making me happy. He has also said the same thing before to me about himself, and yes we both have our own groups of friends who we see at least once a week, so that's not the issue. The problem is that whenever he goes to see his friends I get jealous and irrationally hurt by the fact that while he could be seeing me he would rather see them. It should be noted that I recently got a job a couple of months ago after not having one for a long period of time, and our schedules don't really match up, so sometimes I feel that we don't get to see each other as often, and when we do have the opportunity that we should take advantage of it. He claims that one certain night a week is reserved for his guy time. I really do try to not be bothered by this because I completely understand the need to jut have girl/guy time with your friends, but no matter how much I tell myself that I still seem to feel hurt at the end of the day. He also just told me last night that his friends were thinking about going to Las Vegas possibly next summer, and I immediately became angry. He knows that I would love to go to Vegas with him, but seeing as I will only be 20 next summer, It is quite pointless. He said he would love for me to come with him to Vegas for a trip, and I suggested that he wait for me, and we could create a new memory together, in response he exclaimed that he would also like to take a "guy trip". Now this is where I really cant understand. My boyfriend is not big on gambling, drinking, nightclubs, and we've already discussed our views on both female and male strip clubs and neither of us are okay with the other going to them. So put those things together, and you get Vegas. I just don't understand why he would want to go to a vegas trip with the guys if he isn't even very interested in the activities that would take place there. I guess I'm partly jealous that he would choose to go with them, and also kind of hurt. He's said if his friends would want to go to the strip clubs (which they would), that he would just wander off on his own, and gamble or something. I know he wouldn't cheat on me and its not him that I don't' trust, its his friends. They're nice guys and all but I know what they're all about, lets be real, a group of a bunch of single 20 something's in Vegas are only interested in drinking and women. I had also said that If my friends were asking me to go and I were if legal age and he wasnt able to go that I wouldn't ever go without him, because my friends would have the same interest as his friends except substitute the women for the men and male strippers. To me it just doesn't make sense. Vegas is a single persons adventure, and a committed person's nightmare. Vegas is built on fun, adventurous temptation, designed to lure people (mostly men) in with the fun clubs and the attractive girls. And while you might question, how I would be able to have fun on in Vegas with my SO, I do agree, it would be a more fun place if you're single, but I ask all the time for my boyfriend and I to go out a do new things and go drinking at bars, and we would have fun in that aspect. I understand a guys trip, camping or whatever, but Vegas does not make any sense in my opinion for someone who is in a committed relationship. Of course, every couple has their own "rules" or "guidelines" per se, so while I have an issue with this another couple may not. And that's totally okay. He had also mentioned before our Vegas talk last night that he is uncomfortable with me going to a bar and getting drunk without him there. Which is pretty hypocritical if you ask me. All in all, rant finished, I have my insecurities and I know the feeling of being left behind all to well. I love this man more than anything, and just want us to be happy together.

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Date: 2012-11-23
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Questions	Answers
Now that you're rich, have you thought of buying the fucking drinks once in a while?	I'm sure I got the last drinks in! (I know this guy irl)
Can I have a drink?	That depends... What would you like?
A drink.	Of...?
Can I have a pint of Stella?	Do you have any ID?
Just my passport at home. I'm 29, but I look 35.	:'(
This might sound weird, but was it frustrating to win just £500,000-ish? Normal expectations of winning the lottery are to be pretty much set for life. Was there ever any bittersweet emotion? (like 'yay i won the freaking lottery but dang I still have to get a job')	Yeah, I'm still doing the same job I did before (admin for an Investment Management company). They were more than pleased to see that I had come into money and I was taken into a meeting about "what I planned to do" with some senior management almost as soon as I mentioned it.
I love how you work for an investment management company and you invested your money in playing the Lottery.	Got to take some risks!
Did you get good advice from either the people at your work or the National Lottery itself about how to grow your money?	They have people for that, but I work in the field anyway.
Eat taco bell!	I've never actually had a taco bell even though I have been to the US
Congrats! How did they give you the money? Did they ask for an account number or did they give you check? Ive always wondered about this... Thanks for the reply!	I asked for a cheque simply so I could hand it in at the bank and see the cashier's face.
Was it one of those giant novelty cheques?	I wish! Unfortunately it was non-novelty :'(
You can't leave it at that, tell us about handing it in!	It was a bit of a let down. They were quite professional. I did get a "congratulations" though
Lottery companies should send you some money for advertising - many redditors around the world will buy a lottery ticket today. I know I will:D.	I think they've already done more than enough for me! Good luck, though.
Did they suddenly start paying you a lot of attention a few days later?	I've let them know all I need
I got congratulated when I paid in my Deal or No Deal cheque and that was only 4 digits. My bank manager even hugged me!	I saw that there's a Nigerian Deal or No Deal presented by John Fashnu. Were you on that one or Noel's one?
Did you buy winrar?	No, but maybe I should. I have abused their trust for too long.
Have you told your friends or family? If so, has it had an effect on your relationship with them? Edit: Sorry, should have also given you a MASSIVE congratulations too.	I have told my friends and family. I think as it's not the biggest amount of money ever, that our relationships should stay similar. Obviously I'll buy more drinks on a night out though (just as an example)
Would you not feel people expecting you to do that on a regular basis? (Just playing devil's advocate. I've always had an optimistic outlook that things would change for the better in my own life after winning money)	It's a good point. I will try not to let it get the better of me, but I do like to be generous
Are you signed up for reddit secret santa? Send somone a gold ingot or somthing.	I will sign up and try and think of an awesome gift!
How do I go about winning a lottery? I mean did you just not think about it at all? Or did you focus all your positive energy on winning? I'm trying hard but I can't seem to get it right! Also congratulations, can I please have a few cents for my uhm..- err..- new computer?	I don't think there's any real strategy behind it, but I would say don't just focus on money all the time. There are more important things. Think positively in general!
Wow you replied to my utterly stupid question. You rock and you are rich.	I'm not quite Obama, but you're welcome!
Obama sucks, you should be glad you aren't him.	He's alright really
Do you plan on investing the money? If so in what? It would make sense b/c you work at an investing company?	I've left the decisions to my company. They know I'm thinking long term.
I assume the money went on a house?	Not yet actually. I'm quite happy living at home at the moment. A nice new TV and laptop were amongst my first acquisitions.
If I won I would buy a forge and make stuff :) so you do that so I can enjoy it vicariously yay :)	Just use forge on Halo.
I'm so happy that a Halo fan won the lottery.	Me too!
Have you gifted any to your family?	Yes, £200,000 to my parents. Varying amounts to other friends and family
Similar age. I only occasionally buy a lottery ticket but each time I walk into the news agent utterly convinced I have won. Can you walk us through your thought process before having the ticket checked and directly after you had been told you had won? Ta and congratulations.	Lucky dip is the way to go. I just picked up a ticket with on my lunch break at my local Tesco Express!
What's the dumbest thing you've done since winning? Related to it I mean. Not like, trying to make a Milo with orange juice.	Nothing springs to mind really. I've tried to be sensible ever since the traumatic snowman incident of '09.
Traumatic snowman incident of '09?	I tried to knock a snowman down with my car. It was more ice than snow at that point. It had been there a while.
Do something stupid like getting a car! I recommend the Ariel Atom 500. Fastest you'll ever get to 60 in a street legal thing.	That's a good car for the summer for sure haha.
Check this out if you're ever in London. I wasn't fully aware of it until now, but I've always wanted to meet a wealthy man who likes driving cars into snowmen.	Can't beat running down a good snowman
limewire pro?	Just got that from limewire itself. I am a bad person.
What's your plan with it? invest? buy some stuff? go entrepreneurial and support stuff on kickstarter?	Invest mainly. Maybe partake in some crazy shemes. Possibly set up my own company solving mysteries. I think I'd be good at that. SPOILER:It's always the janitor
Have a lot more buddies and cousins come out of the woodwork now?	A little bit! But that's to be expected.
	I actually find it amusing.
Have you stocked up on pop tarts, now that you have the resources?	No, but I have no idea why.
Any plans on using the money?	Just invest and make it last as long as I can!
What's one crazy thing you will do with the money?	Nothing yet, but I'm open to suggestions.
Is it easier picking up the ladies now?	I'm in a relationship and very happy :)
Apologies if this is too personal, but were you in the relationship before winning? If so, how did he/she react?	I am and was. She's very happy for me and is definitely not with me for my money
Did you feel obliged to give some to friends and family? will this be the first christmas where they'll expect fancy gifts from you, and how have you dealt with it?	Rather than feeling obliged, I was just happy that I could.
	I don't think they'll expect fancy gifts.
Test the theory by giving them £10 WHSmiths vouchers.	Might make a trip to poundland.
Is it taxed? How much of the original sum can you keep?	There was no tax, I got the full amount.
Congratulations! What was your initial reaction? Mind sharing your lucky numbers?	Initially disbelief really more than anything. If I told you my numbers, I'd have to kill you.
Just a wild guess...does your numbers have 007?	Nope!
Assuming you're a footy fan from the EFC username. Think you'd trade in normal seats for hospitality? (I work hospitality in Glasgow - it's not worth it!)	I like the normal seats at Goodison. I just wish I had enough to give David Moyes some transfer funds!
We'll be happy to give you Joe 'Messi' Cole for free..	Haha, what happened to him? I thought he was pretty good for Chelsea.
Congratulations! Random numbers or weekly assets?	Lucky dip (random)
I like to think that if I am ever going to win, it is not me choosing, but that I was chosen, só the numbers don't matter.	That's a good way to think of it. Don't expect a return, but you have to be in it to win it.
How many numbers did you purchase?	Just one line of numbers
Anyone suddenly became friendly towards you? how did you deal with this situation? Did you have a (college) debt or anything that you paid off with that money?	People I haven't spoke to in a while are suddenly remembering me! I find it quite entertaining and don't let it bother me (so far!)
I think people might just be happy for you :-) So, don't let this bother you.	This is a good way to think of it!
Will you still be doing the lottery ?	Haha, I probably will!
Statistically you're more likely to win the lottery if you've won before.	85% of all statistics are made up.
What were those things you thought about buying if you won the lottery?	It's more than enough!
	I always imagined almost unlimited riches (so mansions, a large collection of cars), but that didn't happen really.
Do you just have a huge lump sum sitting in your bank or is it all invested, if it's the first one how much does it earn you in interest say per week or month or even per day. Also are you happier now?	I don't see the point in having a large sum in a low interest bank account. I'm going to invest as much as I can. The amount of income varies on the performance of the companies in my portfolio. I've only recently received my cash (within the last couple of months) and so longer term, I couldn't really say with any certainty.
	I'm happier at this point in time, for sure. Long term, though you never know.
Question about taxes: here in the US, winning a big sum like that comes with gigantic taxes, something on the order of nearly half your winnings (dpending on if you get the lump sum or a 20-year paout). What kind of taxes did you/are you going to be paying on this? Does England even have a similar tax?	There was no tax.
Can I have some money?	Any particular reason?
For science?	Batman has enough money.
"Homer! There's a guy here who thinks he can help you!" "Is it Batman?" "No! He's a scientist!" "Batman's a scientist!" "It's not Batman!" Edit: formatting.	You got it!
MONORAIL.	A good way to describe me after my win is 'a mule with a spinning wheel'
, a big congratulations on winning the lottery! Now for some questions ... What was the wait like between realising you had won and claiming the prize and then getting the money? How long did you have to wait ? Was you paranoid you would lose the ticket? What process did you have to go through to claim the winnings?	Thank you! It was pretty quick actually, they seemed to want to give me the money as soon as possible. They asked if they could meet me at home, or if I would like to meet them at their office or any other agreed location. I basically had to prove who I was and provide them with the ticket. As I mentioned earlier, I could have had the money wired directly to my account, but I chose a cheque just to see the reaction of the bank employees!
How did you react when you found out?	Didn't believe it at first. Had to check about 10 times.
Did they give you a giant oversized novelty ~~check~~ cheque?	Non-novelty :'(
Do you still buy lottery tickets? More than before?	I do still buy them! Not every draw though.
Have you blown through it yet or did you do the smart thing and try to invest for the future? Whats the most ridiculous things you've purchased so far? Personally I would have been on my way to an Aston dealer shortly after depositing the check.	I've spent more than I would have otherwise for sure. It's nice to get new golf clubs/electronics etc.
Nice! What kind of clubs did you pick up? Do you /golf?	Taylor Made R11S.
	They're awesome
Not bad. Ive never been a fan of TM. They just feel too light and I get waaay to much backspin from their drivers and woods.	It's all personal preference as far as my experience goes. Seemed to hit them the best.
I wonder how many Pm's have you got from this AMA?	A few. Not too many though. I know some people have it hard, but I can't help everyone
1) How long ago did you win? 2) What have you done/plan on doing with the money? 3) How much did the taxman take?	Over a month ago now. Been buying electronics mainly. I think my next large purchase may be a car.
	Over a month ago now. I've bought myself a lot of gadgets etc. The taxman took none!
Did you nearly have a heart attack when you realised you won? What charities have you donated to? Have you taken all the cash out and threw it up in the air and rolled about it in yet?	I didn't believe it at first! I've donated to a few local charities. I think Cancer Research do great work too.
Just put two EuroMillions on for tonight. Wish me luck!	Oh, and best of luck! Let me know how you do.
What is process once you have one? A trip to the headquarters to get paid? do they open you some sort of account?	Either a trip to their office, or they come to my home (or meet at any other agreed location). The money went into my normal bank account initially.
Is that EFC as in Everton? If so how does if feel knowing you have more than David Moyes to spend?	It does. Poor Moysey :'( he's done so well with what he's had.
What was the first thing you bought?	3D TV!
Are you receiving a certain amount each month, or do you already have all of it in a cheque of some sorts?	Got all the cash in one go. I get income from my investments, though.
I assume though that the income from the investments is taxed right?	Yeah, we have income tax and capital gains tax.
Did you decide to come out when you won? If so, why? Did you receive any advice on letting people know you won money from the National Lottery? I can only imagine letting people know you have come into a large sum of money is a pain in the arse.	I told people as I don't see it as a huge sum. People tend to understand the long term benefits
As you are a 22yo male, did you get a lot of Essex chicks begging you to be their rich boyfriend? Jokes aside, have you invested some money in stocks or decided that wasn't for you?	Investing most, yes, but at the discretion of my investment manager
So you're not investing as an individual trader, but on behalf of the company?	I work for the company, but that's separate to my own investments.
	They invest my money on my behalf
Did you put this money into a high interest account or anything like that? Was just wondering what sort of interest you'd be getting a year with this sort of money sitting in the bank.	Interest rates aren't particularly great at the moment. My investment manager is doing his stuff and I leave him to it mostly.
I knew someone who won £1.5m back in the 90's and he got the cheque as a tear off strip on the bottom of a letter. How did you get yours?	Just a normal cheque. I know the type you mean, though. We use them in work.
Any life long dreams you plan on completing?	Owning a Ferrari or Lamborghini maybe?
I'd go for an Aston Martin myself, although I imagine the insurance would be extortionate.	Brilliant cars. I would feel like James Bond.
What are you going to spend the money on?	Moon boots.
On a scale of 1-10 where do your rate our friendship?	Pi.
off, congratulations. Do you have a girlfriend? If so, how did she deal with this good news? Are you afraid your money will affect current and future relationships? (gold-diggers)	I do, she was very happy for me, but most certainly isn't with me for my money.
The deleted comment read, "Are you going to start murdering your enemies now that you're above the law?"	I'm not planning any murders at the moment... Edit: Nor planning on a purchase of some discount wood furniture.
Can I be your friend?	Where are you from?
I am wondering how long have you been playing the lottery? How many times do you think it took till you won and did you play instant scratch off kind or guess the number kind?	I've played for a few years, but only really occasionally during that period. Having said that it does mount up.
	I won on the number lottery. Never won more than £5 on a scratch card.
I work in a shop every saturday morning and sell countless lottert tickets, with it being 500k exactly, I would say you won the Thunderball?	It was a greater amount than £500k. I don't particularly want to say how much exactly.
Did you ever have plans of what you'd do if you did win the money before you actually won it? have you done those things since winning the money?	I'd always planned for more if I'd won to be honest! I imagined a mansion and large car collection, but I don't think that's sensible!
Would you every donate a stranger enough pounds to buy a sandwich? I never understood why £ = pounds and $ = dollars, as a rich man can you explain the signs representing money?	£ derives from the Roman letter I think. Something to to with a pound weight...
Congrats on your windfall, without getting into legal trouble by being too specific what's the process after you win? Did you hire a solicitor to help you with it?	Nope, it was pretty straight forward really. They even came to my house
How long does it take from when you call them up and they get you the money/cheque/whatever?	Pretty quick. Less than a week all done.
Holy shit, I finally get to use this piece of information. It originates from the Roman word for scales, Libra.	Awesome general knowledge :)
Whats the first thing you bought after you won?	3D TV!
You can deal with those glasses?	They hurt your eyes after a while, but the novelty aspect is good :)
I can't be dealing with those bloody glasses.	I agree, they can be annoying
Are you happier?	At the moment, yeah. Long term, you never know
Did you check the numbers online or at the store? If at the store what did the cashier say when they saw the amount you had won?	Online. I checked numerous times!
I am very fascinated by lottery winners. Too bad it's banned in my country.	Disbelief.
How did you react when you got to know you one? And did you buy a lamborghini?	Not yet...
Do you have an investment strategy?	My investment manager is aware of my needs (i.e. Long term income) and uses his discretion. That's fine with me as the company conducts their own research and they have a lot more experience with this amount of capital than I have!
What did you do or what are you going to do with your money? I'd play some Xbox. What games would you like to play?	Halo mostly
Do you support Everton?	I certainly do.
Link to www.thisiswhyimbroke.com. So hypothetically you're going to go crazy with the money, what kind of items do you buy from here?	I've never seen this site, but I will probably end up with more than my fair share of comedy miscellanea
Has anyone tried to murder you for the money yet?	Only 3
You at Goodison this weekend? (assuming your username stands for Everton Football Club).	Unfortunately not this weekend. I plan to go to more matches though
I only have one testicle can you pay for an implant of a prosthetic testicle? It would drastically change my life. It comes out to about 7g's USD.	I'll pay, but only if it's at least 15x bigger than the other.
If you were going to take a vacation now that you can do so without worrying about too much - where would you go?	First of all, maybe New York. There are so many great places.
I just wish you won 500 million, then Moyes could have some...	If only :( we're doing ok at the moment though
That big jackpot a few months ago, the £142m one? I was going on the theory that if I won it I'd use that 42m for charities and live off what the £100m remainder would do. Didn't win, clearly.	That's more money than I'd know what to do with
I would suggest Las Vegas.	I'd come back with no money!
maybe you'll double it :) There are a lot of other things to do and see in Vegas besides gambling - shows, mountain climbing, skiing, The Hoover Dam, lots of good food, etc.	Everyone I know that has been there says it's great. One of my colleagues is there at the moment!
If you ever come to Vegas I'd even buy you lunch.	That's also very generous of you :)
Is there any chance you could buy me assassins creed 3? I have £6.09 in my account currently.	£6.09 is more than a lot of people
When I first moved here I hated it, but now, I can't see living anywhere else. There is a lot to see and do.	Where's your favourite place?
Why haven't you bought reddit gold yet?	Because that's the way I roll.
Did I forget to mention that I'm £6.5k in debt to my parents and I'm only 18?	There are definitely worse people to be in debt with
Do you live in Hessle?	Nope.
Do you work in Liverpool? I ask because of the EFC and the Philpots reference. I used to work at an investment management firm there.	I do indeed. What firm?
I work in Exchange Flags. I'm gonna find you and we're going to be BEST FRIENDS ಠ_ಠ Wirral or Liverpool?	I had an exam there a while back. I think they've moved the test centre to somewhere off Old Hall Street now though
Edit 2: Anyone up for some xbox live this weekend? Depends, what game?	H4?
Can I have £10?	Nah.
Worth a go. Have you walked into a club and thrown money in the air yet? If you haven't, please do.	Not on purpose. Maybe I could get some Zimbabwe dollars and do this so it looks like more? That probably wouldn't be as cool though.
	"Who is this insane white Zimbabwean man?" people would say
You should arrange a meet up with all the UK redditors willing to come, and get an open bar arranged ;)	I don't think I have enough money!
Did you ever think you were going to win?	Never!
So win the lottery again, damn you! :P.	I will try for the EuroMillions!
Will you ever buy a lottery ticket again?	Yep!
Just don't steal my win :P. Seriously, I have so many handy plans if I won Euromillions. Including an awful lot of being charitable.	I'm happy to share! (again)!!
Wanna give me some?	Money?
Thats the idea.	No.
Not a question, but please don't blow it all on drugs and alcohol like many of the other UK winners. I swear every 2 months after someone wins a big sum of money they end up in prison.	This is true. Camelot said that some people have actually regretted winning big.
Don't have a question for ya but just wanted to congratulate a fellow Everton fan..yay!! :)	If only it was the EuroMillions to help the team!
There is a lot of good that can come out of winning money. I want to hear about the negatives.	People asking/expecting money is probably the worst thing
The best thing you could do is take some time off, and go and explore the world, thats something you can do once is a lifetime, and that door just opened for you. Congrats!	I took the rest of my annual leave straight after my win (just over two weeks). I will definitely be considering a sabbatical though. Where do you think I should visit?
Son Doong Cave, Vietnam. Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala. Courcheval, France (learn to ski) Moab White Water Rapids, Utah (www.westernriver.com. Montana Glacier National Park (glacierguides.com)	I saw the Top Gear Vietnam special and that place looked amazing
Oh wow, there are so many places that are stunning. Grand canyon, machu picchu, hawaii, las vegas, egypt for teh pyramids and new york and all of the asian capitals if you like big cities.. ps: Paris is boring!	New York might be one of my first stops.
Come to Beirut!	Sell it to me!

Last updated: 2012-11-28 00:43 UTC
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