Mark and I woke up around 3.  Everyone else had already left and was out to see the strip and see some shows.  Ethan and Larissa went to see Cirque de Sole, and Whit and Danielle went to see Blue Man Group.  We went online and realized we’d read the dates wrong and that UFC wasn’t for 2 more weeks.  While we were asleep, Scott, from my old job, texted me his sports picks (which I probably requested about 20 times last night).  He gave me 5 picks, 2 were over, and one was about to start, and we weren’t making it to a sports book in time to get the bet in.  We threw on some clothes then headed out to the monorail and got day passes.  We were across the street from Sahara, so it wasn’t too far a walk.

We headed to the Hilton since they have the largest sports book and got to the table to put our bets in.  We put in Scott’s 2 remaining picks, for the Magic over the Cavs in game 7, and Detroit over Pittsburgh in game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.  I suggested we do a 3 game parlay, and we picked the Mariners over the Angels because we met Mark from Seattle that morning.  We each bet $50 (20-20-10), and figured that would keep us entertained for a while.  We hung out in the sports book for a bit and got a free drink, and watched some of the games.  Mark had spotted me some cash for the bet, so I needed to find a Bank of America ATM.  Mark knew they had some in the Forum at Caesars, so we headed there.  After a ton of searching and looking at Peter Lick’s Gallery (it turned out he was coming into the store that day, but we were way underdressed) and they explained his photographs to us and what makes them special, we found an ATM that was in service, and decided to watch the games somewhere.  We had been checking the scores on our phones every 15 seconds, thank you ESPN game track with auto-refresh!  We walked about 10 feet into Caesars, and I remembered it was unlucky for me, so we ran out in a full sprint and went over to Harrah’s.  We watched the rest of the games there, and our first 2 games, and first 2 bets hit there.  So we were both now up money in Vegas on our bets.  Ethan called us and wanted to get dinner after Cirque de Sole, and it was about that time; the Mariners were being outplayed all game, and were down 3-0 in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs, and 2 strikes.  We figured we would be ready to go in a minute, so I told him we’d meet him at the Sahara and get rewards cards for the cheap buffet.  With that all set up, Lopez hits a 3 run homerun to tie the game.  It goes to extra innings, and in a fluke on an error, the Mariners win the game.  We hit all of our bets, but even more impressive, Scott was 5 for 5 on the day; Mark and I whined about not waking up early enough and trying a 5 game parlay, even though I probably wouldn’t have done it…

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Tags: Gambling,Las Vegas,MLB,NBA,NHL,Sports Betting
Categories: Travel
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We woke up around 9 and moved the RV to a parking lot.  We couldn’t stay in the spot, and we didn’t know how long it would take for us to hike, so a parking lot was the only choice we had.  (And it was in front of the General Store, so we could stock up on over priced supplies if we wanted.)  I wore gym shorts, my fly fishing hat, my hiking boots, and my backpack with lunch in it, my camera and knife attached, and a Nalgene bottle hanging from it.  I had already made my first mistake.  Mark and I drank a bit the night before, and were probably already dehydrated, and had not drunk any water before heading out on a hike in the desert.  I also didn’t take any ibuprofen which would later lead to my knees killing me on the stairs all the way up.)

We walked the trail of time around part of the rim, which gave us some good views.  We found a trail that was much less popular and further out than the Bright Angel Trail, and it went to a dripping spring (it was named the Dripping Spring Trail).  It was only about 3.75 miles each way, so we figured it was a good day hike.  There was a snack bar at the top, so we grabbed something to eat before heading out, I think I grabbed a breakfast Danish (sadly, it was not nearly as good as those in Copenhagen).

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Tags: Arizona,Dehydration,Drinking,Gambling,Grand Canyon,Las Vegas
Categories: Travel
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We woke up early and went to Walmart to use the bathrooms, and then I saw a McDonalds and got a breakfast there.  I haven’t been awake and near a McDonalds during breakfast hours since I was about 14.  I ate it in the RV, and then started mixing Jack and Cokes, to prepare for the awesomeness that is the Jack Daniels Distillery.  We arrived, and it was a really nice facility.  The visitor’s center was very informative, it showed the old stills and what makes a Tennessee Whiskey.  Our tour guide was possibly the biggest hick on the face of the earth.  He couldn’t have had any job other than a tour guide at “The Plant”.  I took a ton of pictures and was allowed to smell the fermenting corn mash.  It singed the nostrils!  It really did clear up my sinuses, and may be a magical elixir that has yet to be discovered.  It was an awesome place, and the people on our trip were funny.  We weren’t allowed to take pictures indoors, but that didn’t really discourage us from doing so.  In general the only way I can describe it was as a really beautiful location.

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Tags: Alabama,Drinking,Food,Gambling,Jack Daniels,New Orleans,Pulled Pork,RV
Categories: Travel
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I just watched the following program on ESPN:

Here are my thoughts after watching the full program (Which was not on YouTube):

• Why isn’t sports gambling legal?
  • NFL – The NFL just doesn’t trust its players.  See my argument below….
  • NCAA – The NCAA fears that its games will be fixed or other scams will occur.  However with the current proliferation of sports gambling, having it legalized may actually help deter this type of activity.  With bets going though governed casinos, it may become tougher for cheaters to cover their tracks
  • Lobbying – Vegas has a lot to lose…
• Why isn’t all gambling legal?

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Tags: Gambling,NCAA,NFL,Sports
Categories: Sports
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