(If you haven’t yet, check out the “About The Trip” tab) 

 

Game on.

I’ve laid my first bet and it’s now sitting in the Caesars Palace coffers waiting to be turned into a wild celebration for my friends or a new faux-Roman crapper in the Titus Oculus suite.

I’ll tell you, it’s a rush to peel off five $100 bills and slide them to the indifferent Sportsbook dude…especially knowing that it’s your Japan budget you’ve just dropped on a single footballl game. 

I’ll hold you in suspense a moment on which way I bet, but first a quick mention of point spreads for those of you unfamiliar with sports betting.  The line for the game is Steelers minus 7.  What this means is, if you bet the Steelers they have to win by MORE than 7.  If you want the Cardinals, you can actually still win your bet even if they lose…as long as they don’t lose by more than a touchdown.   A $500 bet pays you $454 (the house gets a vig).

Initially, I was going to watch the game in Vegas, but a group of friends in LA are throwing a Super Bowl party and seeing as I’m flying out of LAX for Tokyo, I thought it could be fun blowing it out with them if I win.  They shouldn’t mind–if I win, we’ve got a $454 post-Super Bowl bar tab pre-paid. 

As I mentioned in the “About The Trip” section, the Stardust Casino has a symbolic role in this trip, so I went by the old location which is now–in a sign of the times–a half finished, high-end condo complex that is on hold until the economy picks up.  I talked to the security guard and it turned out he was from Manilla, a few miles from where my parents lived right after they got married. 

“Did you hear about the 3 Red Cross workers who were kidnapped?” he asked.

“Funny you should mention that.”

My stay in Vegas was pretty tame really.  After five days in Mexico drinking every day, I needed to detox.  I may be the first person in Vegas history to come there to tone things down a bit.  As far as that Mexican drinking, it wasn’t crazy parties or something; rather more an extension of the incredible hospitality everyone shows.  Each place we went beer, tequila or whiskey was generously proffered.  And I’m nothing if not unflagginly polite in the face of a free drink.

I’m not used to day drinking though and so got a little loopy a couple times, particularly the day of my last post.  We were at a late lunch with an old friend of my fahter’s named Sergio.  He’s an actor and big enough in Mexico that fans came up to him in the restaurant.  I hadn’t eaten anything that day and suddenly I’m looking down the line at a tequila sangrita shooter, a salted beer and a regular beer.  At this point, the waiter offered me a laughingly superfluous glass of wine.  At one point I was worried I might not remember anything Sergio told me about my father, so I took a napkin to the bathroom and jotted a couple notes.  (I’m still trying to decipher what “gringa in the trunk” means).  One thing I did remember Sergio telling me was a Vegas trip where he and my father and a couple buds drove there from Mexico City.  They stayed at Caesar’s Palace and caught Sinatra.  Since the Stardust is no mas, I figured Caesar’s was the place to lay the bet.  I think they owe us–apparently, the casino cleaned out Hector, Sergio and the others, to the point they had to borrow gas money home.  And if I win, I’ve got an LA friend who is headed to Vegas soon.  He’s going to float me any winnings and cash the ticket later.

Two more things…1) a quick hi to Diana from SF who wished me luck on the plane and added a great request:  Do something good for someone each day.

Sounds good, Diana;  I’ll give it my best.

2)  The bet…

I went with the Steelers.  Back in the day when my friends and I did our all-or-nothing bets that I talk about in the “About The Trip” section, we won twice with the Steelers.  How could I go against them now?

So, if you’re a fan of some schaedenfreude and want to see what happens to a guy flying into Toyko, kicking himself for having just blown the majority of his coin for the next 5 days, then root for the Cards.  Otherwise….Steel Curtain, baby!!!

By 8 points or more, that is…