Minton's Misadventures

My Cooler Powers Are LEGENDARY

2011-10-27T22:37:00.000-07:00

Hello-

My name is Chris and I suck at betting Baseball. While I have been doing well at football this season (knock on wood), I have been getting killed in Baseball. How bad is you ask, well first off I'm a Twins fan, so that there proves how bad this year has been, but let's take a look at my World Series Bets Shall We?

Game One I Bet The Texas Rangers...They Lost 2-3

Game Two I Bet The STL Cardinals...They Lost 2-1

Games 3 and 4 I didn't Bet

Game 5 I Bet The STL Cardinals...They Lost 4-2

And in Game 6 I Bet The Texas Rangers....They Lost 10-9 in the 11th Inning

That is 0-4 this World Series Alone.

Now how exactly does this benefit you? Well you see, I'm putting my Cooling Powers on the Auction Block. The best bid (in my mind) gets to harness the Legendary Minton Cooler Powers.

So what exactly does this Auction Include??? It's Really Quite Simple. You place a bid either on my Face Book or Twitter page, if I select your Bid I will place a $20 wager on the other team, there by practically guaranteeing your team the win in Game Seven Of The World Series.

If you're a Cards fan, I'll bet the Rangers, if the winning bid is from a Rangers Fan, I'll bet the Cards...it's that simple.

So what am I looking for in a Bid? Something Cool, my only requirements are that it's not cash, it's not booze, and that it's something fun. That's it the most unique bid wins my LEGENDARY COOLER POWERS!

The Auction Block is Open until I go to lunch Tomorrow (around 3:30) I will announce the winner, post a pic of the Ticket, and work my cooler magic.

Now in the rare chance that my powers fail, your bid will not be made in Jest, If I select your Bid and I somehow win my bet, I will but you a drink and/or a burger from Fukuburger on your next Visit to Vegas.

Bid Now of Forever wish you had!!!

Things to Do In Vegas

2011-08-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

Alright, it seems that several people I know are coming to Vegas, and they are asking me for things to do...well lucky for them I keep a list on my desktop titled "Vegas To Do List".

This list has been a living breathing document for almost 3 years now, if I do something fun it gets added to the list, if something closes or changes, it gets removed.

Since I've seen a ton of what do to posts on FB, Twitter, Google+, and many other places here's my list...Enjoy

Las Vegas To Do List- By Chris Mitzula Minton-

Bold Text is what do do, Italic Text is my thoughts on it

Deep Fried Twinkie at Mermaids Downtown goodness in one bite
Big shot on top of the strat! I'm not much of a ride game and this is a total blast
Vue bar at the Fitz Cheap drinks and the best view of the Fremont Street Experience
The Conservatory at the Bellagio Lots of flowers in a seasonal design
Fountain show from the Chateau Beer Garden at Paris
Get a $1 chip from all of the casinos you play at cheap souvenirs
Gamblers General Store on sahara and LVB, biggest Gift Shop on Earth
Hoover Dam Easy day trip, pretty cool to see, new bridge is nice, take the Dam Tour
Any hotel spa Everyone needs a little pampering
Play a new table game you haven't played yet The Dealers will be happy to teach you
Drink a giant frozen drink They're everywhere bonus points if it's guitar shaped
Try to drink drink in every casino on the strip Who Doesn't love a challenge
Gondolas at the V Where else but Venice are you going to ride a Gondola
Dueling Piano bar in Harrah's There are several in town, but the twins are the best

Carnival Court outside of Harrah's Flair bartending at it's best
Eat at a Food Truck These are no longer your daddy's roach coaches
Red Square at Mandalay it's a bar build around Vodka
Atomic Testing Museum Interesting place, and you can learn something
Boulevard Pool at the Cosmopolitan
Penn & Teller One of my favorite shows in Vegas
Hit Up Strip Club Help a struggling UNLV coed pay for her education
Enjoy a Micro Brew Main Street Station, Chicago Brewing, Ellis Island are a few of my faves
Oh My Goddard Gallercy at Planet Hollywood some amazing art
Sin City Comedy Burlesque and Standup together at the V theater in PH Miracle Mile Shops
Mesa Grill Blue Corn Panakes with BBQ Duck FTW!
Ellis Island steak special Steak, Potato, Salad, and A Beer for under $8
$3 craps at Casino Royale Cheapest Craps on the Strip
$5 Pai Gow at The Fitz
Rock Bar In front of the IP
Golf at any of the amazing Courses
Chicken and Waffles at Hash House or anything on their menu
$9.99 AYCE Prime Rib at Mr. Lucky’s 24/7 in the Hard Rock
The Pub at The Monte Carlo
First Food and Bar at the Venetian
Ride the Bull at Stoney's Country Bar, Gilley's, or PBR Rock Bar
Drink one of each beer at Yardhouse 100+ on Tap
AYCE sushi there are a ton of great sushi places in the desert
Texas De Brasil An Orgy of Meat to not be missed
Sigma Derby at MGM Grand the most fun you can have for a quarter
RHUMBAR at the Mirage
Drinks at the Chandelier Bar at Cosmopolitan
$1.50 Beers and $0.05 video Black Jack at Stage Door behind Bill's
bacon martini or “ass juice” at Double Down Saloon
Drinks and Tapas at Firefly on Paradise
Twinkie or Smore’s Milkshakes at BLT Burger
Fremont Street Zipline Wheeeeeeee
AYCE Tapas at Johnny Smalls
Insert Coins arcade, bar, dance club, amazing
Hidden Pizza Place in the Cosmo, best slice in town
Absinthe Hands Down the Best Show on the Strip

The iYaz Went Down To Petaluma

2011-07-26T21:02:00.000-07:00

In Honor of iYaz's devilish appearance on the NSFW show tonight I made this tribute...to the Tune of the Devil Went Down To Georgia by the Charlie Daniels Band

The iYaz Went Down To Petaluma
by Mitzula

The iYaz went down to Petaluma and he was looking for a soul to steal.

He was in a bind he was way behind and he was willing to make a deal.

When he came across a JuRY hosting a show and it was hot, and iYaz jumped up on a desk chair and said “Boy let me tell you what.”

“I guess you didn’t know it but I’m a podcast host too, and if you care to take a dare, I’ll make a bet with with you. Now you host a pretty good podcast boy but give the iYaz his due, I bet a twitbrick of Gold against your soul that says I’m better than you.”

The Boy Said, “My name’s Jury and it might be a sin, but I’ll take your bet and you’re gonna regret cuz I’m the best there’s ever been.”

Jury fire up your cam and host your podcast hard, because Hell’s broke loose in Petaluma and iYaz deals the cards. And if you win you get this shiny Twitbrick made of gold, but if you lose iYaz Gets Your Soul

iYaz fired up his cam and he said, “I’ll start this show” And fire Blew from the Brick House as live he started to go. He talked tech with a few host, and the chatroom was in bliss, then he went on podcasting and it sounded something like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHEhQlj2Lm0&feature=youtu.be&t=2m7s

When iYaz finished JuRY said, “well you’re pretty good old son, but sit down in that chair right there let me show you how it’s done”

iYaz bowed his head, because he knew that he’d been beat. And he laid that golden TwitBrick on the ground at JuRY’s Feet. JuRY said, “iYaz just come on back if you ever wanna try again I done told you once you son of a bitch I’m the best I’ve even been!”

And he played Fire In the Brick House Run Boy’s Run

iYaz in the house of the JuRY one

Shwood on the webcam Go Bro Go

Jury Does your Beard Bite…no Bro No

Go Puck Yourself

2011-05-05T01:25:00.000-07:00

Yes I know this is the 2nd pun laden post in a row, but hey I'm a punny bastard, plus anytime I can squeeze a Fuck joke in I'm down.

This post has been on the back burner for a while but it's finally getting written, not because I've been suffering from writers block, it's mainly from the fact that I'm a lazy bastard. I have realized that I have only 4 more days to kill my 30 for 30 list, and I have yet to blog about several of the things I've recently done.

One item on the list was #18 Attend A Las Vegas Wranglers Hockey Game, this one started off as attending a UNLV BB game, but sadly my schedule didn't allow for that to happen (one of the drawbacks to working in a sportsbook). So I had to modify it to attend a Hockey Game.

I grew up in MN, but honestly didn't even know Hockey existed until middle school. One of the first times I went ice skating my mother broke her ankle in 2 places and I didn't really want to be on the ice again. It wasn't until years later that I discovered how insane watching live hockey is. I was too old to really learn the game as a player, but I became a dedicated fan of my High School Team. I then moved to several non-hockey communities (plus the stars leaving MN) so hockey kind of took a back burner in my life, but that all changed when I moved to Vegas.

The Las Vegas Wranglers are a ECHL hockey team, these guys will probably never go pro, most of them have side jobs during the off season to make ends meet, but I can tell you from first hand experience, they play the game with a passion unlike many others. If you go to an ECHL game you might not see the most technically superb hockey, but you will see some fights, some goals, and you will have fun.

I went with a few friends to a home playoff game a few weeks ago. I was quite shocked to see that there was probably no more than 1,000 fans in attendance (they announced a number higher but I don't think that was accurate), but the sparse crowd did let us score some amazing seats. The game was against The Idaho Steel Heads, and while it was a Triple OT Thriller, sadly the Wranglers lost. While we may not have won, I can honestly say it was a fun time, and I will be checking out more games next year.

Seats On The Glass...Not Too Shabby

Bob Wishing He Was On The Ice Not In The Stands

Sailor Jerry and Sugar Free Redbull always takes the sting out of a loss

What The Truck

2011-04-19T16:04:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody-

Sorry it's been a while, I am shifting to a new schedule at work, and things have been a little hectic in my world. I have a bunch of posts to get through, and a bunch of things to knock off the 30 for 30 list, however I need to start with some other excitement.

In Vegas the Food Truck Scene is finally starting to blow up, it's no where near the level of LA and their scene, but in the last year over a dozen trucks have sprung up serving everything from burgers to Gourmet Desserts and everything in between.

Every 2nd Saturday the El Cortez hosts Vegas StrEATS a food truck fest that draws about 6-8 trucks, it's a nice little setup (which sadly is getting too crowded for it's own good), but it served as the soft launch for one of my new favorite trucks HAULIN BALLS. They serve up homemade meatballs and other deliciousness with a heavy helping of sarcasm and innuendo (which makes every meal that much better). I also tried SLOPPI JO's newest menu item, Deep Fried Mac and Cheese with her world famous pulled pork inside of it, let's just say amazing is an understatement.

The Haulin' Balls Truck

Haulin' Balls Blue Balls Special (Pulled Pork and Slaw)

Haulin Balls GodFather Meatball Sandwich (Signature Menu Item)

Sloppi Jo's Fried Mac N Cheese

After StrEATS I was able to check out another Food Truck Event The Las Vegas Street Food Throwdown 3 Battle Pork.

This was the 3rd of the Street Food Throwdowns, where several food trucks compete in a set challenge, the winner usually gets some sort of trophy, but let's be honest, the people who are eating are the real winners!

This throwdown included Sloppi Jos , LuLu's On the Move, Top Notch BBQ, and Tasty Bunz.

They all offered some tasty items, but the standouts to me were LuLu's Pigs in a Blanket (A hotdog stuffed pretzel), and Sloppi Jo's Bacon Cupcake(yep you read that right Bacon Cupcake). All 4 trucks brought their A game but a the end o f the night it was Jolene and her crew at Sloppi Jo's who won the Maple Bacon Cake/Trophy.

Sloppi Jo's Bacon Cupcake (Foodgasm)

Sloppi JO and the Trophy, congrats again

I am uploading more food truck photos to my facebook, there is an album for Food Truck Photos check it out.

I also attended 4Square Day, a gathering of over 16 trucks, it was an amazing time, I forgot to take photos, but did get a chance to finally try BBQBOY and ISLAND BREEZE, both were amazing and offered some great wears. I look forward to eating at them again, and trying some of the new trucks that pop up as time goes bye.

And with that I'll end this Blog Post, there will be another coming shortly going over the multiple things I've scratched of the 30 for 30 list.

Until Next Time

Shave and a Haircut...WTFs a Bit???

2011-03-31T22:08:00.001-07:00

Today I scratched another off the 30 For 30 list, when I cashed in a GROUPON at ELLIOTT & CO in Henderson.

I forgot my phone at home so I have no before and after photos, but let's just say my hair is the shortest it's been in years (and it actually looks decent), and my face is smoother than it's been since my first pimple broke out.

I have always wanted to get a straight razor shave, I have just never found the reason. I put it on the 30 for 30 list knowing there is no shortage of places in Vegas to get it done, but when I saw the Groupon I knew this was an offer too good to pass up.

I walked into the shop a little nervous, I was going to trust a total stranger to take a straight razor to my throat. But after meeting the guys, I was put at ease. The staff very professional and the shop was nice. There was a flatscreen TV showing the baseball game, a few barber stations, some comfy chairs in the waiting area, and Frank and Dean playing on the stereo, what's not to love.

I got there right in time for my appointment and was seated in my chair right away. I have gotten my share of haircuts in my day and usually it's just hop up, snip snip snip, and you're on your way. That however is not the case at Elliott and Co, first we talked about what I wanted for a hair cut, then it he cut for a good 20 mins taking his time to make sure everything was done correctly. They tapered the back of my neck (usually it's just rounded off, but the taper looks great). Then it was time for a wash, shampoo, and conditioner treatment.

After the cut and wash it was time for the shave. As I stated I've never had a straight razor shave and I was a little nervous, but once it started I wondered why I waited so long to get one. It started off with a hot towel treatment. Then the a few a hot lather (I really need to get one of those machines so amazing). Then like a surgeon he took the razor to my face. I will admit it feels a little weird, and you can hear the whiskers as they get cut. It took a little longer than I expected, but they shaved both with and against the grain. After the shave, there was a mask was applied (also a first for me). The mask came off, there was a cold towel treatment followed by a few oils.

After the shave, they took the time to clean up all the edges of my haircut with the straight razor, and even took care of my pesky unibrow.

All in all the entire process took around an hour and a half, and I have to say it's an experience I'll never forget. Many thanks to the guys at Elliott & Co as well as Groupon for helping me scratch one of my list. I will without a doubt be back!

And one small house keeping note #18 attend a UNLV Men's BB game had to be changed. Unfortunately the UNLV BB schedule and my work schedule overlapped too many times this season, while I did get to attend a game it was before the 30 for 30 launched. #18 is now attend a Las Vegas Wranglers Hockey Game, which I plan on doing next Wednesday.

The Night of Too Many Celebrities

2011-03-30T23:57:00.000-07:00

Tonight I crossed another one of the 30 For 30 List, I went and saw Greg London at the Las Vegas Hilton.

I will start this review off by saying that I did get free tickets from Showtickets 4 Locals, so the price was right!

The theater is pretty small, we got there after they had seated a majority of the crowd and still got really good seats, other than the balcony (which I don't think they use that often), there isn't a bad seat in the house.

First surprise, I got a water from the bar, it was tap on ice with a lemon, but it was free. So show and a drink cost only a $1 tip. Score one for not charging $5 for an 11oz bottle of Fiji (like the cosmo did at the Girl Talk Show).

The show started with an intro from The Arnold, and then Greg hit the stage. I have to admit I didn't know what to expect when I walked in the door, but I was impressed. His show is high energy, fast paced, and was over before you knew it. In his 60 mins he had to do at least 20 impressions, most of which included a fast wig/prop change. He was backed up by a pretty decent band, and his background dancers didn't hurt the show any (they may have stole the show at one point but I won't spoil it).

Greg London is very talented, the guy can sing, play the guitar, piano, and trumpet, and he can sing while impersonating other celebrities. Some were better than others, but all in all they were pretty good.

The show had a range of music from a few years ago to a few decades ago. The Ozzy Ozbourne but is pretty good, it starts off a little weak, but it ends really good. The show follows a story of his career, and as I said it's non-stop from the moment the curtain raises, until the final bows.

If I had paid full price I probably would have been a little upset. Having got a free ticket I have to say that the show was pretty damn good. If you want to check the show out, I'd check the discount ticket places on the strip, I'm fairly certain you can score a discounted ticket to the show. My only complaint is that it's in the Hilton, which is out of the way, and their box office is about a country mile from the theaters, but those are minor complaints.

If you're looking for a Celebrity Impersonation show, you'd be hard pressed in a Post Danny Gans Las Vegas to find a better show.

A Twestive Evening

2011-03-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

Last week I scratched another off the 30 For 30 list when I attended the Las Vegas Twestival. I have been active on Twitter for a while now, I have met some pretty kick ass people because, and got to attend some pretty fun events because of it.

Twitter is pretty much a micro blog, it gives you 140 characters to update what is going at this moment in your life. A lot of companies are starting to embrace twitter and are doing some pretty kick ass promos.

One of my 30 for 30 items was to attend a TweetUp, or a gathering of people who use twitter. Many of these are sponsored by a hotel or a company, and usually have free food and drink or services offered at a steep discount. I have attended a few TweetUps since I started the list, but I thought The Twestival was the worth blogging about.

Unlike most TweetUps the Twestival was a fundraiser, it was being held to raise money for AFAN, a very deserving charity here in southern Nevada. I ended up receiving a comped ticket from a Friend, but I still ended up making a donation at the door.

It was held at the Caramel Ultra Lounge at the Bellagio, I am usually not a huge fan of ultra lounges, but I have to admit the crew at Caramel rolled out the red carped and ensured that we were taken care of. The venue was small but the crowd was lively and the times were fun.

Me at the Twestival Photo Credit to Ryan Shewchuk

The event wasn't the biggest or most attended TweetUp but it was nice to meet up with a few tweeps, and it's always nice to help a good cause. They had a silent auction and I was all about getting the 3 layer cake from Retro Bakery, sadly it wasn't meant to be as I was out bidded by 2 parties in the last few minutes. What would I have done with a 3 layer cake...to be honest probably sit in my living room and eat it all, honestly Retro Bakery is that damn good!!!

While I didn't get my cake I can say I had a fun time, met some amazing people, and helped a needy cause.

Joe and I at the Twestival Photo Credit to Ryan Shewchuk

You can expect some more blogging from me in the next few weeks, I still have several 30 for 30 things yet to do, and not that things are slowing down at work, I may actually get them done!!!

I Survived The Fremont Street Zipline

2011-03-26T23:53:00.000-07:00

On the 16th, I organized an Unofficial YELP Event (cross one off the 30 for 30)to Check out the Fremont Street Zipline in lovely downtown Las Vegas.

I had a GROUPON that lowered the cost from the normal $15 to $10 (plus mine was free for a previous referral credit I had). There were about 6 of us there, one of the group got turned away for being over weight, they have a strict weight tolerance, thankfully I am now down to below their maximum allowed weight (by 1/2 a lb clothed), I actually had to take my phone and keys out to make weight.

The setup is pretty nice, you go to their office, step on the scale (everyone got weighed), sign the waiver that no one ever reads, and get your wristband. After the office, you hop on an elevator and go up to the top of the garage, where they have a queue for the riders. There were not too many people hitting up the zipline that afternoon, and the wait was pretty short.

After the queue you get to the harness station. They pretty much have a one size fits all harness, and let's just say they're not really built to fit a 6' guy...SNUG was an understatement!!! After narrowing the chance that I'll ever have children at the harness station it was time to zip.

This was the hardest part of the entire thing, you walk out onto a platform at the top of the scaffolding, yes you are hooked in for safety, but having a mild fear of heights, the walk was not the most fun. They then latch you onto the line, and tell you where to hold your hands (important so you don't hit yourself in the face when you stop), and they send you on your way.

The Zipline isn't really that long, but I will say it was a RUSH...at the end they take your photo, as well as a few that they take while you're on the line (I was turned around at the camera so it wasn't a good photo), and they do a nice job of jacking up the photo price!

All in all it was a great time, I will probably do it again (maybe at night), if someone wants to go again. After the Fremont Line, I really want to go try their lines out at BOOTLEG CANYON

One of the best 30 for 30 Things I've done thus far...sorry it took so long to post, March Madness kicked my ass!!!

I apologize that the video isn't the best and that I talk really fast, I'm working on my editing/vlogging skills, expect a few more in the future!

I am Iron Man....well not really...but I did play with them

2011-03-21T00:18:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know me from AVP or the poker world in general you have probably heard of the Ironmen Of Poker for those of you who don't, they're a group of guys from Iowa who come once a year and bring Hilarity to the desert. It is not uncommon for them to play any two cards, felt old ladies, and they have a prop bet sheet that is for the ages.

I thought it would be fun to scratch something off the list and see first hand the insanity that is the IMOP. My schedule allowed me to play in the Thursday afternoon tourney at the TI, which was one of their "official" events. The tourney is actually a pretty good little tourney, it plays a little fast, but there is a good value for the $50 buy in.

I was seated with a few of the Ironmen to start, and having played with them I knew what to expect. Since the IMOP made their schedule known, and they were rolling with a crew of around 10, I knew that the field would be a little bigger and the prize pool should be pretty nice. They ended up with 42 runners (including a few eurodonks who rebought). Sadly I was card dead the entire tourney, I did hit a monster with 8-3 in the BB, but didn't get paid off. I ended up getting knocked out in the mid 20's when my pocket 3's got snapped by Eurodonk's A7soooooooooooooted, when he the board runs 4 to broadway. (I can never win flips.

I didn't get a chance to partake in much of the hilarity, but it was nice to see the guys, if you are even in vegas during the IMOP, you need to find them and play, just be warned, you never know what is coming up.

An Evening With Louie

2011-03-10T12:07:00.000-08:00

Last night I attended Louie LOL at the Palace Station. I had seen Louie Anderson's old show at the Excal, but hadn't had a chance to check him out at his new digs.

As you know I like Louie am from Minnesota, and while I'm about 30 years short of his target demographic (we're not talking Laughlin old, but close), I have to admit the show was pretty good.

I will preface my review with the fact that I only paid $6 for the tickets. I got hooked up with "free" tickets from Show Tickets 4 Locals. A great company if you live in vegas (not always the best shows but sometimes a good one gets sent out). The tickets are normally $49.99, and Palace Station is running a Locals special of $15 off, I don't think the show was worth $50, if I had paid the $34.99 I would have said the show was decent, but since I only had to shell out $6, I will say the show was pretty good.

The opening comedian was OK, he had a few good lines, but a lot of his material was pretty bland, and you could tell he is still polishing up his act. He did about 15 minutes and included a few plugs, but who goes to a show for the opening act?

Before Louie hits the stage they show a video montage of his career, you forget how many things he's been in, and then the big guy hits the stage.

If you know of Louie, you know that he's from MN, he grew up pretty poor, his mom was a packrat, and he's fat. That is the premise of most of his set, some of the jokes are older than me, but his timing is pretty solid, and his jokes are well polished.

He also threw in some current event riffs, including a charlie sheen riff that included the line of the night, "his new show is going to be 2 and a Half Kilos".

I will admit his show isn't for everyone, he doesn't work blue, he said Shit once and immediatley apologized for it, and the show is "all ages" but the average age of the crowd was on the far side of 50. However if you get the chance to scoop up some discounted tickets, it's a good time, the show with opener clocked in at a little under 90 mins, which was about the right amount of time.

I do have to say that even thought I didn't drink, the prices in the theater seemed fairly reasonable, and the service was impressively fast, so they have that going for them as well.

I am now heading out to play in the 2pm poker tourney at TI, another of my 30 for 30 items, but also this will allow me to observe some if the IMOP debauchery. (I will go into details in my next post.

I Fought the Laughlin and the Laughlin Won

2011-03-03T19:21:00.000-08:00

Part of the 30 for 30 list included visiting Laughlin. Granted I admit this was a bit of a cop out as my parents were already planning a trip and I was taking a day down there to visit them. But I've never visited before so why not scratch a place off the to visit list.

I have never been down to Laughlin, I have driven past a few times, but never stopped. I will admit, everything I had heard about Laughlin was pretty much dead on. There are a few nice places, the limits are low, the staffs are really friendly, and the average age of the customers is somewhere around 125. I kid you not I'm fairly certain I was the youngest non-employee in the entire hotel.

While the average age may have been pushing triple digits, I did notice a few things I liked in Laughlin that I wish would be in Vegas. The river was beautiful, it was crystal clear, and they had a nice riverwalk, I grew up in a city with a lake and never realized how much I missed the water until I moved to the middle of the desert. Another thing I noticed was the lack of children, granted this may be due to the fact that most of the visitors are well past their child bearing years, but it amazed me to be walking between casinos and not having to dodge strollers and kids on leashes, there wasn't the constant whine of crying children, and I like that. Also in Laughlin there are no porn slappers, timeshare hawkers, or night/strip club guys, which was a nice added bonus.

My only major gripes, the casinos are a far bit apart I guess I'm getting spoiled by the close proximity of the vegas casinos, but it seemed like a bit of a trek to get from one end of the Laughlin Strip to the other. We ended up spending most of our time @ Don Laughlin's Riverside which was where we were staying.

The Riverside was a nice little casino, you can tell it's a little old in years, but everything was kept in decent order. The room was nice, but not overbearing, the casino was small and took a few minutes to familiarize yourself with but after a lap or 2 you knew the lay of the land. The one thing that kept sticking out to me was that by the pit and poker room, there were a large bank of windows that overlook the river. I just couldn't get over the fact that you could clearly see outside and the casino had no problem with that. In Vegas, it always appears to be noon when you are inside, however in Laughlin you could see the fact that it was night or day and for some reason that seemed odd to me.

One of the biggest selling points about Laughlin is the fact that everything is HELLA cheap. The room rates are about the same as vegas, but the food was WAY WAY cheaper. The buffet was cheap, the Prime Rib Room was cheap, the snack bar was cheap, everything was about half the price as it was in Vegas, if not cheaper.

I took a few photos, but there really isn't a lot to report back, I got my butt kicked at most of the games, the poker gods still hate me, and well that's about it.

View from the Room, the river and mountains were a nice thing to see in the morning.

Prime Rib from the Prime Rib Room, and no I didn't eat them both the one on the left is my moms. Very good meal have to thank Vinny for the recommendation.

There was one odd thing, Laughlin is right on the NV, AZ border and since AZ doesn't observe daylight savings time, if you crossed the river it was 1 hour ahead of NV time. Now this wouldn't be a big deal, however with cellphones things got a little tricky, if you were catching signal from an AZ tower it was a different time than if you were catching from a NV tower. There were times when I would move from one side of a table to the other and the time would change an hour. Luckily we weren't really on a set schedule, but it was a little confusing at times.

All in all it was a fun trip, I got to spend some time with the parentals, and had some great food. Not back to your regularly programmed randomness

In Da Club

2011-02-23T20:25:00.000-08:00

So I have never really been a big club guy. I don't really understand how people will get all dressed up, wait in line for an hour +, pay a 1000% markup on booze, to listen to some really loud music and hopefully grind against someone.

That being said, in the last 2 weeks I have been to Tao and Jet, and I can honestly say I have had a fun time at both. Granted a large percentage of the fun I've had is directly related to the people I was out with, but the whole club scene wasn't as bad as I thought.

Don't get me wrong, I still cringe when I have to pay $10+ for a well vodka/club and $15+ if I make it a redbull/vodka. And there is no chance in hell I'll ever pay for bottle service, (wait you want me to pay $400 for a $30 retail bottle of vodka, just so some scantily clad chick can pour me weak drinks for the rest of the night and clear off any drinks that are half empty), no thank you.

However the music was great at both places (TAO had a guy playing the sax...still not really sure why). The DJs knew what they were doing, their mashups were great, their transitions were smooth, and some of the clubs are set up pretty kick ass. The decor and environments are pretty top notch.

I would have to give the nod to Tao as it was a much nicer place, and Jet seemed a little too packed, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at both clubs. Don't get me wrong, I doubt you'll find me clubbing regularly in my free time, but it was surprisingly fun.

Ahead of the Curve

2011-02-14T11:35:00.000-08:00

So back in August I posted a Blog about a song I couldn't get out of my head (warning NSFW).

That song was F*ck You by Cee Lo Green, granted it's the original, and the Edited Version didn't come out for a while, but it amazes me that people are now just finally catching on the the song.

He had an great performance at the Grammy's with Gweneth Paltrow and the Muppets, however I can't find a link since CBS makes it easier to find Jimmy Hoffa than a video on their website. It was a good show, although I still find the edited version of the song odd, I have always liked the uncut version.

It's not very often that I'm ahead of the curve on something, but this time I can honestly say I was...yay me!!!

Prop Results

2011-02-08T15:56:00.000-08:00

In a previous BLOG, I posted what I thought were the best Prop Bets for the Superbowl, and had you my readers vote on the coin toss...well sadly we lost the coin toss, I went almost even on the props I actually bet, and even with the losing coin toss I only lost 4.40 on the props.

Here are the results of my Theoretical Props, and the amount of Minton Bucks I Earned

Will Either Team Score 3 Straight Time? NO Win 25.50
Team To Use First Coaches Challenge: Pitt Lose 11
Shortest TD Of The Game: Over 1.5 Win 21.5
Will There Be A Safety? Yes Lose 10
Total Interceptions By Both Teams: Over Lose 10
Will There Be A Defensive or Special Teams TD? Yes Win 24.5
Total Rushing Yards By Ben Roethlisberger: Over 11.5 Win 21
Total TD Passes By Ben Roethlisberger: Over 1.5 Win 21.5
Total Receiving Yards By Heath Miller: Over 38.5 Lose 11
Total Receptions By Heath Miller: Over 3.5 Lose 11.5
Will Heath Miller Score a TD? Yes Lose 10
Will The Steelers Score In All 4 Quarters? Yes Lose 10
Will The Steelers Convert A 4th Down Attempt? Yes Lose 10
Total Rushing Yards By Aaron Rodgers:Over 20.5 Lose 10
Total TD Passes By Aaron Rodgers: Over 1.5 Win 29
Distance Of The First Aaron Rodgers TD Pass: 12.5 Win 21
Total Rushing Yards By James Starks: Under 50.5 Lose 11
Total Receiving Yards By Donald Driver: Over 49.5 Lose 11
Total Receptions By Donald Driver: Over 4.5 Lose 10
Will The Packers Score In All 4 Quarters? Yes Lose 10
Total Solo + Assisted Tackles By A.J. Hawk: Over 4.5 Win 22
Total Punts: Under 9.5 Win 24
Most Rushing Yards Moore or Kuhn? Moore Win 21
Player to Score a TD First Ward or Driver? Ward Win 20
Jersey Number of First Player To Score: Under 59.5 Lose 10
Who Will Have More Points Blake Griffin (Clippers) Or Packers? Griffin Lose 11
Who Will Have More Kevin Garnett (Celtics) Free Throws Made -1 or Rodgers Passing TD Passes +1? KG Win 21
Margin Of Victory: Steelers 1-4pts Lose 10
Margin Of Victory: My Bet Steelers 5-8pts Lose 10
Double Result of The Game: My Bet Packers First Half Steelers Full Game Winner Lose 10

I wagered a total of $324 Minton Bucks and ended up cashing out with $429.5 Minton Bucks, making a total profit of $85 Minton Bucks...all in all I can't complain...well other than the fact that we lost the coin toss.

And The Winner Is......

2011-02-04T00:33:00.000-08:00

TAILS-

After a long and hard fought battle, which included a straight up tie at the end of polling. The winner of the Heads or Tail Coin Toss Bet has been decided.

I have already placed the wager, and the ticket is in hand

Let's hope the Commemorative Coin lands on whatever side they say is tails.

This also marks the first thing done on my 30 For 30 List...only 29 more to go

Heads I Win...Tales You Lose

2011-01-30T23:07:00.000-08:00

It's that magical time of the year when the Sports Books put out hundreds of Prop Bets. For those of you not in the know Prop bets are random events that may or may not happen throughout the game; that give additional betting options. In most games you can only bet the Side and the Over/Under, however on special games many books offer props.

The Super Bowl is the granddaddy of prop betting situations, many books have over 100 props to bet. I have in my posession the Hilton of Las Vegas' Prop sheet for "The Big Game 45" it contains over 300 props. I have narrowed that list down to 30 that I like. I highly doubt I will bet all 30, but I am going to post them all here and we'll see how they would have ended up after the game.

For the sake of debate, I will be betting 11 Minton Bucks on every -110 bet (or whatever it takes to win 10) and 10 Minton Bucks on every bet that is + anything (I will win what ever the + amount is). I will post a total of the theoretical Minton Bucks wagered in this post and we will see what my bets would have won.

Also as part of my 30 for 30 I will be leaving the last bet to you my readers, the end of this post includes a Poll, cast your vote for Heads or Tails. The Poll closes on Thursday so I can place the bet in time, I will be betting for whatever you chose.

Here are the Prop Bets I like, feel free to critique as you see fit

Will Either Team Score 3 Straight Time? My Bet NO +155
Team To Use First Coaches Challenge: My Bet Pitt -110
Shortest TD Of The Game: My Bet Over 1.5 +115
Will There Be A Safety? My Bet Yes +850
Total Interceptions By Both Teams: My Bet Over 2.5 +200
Will There Be A Defensive or Special Teams TD? My Bet Yes +145
Total Rushing Yards By Ben Roethlisberger: My Bet Over 11.5 -110
Total TD Passes By Ben Roethlisberger: My Bet Over 1.5 +115
Total Receiving Yards By Heath Miller: My Bet Over 38-5 -110
Total Receptions By Heath Miller: My Bet Over 3.5 +115
Will Heath Miller Score a TD? MY Bet Yes +240
Will The Steelers Score In All 4 Quarters? My bet Yes +290
Will The Steelers Convert A 4th Down Attempt? My Bet Yes +180
Total Rushing Yards By Aaron Rodgers: My Bet Over 20.5 -110
Total TD Passes By Aaron Rodgers: My Bet Over 1.5 -190
Distance Of The First Aaron Rodgers TD Pass: My Bet Over 12.5 -110
Total Rushing Yards By James Starks: My Bet Under 50.5 -110
Total Receiving Yards By Donald Driver: My Bet Over 49.5 -110
Total Receptions By Donald Driver: My Bet Over 4.5 +110
Will The Packers Score In All 4 Quarters? My Bet Yes +245
Total Solo + Assisted Tackles By A.J. Hawk: My Bet Over 4.5 +120
Total Punts: My Bet Under 9.5 -140
Most Rushing Yards Moore or Kuhn? My Bet Moore -110
Player to Score a TD First Ward or Driver? My Bet Ward Even Money
Jersey Number of First Player To Score: My Bet Under 59.5 -110
Who Will Have More Points Blake Griffin (Clippers) Or Packers? My Bet Griffin -110
Who Will Have More Kevin Garnett (Celtics) Free Throws Made -1 or Rodgers Passing TD Passes +1? My Bet KG Free Throws Made -110
Margin Of Victory: My Bet Steelers 1-4pts +350
Margin Of Victory: My Bet Steelers 5-8pts +500
Double Result of The Game: My Bet Packers First Half Steelers Full Game Winner +400

This Brings the Total Amount Wagered To A Grand Total of $324 Minton Bucks...let's see what we can "win".

And finally the Poll Question, remember which ever you choose is the one I will bet as part of my 30 For 30

WHAT SHOULD I BET ON THE SUPER BOWL 45 COIN TOSS?

Who's Missing Gilbert Gottfried

2011-01-27T19:52:00.000-08:00

I am....I was all excited to go to the show tonight, but this morning I woke up feeling like death. I think my body is a little shocked by the dietary and physical changes in my life right now, and it's freaking out. I have been feeling a little better as the day has passed, but still feeling a little off, so no Gilbert for me tonight. I will keep my eyes peeled for his next visit, and hopefully I can catch him then.

On the Phone front, I ordered an EVO Shift 4G, I had to change plans, and even with the new everything data plan and even with the new plan and the $10/month 4G premium I am only paying $9 more a month. So I can't really complain. I played around with a few other phones, but none of them was as nice as the Shift. The EVO was pretty cool, but it's a little too big and doesn't have a fill QWERTY keyboard, I hate typing on the touch screen keyboards, so the Shift was heads and heels above it's big brother IMO.

Now to the important part of the post. This will be my first "smart phone" and since it's based on the Android I am needing some app recommendations. I will be using Echophone for Twitter and more than likely 4 square, and Yelp's mobile apps, but I am open for any other must have apps. Please comment with any recommendations. Until Next Time

30 For 30 Week 1 Update

2011-01-26T13:26:00.000-08:00

Well it's been one week since I launched 30 for 30, and while I haven't checked anything major off the list I have laid out a few plans to get the list going.

Tomorrow night I am going to see Gilbert Gottfried, at the Hilton. Even though, this is not technically a comedy club, I will be counting it towards task #22. I have been a fan of Gilbert for years and can't pass up a chance to see him live. I will be hunting for the best ticket deal, checking the ticket brokers tomorrow, but if needed will pay face to see him.

I have also lined up plans to scratch #7 off the list. A friend of mine from All Vegas Poker is coming to town for March Madness, and while I will have to work the weekend of the tourney, I will be hitting up the Ziplines sometime that Wednesday evening. I will be posting more info as the event approaches, and there is a good chance I will be turning this into a UYE (Unofficial Yelp Event) to scratch off #21 at the same time (might as well kill 2 birds with 1 stone).

I have been hitting up the gym 3 times a week, Monday is arms, Wed is Legs, and Friday is cardio. My employer has a nice company gym that is conveniently located half way between my house and work, so other than my sheer laziness I really have no excuse to be hitting the gym. As part of the get fit challenge, I am also on a diet, I'm basically eating nothing but veggies, with some slices of turkey, or a chicken breast, yes I know it's a bland menu and my stomach yearns for something that doesn't taste like cardboard, but hopefully it will help me drop some much needed lbs.

It has also been 10 days since I've had a beer. I know this doesn't sound like much of an achievement to many of you, but beer and I have a long storied past. I have had a couple vodka/club sodas while out with friends, but I have stayed from the Barley and Hops Temptress. It's kind of shitty replacing bar time with gym time, but I know it's helping me become a better person. I do think I will have a few beers when I'm done, but I don't think I'll be drinking nearly as many as I did in the past.

Today I am going shopping for a new phone, my Samsung Rant is a little over 2 years old, and has been acting up ever since it decided to take a swim in the Palazzo Pool last summer (damn you mojitos). I really like the Evo Shift 4G, but am keeping my options open. Added bonus if I get a new phone I will be able to take photos/videos for the blog, so we'll see.

Well I'm off to run some errands and hit the Gym, hope you all are having a good day, Until Next Time.

30 for 30

2011-01-19T22:31:00.000-08:00

For those of you who may no know, I'm on my last lap of my 20's. I will be turning the big 30 on May 9th, that's a mere 108 days away. I have lived a pretty interesting life thus far, having lived in over 7 states, worked many a job, and seen many a site. However there a few things I want to do.

Many of the items are new experiences, however a few of the items that are on the list I have already done. If they have been done before, they are worth the effort to do them again.

When Ever I complete a task I will blog about it, hopefully I can include some pics and video, but I make no guarantees. Keep an eye on the counter at the bottom of this post, it's my running deadline!!!

I will first post the list, then break them down into why each is on the list.

30 for 30

Hit the Gym 3 Times a Week
Blog Weekly
Blue Corn Pancake at Mesa Grill
Bet a Long Shot in the Kentucky Derby
Play 2 different Golf Courses
Play and Drink at Insert Coins
Fremont Street Zip Line
Shoot A Machine Gun
Go to Laughlin
See Penn & Teller
Get a Straight Razor Shave
See Carrot Top
Ride a Mechanical Bull
Sing Karaoke
Race Go Karts
Mini Golf
Ride the NYNY Roller Coaster
Go to a Wranglers Hockey Game (changed from UNLV BB Game)
Bet on the Coin Toss at the Super Bowl
Attend a Tweet Up
Host a UYE
Go to a Comedy Club
See a Tribute/Impersonator Show
Play in a Poker Tournament
See the Tiger Cubs at The Secret Garden
Play a Par 3 Course
Attend a Food Truck Event (changed from Sin City Roller Girl Event)
Smoke a Cigar at Casa Fuente
Spent the afternoon at the Cosmopolitan's Pool
No Beer

Ok now here's why they made the list

1. Hit The Gym 3 Times a Week
I am going to be honest, I'm fat, and this goal will make me less fat. I am also on a team that is doing a weight loss challenge at work, and I don't want to let my teammates down.

2. Blog Weekly
Do I really need to blog more? No, however, this gives me something constructive to do, and if I'm working on the list there should hopefully be some good things to blog about.

3. Blue Corn Pancake at Mesa Grill
This is the only food based item on the list. I have had them before, and they are hands down one of the best things I've ever ate. This will be one of the few times I break the diet I am regulating myself to in order to help with the weight loss challenge.

4. Bet a Long Shot in the Kentucky Derby
I work in a Race and Sports Book, the Saturday before my b-day is the Kentucky Derby, I always have talked about betting the long shot, with the field wide open this year I figured why not.

5. Play at Least 2 Different Golf Courses
I golfed in High School, and now play on a rare occasion. There are some great locals deals, this will make me get out and play some golf.

6. Play Video Games and Have Drinks at Insert Coins
I am a huge fans of Bars, and an even bigger fan of video games, so imagine my excitement when I found out a place that marries them both together into one happy place. It may be as close to heaven as you can get on earth.

7. Fremont Street Zip Line COMPLETED
They just recently opened these. It's not the worlds longest or greatest zip line, but it looks fun.

8. Shoot A Machine Gun
Honestly, who doesn't want to shoot a machine gun???

9. Go to Laughlin COMPLETED
I've wanted to check out Laughlin, granted this is kind of an easy one as I already have a trip planned for Feb to meet my parents, but hey it's something to do.

10. See Penn & Teller
I have seen P&T twice, I love their show, and they are constantly changing their tricks. They have a new one that I want to see, so why not put them on the list?

11. Get a Straight Razor Shave COMPLETED
I have always wanted to do this, but have never found a reason to do it.

12. See Carrot Top
I have heard really good things about Carrot Top, being a fan of Comedy I want to see the show, but being lazy I never have. Putting it on the list will make me go.

13. Ride a Mechanical Bull
Random I know, but why not???

14. Sing Karaoke
I have gotten my Karaoke on many times in the past, but there is never a wrong time to butcher a classic.

15. Race Go Karts
There are a ton of Kart places in Vegas, gotta give one a try.

16. Mini Golf
I haven't played mini golf in years, I always enjoyed playing just haven't in a long time.

17. Ride the NYNY Roller Coaster
I'm not a big roller coaster guy, but I will give anything a try once.

18. Go To a Wranglers Hockey Game(changed from a UNLV BB Game) COMPLETED
This was originally planned to be me attending a UNLV bb game, but sadly their home games and my work schedule didn't pan out, so now it has been changed to go to a Las Vegas Wranglers Hockey Game.

19. Bet on the Coin Toss at the Super Bowl COMPLETED
There are a ton of prop bets on the super bowl, I bet several of them last year. However, I didn't bet the coin toss, I plan to change that this year. I might even put up a poll and let my readers decide heads or tails.

20. Attend a Tweet Up COMPLETED
I have been active on twitter for a while now and have met some pretty kick ass people. I need to get out an be more active with the Vegas tweeps.

21. Host a UYE COMPLETED
I am an Elite on Yelp. I may not have as many reviews as most on the site, but I am there for input when needed. Part of Yelp is UYE (Unofficial Yelp Events), where the members get together and do something fun. I may find an item on the list and kill two birds with one stone.

22. Go to a Comedy Club COMPLETED
I am a huge comedy fan and have been to many a comedy club. However, there are a few in town I haven't checked out, this will help me cross one off the list.

23. See a Tribute/Impersonator Show COMPLETED
I live in Las Vegas, there are Elvis, Beatles, Rat Pack, and Celebrity Impersonator shows all around, yet I haven't gone to any of them.

24. Play in a Poker Tournament COMPLETED
I have played in a few tourneys before, but can always use some more experience

25. See the Tiger Cubs at The Secret Garden
I mean come on they're twin tiger cubs, does it get much cuter than that???

26. Play a Par 3 Course
I am a fairly crappy golfer, however there is a chance I could shoot somewhere near par on one of the many par 3's in the valley.

27. Attend a Food Truck Event
This was originally attend a Sin City Roller Girl event, but sadly their schedule and mine never worked out together. I am a huge fan of the food trucks in Vegas and will check out a few and report back.

28. Smoke a Cigar at Casa Fuente
Cigars have slowly been becoming a hobby of mine. I enjoy a good stick while soaking up the lovely desert weather out here in Vegas. I haven't yet checked out Casa Fuente, but I have heard great things.

29. Spend the afternoon at the Cosmopolitan's Pool
The Cosmopolitan is the newest casino on the block. The place is amazing, they spared no expense while building it. It has one of the most unique pools in vegas, it's above the casino with an amazing view of the strip. I have already spent some time there and as the weather gets better I can't wait to spend more.

30. No Beer
Yesterday I wrote a BLOG ENTRY that pretty much told beer I was done with it for a while, so I'm adding it to this list.

Thanks for reading, please stay tuned and follow along as I work my way down the list

A Break Up Letter

2011-01-19T02:25:00.000-08:00

Hello,

I have known you for a good 12 years now, and I can honestly say you have been a fairly large part of my life. I can still remember when we were first introduced. I have to admit I was not much of a fan at first, but our relationship did slowly blossom into the torrid affair we currently have.

You have helped me through some very trying times: deaths, firings, break-ups, moves; and you've done it all without asking much from me in return. Don't get me wrong we have had our share of rough times. Together we've caused more than our share of trouble. Yet, somehow we've managed to get along this far.

While you and I have seen other people, we have always found our way back to each other. It seemed like we were somehow meant to be together, you would always welcome me back.

However, the times they are a changing; and I have finally realized that I may be better without you in my life. I am not saying this is it, we will probably meet on occasion, and I may visit a few other members of your family once and a while (after all I have known some of the longer and we're all really good friends as well).

I know this letter is short, and our time together probably deserves more thought and reflection, but for the time being, consider us on a break.

It's been fun but I'm moving on.

I'll miss you beer.

Minton

I'm not dead

2011-01-15T00:32:00.000-08:00

Hello all I know it's been a while since I posted anything, and this is going to be a brief post, but I promise there is some content coming this week, I have 2 blogs on the back burner, just bubbling away waiting to get posted, so expect some more ramblings this week...until then have a good one, I'm off to play tour guide

WCOOP

2011-01-12T11:38:00.000-08:00

I played in a few of these last year, hoping to win one this year

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! The WBCOOP is a free online Poker tournament open to all Bloggers, so register on WBCOOP to play.

Registration code: XXXXXX 003579

Twas the Day Before Christmas

2010-12-23T00:49:00.000-08:00

I am a very big fan of Sports Nation and when I get bored this time of year I remake Christmas Songs and Stories.

Ladies and Gentlemen I give to you...Twas The Day Before Christmas (in the style of The Night Before Christmas)

Twas the day before Christmas, and all through the set
the staffers were prepping for a show no one would soon forget
the webwall was glowing all filled with tweets
while Beadle was backstage giving LeRoy Jenkins some treats
The Producers were chatting in Colin's ear
while they scoured the low-lights looking for 3 jeers
With Beadle in a dress and Colin a red Jacket
we knew today's show would certainly be a racket.
When SVP's show ended we knew it was near,
the best Sports Nation of the entire year
So I tunrned my TV to ESPN2
to wait and see what Colin and Michelle would do
The cameras went live in Studio B
and my heart and head were both filled with glee
And what to my eyes would suddenly appear
but a bunch of highlights that made me cheer
With Colin and Beadle both doing their gig
I knew that this show would really be big
What segments are those that I see with my eye
it's game time and web stories as we hear Beadle Cry
"What Stinks, Who Lies, and who's getting cheers"
"Things I Like, Have Some, and who's getting jeers"
From the depths of my heart to the warm webwall
Now watch these clips, watch these clips, watch them all.
Wait who is that on making Beadle iratey?
It's the one, the only the world famous Tom Brady.
And all he had to say was this one exclamation
Merry Christmas to everyone...all across Sports Nation

The Cosmopolitian Grand Opening

2010-12-16T22:53:00.000-08:00

Last night I attended what might be the last major casino opening in Las Vegas for quite a while.

The Cosmopolitan is unlike any other casino on the strip, they are going for high end, and they hit that right on the head. I will go into more detail as this blog progresses, but let's just say the place is AMAZING.

I'm going to walk you through the whole night, some events have pics, some don't but all in all it was a night to remember. It will include my thoughts some are nice, some are not, but hey everything can't be perfect can it?

The night started off by meeting my buddy David Shapiro at Bally's (most of the photos were taken by Dave since the phone on my camera crapped out). He booked a room which would serve as grand central station for the evening. After settling in we decided to hit the strip. Armed with Fruit Punch Four Lokos we wandered around for a while, and soaked up the strip atmosphere.

I have lived in Las Vegas for almost 2 years now,and I work full time at a casino on the Strip. I should hate it, but I can honestly say there are few places in the world quite like the strip. I can not get enough of it, the lights, the sounds, the people, it's a rush.

After finishing our drinks we hit up the Spice Market Buffet at Planet Hollywood. I managed to get my hands on a comp for the buffet and with Daves Baby Baller (platinum) card, we got to skip the line and hit the VIP section of the buffet.

The Spice Market Buffet had quite the selection, but the stand out dishes had to be the prime rib (perfect medium rare), the desserts, the cheese plate, and the #1 dish IMO the Tandoori Chicken. I think I ate my weight in chicken and prime rib.

A plate full of yummy meats....and an insider tip, if you go to a buffet that doesn't offer chocolate milk (spice market didn't), go to the dessert bar and fill a bowl with the chocolate sauce for the ice cream, so you can make your own choco!!!

Another added bonus of the Spice Market Buffet

Cotton Candy (it has been years since I've had cotton candy)

After hitting the buffet we met up with Karsten
and headed to the Cosmo.

Dave and I had both won tickets to the Brandon Flowers Concert, and according to the letter with our tickets we were allowed "priority access" to the casino. After talking to a security guard he told us to head to the Valet Entrance and we would get in from there.

We grabbed a round of drinks at The Vesper Bar, I had a Negroni which was pretty good (maybe a touch too many bitters), Dave had The Vesper (a peppery manhattan), and Karsten's drink escapes me but it was pretty decent. The Vesper Bar is located right off the hotel lobby and focuses strongly on hand crafted cocktails. They did have a beer and wine list, but since it was a festive occasion I figured I'd let the mixologists take control.

We sat at the bar for a few minutes as the countdown to the opening slowly ticked down to Zero.

When the casino officially opened we hit up the players club and got our Identity Cards, there were a few technical RANFU's with the printers and such, but the staff was friendly and did their best to get us taken care of as quickly as possible.

After getting our cards we went and checked out the casino. All the table games were $25 min, the Pai Gow tables were $50, and most of the craps tables were either $25 or $50. After ruling out table games (sorry green chip play is a little out of my comfort level), we hit up a few slot machines.

I am not usually a slot player, but it was the only real option for the night. We hit up Fireball, Dave hit a small profit and cashed out with Voucher #5.

After the slots we checked out Chandelier.

Chandelier is without a doubt one of the focal points of the casino, it is a 3 story bar that looks like a large Chandelier, it was a little hard to navigate your way around it because there were way too many people, but I was impressed with the look of the lounge. The couches and chairs were comfy, there were several bars, and bathrooms (which didn't have any soap for some reason). The place can get a little cramped when crowded, but it was really really nice (as was pretty much everywhere in the place).

After Chandelier we headed over to Bond, the Bond lounge is the first thing you see if you walk into the casino from the Bellagio side. The lounge has a great ground level view of the strip, some interesting tables and chairs, and a big bar. One complaint about bond...ok 2. The drink menu had their specialty drinks listed at $11. Yet when they made them and rang them up they magically became $13, I don't know if the menu or the register was wrong, but they decided it was the menus wrong and the drinks would be 13. I opted for a $5 beer (not a bad price for the strip), while Karsten got a Berry Long Island Iced Tea (after he ordered was when we discovered the pricing discrepancy). Dave tried to order a drink from the waitress which leads us to complaint #2 after 5 mins the waitress was nowhere to be seen, after 10 mins still nothing, we finally left after 15 mins and Dave was still sans drink. I know there is some confusion on opening night but that seemed a but much.

I really like the look and feel of bond, they have some really cool fiber optic light setups that make for an interesting show that seems to feed off the beats of the songs the DJs were playing. If you don't step into Bond you could miss one of the best parts of the lounge, between the bar and the strip are 5 pods about 20 feet up in the air, they didn't seem all that interesting, until a troop of Go Go dancers came out, got hoisted into the air, and ended up in the pods to dance. I have never really understood the Go Go Dance trend at lounges, but I have to say this was a pretty interesting twist.

After leaving Bond we decided it was time to head up to the Boulevard Pool for the concert. This lead to another amazing voyage, lets just say there were 9 different ways to get to the pool, however they were only allowing people to enter through one point of entry. This lead to one hell of a cluster fuck as everyone would tell you to go to a different place, and none of those places were correct. We finally ended up asking an employee (I think her name was Megan...it escapes me) who was nice enough to walk us through the place for about 15 mins going to a few different places before we finally found out where it was.

We got carded on our way into the concert (first time of the night), and after waiting in a short line we were at the pool.

The Boulevard Pool at the Cosmo is going to be the pool of the summer this summer. It is 14 stories over the strip and offers some amazing views. Right as you walk in (well at least from the entry we came in) you see a small pool surrounded by Pool Tables, Ping Pong Tables, Foosball Tables, TV's and a bar (all the tables were on fake grass which was surprisingly soft). Karsten and I tried to play Ping Pong, but the wind was a little too strong.

We then hit up a bar, I was expecting a price gouging for drinks at the show, however beers were $5 and mixed drinks were $7 (again not to shabby for strip prices). After grabbing our drinks we did a recon lap. the place has 3 pools however the main one was drained and had a stage set up on one end. The cool thing about the drained pool was that they had a floor that covered the deep end making for a large area for the crowd to gather to watch the show. I don't know how many shows they plan on doing up there, but the set up was impressive.

We then proceeded to do a recon lap of the area, I counted at least 5 bars, 2 sets of restrooms, 3 pools, a ton of lounge areas, and a bunch of "vip cabanas" (that we couldn't get to.

We found a comfy spot to put our feet up and waited for the show to begin.

I have a very strong feeling I will be spending some quality time on that lounge this summer.

Amazing View from the Boulevard Pool

Dave and I light up some Rocky Patel Decade Robustos while we waited on the show to start.

Brandon Flowers was the headliner that night on the pool deck, and I'm going to be completely honest and say that I could really have cared less. I was there to check the place out more than to enjoy the show. He played about an hour long set, and the only song I recognized was his finale. The sound was really good, and they were showing the concert on the Comso's Marquee out front so it made for a nice little Jumbotron for those of us who stayed towards the back (there really wasn't a bad spot in the whole venue for the show).

Brandon on the Video Marquee

The Crowd and the Stage

If you want to hear the one song I actually know feel free to check out YOUTUBE. For the whole song (not my video)

After the show we hit the casino for a little while before calling it a night. All in all I was extremely pleased with the Cosmo, in a strip filled with similar casinos the Cosmo really stands out I will be going back there are 14 restaurants I have to try, some kick ass rooms I need to stay in, and I'm sure some amazing experiences yet to be had.

Oh and one minor complaint before I sign off...How can you offer Budweiser but no Bud Light, Miller Lite and Coors Light, but neither of the originals? The cosmo's beer and liquor selection was a bit of a bummer, but the mixologists more than made up for it.

Sorry this was a lengthy post, but it was one hell of a night, and I was glad to be there.

Damn Proud

2010-12-10T01:49:00.000-08:00

Today marks the 10 year anniversary of the ReChartering of the Beta Epsilon Chapter of Phi Sigma Kappa. I was a founder of the chapter and it tears at my heart that I can't make it back to celebrate with the guys.

I know many people think fraternities are nothing more than Toga Parties and Drinking. And while that is part of the life, there is much more that goes on. I have lifelong friends that I have made from the fraternity. I have got to experience many things in life that I wouldn't have been exposed to if it wasn't for the house. I would not be the man I am today if it wasn't for Phi Sigma Kappa and the brothers of Beta Epsilon.

I could write for hours about the community service events, fundraisers, conventions, road trips, and other debauchery that I experienced in college, but it's getting late, and telling the stories will only make me that much more depressed that I am not back in Pittsburg KS this weekend.

I will end this post by wishing my brothers a great weekend, keep doing what you're doing, and always be DAMN PROUD!!!

Remix

2010-12-08T00:49:00.000-08:00

For some random reason the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song has been stuck in my head, so why not rewrite it???

Be warned this is probably not the first Remix, songs get stuck in my head and for some unknown reason I rewrite them to fit into my life.

This is the short version, because let's be honest do any of us remember the full song ever being used as the theme...no

For those of you unfamiliar with the fresh prince, well here's a LINK to the song

Now this is a story all about how
My life has got to this point right now
And I liked to take a minute just sit right there
And tell you how I became the man with this Blog right here

In central Minnesota born and raised
On the couch is where I spent most of my days
Chillin out, veggin, acting like a fool,
And playing some Nintendo drinking Mountain Dew
After a couple of decisions that were really no good
I decided I needed to move to a new neighborhood
I got in one in my car and stepped on the gas
And said "It's time for a change, I'm moving to Las Vegas"

I drove across the mid west and as Vegas came near
My heart began to race, and I was eased of all fear
If anything I can say this this drive was blast
But I thought naw forget I'm moving to Las Vegas

I pulled up to the house about 7 or 8
And I yelled to my roomie "Hey man, I'm here at last"
I looked at my city I was finally there
To start a new life as a blogger in Vegas.

WPBT Warm-up

2010-12-07T23:11:00.000-08:00

I an by no means a Poker Blogger, I am by no means a Poker Pro, however I do know my share of Poker Bloggers and Pros. This weekend is the World Poker Blogger Tour or WPBT for short, and while my work schedule, bankroll, and skills keep me from playing in any of the events, I will be checking a few things.

Last May I met a few of the bloggers at the "Hooker Bar" during the WSOP, and one thing that amazes me is how small the Poker Blogger world is. I have read many of these blogs for years without really knowing who any of them were, and then once I meet them, I realize that I have ran into them somewhere before.

The Saturday Tourney is the flagship of the weekend, and there are some sick overlays from both Poker Stars and Full Tilt, plus knock out bounties, and other various bonuses. I hope that next year I will be able to play and hopefully win the coveted

GOLDEN HAMMER.

I am trying my best to shoehorn as much of the debauchery that I can into my schedule. As the blog tales I have read about last years WPBT seem almost too good to be true. If you're headed to town I look forward to possibly meeting you and I apologize for anything I may say or do to offend you in advance.

Cowboys and DB's

2010-11-30T23:02:00.000-08:00

From the mind that brought you The Political Ad drinking, I am bringing to you a new game. This game is limited to those in Vegas during the National Finals Rodeo this weekend.

Ladies and Gentlemen I give to you

Cowboys and Douchebags

The game is quite simple, you and a friend take up seats at a bar with a good place to people watch (Margaritaville, outdoor bar at Flamingo, etc). You and said friend then take sides, one of you is Cowboys and one of you is Douchebags. Everytime you spot one person in your group you have to drink the assigned # of drinks.

Cowboy Drinks-
Cowboy Hat- 1 Drink
Giant Belt Buckle- 2 Drinks
Bolo Tie- 3 Drinks

Three Drink Cowboy Example

Douchebag Drinks
Ed Hardy Clothing- 1 Drink
Jersey Shore Blow Out or Faux Hawk- 2 Drinks
Giant Sunglasses- 3 Drinks

Three Drink Douchebag Example

Be warned this players of this game may become intoxicated fairly quickly.

Minton's Misadventures are not responsible for any damage to the livers of participants.

Hello...my name is Minton...and I'm a Chocoholic

2010-11-30T13:05:00.000-08:00

Last night I attended a Yelp Event at Max Brenner's. For those of you who don't know about Max Brenner, he's pretty much a modern day Willy Wonka, the guy knows chocolate, and his place in the Forum Shops is part gift shop, part bar, part restaurant, and all amazing.

The following is an abridged version of my review of the event on Yelp...it was a great event.

I was one of the first few to climb the staircase, and when I got upstairs I was greeted by some of the friendliest servers in the city, I grabbed a Pomegranate drink and snagged a table.

Within minutes there were other servers going around with trays of food.

First up was the Slider

It was pretty big for a slider, the burger was a perfect medium, it was topped with some amazing BBQ sauce, and an onion ring, it was like a mini western bbq cheeseburger.

Next up was the Pulled pork slider, I grabbed one of these and quickly did a little dissection to see what was inside, pulled pork, slaw, and a deep fried pickle, Jackpot...I think I ended up having at least 5 of these, I am a BBQ snob, and I was amazed at how good these were...who would have thought a Chocolate place would have the best BBQ pork in the city

I tried one of the Paninis it was pretty good, but I think the Pulled Pork Slider ruined the rest of the food for me.

I then got my hands on one of the Maxican Chocolate Martini's, these were the hardest thing to get because the second the server got out the door with these they were gone, and I must say it was amazing, it tasted liked a glass of hot chocolate, only better, it had booze.

I never got a chance to have the Blue Moon, I'm not a huge fan of Blue Moon, and after the Maxican, I was having nothing else for the rest of the night.

Just when I thought the night couldn't get any better, what did I spy coming out of the kitchen, Fresh baked cookies and shots of milk, damn Max thought of everything! I passed on the first cookie (chocolate chip with walnuts) as I'm not a big fan of walnuts, however the chocolate chocolate chip cookies were divine, warm and gooey in the center and full of chocolate goodness, they were a bit rich however the shot of milk washed everything down, well the milk and the Maxican martinis.

Once again I have to give props to the staff, they went above and beyond to make sure everyone was taken care of, there was always a tray of food and a tray of drinks within arms reach.

My only complaint about the event was that they didn't serve the Chocolate Pizza, after seeing it on the Food Networks "Best Thing I Ever Ate" I have been wanting to try it. I have a strong feeling I will be heading back to Mr. Brenner's place to have that some time in the near future.

Chocoholic Monday

2010-11-29T13:28:00.000-08:00

I am finally starting to settle into a normal schedule at work...well if you consider 6 days a week normal. So I have decided I am going to blog a bit more.

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last blog (either here or elsewhere), I know it's a little different than what I usually write, but it has been festering in my mind for a while now and it needed to escape.

I have today off, and am looking forward to my evening. I am attending a Yelp event at Max Brenner in the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. I have always wanted to check this place out (it's a chocoholic's paradise). And well anytime I can check it out with the Yelperazzi and enjoy some free stuff it's always and added bonus.

I am making tonight a little staycation, I have a room on the strip that set me back a whopping $16.80...that's cheaper than cab fare home.

I know what you're thinking, "but Minton it's your day off and you're going back to the strip?" Yes I am. I know I spend 40+ hrs a week on the strip and as a local I should hate it, but I'm going to be honest after over a year and a half in vegas I still love the strip.

I will do my best to post a full review of the menu and drinks tonight, if you want to follow the debauchery you can always check my Twitter for 140 character updates...I apologize in advance for the spelling and grammatical errors that are bound to be posted.

Oh and for those of you who are wondering what a guy who works in a sports book does on his day off. I'm watching ESPN and doing laundry...exciting I know.

Sick of Being Single

2010-11-29T00:27:00.000-08:00

Hello all, I know it has been ages since I've posted. I have been working a lot more hours, and trying to be more social so it's cut back on my computer time.

I am rapidly approaching the big 30. I have been reevaluating a lot of things in my life, and realized that it's time for a few changes. I am working on being financially responsible, I am trying my best to get into some sort of shape (other than round), and I am generally trying to make myself a better person.

Those of you who have known me for a length of time, know that for the majority of my life I've been single. I've never really been much of the relationship type. I seem to have the magical ability to meet a girl and instantly find myself in the "friend zone". Now don't get me wrong, I have many great friends who are female, however there is something missing. So I am launching the quest.

Ladies it's time to play, Who Wants To Date Minton.

The rules are pretty simple.

Contestants must be fluent in Sarcasm, be capable of putting up with my erratic schedule, have no aversions to gambling or alcohol, and must be in possession of both X chromosomes, living in Vegas is an added bonus!!!

I know this comes off as a little desperate, but hey it's been a long time since I've even been near anything that would be considered a relationship.

A few things about me

I'm 29
I work in a Race and Sports Book (I get paid to talk sports...it's rough)
I drink socially, gamble occasionally, and smoke a cigar every once and a while
I am capable of finding humor in pretty much any situation
I obtain a plethora of useless trivial knowledge
I have a college degree
I am fluent in sarcasm, and can order a beer in at least 3 languages
I have a large collection of Tshirts with random and/or funny sayings on them
I can on occasion be "That Guy"
I am a fairly loud person, however I am also surprisingly shy person
I consider myself a foodie, however I promise I will never use the word NOM

So I'm putting this out to you my readers, are you single, do you know someone who's single, do you think we'd be a suitable couple?

I am not above blind dates or hook-ups, since I seem to be unable to find a stable relationship on my own, I'm putting the ball in your court.

Holy Crap...I Can't Get This Song Out Of My Head

2010-08-24T22:22:00.000-07:00

Warning...the following song is addictive, it will get stuck in your head, and you will sing it all day.

Additional warning...it's very very Not Safe For Work

You've been warned

Long Time Coming

2010-08-18T22:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't updated my Blog in so long, it's been a combination of things.

My uncle died in a car crash a few weeks back and I had to drop everything and head back home to be with my family for a little bit. I am also working a few more hours at work, we are ramping up for the football season (out busy time). And, finally I'm a lazy bastard and just didn't want to update anything.

Since my last posts a few things have happened.

I have earned elite status on YELP; for those of you unfamiliar with yelp it's a review site where people can submit reviews of places they've been, it's kind of like a foodie facebook. Part of being an elite means you get to go to special gatherings every month. August's was at Ferraro's.

I had never been to Ferraro's but had always wanted to check it out, I'm always on the hunt for good Italian food. The event had passed appetizers and an open bar (you had me at free food yelp, the booze was just and added bonus). I really liked the vibe at Ferraro's and the food was amazing the Arancini (Fried Risotto Balls) with White Truffle Sauce was so delicious I'm pretty sure I ate about 10 of them.

Those damn things were AMAZING!!! I will without a doubt be going back to Ferraro's, I have heard good things about their Osso Busco.

A few other Highlights from my sabbatical.

-I saw Jubilee: I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. The sets are huge, the song and dance is a plentiful but not overbearing, the time killing acts were pretty fun, oh and there were a lot of boobies...a shocking amount of men in thongs as well, but lots of boobies, and trust me there is nothing that boobies won't make better

- I saw Bob Saget at The Orleans: The Opening Comedian was great, and Bob's set was pretty solid. I had seen his special before, and a lot of the material in his set was taken from that. I have to say am not a big fan of his songs with the guitar (many other comedians do it way better), and he is really really blue, but it was a good show.

Orleans sub story- Tried their buffet for the first time, I have to say I was kind of impressed, the selection was pretty good, the food was passable, and the price was great. I can't say enough about the Kielbasa and Gelato, which were hands down the 2 best things on the buffet. I don't think I'll go out of my way to eat here, but if I'm at the Orleans for a show or something I'll gladly grub there again.

- I am still on The Poker God's Shit List: I don't know what I have done to upset them, but I would really really like to get in their good graces...Please Forgive Me Card Gods!!!

- I have my picture on the Fuku Burger Truck: I have been a fan of Fuku since they opened. Vegas is starting to get quite a few gourmet food trucks: Slider Truck, Fuku Burger, Curbside Cafe, Hanshik Taco, and a few more are on their way. But Fuku is my favorite hands down. They are open from 8pm-4am (times that work best with my schedule). Their staff is friendly, their burgers are amazing, and I invented a "secret menu" item: The Fat Hakujin. It's a double Miso BBQ Burger with 2 patties, topped with bacon and a fried egg. Needless to say it's amazing!!!

It may look a little sloppy...but trust me...it's amazing!!!

-I checked out Minus 5 Ice Lounge: It had been on my Vegas Bucket List for some time, and while it is with out a doubt an overpriced tourist trap I have to say it was pretty fun. It was much smaller than I expected, but it was a pretty cool experience (pun intended). Everything in the place was made of Ice, the tables, the chairs, the bar, your glasses, everything but the guests, the staff, and the booze. They are planning on opening a second location in the Monte Carlo so you won't have to trek all the way down to Mandalay, I say check it out, it's not too shabby.

- I saw the Vegas Premier of The Expendables: It was at PH, Sly Stalone and a bunch of the cast came out before the showing. The movie is you typical summer action movie, predictable plot, average dialogue, and tons of violence, I don't think I would have gone out of my way to see this in theaters, but since the tickets were free I can't really complain.

Oh and I met Daniel Negreanu

Oh well that's enough for now....Until Next Time

The 4th of July

2010-07-10T01:08:00.000-07:00

This year I had a great 4th of July Weekend, I had a friend in town and got to play tourist on the 4th since I had the night of the 4th and the 5th off, and said friend was nice enough to let me commandeer the extra bed in his room at the 5 star Imperial Palace Resort and Spa.

Here's a summary of the weekend.

It all started on July 1st when I won free tickets to see Vince Neil at the Palms Pool via the Palm's Twitter. I worked until showtime, but figured since the show was 2 hours long, I could get there fashionably late and still see a good chunk of it...well was I wrong. When I won the tickets I got a message on twitter that said, " Enjoy the show. Tix will be available at the box office".

However when I got there at 9:10 and the Box Office was closed. I checked with the door at the show and the Bouncer said it wasn't his fault and without a ticket we couldn't get in, we should check with the Hotel. I checked with the players club and concierge and got no where, apparently the Box Office and the Pearl theater are ran by a separate company and once they leave it's tough shit. Who closes a box office when there is a concert going on?

Finally after the concierge calls 15 people they get someone who tells us to go recheck with the bouncer and it's up to his discretion, thankfully he takes pity on us and lets us through, this was my first time at the Palms Pool and I have to say it's a pretty nice set-up, we get in and make a bee line for the bar. I'm just about to order when the person next to me gets their beers $8 each for the 16oz aluminum can's of Miller Lite...I think not, so we head over to the stage and catch the last 5 songs of the set, which was pretty much a selection of Motley Crue songs, not too shabby, but if I had paid for the tickets and gotten that treatment I would not have been as easy going.

The 2nd and 3rd were pretty uneventful as I had to work, but I did discover a sad fact, beers at Ellis Island (my favorite local microbrewery/casino/24hr cafe) had increased in price. As of 7/1 20oz drafts of their micro-brewed beer are now a whopping $1.75 not the $1.50 that they were, not much of a jump, but still notable. (If you go to Ellis Island have the heffy with a splash of stout on top of it...you can thank me later)

The 4th was the start of my "weekend"; and I did my best to take advantage of it. After I got off work I met up with previously mentioned friend, and did my best to drink the strip dry.

For those of you not in the know Bills has 48oz pitchers of either Miller Lite or Coors Light, they run $6 each, but you can get 2 for $10, 96oz of beer for $10 is pretty damn hard to beat on the strip, so I ended up drinking 4 before the night was done, you get some pretty odd looks when you are carrying stack of 3 empty pitchers with a 4th one that you are drinking out of on top!!!

We went to Bill's to watch the fireworks that were being shot from Caesar's Palace. The parking lot of Bill's offered a great unobstructed view of the launch pad, I don't think I have ever been that close to the launching point of a major fireworks show in my life. The show was around 30 mins long, and was overall pretty good, I've seen better (4th of july in Washington, DC and Boston come to mind), but still a solid offering. The only bummer was that about 2/3rds of the way through the show security from bills came up and informed us that 4th floor of the garage was closed from construction and that we couldn't be there (bear in mind there were no signs from any pedestrian entry, and there were no visible signs of any construction being done), but we made it down to the ground level and out front in time for the Finale, so I don't think we missed much.

After the fireworks..I drank up and down the strip, enjoyed a cigar, and soaked up the atmosphere. At one point in the evening I ended up in the $2/4 limit 10 game mixed game at the IP where I was quickly reminded how much the Card Gods hate me...I won't get into the details as they're a little fuzzy but it involves a 2 flopped straights and 1 turned flush running into a runner runner higher straights, and an oceaned boat.

After sleeping the 4th off, we decided to do lunch at Hash House A Go Go, I have eaten at hash house several times at both the West Sahara location as well as their Imperial Palace location, the food is amazing at both, the service at IP location can be a little lacking but the food more than makes up for it!!!

I have made it my mission to have something new each time I eat there, this time I had the 1lb Bacon, Cheddar, and Mashed Potato stuffed hamburger with a side of Mac N Cheese. The burger was amazing, I ate about 80% of the patties, filling, and bottom, but but the Mac N Cheese was pretty average (the first not amazing thing on their menu). I still have my major complaint about the IP location, if you order just water they serve it to you in a tiny ass glass, you get about 6oz at the most, and have to beg for refills, all the other drinks come in much bigger glasses, but you don't get one for the water even if you ask.

On Monday night the Slider Truck had a special night at a secret location, what made it so special was that in addition to their amazing slider menu, they were offering the elusive French Dippers, for those of you not in the know, the slider truck is great, but every once and a while they offer some special items that aren't on the normal menu, the French Dippers are one that I have always wanted to try and I have to say it didn't disappoint!!! I still think the Porkie is my favorite slider truck offering but the French Dippers are probably a close second. The slider truck may be hard for a tourist to find as they are never on the strip, but if you have a car you need to find them, trust me it's worth the wait.

Well I'm pretty sure I've rambled on long enough...Until Next Time

Some sort of Record

2010-07-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

I was in and out of the Vegas DMV in 90 minutes today, I'm pretty damn sure that is a record...for those of you not in vegas, it's nothing short of a miracle to get out of the DMV in under 2 hours, and my personal record is 4.5hrs, so today's 90 mins is something that took me by surprise.

Should have a good holiday weekend, I have a few friends in town, plans for the weekend include Vince Neil Concert, Beer, Blue Man Group, Beer, Fireworks, Beer, Poker, Beer, Hash House A Go GO, Beer, Possible 2+2 Meet-Up, Beer and did I mention beer??? Expect a blog update with all the details sometime next week.

Until Next Time

Sweet 2 Tweetup/ The Summer of BWOP

2010-06-26T22:43:00.000-07:00

This is going to be 2 completely different posts in one...why...because I'm too lazy to make 2 different posts!!!

Sweet2Tweet

On Thursday night I attended a Tweet-up at The West Wing Bar at the MGM Grand, I had never been to the WWB before, but I must say the place was pretty nice, it has a great lounge vibe, and the bartender whipped up an wicked Snozberry Martini, and I won some prizes so I can't complain.

I met quite a few Vegas tweeps including but not limited to TheLVTweetUP, LibationBlog, AmandaHimes, and ProjectDinnerTable. Everyone was friendly, the drinks were flowing, and I tweeted my brains out (for every tweet you got a raffle Ticket).

I ended up winning 2 Autographed Copies of Michael Mina's Cookbook, and a Starbucks Card

Not bad for doing nothing but drinking and tweeting (I know it's a rough life!!!)

I have to say Kudos to TasteMGMGrand, for setting up the event, as long as I can fit it into my schedule, I hope to attend several more tweet-ups around town.

The Summer Of BWOP

Last Night after work, I headed down to the V to sweat CK: The Black Widow Of Poker, who had made it to the final table of a Deep Stack Event.

I got there just after the final table had started, she was a fairly short stack, but picked several good places to get in and get some extra chippies.

There were some crazy hands at the table, and the guy who had a commanding chip lead, played the most odd strategy I have ever seen in a live tourney, he had only 3 moves in his arsenal...he would either Fold, Min-Raise, or Shove, bear in mind he at one point had over 60% of the chips in play and should have had the tourney on lock, but his horrid play lead to him pissing a large % of that stack back to that table. When it got to 3 handed they were almost all even.

CK eventually busted out 4th (congrats again CK), and after a celebratory drink we all went our separate ways. It was nice to see someone I know make a deep run in a tourney, hopefully this is just the tip of the Iceburg for her, and I can bring the #rungood to a few more final tables!!!

Well that's about it...Until Next Time

I Lost My Slidginity

2010-06-23T00:45:00.000-07:00

Today for Lunch I hit up a newcomer to the Vegas Food Scene...the one and only Slider Truck.

I know the Gourmet "Roach Coach" is a thing that has been sweeping LA for a while, but Slider Truck was the first of it's kind in Vegas. When I lived in Phoenix I would occasionally grub at one of the "roach coaches" that would stop in the parking lot of the industrial complex I worked in, the food was good, but it was nothing special, I can tell you Slider Truck is nothing like your average roach coach, it's top notch grub.

For those of you not familiar with the roach coach concept it's basically a truck with a kitchen in it, they drive around to several places and serve up food from the truck, it's usually tacos, burgers, and the such, but there has been a trend towards gourmet roach coaches that include not only sliders (in vegas), but also grilled cheese, philly cheese steaks, and medical marijuana lollipops (all 3 in LA). This was my first Gourmet Roach Coach experience but it won't be my last.

I already Yelped a review of the place so I'm just going to repost it here.

After hearing everyone rave about slider truck, I decided to give it a try. I had this afternoon off and they were setting up lunch a few blocks from my house, so today was the day.

Most places that are really hyped up never seem to wow me, I don't know if I go in expecting too much or if I'm just don't seem to like what others do, but I will tell you this Slider Truck lived up to the Hype.

I met a friend there for lunch, when I pulled up there were about 5 people infront of us in line, but it moved pretty quickly, I ordered 2 Barbies and a Pulled Porkie, along with a gatorade. I thought about the sweet potato fries but passed (will get them next time).

The wait for the line and the wait for the food weren't bad, my only real complaint was the location, there was a half wall to sit on, but no tables or anything, and well being 100+ degrees a place to sit would have been nice, but you can't really blame them for that.

The Barbie were great...I got them with out the Jalapenos, as I'm not a pepper fan, but the rest was amazing, the buns were soft and toasted to perfection, the beef was great, you can tell they were hand pattied not premade, and the BBQ sauce is amazing!!!

As if the Barbie wasn't good enough...the Pulled Porkie was AMAZING...the pork was moist, and had a good smoky flavor, the buns the same as the barbie, and the sauce was amazing as well, next time I'll probably just get Porkies unless they have something new to try as it was my hands down favorite.

I really like when a place lives up to the hype and without a doubt this won't be the last time I visit the Slider Truck.

Today I lost my Slidginity and it was amazing!!!

On a side note I am currently watching Bert the Conqueror on the Travel Channel, I have been a fan on Bert's comedy for a while, and I must say this show is pretty good, tomorrow night he does SkyJump at the Strat...which is on my Vegas Bucket List!!!

Until Next Time

ESZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZN

2010-06-21T13:04:00.000-07:00

I am not a huge soccer fan, yet I try me best to watch the World Cup. I know this is the "world's largest sporting event" and billions are wagered, but honestly watching soccer can be as fun as watching a poker tourney final table live, or as enjoyable was watching paint dry!!! Nothing gets me excited like a Nil-Nil draw...and don't get me started on those damn Vuvuzelas, it sounds like there is either a swarm of bees are attacking the stadium or there is one hell of a traffic jam outside.

I will watch a match or 2, and I'm not really upset that it's on ESPN, because they leave ESPN2 alone so I can watch NFL Live, Sports Nation, Mike and Mike in the Morning, and the like, but wait a minute, what's that on the Deuce right now...Wimbleton, you have to be fucking kidding me, wow ESPN you managed to find something Americans care less about than Soccer, and you are showing them both at the same time, I can't imagine the ratings spike you're currently expecting.

So now I find myself desperately surfing the channels, looking for Knitting Today, The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, hell I'd take reruns of the US Open from yesterday over this crap.

Hey ESPN if I needed to take a nap you'd be my first choice, I know you're the "world wide leader in sports" but you may want to focus a little less on the world and a little more on those of us who actually watch your channel, hey the World Championship of Crocheting starts next week, when can I expect coverage???

Until Next Time

Allow my self, to introduce...myself

2010-06-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

Hello all...my name is Minton and this is my Blog.

I was born in the booming metropolis of Litchfield, MN...don't worry if I didn't grow up there I wouldn't know where it was either. I went to college at Pittsburg State University, a small DII school in south eastern Kansas. After college I worked a few various sales jobs that took me across the US, I lived in Phoenix AZ, Long Beach CA, Little Rock AR, and Houston TX. A little over a year ago I decided to pack up shop and move out to Vegas.

I grew with a family that played cards all the time, my Grandmother was the Queen of Cards, around her kitchen table (and various other places throughout her house) we played everything from 5 card draw to cribbage, and many many more. I have always loved cards since. I am predominately a NL Texas Hold'em player, but cut my live play teeth on 1-5 Stud 8 at Gila River Casino in Phoenix. I am a big fan of mixed games and have played pretty much any game that Nevada gaming will allow casinos to spread.

In college I started doing my best to drink every beer ever made, and have made it my mission to drink any and all brews I can get my hands on. I am not a big Hop Head, but have found that I usually enjoy a good heffy or a solid micro brew. I'm sure there will be some brew reviews to come as I do my best to drink this town dry.

I am a foodie, well not a crazy foodie, but I do enjoy food. There isn't a food I won't try at least once. I am a huge hand of BBQ, American, and well pretty much anything you put on a plate in front of me. There will probably be a restaurant review or two here, however I will tell you this...if I ever use NOM NOM, or any of that other pretentious foodie speak feel free to track me down and kick me in the nuts!!!

A few years I started getting into cigars, I am a big fan of light to medium bodied churchills, and am on a big Rocky Patel Sungrown kick, but will try pretty much any cigar at least once.

I started off with a Pseudo Thread Blog over on All Vegas Poker, and I'm sure a few of you know me from over there, I think that thread has pretty much ran it's path so I decided to jump in to a real blog...who know where this will take me.

I'm sure there is a lot more I could write, but I don't really know where to go without more rambling, so I'm gonna cut it off here...Until Next Time

Testing Testing 1..2..4

2010-06-19T23:45:00.000-07:00

Okay so this is my first attempt at blogging, I have been keeping a pseudo blog on another site for a while and I figured, fuck it...I might as well make it a real blog.

I have no clue what will be posted on here, mainly ramblings, and musings about my life in Vegas.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride