Las Vegas: Death, Gambling, Combat Braids, and World's Largest Margarita
The year is 20.X.1.....
.. ..
My friend Julie, whom I had met in Thailand while working with gibbons, was celebrating her 21st birthday. In honor of the occasion she was going to Las Vegas to party and wanted everyone from our gibbon project group out with her. She had mentioned her plans to the group back in may, while we where in Thailand. The second she did, I said I would go; and I meant it. The rest of the group said the same and we agreed: we would all meet in Las Vegas for Julies 21st birthday. ....
Now, it was the middle of October and I was on my way to Vegas for almost 5 days, For the second time that year. Thursday night I had stayed out late at a social gathering that ran straight into some school the following morning., which then ran into a concert, which then flowed into my middle-of-Friday-night ride to the airport. One of the bands that played at the concert I was leaving from happened to contain a good friend of mine who gave me his guitar pick for good luck in Vegas. I didn't get raped by security or have my plane go down, so it must have worked. Julie and Abby weren't so lucky though….....
I knew Julie and Abby where to arrive Friday night, while I was to show up 8am on Saturday. When I arrived at the hotel room I found them both in a state of disarray. Julie was almost comatose with a hangover and covered in bruises, while Abby had lost objects (phone, underwear, ect.) and thrown up in her sleep. I was then told the reason for the scene.....
From what I can gather the two of them do not recommend Frontier Airlines. I've heard it said that Frontier is so cheap, and gets it's name, because it's like flying in a covered wagon. Abby's story seems to corroborate this claim. Apparently while on the flight from Denver, Colorado to Las Vegas, Nevada their plane encountered some turbulence. Turbulence of the magnitude that they lost cabin pressure and oxygen masks deployed while the employees in a position of authority did not maintain their composure. Seeing that if they where to go down they where right over the Rocky Mountains, they figured that in all likely hood they would die.....
They didn't go down though. They made it to Vegas, and in a state of pure aliveness. Wanting to take advantage of their non-death they drank and partied with the rest of the passengers that didn't die. Partied so hard they were puking, running into walls, losing each other, and throwing their phones, among other things. They finally passed out in the morning, which is when I made my entrance. It's not a trip involving Nash in some way if crazy obstacles and situations don't come up.....
Speaking of which, on the way to Vegas I was given two free tickets to a race that was happening. I turned them down though, because I didn't want to leave some of the group out while me and someone else had a good time. Not that we would have, because at that very race was a crash that killed the current Indy500 Champion. Once I got to Vegas, my compass stopped working. Again. I go through those things rather quickly it seems, and as a result I was right back to basically meandering around until I got to where I was going. Which I obviously did.....
After Julie and Abby had told me the story of their circumstance they asked about me. "How are you? Last I saw you, you where still in Thailand talking something about going off to Japan or someplace… how did that turn out?" I informed them that I was detained in Thailand for having an expired visa, and then detained in Japan for suspicion of narcotics (which I didn't have). "Oh, do you still have that heart?" I held up my wrist, the heart of the sea dangling triumphantly from it. Once pleasantries where out of the way, we decided to go have fun. On the first day Julie remained bed-ridden from nausea, but Abby felt better so her and I hit the pool for a few hours until Seth (Julie's boyfriend) got there. He would be the last person to show up. Out of a planned 10 person party, 6 had conspicuously bailed for one reason or another. We where all noticeably disappointed, especially given the short notice (a week-ish) of their dissenting, but life happens. We still had a great time.....
Seth, Abby and myself went out for a sushi lunch at the imperial palaces 5th floor restaurant (ginseng 3?) recommended to us by the concierge at The Flamingo. It wasn't good. High prices mixed with a small selection and a poor ambiance (Korean pop music videos aside) do not make for a good restaurant. Also, please don't put pictures of things in your menu that you do not carry! And if you pretend to be a higher class establishment and I order hot tea? Don't bring me an unbrewed low quality tea bag, a cup, and some hot water. I can make better tea than that in the woods with a shoe. At least already brew your low quality product before you bring it out. I heard Abby say something about them even giving her a "Chinese penny" as part of her change when she paid. ....
They received no tip from anyone.....
The quality of the consumables did improve later though. That day there was a Jimmy Buffet concert going on, and to honor the occasion they had "Guinness world record's largest Margarita". It was, in fact, a large margarita. 85,000gallons? 8,500 gallons? Something like that. Abby, Seth, and myself partook of said Guinness record while Julie was fever-dreaming herself to wellness. Once the night had fallen, Julie felt much better. Abby had ordered a surprise cake for Julie, which showed up while we where at the pool, but we gave it to Julie at around this time, since she was now upright. We all got dressed up (or my approximation of getting dressed up) and went out to dinner. Sushi. Only this time it was very good. We went to some much fancier place and I do recommend the place, though be warned: portion size is for casual hunger, not the ravenous kind. When we where done eating we went to the Paris Casino and got the iconic Eifel tower drinks. They all tasted good except Seth's, which tasted like the barkeep was unapologetically poisoning him. We then casually took in the sights and sounds of the strip. This having been my second trip to Vegas this year alone, I was comparing and contrasting things with a more critical eye. Yes, the street cos-players are still there and entertaining; but yes, there are less people in Las Vegas in general ever since Nevada began it's state of economic cancer from the global drop of 'aught eight. Curiously, though Vegas is notorious for it's flocks of strippers roaming free in their natural habitat, the aesthetic quality of the herd is going down considerably, even while intoxicated.....
The next morning Seth and Abby complained of coughing, sore throat and swollen tonsils. The most common remedy for which would seem to be laying out by the pool and drinking, so we went to the pool. We casually milled about until nighttime, at which point we went out to what is supposedly the number one all-you-can-eat buffet in Las Vegas.....
The buffet, which was named "Buffet" to ensure maximum "who's on first?" style conversations, was good. For 30 United States Dollars you where given the opportunity to eat, more or less, any sort of food you want and of high quality to boot. I would dare say their Alaskan King Crab legs where not excellent though. They were sawed clean in two and seasoned, which the seasoning overpowered the natural subtleties of the crab. I found everything else good though. Abby took issue with the Kobe beef, but she's rich and therefore revels and delights in pointing out the unworthiness of things. The food was delicious and unending, and we were determined to stuff ourselves. And stuff ourselves we did. It appeared that the beautiful Elysium I had been greeted with was indeed Valhalla, but after much food tamping it was shown to instead be a place of punishment for avarice and gluttony. The four of us waddled out and decided to watch the Bellagio fountains erupt. They were beautiful. Once they finished I had a good hard burp, by which of course I mean copious amounts of previously swallowed food rocketed out of my face and into the fountain. Oops. I did feel better though. It wasn't that I had over-eaten to the extent that I would be vomiting; it was that something I had eaten should not have been eaten. This was confirmed when we got back to the hotel and Abby and Julie where greeted with surprise-instantaneous-explosive-diarrhea. After they had purged themselves I went into the bathroom to get some water and brush my teeth. Another burp. The resulting gallon of fish-based oatmeal substitute that blasted from my mouth into the sink wound up clogging and breaking the sink. In an attempt to unclog the sink I broke a coat hanger to get the dowel rod out (they were wood hangers) and jammed it down in the drain. No go. Now it was sticking up out of the sink and from the mucky mixture of chum and water like some satire of Excalibur. The smell was horrible so I put some of Seth's deodorant and a bar of soap into the mixture… and the smell went away! The sink and hanger where still broken, but apparently that's what happens when you travel with me…. So we all left the room and went gambling.....
Roulette. My game of choice. That night I didn't play, and Abby lost almost 100usd. Seth made a few bucks though. When the night would down we went back to the hotel; Julie and Seth where heading to the airport at 5am to go home. Abby and I were staying. We said our good-byes and they left. Abby and I plotted our revenge on roulette. We went to her thinking place, the pool, and strategized. That evening Abby did the other thing she came to Vegas to do. A few months prior, her father had died and been cremated. She had good memories of her last trip to Las Vegas, which was with her father, so she decided to throw his ashes into the fountain at the Bellagio. It was beautiful. She shared good stories about him, had a bit of a cry, and then we hit the town in his honor. That's when we made our move. Revenge. I had 40 dollars to start with. Soon though, I had 0…. My plan titled "win" wasn't working out. Sane people leave, cut their losses and go at that point. Sane people aren't amazing. They would say "you have a gambling problem". I would say I have the gambling solution! Being Nash I persuaded Abby to loan me 10 dollars. Soon we had hundreds. I had come back from needing to borrow, all the way to bailing out Abby 3 different occasions. Soon the pit boss came over and told us only 1 of us could play, and Abby and I would need to be considered a single unit. Fine. Team Nash rocked the house. After that we went to the "Earl of Sandwich" to celebrate. It was amazing. Then we stopped at some bar to get a drink. It was almost pure syrup so we didn't drink it. However, I did act as Abby's wingman so she could try and hookup with the doorman. It was a no-go though. If it's two things I heard repeatedly while I was in Vegas it was "are you two married?", ensuring that no one would approach us; and "you've got a braid in your hair. Awesome! Why?"....
The looking like we were married was unintentional and mostly counterproductive. The braid was just the opposite.....
The braid in my hair was a combination challenge and reminder. My hair was usually short, but I had decided two months prior to stop cutting it and see how it turned out. It was starting to get long (even Abby and Julie noticed) and I was talking to some buddies of mine and casually wondered if it could be braided at the length it was. "Do it man!" they said, but I decided not to. That is until I was sparring an individual who gave my head a good pounding. There was a technique I needed to do, but my mind wouldn't stay put while sparring in order to do it. So, in much the same way as one puts a string on their finger or wrist to remember something, I put a braid in my hair. If it's good enough for William Wallace and Beowulf, it's good enough for Nash. Every time I feel it move, I'm reminded to do the technique, and so am a better combative artist for it. It's now a training method.....
After Abby and I had eaten our victory sandwich we went to bed. It was 4am. The next morning at 8, when I went to do my morning exercises, the whole hotel had changed. In only 4 hours. The hotel in question was The Flamingo. When I came downstairs on the new Tuesday morning I was greeted with heavy construction. Blockades where up, floors where stripped, loud noises and equipment strewn about, and the pool was closed (which angered Abby more than anything). Vegas had more or less been a party the whole time we were there, but by Monday night/ Tuesday morning the place was comparatively dead. If you want a wild time in Las Vegas, do yourself a favor and make it a weekend.....
As for the hotel itself, The Flamingo was pretty nice, minus the concierge which steered us wrong every time we asked them something. The Flamingo has a heavy "Miami Vice" vibe that suits me just fine. They've also got a nature park full of birds and giant koi, with of course, flamingos. I did hear frequent complaints from strangers about the customer service, but we didn't have any problems (as far as I know).....
The only real complaint I had was with the "top quality work out facility". I saw these "facilities" and I would say none of those words accurately describes them. The massages? Not for less than a couple hundred dollars. Equipment? Hardly. And at 10$/day I would expect something more than being able to bring booze into a room to do leg extensions. They did have a mirror though, so I guess that's something… though after a few nights in Las Vegas you might want to avoid anything even remotely reflective, for a number of reasons.....
Tuesday Afternoon Abby and I checked out of the hotel, and Abby was flying back to Michigan. I still had until Wednesday, so I had some time to wile away. Abby and I said our good-bye's and parted ways. It was back to just me now. I had an idea. I had been carrying around some Japanese Yen for the couple months that I had been in the states, with no way to exchange them. As "Luck" would have it, that is not a problem in Las Vegas. I exchanged my yen for USD. Everything was going according to plan. Now it was time for part 2: put that money on roulette and have a repeat of the previous night.....
Everything was going good until the dealers changed. Up until then, I had won almost a grand. The smiling chipper dealer was exchanged for a cold Hispanic heavy set female cyborg. Her steely gaze and ability quickly syphoned joy from the area. The table was packed shoulder to shoulder with winners when she got there, myself included. Every spin she methodically place the ball exactly where it would do the most damage. In no time flat she had bankrupted everyone, myself included. I still had a couple hundred and cut my losses. Everyone left and she closed the table. The sting of loss mixed with the agony of a good hustle would linger in me for sometime. That was not part of the plan.....
Afterwards I headed to the airport. Casually. My flight would get in just in time for me to stumble into my clinical for school, unshowered and smelling of the sweet bouquet that is Las Vegas. We had all had a great time even though everyone but me felt sick at some point in the trip. I did clog the sink though, so that counts for something. My heart still ached from the memory of my final game of roulette though, and my mind frequently drifted to that moment, vividly viewed through the magic of a traumatic event. I can only deduce that in the alternate future the dealer had been sent back in time to prevent, I had won so much money I wound up putting the casino out of business. Well, fool me once heavy-set Hispanic terminatrix. I will use that experience as fuel for my fire.....
Asta la Vista, Lady. I'll be back.....
-Nash
.. ..
My friend Julie, whom I had met in Thailand while working with gibbons, was celebrating her 21st birthday. In honor of the occasion she was going to Las Vegas to party and wanted everyone from our gibbon project group out with her. She had mentioned her plans to the group back in may, while we where in Thailand. The second she did, I said I would go; and I meant it. The rest of the group said the same and we agreed: we would all meet in Las Vegas for Julies 21st birthday. ....
Now, it was the middle of October and I was on my way to Vegas for almost 5 days, For the second time that year. Thursday night I had stayed out late at a social gathering that ran straight into some school the following morning., which then ran into a concert, which then flowed into my middle-of-Friday-night ride to the airport. One of the bands that played at the concert I was leaving from happened to contain a good friend of mine who gave me his guitar pick for good luck in Vegas. I didn't get raped by security or have my plane go down, so it must have worked. Julie and Abby weren't so lucky though….....
I knew Julie and Abby where to arrive Friday night, while I was to show up 8am on Saturday. When I arrived at the hotel room I found them both in a state of disarray. Julie was almost comatose with a hangover and covered in bruises, while Abby had lost objects (phone, underwear, ect.) and thrown up in her sleep. I was then told the reason for the scene.....
From what I can gather the two of them do not recommend Frontier Airlines. I've heard it said that Frontier is so cheap, and gets it's name, because it's like flying in a covered wagon. Abby's story seems to corroborate this claim. Apparently while on the flight from Denver, Colorado to Las Vegas, Nevada their plane encountered some turbulence. Turbulence of the magnitude that they lost cabin pressure and oxygen masks deployed while the employees in a position of authority did not maintain their composure. Seeing that if they where to go down they where right over the Rocky Mountains, they figured that in all likely hood they would die.....
They didn't go down though. They made it to Vegas, and in a state of pure aliveness. Wanting to take advantage of their non-death they drank and partied with the rest of the passengers that didn't die. Partied so hard they were puking, running into walls, losing each other, and throwing their phones, among other things. They finally passed out in the morning, which is when I made my entrance. It's not a trip involving Nash in some way if crazy obstacles and situations don't come up.....
Speaking of which, on the way to Vegas I was given two free tickets to a race that was happening. I turned them down though, because I didn't want to leave some of the group out while me and someone else had a good time. Not that we would have, because at that very race was a crash that killed the current Indy500 Champion. Once I got to Vegas, my compass stopped working. Again. I go through those things rather quickly it seems, and as a result I was right back to basically meandering around until I got to where I was going. Which I obviously did.....
After Julie and Abby had told me the story of their circumstance they asked about me. "How are you? Last I saw you, you where still in Thailand talking something about going off to Japan or someplace… how did that turn out?" I informed them that I was detained in Thailand for having an expired visa, and then detained in Japan for suspicion of narcotics (which I didn't have). "Oh, do you still have that heart?" I held up my wrist, the heart of the sea dangling triumphantly from it. Once pleasantries where out of the way, we decided to go have fun. On the first day Julie remained bed-ridden from nausea, but Abby felt better so her and I hit the pool for a few hours until Seth (Julie's boyfriend) got there. He would be the last person to show up. Out of a planned 10 person party, 6 had conspicuously bailed for one reason or another. We where all noticeably disappointed, especially given the short notice (a week-ish) of their dissenting, but life happens. We still had a great time.....
Seth, Abby and myself went out for a sushi lunch at the imperial palaces 5th floor restaurant (ginseng 3?) recommended to us by the concierge at The Flamingo. It wasn't good. High prices mixed with a small selection and a poor ambiance (Korean pop music videos aside) do not make for a good restaurant. Also, please don't put pictures of things in your menu that you do not carry! And if you pretend to be a higher class establishment and I order hot tea? Don't bring me an unbrewed low quality tea bag, a cup, and some hot water. I can make better tea than that in the woods with a shoe. At least already brew your low quality product before you bring it out. I heard Abby say something about them even giving her a "Chinese penny" as part of her change when she paid. ....
They received no tip from anyone.....
The quality of the consumables did improve later though. That day there was a Jimmy Buffet concert going on, and to honor the occasion they had "Guinness world record's largest Margarita". It was, in fact, a large margarita. 85,000gallons? 8,500 gallons? Something like that. Abby, Seth, and myself partook of said Guinness record while Julie was fever-dreaming herself to wellness. Once the night had fallen, Julie felt much better. Abby had ordered a surprise cake for Julie, which showed up while we where at the pool, but we gave it to Julie at around this time, since she was now upright. We all got dressed up (or my approximation of getting dressed up) and went out to dinner. Sushi. Only this time it was very good. We went to some much fancier place and I do recommend the place, though be warned: portion size is for casual hunger, not the ravenous kind. When we where done eating we went to the Paris Casino and got the iconic Eifel tower drinks. They all tasted good except Seth's, which tasted like the barkeep was unapologetically poisoning him. We then casually took in the sights and sounds of the strip. This having been my second trip to Vegas this year alone, I was comparing and contrasting things with a more critical eye. Yes, the street cos-players are still there and entertaining; but yes, there are less people in Las Vegas in general ever since Nevada began it's state of economic cancer from the global drop of 'aught eight. Curiously, though Vegas is notorious for it's flocks of strippers roaming free in their natural habitat, the aesthetic quality of the herd is going down considerably, even while intoxicated.....
The next morning Seth and Abby complained of coughing, sore throat and swollen tonsils. The most common remedy for which would seem to be laying out by the pool and drinking, so we went to the pool. We casually milled about until nighttime, at which point we went out to what is supposedly the number one all-you-can-eat buffet in Las Vegas.....
The buffet, which was named "Buffet" to ensure maximum "who's on first?" style conversations, was good. For 30 United States Dollars you where given the opportunity to eat, more or less, any sort of food you want and of high quality to boot. I would dare say their Alaskan King Crab legs where not excellent though. They were sawed clean in two and seasoned, which the seasoning overpowered the natural subtleties of the crab. I found everything else good though. Abby took issue with the Kobe beef, but she's rich and therefore revels and delights in pointing out the unworthiness of things. The food was delicious and unending, and we were determined to stuff ourselves. And stuff ourselves we did. It appeared that the beautiful Elysium I had been greeted with was indeed Valhalla, but after much food tamping it was shown to instead be a place of punishment for avarice and gluttony. The four of us waddled out and decided to watch the Bellagio fountains erupt. They were beautiful. Once they finished I had a good hard burp, by which of course I mean copious amounts of previously swallowed food rocketed out of my face and into the fountain. Oops. I did feel better though. It wasn't that I had over-eaten to the extent that I would be vomiting; it was that something I had eaten should not have been eaten. This was confirmed when we got back to the hotel and Abby and Julie where greeted with surprise-instantaneous-explosive-diarrhea. After they had purged themselves I went into the bathroom to get some water and brush my teeth. Another burp. The resulting gallon of fish-based oatmeal substitute that blasted from my mouth into the sink wound up clogging and breaking the sink. In an attempt to unclog the sink I broke a coat hanger to get the dowel rod out (they were wood hangers) and jammed it down in the drain. No go. Now it was sticking up out of the sink and from the mucky mixture of chum and water like some satire of Excalibur. The smell was horrible so I put some of Seth's deodorant and a bar of soap into the mixture… and the smell went away! The sink and hanger where still broken, but apparently that's what happens when you travel with me…. So we all left the room and went gambling.....
Roulette. My game of choice. That night I didn't play, and Abby lost almost 100usd. Seth made a few bucks though. When the night would down we went back to the hotel; Julie and Seth where heading to the airport at 5am to go home. Abby and I were staying. We said our good-byes and they left. Abby and I plotted our revenge on roulette. We went to her thinking place, the pool, and strategized. That evening Abby did the other thing she came to Vegas to do. A few months prior, her father had died and been cremated. She had good memories of her last trip to Las Vegas, which was with her father, so she decided to throw his ashes into the fountain at the Bellagio. It was beautiful. She shared good stories about him, had a bit of a cry, and then we hit the town in his honor. That's when we made our move. Revenge. I had 40 dollars to start with. Soon though, I had 0…. My plan titled "win" wasn't working out. Sane people leave, cut their losses and go at that point. Sane people aren't amazing. They would say "you have a gambling problem". I would say I have the gambling solution! Being Nash I persuaded Abby to loan me 10 dollars. Soon we had hundreds. I had come back from needing to borrow, all the way to bailing out Abby 3 different occasions. Soon the pit boss came over and told us only 1 of us could play, and Abby and I would need to be considered a single unit. Fine. Team Nash rocked the house. After that we went to the "Earl of Sandwich" to celebrate. It was amazing. Then we stopped at some bar to get a drink. It was almost pure syrup so we didn't drink it. However, I did act as Abby's wingman so she could try and hookup with the doorman. It was a no-go though. If it's two things I heard repeatedly while I was in Vegas it was "are you two married?", ensuring that no one would approach us; and "you've got a braid in your hair. Awesome! Why?"....
The looking like we were married was unintentional and mostly counterproductive. The braid was just the opposite.....
The braid in my hair was a combination challenge and reminder. My hair was usually short, but I had decided two months prior to stop cutting it and see how it turned out. It was starting to get long (even Abby and Julie noticed) and I was talking to some buddies of mine and casually wondered if it could be braided at the length it was. "Do it man!" they said, but I decided not to. That is until I was sparring an individual who gave my head a good pounding. There was a technique I needed to do, but my mind wouldn't stay put while sparring in order to do it. So, in much the same way as one puts a string on their finger or wrist to remember something, I put a braid in my hair. If it's good enough for William Wallace and Beowulf, it's good enough for Nash. Every time I feel it move, I'm reminded to do the technique, and so am a better combative artist for it. It's now a training method.....
After Abby and I had eaten our victory sandwich we went to bed. It was 4am. The next morning at 8, when I went to do my morning exercises, the whole hotel had changed. In only 4 hours. The hotel in question was The Flamingo. When I came downstairs on the new Tuesday morning I was greeted with heavy construction. Blockades where up, floors where stripped, loud noises and equipment strewn about, and the pool was closed (which angered Abby more than anything). Vegas had more or less been a party the whole time we were there, but by Monday night/ Tuesday morning the place was comparatively dead. If you want a wild time in Las Vegas, do yourself a favor and make it a weekend.....
As for the hotel itself, The Flamingo was pretty nice, minus the concierge which steered us wrong every time we asked them something. The Flamingo has a heavy "Miami Vice" vibe that suits me just fine. They've also got a nature park full of birds and giant koi, with of course, flamingos. I did hear frequent complaints from strangers about the customer service, but we didn't have any problems (as far as I know).....
The only real complaint I had was with the "top quality work out facility". I saw these "facilities" and I would say none of those words accurately describes them. The massages? Not for less than a couple hundred dollars. Equipment? Hardly. And at 10$/day I would expect something more than being able to bring booze into a room to do leg extensions. They did have a mirror though, so I guess that's something… though after a few nights in Las Vegas you might want to avoid anything even remotely reflective, for a number of reasons.....
Tuesday Afternoon Abby and I checked out of the hotel, and Abby was flying back to Michigan. I still had until Wednesday, so I had some time to wile away. Abby and I said our good-bye's and parted ways. It was back to just me now. I had an idea. I had been carrying around some Japanese Yen for the couple months that I had been in the states, with no way to exchange them. As "Luck" would have it, that is not a problem in Las Vegas. I exchanged my yen for USD. Everything was going according to plan. Now it was time for part 2: put that money on roulette and have a repeat of the previous night.....
Everything was going good until the dealers changed. Up until then, I had won almost a grand. The smiling chipper dealer was exchanged for a cold Hispanic heavy set female cyborg. Her steely gaze and ability quickly syphoned joy from the area. The table was packed shoulder to shoulder with winners when she got there, myself included. Every spin she methodically place the ball exactly where it would do the most damage. In no time flat she had bankrupted everyone, myself included. I still had a couple hundred and cut my losses. Everyone left and she closed the table. The sting of loss mixed with the agony of a good hustle would linger in me for sometime. That was not part of the plan.....
Afterwards I headed to the airport. Casually. My flight would get in just in time for me to stumble into my clinical for school, unshowered and smelling of the sweet bouquet that is Las Vegas. We had all had a great time even though everyone but me felt sick at some point in the trip. I did clog the sink though, so that counts for something. My heart still ached from the memory of my final game of roulette though, and my mind frequently drifted to that moment, vividly viewed through the magic of a traumatic event. I can only deduce that in the alternate future the dealer had been sent back in time to prevent, I had won so much money I wound up putting the casino out of business. Well, fool me once heavy-set Hispanic terminatrix. I will use that experience as fuel for my fire.....
Asta la Vista, Lady. I'll be back.....
-Nash