Less than 24 hours

By this time tomorrow evening I will be in Vegas....unsupervised....waiting....it will test my self- control. I will try and work out, wrap up some work, grab some food, finalize my research, and then go pick up Eric, Don, and Mike. More than likely, I will have a few drinks on the plane, change clothes at the Mirage, camp out at the UTH table, loss a shit ton, forget to pick up everyone and then pass out around 1:00am all depressed.

But I can't help myself. I'm so excited for this trip. On Sunday I had to get out of the house because I was just too amped up for the trip. So I tivo'd the selection show, took Morgan swimming, and then came back to have dinner with Carol. My dinner consisted of me just standing in front of the TV watching the selection. Something about the selection show on the Sunday prior to our trip that really just makes it all real. It's like Christmas eve. Once church is over on Christmas eve, it was then Christmas seemed real and right around the corner. That's the selection show for me and Vegas.

And I don't really like doing brackets anymore because I suck. I tend to flip flop every year between picking all the favorites or all the underdogs. I honestly get more excited looking at the NIT bracket than the NCAA bracket now. I will fill out one bracket for a pool I'm in with my Zurich buddies back in MD, but I'm forced too because that is how we decide the ranking order for our fantasy football league. I hate the NCAA bracket so much I have outlawed it my offices.

So after the selection show, I just can't get focused. I was getting into a heated argument with a lady in product management today, and in the middle of the argument, my mind wandered and started thinking about how to measure who is the best and worst craps roller in the group. Should we keep track of how many points and hard ways each of us hit to determine this or should it be measured by the length of time of all of our rolls. How great would that be that on Sunday Eric announces that Mike D is the best roller because he rolled for a total of 282 minutes during the entire trip while Derek rolled for measly 52 minutes. Should we pay someone to keep track of this for us? We probably could, but how much would that cost? Where is Bill James when you need him to make sure that we are using the right measurement. And let's just say Audrey, whom I was having the discussion with, told me to call her back because it was obvious I was distracted.

So just some last minute thoughts on objectives, stretch goals, and pitfalls for the trip:

1. What unchartered gambling aspect will we venture into during this trip. $50 craps? $300 BJ? Highroller Slots? I can say that I'm excited and nervous to find out.
2. I watched a lot of mid major basketball this year and I'm wondering if this is tainting my view on the games. Why do I look at every mid major and think they will cover or win. Davidson vs Louisville? Easy, Davidson. South Dakota St? Layup. Montana, Belmont, New Mexico St, Iona, and Ohio? Done. If I hadn't watched so much basketball, would I do better or worse? We will find out.
3. I need to see Dick this year. I hear from so many people at work that he just raves about our trips and looks up to us as gamblers. Every January he calls to make sure I'm still coming and asks personally about Lee, Eric, Wiz, and the "other couple" which is Don and Mike. I ignored him last trip because he was at the Hilton, but this year he is at the nugget and will find time to get with him to watch some games. He is a blast to drink with and was there for my greatest craps moment ever. I can't ignore him this trip.
4. I will try to share what Rock Chalk Jay Hawk means to the group without being called an idiot or asked to leave the table.
5. Since Don told me he was going to wipe his ass with the present I was going to buy everyone, I will need to look for a new present. Still thinking on what that could be....
6. Carol put the guilt trip on me finally. Looks like I'll be on the hook for a new Pottery Barn bedroom set for Morgan upon my return. She is 6 months pregnant and miserable, but still wants to go.
7. I think we need more pictures. Not of anything bad, but just of the group. I was going through some old photos from college and it was bringing back some great memories. I think the only picture we have is of the royal flush that the board was dealt in UTH.
8. I packed 6 pairs of shorts. I'm going to do my best on not wearing any long pants during the trip.
9. I just get so excited thinking about hitting the hard ways. And I really don't get all that excited with $5 or $10 on it anymore. I need at least $25 to let out a yell. That's not good at all is it.
10. I think that while we will lose out on the eye candy going in and out of Revolutions, I do think we will love the new setup for UTH. Its right next to the craps table and I think that it will create a lot of hard decisions on what we will play. Someone will try to play both and I can't wait to see what the pit bosses will do.

Can't wait to see everyone. I will try and post some updates this year.