I’ve not done any bloggenings in a while. This is partly because most of my waking time was spent catching up on Breaking Bad and partly because I have recently been on holiday for two weeks.
We went to America which, until a little while ago, I had no real desire to visit. When I go on holiday, I have generally chosen to go places that are significantly culturally different to England. However, when I traveled the Trans-Mongolian railway three years, I discovered a fondness for the journey as well as the destination. This is probably partly why I did a road trip round England earlier this year, and is also why I have added driving across America to my bucket list.
So when Natalie suggested a trip to Vegas and then Florida, I was much more amenable to the idea than I would have been before. Then adding in all the potential fun stuff we could get up to with a group of some of my favourite people, it seemed like a great holiday. And it was. I’m not going to bore you with all the details of all the amazing things we did. I’m not sure you could handle the jealousy.
What I wanted to talk about was the item on my bucket list – “Win a fortune in Vegas.”
My plan was simple:
1. Go to Vegas.
2. Make a fortune.
3. Marry a stripper.
4. Live happily ever after.
What could possibly go wrong? Other than the fact that apparently I couldn’t legally get married in Vegas due to needing to fill out application forms or something first. The documentary “What Happens in Vegas” that I watched on the plane didn’t point out this problem. I think they must have edited it out for dramatic effect.
And other than the fact that all casino games are stacked in the house’s favour. I’ve done mathematical calculations to try to work out a foolproof way of winning money, but obviously there aren’t any. Casinos much surely employ mathematicians to ensure that there are no loopholes and fix them before they lose too much money.
I thought I had an awesome way of winning at craps but it turns out I’d miscalculated. Sometimes I’m ashamed of my accountant skills or lack thereof.
Needless to say, I didn’t get further than step one of my amazing plan.
I did have a great time though. We played mainly video poker or blackjack, but it’s where you are playing with other players at tables which I find a lot more exciting. Me and Adam started to play a bit of craps which is one of the most sociable games and is pretty good fun. Admittedly most of the time we spent trying to work out what was going on but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
My conclusion from my visit to Vegas is that if you want to win money at gambling, you need to do it against other players, so poker is probably the way forward. You’re not playing the house but some human opponents and as such, if you can gain the psychological advantage over your opponent then you will win more times than you will lose.
I was going to enter a poker tournament but didn’t in the end. I definitely could have spent longer there. My friends were thinking of going to a club where women got in free but men had to pay for entry which I objected to on moral grounds (possibly more on that in another blog sometime) and when they were going to, I was going to find a reasonably priced poker tournament to join, however they didn’t end up going.
We did lots of fun things when we were in Vegas. If you are going to go, I would recommend taking a helicopter over the Grand Canyon, catching Penn and Teller at the Rio and spending some time in Freemont Street which I preferred to the Strip as it is quainter and quirkier, as well as taking a trip to the Neon Boneyard and the Mob Museum, as well as a shooting range.
Bucket list Item complete: 25 – Fire a Shotgun
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| Me firing a shotgun |
I have wanted to shoot a shotgun for a while. Mainly to prepare myself for the zombie apocalypse.
Shotguns, as I have learnt from video games, are extremely powerful weapons that make big holes in bad guys and produce a lot of awesome gory effects.
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| The hole I made in the zombie |
We went to a shooting range called The Gun Store and we’d found vouchers in some of the free information booklets that you can find in various places. They had a selection of pre-made packages but me and Adam both wanted to feel like James Bond and shoot some zombies, so we opted to create our own package of a handgun – I think it was a 1911 – and a shotgun. This option I think cost $70 (around £44).
The instructors were really helpful and encouraging and we all had a great time. The position you need to get into to shoot a gun isn’t something I’d ever considered before. You have to stand legs apart and lean slightly forward for a handgun and put the shotgun against your shoulder and put your face up to the side. If you don’t do this, you can injure yourself from the recoil.
In movies they definitely don’t do this. The hold it in the coolest way possible. Which is definitely impractical for actual usage. At least as far as I can tell from shooting five shells.
I’m clearly no expert and there’s probably some special kind of shotgun which allows you to fire it any which way you choose. I don’t care. I fired a freaking shotgun.