Las Vegas Day Drinking

The DayDrinker has had quite the busy few days.  The thing about Vegas, you see, both the blessing and the curse, is that much like Gump’s chocolate box, or sleeping with a girl from the Spirament Rhino, you never know what you’re gonna get and because of that, you stick around.  It’s the Devil’s trick here on His island in the sand. 

This weekend was no exception.  It was the weekend of the annual house party at a rather large estate in the Scotch 80s, a place that embodies the notion that no one quite grows up in Vegas.  If all of Vegas is an adult playground, this one house could be the scale model of the town.  Within the backyard, one can find a tennis court, a basketball court, batting cages, a sand volleyball court (with musko night lights) and a pool that was designed to look like, and has indeed overtaken the Playboy mansion grotto.  (two levels, hot tubs with built in cup holders, a sauna, diving board, swim up bar you name it) and the bitch of it is, for me, an East Coast snob to admit that it is rather tastefully done. 

Back to this annual house party, the kick off for which is a tequila shot at 7am.  There are day drinkers and then there are day drinkers.  Luckily for the contestants, this year was a fully organic tequila.  I kid you not and I assure you it was delicious.  Pick some up, get knocked down.  In a good way. 

And while it was easy to write off the middle aged dudes, tricked out in their silliest attire (including one team which had both grown matching facial hair and donned matching branded hot pants), seriously competing in drunken events including a mad dash through an oversized bounce house brought in for the occasion, upon closer inspection, one could find Ivy grads and lawyers, family men and the newly engaged, and then yes, the die hard party boys born on third. 

I am positively terrified that Vegas may actually be growing on me.  And while the host in no way remembered who I was, he was more than generous with his organic tequila and that can’t be bad. 

 The DayDrinker is off to LA for some much need perspective, but inbetween meetings, will guiltily sneak a beverage.  They just don’t have the same attitude about dayturnal imbibing there, Villaraigosa is no Goodman, I’ll tell you what.  Actually, I will leave you with a brilliant Oscar story.  At the opening of the Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Mayor Goodman was the first speaker, he strode purposefully to the podium, martini in hand, called up some ladies to escort him as stand in showgirls, and gave a lovely and heartfelt speech.  He turned to leave the stage, then catching a word from offstage ran back to the mic to announce “Oh, sorry, I’m so drunk, I forgot to introduce our next speaker.  Ladies and gentlemen: Toby Cosgrove, head of the Cleveland Clinic.  There are indeed moments when I do indeed love this town.