Vegas Virginity Lost – Part 2
Adam J Locascio
Saturday June 18, 2005
We reach Sunday. Game day. While the Las Vegas area isn’t the largest area to commute across, cab fares are a little pricey. The airport is only about three miles from the hotel and it only takes a few minutes to get to the hotel but it costs almost $20.
In an effort to save a few dollars, I venture out before the sun gets too high and I start walking to the arena where the Crush are taking on the Force. I know it’s a long walk, but, judging from the map, I can cut through the MGM Grand and pick up a cab on the far side to save some money.
I start to cut through the MGM Grand and come out in the parking garage which is long and cavernous. I make it out to the sidewalk and look around. The airport is just ahead of me. The Thomas & Mack Center at UNLV is just a few more blocks so I decide to walk the whole way. Even though the sun is high and there are few clouds to provide shade, the heat is similar to that of an oven and my friends are surprised to hear that I walked over three miles in the Las Vegas sun and didn’t break a sweat – in long pants.
Compared to Florida’s humidity, Vegas is an Igloo cooler.
The front of the Arena is set up just like every prior ArenaBowl I’ve been to. Lots of freebies for the guests, cheerleaders, samples from various food vendors, and charities dot the outside of the arena. It’s a festive atmosphere.
But I began to realize exactly why the AFL decided to have the game in Vegas. Amongst the fans outside the arena there are plenty of Force and Crush jerseys, but I also see Avengers, Soul, VooDoo, Gladiators, Dragons, Predators, Rush and SaberCats jerseys walking through the crowd. I am sure this is exactly what David Baker had in mind: create an atmosphere where everyone wants to go, regardless of who is playing.
And Baker knows what he is doing. Before the game, he’s walking around the concession stand crowd signing autographs for fans. He is with Tampa Bay Storm coach Tim Marcum and Orlando Predators coach Jay Gruden meeting the fans. The three of them are standing together smiling and laughing, the three of them looking awfully tan.
The crowd in the arena is decidedly pro-Crush as their chants are a well defined as compared to Georgia. This may just be geography. Georgia’s fans do make themselves known though. I am sitting behind an authentic Force jersey emblazoned with "GR8FORCE" on the back. He has a PVC bucket and is banging on it with a large mallet. Since our press box is amongst the stands, he pauses to give some commentary as he heads up to get a soda.
"I told you guys who’s going to win. Write it down now so you can get out of here. Georgia wins," he tells me in his half-hoarse dialogue.
While the atmosphere is certainly exciting and has a wrestling-match vibe, it’s unfortunate that the game has to compete with the distractions of Sin City. The sheer aura of the town diminishes what turns out to be one of the better football games I’ve seen in my lifetime. It could be that Vegas is too much of a juggernaut to host a game of a league that is still trying to find its identity.
Let’s face it: as much as the league has grown, as much as the ratings have increased, the game is competing with roller coasters, casinos, strip clubs, George Carlin, and Jerry Seinfeld, and you don’t trump those attractions overnight.
The game ends on a last second field goal by Clay Rush of the Crush and Colorado secures their first championship by a score of 51-48. The confetti falls and John Elway is rushed to the stage to accept the trophy. The AFL is certainly salivating at the thought of shoving Elway down the non-AFL fan’s throats all during the off-season in an attempt to leach the casual football fan away from the NFL after the Super Bowl.
My cell phone is buzzing in my pocket. All of my friends are sending me obscenity-filled text messages about how they spent hard-earned dollars betting on the Force based on my expertise. I guess the figured since I was a writer I had some kind of credibility, which is flattering to me. I think I cost my friends about $200 – but lost in the shuffle is that I lost $20, too, so they are not alone in their misery.
I start the walk back to the hotel where I need to freshen up before meeting my friends. It’s a little hotter at 3:30 than it is at 10:00 am so I end up breaking a sweat on the way back. It’s good for me though because my hotel, the Monte Carlo, charges $20 to use the gym. By comparison, my gym membership in Tampa is $240 for the whole year.
After a shower, I walk down stairs and I take the beating of my life playing blackjack. In the span of about three hours I am never up more than $20 and I lose $300. The last hundred was dropped on six-straight hands (I doubled-down a couple of times and lost every time). Needless to say, I am in a crabby mood and my friends are wondering why, which I don’t get. I’ve never met a person in my life who lost $300 and walked around with a giant smile on their face.
I had some work to do if I was going to get my money back, but in Vegas, that’s easier said than done.
That night, the air is cool so we decide to do a little casino hopping. The tram takes us to the Bellagio which one of the classiest places I have ever seen. Most memorable is the candy store in the shopping area which has a ceiling-high flowing chocolate fountain that runs from level to level like a babbling brook of sugary goodness. It makes you want to stick your head under the ledge and let the chocolate flow all over your face.
We exit the Bellagio and walk down the strip where the fountains are gearing up for another show. If you are unfamiliar with the Bellagio’s main attraction, watch the last ten minutes of "Ocean’s 11." The fountains are a synchronized water show set to classical music. It’s free and a show starts every 15 minutes.
My legs are killing me now from all the walking and I am ready to head back to the room. I am still smarting from the $300 beating at the blackjack table so that is not doing much to improve my mood, but tomorrow is a new day and hopefully a winning streak.
Adam J. Locascio is a financial advisor in the Tampa Bay area and a Board Member of the Tampa Bay Storm Surge Fan Club. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Phoenix and is a six-year season ticket holder for the Tampa Bay Storm.
