I Was a Steelers Fan For an Hour

I returned from Vegas late last night, sleep deprived and hungover. I'm going through detox right now, but here are a few thoughts on the weekend that was.

Early Saturday evening, I was playing at the Palms and noticed Hines Ward, DeShea Townsend and another Steeler that I didn't recognize sitting at the blackjack table across from me. The table had a couple empty spots, so I went to check it out. It was a $25 minimum table, which is the upper limit of my comfort zone, but I figured this was a rare opportunity, so I went ahead and bought in for $300. Unfortunately, the table was pretty cold for them and they went bust about 20 minutes after I sat down, but as cold as it was for them, it was hot for me. I went on a nice roll and ended up cashing out for my biggest personal win at a blackjack table. So while I don't have any good Page Six-like Steelers story for you, I do now have enough cash to pay the outrageous prices on StubHub for the UCLA-Stanford game, so perhaps it will at least result in some pictures for the site.

Jerome Bettis was also at the Palms and Ben Roethlisberger had been there the night before, however they were playing in the high limit rooms. Perhaps if Hines Ward were a taller receiver, he would have been playing in the high limit room too.

This is my fourth trip to Vegas during the college basketball season, and each time, the Bruins have struggled and/or lost during my visit (vs Texas, vs Washington State, at Washington, at Arizona). Some friends have a free room in Vegas during Final Four weekend and now I need to decide if I should bring my jinx with me. This is of course assuming that the Bruins make it back to the Final Four. The way this NCAA season has been, I could see the Bruins winning it all or getting knocked out in the Sweet Sixteen.

Thanks to the Santa Ana winds, my return flight back was one of those bumpy, shaky, roller coaster rides that make you think about everything that's important in life- spending time with friends, the love of your family, and always, always hitting up a strip club when you've got some extra bills in your pocket.

Now it's time for a nap. A real update will be coming later...