Boardwalk Empire...with a hint of low tide stench

I have never been to Atlantic City. And I certainly wanted to do something fun now that finals were done. And since my friends and I were 21 we figured doing something 21 year-old appropriate was necessary. My friend Andrew recently turned 21 and his fam jam got him a room at the Borgata for a night. We figured we would stay down another night and split it amongst a bunch of people, myself included. His gf Tor Tor invited her cousins down who stayed with us. And she had another cousin staying at a different with his buddies. And our friend Shells lived near Atlantic City so her our friend Bryan and Pete and his gf stayed there.

Just arrived last Friday night.

The weekend was full of Gambling, Booze, and Panda Express. I was involved in the latter two activities considering I lost fifteen dollars (ten at the rigged slots and five at the Trop aka Tropicana at one of the tables). I refused to lose anymore considering I watched a few of my friends and strangers lose dollar after dollar after dollar until boom, lost it all. I was a bit frightened walking through the casino seeing people gamble from the early evening (when we arrived) until checkout the following Sunday. Woof.

After gambling with $15, this is what I didn't lose

I was kinda scared I'd see some grown man crying after losing so much money. What I did see though were old women who set up camp at their favorite slot machines with ash trays so they can smoke and never have to worry about leaving their favorite slot machines for a ciggy break.

In between being hungover and people-watching around the casino, we frequented the more affordable of the many different meal options the Borgata offered us: Panda Express. There's this cafeteria-like area below the casino floor where people who don't feel like spending $12 on "Starters" from Wolfgang Puck's American Grill can go and purchase a meal for less than that. Drink inlcuded. Tor and I split the two entrees with a side of rice deal and a large Diet Coke. Ten bucks flat. Hey, I coulda used that two bucks I saved on the penny slots.

We explored the other casinos too while we were there. $5 forties at a bar in the Trop. And The Pool @ Harrah's. SICK NIGHT. It's literally a pool nightclub. Well, it's a pool that they use during the day then they turn it into a nightclub at night. It reminds me of the East Coast version of that club in Vegas called Rehab. There's a reality show about it that I watch ocassionally.

Epic. $20 cover soooo worth it.

The next morning I woke up with a helmet of pain on my head. Woof. Props to no one getting sick but jeez we surely felt shitty the next morning. The trip was successful and definitely something I'd do again with the great friends I went with. Including Ellen Degeneres, who we listened to on the way there. "What was I gonna say? WHAT WAS I GONNA SAY?!" and "R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me, R-E-S-P-E-C-T, chacaptpa(?) E-C-T, OHHH!" I laugh as I typed this skit. I found it on YouTube. It starts at 2:40.



Listening to Ellen in public is gonna get me into trouble. I just can't stop laughing.