Veteran
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Casino cash: $7581320
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3:30 pm- We arrive at Metropolis Casino. As agreed, we run all the way from our car to the lady checking ID’s. The casino is practically empty. It takes about two minutes to get in then we B line it to the roulette table. With all of us breathing heavily, I hand the lady our stack of 20’s and say, “All on red please.”
Roulette lady: Are you sure you want it all on red?
B Witt: LADY! Yes we’re sure!! We didn’t run all the way from the parking lot to hangout with you! We have to get to the World Series, let’s go!
The lady isn’t sure how to respond, so she quietly counts the money and hands me $600 worth of chips. We are all a bit up tight with heartbeats racing. I put our chips on red. She spins the ball. Tickets to the World Series hang in the balance…
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick… It seems like forever. We are ready to irrupt into joy until at the last split second when the ball bounces out of red 36 into black 11. B…L…A…C…K…11! $600 gone in less than 60 seconds.
TStrick and I are silent in shock. B Witt loses it and starts causing a scene by yelling random curse words at the top of his lungs. Security starts walking towards us as we decide to start leaving.
With a really confused look on her face, the lady that had checked our ID’s 90 seconds earlier: Are you guys leaving already?
B Witt, still clearly in “causing a scene mode”: WE JUST LOST ALL OUR MONEY! $600 %$#*%&#@ DOLLARS!!!
ID lady: Oh, I’m sorry.
B Witt (as we are walking away): SO AM I! This was the worst idea ever!
One more cussing tirade by B Witt ensues. The only thing TStrick and I can do at this point is laugh, which we are doing hysterically as we reach the parking lot.
I decide B Witt isn’t fit to drive, so I hop in the driver’s seat. It’s now 3:41pm. Quick debate about turning around. Decide to keep going. Next stop, St. Louis. ETA 6:35 pm.
3:56 pm- We’ve been driving in silence for the past 15 minutes with B Witt occasionally letting us know that he feels like he has to throw up.
B Witt: Franco, you’re awesome scale pep talk was a bunch of crap! You said, we’d be at a 60 if we lost our money. We are at a 10 right now! TStrick, why didn’t you talk us out of this?!?! Clearly Franco and I would make unreasonable decisions on our own, but you are supposed to be the voice of reason! This could not be worse.
Before TStrick can answer, there is a cop behind us with his lights on. B Witt, flips out again, this time letting us know that his registration is expired.
Cop: I got you guys going 89mph back there. Any reason you were going that fast?
Franco: Actually officer we are heading to game 7 of the World Series.
Cop (completely unimpressed): License and registration please.
It hits me that we’re in Illinois and he’s probably a bitter Cubs fan. He takes forever and then comes back with a $140 ticket. No problem with the registration.
It’s now 4:13 pm and the car awesome scale is at a 3 and that might be generous.
Quick debate on whether to turn around. Decide to keep going. Next stop St. Louis… Please Lord, make our next stop St. Louis!
We take the next 15 minutes to reflect on the fact that between roulette and speeding, we lost $740 in about 20 minutes. We all start feeling sick… At least we’re still under budget!
St Louis ETA 6:57 pm
4:24 pm- We pass a sign that says something like, “$10,000 fine and 14 years in jail for hitting a construction worker.” We all agree that if that was ever going to happen to us, it would be tonight, in the next 10 minutes. We are really close to the trifecta of awfulness- Getting housed at the Roulette table, speeding ticket, and hitting a construction worker.
B Witt also announces that he no longer will be tweeting for NLB and won’t be telling a soul about this trip. “Too embarrassing,” he says.
4:45 pm- B Witt claims that he’s not giving up and promises he will either get into the stadium or get arrested.
4:55 pm- Collectively we decide that roulette was the right thing to do. It was our best shot at getting in the game. We start feeling better. Awesome scale: 18.
5:00 pm- B Witt announces that his budget just got extended to $350. TStrick and I agree that it makes sense for us all to be on the same budgetary level. With our “new found money”, we feel like winners. Awesome scale: 32
5:10pm-
B Witt: Franco, I know there are a few casinos in St Louis. What if we all put in $50 bucks and you play poker with it, how sure are you that you’d win our money back.
Franco: 75%
B Witt: That’s what I thought. Whenever we are done celebrating with the city of St. Louis, we’ll head to the casino and get our money back.
We all agree that this is a great idea and fail to question the 75%… We practically have our money back. We feel good. Awesome scale: 48
5:25 pm- We start talking about how awesome just being in St. Louis will be. B Witt turns the radio on to search for sports radio. Just like we were in a movie, the following line blasts out at us. “Hit me with your best shot! Come on and hit me with your best shot. Fire awaaaaay.” We all sing the rest of the song together and feel even better. Awesome scale: 62 and still trending upward.
6:50 pm- We see the St Louis arch. We’ve arrived!
We park the car a mile away from the stadium at the Lumiere Place Casino and start running towards the stadium.
We come up to the fountain park across from the capitol building and see thousands of fans watching the game on a huge projection screen. There is a statue of a large naked runner in the fountain. Despite the naked fountain runner guy, it seems like a great place to watch the game. Awesome scale is all the way back to an 80.
Right then, Hamilton hits a RBI double. Rangers 1, Cardinals 0. From here, time is marked by innings…
1st Inning
We make our way to the front of the Busch Stadium. It is hopping. The energy is electric. As we get closer we see tons of people with their fingers in the air. Quickly, we realize that all these people are looking to buy tickets. The entire night would go by without ever seeing anyone selling tickets.
Almost everyone is already in the stadium. On the other side of the turn styles, there are three rows of security officers standing around. All of our ideas are immediately deemed impossible. Even B Witt decides there is nothing he can do. He claims that next time he will dress up as a police officer and sneak in that way. We let him know that’s a horrible idea.
David Freese hits a 2 run double. The stadium erupts! We long to be inside, but make our way to a close by sports bar.
2nd Inning
We get to a bar with people everywhere and within 5 minutes TStrick and I can’t find B Witt. Without becoming discouraged, we push our way to a below average view of a TV.
3rd Inning
B Witt hasn’t returned my texts. I suggest to TStrick that we go back to the fountain and watch on the huge projection screen. TStrick is mildly concerned that B Witt is MIA. I remind him that it’s every man for themselves and B Witt is probably doing just fine. (In the back of my head I’m trying to calculate the odds of him actually being inside the game or in jail.) We start walking towards the fountain as my phone dies.
We stop to watch the bottom of the third in the doorway of a Busch Stadium office with a TV on. We strike up a convo with the 8 people huddled in the doorway and they give us incredible news. Apparently during the 2006 World Series in St Louis, they opened the gates for the 9th inning and let everyone in. This is awesome!!
Hope abounds! With an extra bounce in our step, we continue on to the fountain with the naked runner.
4th Inning
TStrick and I find a great spot to watch the game, right in front of the fountain, spurring the text of the night:
TStrick to B Witt: We’re at the fountain park. Just follow the naked runner’s junk.
5th Inning
Cards score twice in the bottom half and lead 5-2. Fountain crowd going crazy. This is way better than the bar.
6th Inning
B Witt shows up, “Great directions TStrick!”
TStrick: Where were you?
B Witt: So I saw the text and started walking to meet you guys. When I got in front of the stadium, I noticed that they were letting people out for smoke brakes. Right then I accidently ran into a guy and he almost dropped his ticket. That gave me a great idea. Long story short, I just spent the last 30 minutes running into people that were smoking and trying to get them to drop their tickets. No luck.
TStrick and I aren’t quite sure what to say. We tell him that it was a great idea and we can’t believe it then turn our attention back to the game… Still 5-2 Cards.
7th Inning
B Witt starts talking to a group of girls standing next to us. The girls suggest that if the Cards win, he should jump into the fountain. He debates for a second and then agrees. The girls are now really excited and continue to talk to B Witt about the details of his “swim”. Swim to the naked runner? Back stroke? The right amount of clothing to keep on?…
I interject because I can’t tell if he’s serious or not. I look him in the eyes, “What’s the percentage that you actually jump in the fountain if the Cards win?”
B Witt (annoyed that I’m questioning him): Dude, 100%. If we don’t get in the stadium for the 9th inning, I am jumping in the fountain.
I’ve seen that look on his face before. He’s telling the truth. The girls say they will wait for us to come back in case we can’t get in the stadium.
Top of the 8th inning
We make our way back to the stadium gates. A huge crowd has gathered outside the gates. Clearly we aren’t the only ones with inside info. We worm our way towards the front until we are about 3 people back from one of the gates. B Witt starts the “Let us in” chant. 20 seconds later all 300+ people are yelling it at that top of their lungs… A small army of security guards just stare at us from the other side of the fence. They don’t look like they’re planning on letting anyone in.
Bottom of the 8th inning
The chants and collective yelling, doesn’t seem like it’s working. One fan in front of us decides to takes matters into his own hands. This is our huge break! He reaches through the fence, undoes the dead bolt, and next thing you the gate right in front of us swings open. It was as if the Red Sea had just been parted, chaos ensues.
I get in right away. The security army runs to close the rogue gate. TStrick and B Witt slip in while the gate is 3/4s of the way closed and then sprint to catch up with me. Adrenaline is off the charts as we rush down the stairs and behold the Mecca of the 2011 Major League Baseball season. We continue down the aisle until we are 10 rows up from 3rd base.
9th Inning
Words can’t describe the atmosphere while Motte is taking his warm up pitches before starting the 9th. Everyone standing. Everyone cheering. Electric. None of us have words to say.
Finally B Witt looks to TStrick and I: We made it! Awesome Scale: 100!!
Absolutely agree. Epic.
Busch grows louder with each out before Motte gets Murphy to fly out to left. Confetti drops. Pandemonium ensues. We are there to witness the final out of the 2011 World Series.
Post game:
We hang in the stadium for a while, living it up with the Cards fans during the trophy presentation. When we finally leave the stadium, we spend the next few hours hanging with thousands of Cards fans in the streets. Everyone was high fiving everyone. Cars were honking. Everywhere you looked was a sea of red with huge smiles pasted on every face.
Eventually we make our way back to our car at the casino. Back to normal time:
1:45 am-
We are still high from our good fortunes of getting in the game and decide all we have left to do is win our money back at the casino. The plan: Franco plays poker while TStrick and B Witt go play table games with $40.
2:00 am-
I sit down at the poker table. TStrick and B Witt ask me what color to put their roulette bet on. I say Red, they take off.
2:30 am-
I’m up around $100 and there’s no sign of the guys. I assume that my great advice of putting their money on red worked. I feel good.
3:00 am-
I am up over $250 and thinking that it’s a good sign that TStrick and B Witt still haven’t returned.
3:05 am-
They finally return and announce to me that they are up over $200 after a combo of roulette and craps.
Franco: I told you red would hit!
B Witt: Dude we put our money on black.
Franco: But I said red.
TStrick: Yeah, we decided to go with the opposite of whatever you said. Black hit. Then we let it ride and it hit again. Then we had $160 and headed to the craps table.
Franco: Oh… Well, good job. Let’s take our money and run.
3:20 am-
We’ve accomplished more than we thought possible and decide it’s time to head back to Nashville. While we are at a stoplight in downtown St. Louis, this clean cut guy in a red suit comes up to our window with a beer in hand.
Red Suit guy: Where are you guys headed?
B Witt: Nashville
Red Suit guy: Perfect, that’s right on the way to the bar we’re heading to. I’ll give you 20 bucks to drop us off.
B Witt: Cool, hop in.
Red Suit, his buddy and his girlfriend now start trying to squeeze in the back seat with TStrick… who had no say in this. Girl gets in first, then Red Suit, and now the buddy can’t fit.
Red Suit to girlfriend: Just hop on that guy’s lap (pointing at TStrick)
Before TStrick can say anything, this random girl is sitting on his lap, the other two guys pile in the car, and we are off. She doesn’t bother switching laps once everyone is in. TStrick has a new friend.
3:25 am-
We find out some very interesting things as we’re driving towards the “bar”.
-The bar is actually a strip club
-Red Suit actually works in the Cardinals’ front office
-Red Suit’s friend is a D1 baseball coach
-The girl is completely comfortable with sitting on TStrick’s lap. He is not.
3:30 am- Our passengers find out B Witt and I played college baseball and that we know some of the same people. We have a great baseball discussion while TStrick engages in awkward small talk in the back corner of the car.
3:35 am- We drop our new best friends off at the “bar” and politefully decline their offer to join them. As Red Suit leaves, he hands B Witt 20 bucks and then gives me his business card and says, “Next time you guys are in St Louis, tickets are on me.”
Time to go home. What a perfect ending to an unreal night in St Louis! The only word that does it justice- EPIC!
8:56 am
After a taco bell run, a few hours of napping at a rest stop, and a lot of lively reflection on the twists and turns of the night- We arrived home to Nashville.
Average out of pocket spending when all was said and done (food & gas included): $72.
Total trip time: about 20 hours.
20 epic hours that none of us will ever forget.
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http://diamondhoggers.com/2011/11/01...es/#more-10766
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