What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, or so the commercials would have you believe.
Not this time. No, this time, the exploits of nine Dartmouth students in America's biggest adult playground will be told in this very column. Then again, seeing as how this is first and foremost a sports column, don't expect the juicy details. Sorry to disappoint, not that I was trying to lead you on or anything. Rather, I'd like to give you an inside look into America's greatest invention: the sports book.
As fate would have it, we lucked into hitting Vegas for the NFL conference championship games. And I can now unequivocally say that there is no better place to watch a game than from the cozy confines of a Las Vegas sports book. After sampling a few different sports books, we settled on Planet Hollywood, affectionately known as The Playing Field. Planet Hollywood was the only sports book we found that wasn't horse racing-dominant.
Instead, we found a sports fan's paradise: 30 massive flat screens surrounding a pair of giant projection screens. And if that's not enough, even the tables had flat screens embedded in the surface. Reason No. 3,328 why Vegas is better than Hanover: would you rather watch a game from a sports book or on one Collis' semi-functional televisions?
Simply put, escaping the game would prove to be impossible, and that's exactly what we wanted.
Unfortunately, I didn't even wake up until midway through the Patriots-Chargers game. I now know why everyone hates the west coast when it comes to football -- the games start far too early. And we're talking too early if you get to bed at a reasonable time.
In Vegas, reasonable goes out the window. Reason No. 6,007 why Vegas is better than Hanover: the water shows at the Bellagio, made famous in Ocean's Eleven, are truly one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. Reason number 6,008 why Vegas is better than Hanover: no open container laws.
Fast-forward sleepless to breakfast at 7:00 a.m. in the Flamingo, where, yes, they have actual Flamingos milling around the pool area, not to mention fantastically comfortable cabanas (Reasons No. 7,286 and No. 7,288 respectively. Don't worry about No. 7,287. Hi mom.) and I'm sure you can see how waking up for the game becomes difficult.
But that was okay, I arrived at The Playing Field in time to see New England secure a seemingly inevitable Super Bowl berth, leaving plenty of time for me to get excited for the Packers-Giants tilt. I did miss out on placing money on the Chargers to cover the spread, which was too bad considering the surest bet in football has been for the Patriots not to cover the past six weeks, but that just meant I was going to lay more money on the Packers to cover.
This game presented quite the conundrum for me. I'm about as big a Favre fan as they come, but I couldn't hate on the Giants. After all, the sports scene in New York has been rather bleak as of late, and it's about time for that to change. Still, despite my mixed emotions, I went into the game feeling fairly confident that the Packers would win. The Packers were handicapped by 7.5 points before the game, meaning the Packers needed to win by eight points or more for me to collect on the bet. I bought a half point, bringing the spread down to seven points in exchange for a slightly lower payoff, but I viewed it as a worthwhile trade in order to allow for a touchdown advantage to push.
As we watched the epic frigid battle while lounging inside Planet Hollywood, and it truly felt as exciting as actually being there. I'd like to think that it was due to being surrounded by a multitude of high-definition televisions and hundreds of fans or others with a substantial interest in the outcome of the game. Each thrown flag brought everyone out of their seats. Every score elicited a deafening roar. And throughout the contest, everyone just seemed to be having a blast. Yes, even drunk Patriots fan. He spent a few minutes following the first of Lawrence Tynes' blown kicks parading a Stephen Gostkowski jersey around the room.
In the pantheon of bad ideas, antagonizing drunk and angry Giants fans ranks up there with hiring Britney Spears to babysit. Now, antagonize those same fans plus a room full of people with money on the game--I think you get the point. . And once the clock hit zero and the unimaginable had happened -- Eli Manning leading a team to the Super Bowl -- some were a lot happier and a lot richer, while others, well, not so much.
As for me, following the game, I really didn't know how I should feel. I was disappointed for Favre and the Packers while simultaneously being happy for the Giants. It was the most unsettlingly neutral sports emotion I've ever felt.
To make matters worse, I came out even betting on the game. At halftime, I had a great chance to hedge my bet, allowing for the small chance to win big and virtually no chance to lose anything. With the Packers leading by four at the break, I took the Giants plus four points in the second half, meaning the Giants needed to only be outscored by three points or less for a win, or four to push. If the bet lost, that was fine because it meant my other bet would have won. If the Giants were only outscored by three or four, then I'd push one bet and win the other. And if the Giants did any better, then I'd win the latter bet while losing my original wager. These opportunities are too good to pass up, but in the end, I couldn't win or lose as a fan or as a bettor.
Then again, don't think I didn't leave Vegas happy, or a winner. I'm already counting down the days until I can return, ideally coinciding with a big event -- though I think my head might explode if I went for March Madness.
The nine of us returned to Dartmouth, feeling a bit more enriched, though not all of us financially, and thoroughly depressed to be spending the winter in Hanover instead of drinking in front of the Bellagio fountains. Yet we'll always have The Playing Field, and that just might be enough to get us through these cold Hanover nights. As for the rest of our trip, well, it's like the commercial says: what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas -- and clearly that's Reason No. 1.
