Thoughts In Cyberspace

The Friday morning of the event I can honestly say I did nothing at work. Made some Facebook Scrabble moves, ate breakfast with L in my office - sent L on some errands involving picking up beer for the Limo ride and Hotel rooms (I actually thought I was going to work while she was gone... I didn't). And prepared for the 24 hour extravaganza that awaited.

Once all the significant others showed up we had some lunch, the bosses made a presentation, my first Christmas gifts of 2007! L and I each got a really nice black coat. It's similar to those puffy vests that were all the rage but with long sleeves and not nearly as puffy. It has a faux down feel too it & for how light it is, is by far the warmest jacket I own. Nice. And the employees also received a Christmas Card - containing two reds and a brown boy! Spending money. Sweet.

The Limo showed up and the drinking began. The two bottles of wine that were waiting for me in the Stretched H1 was not nearly enough and were gone quickly. The beer started flowing by the time we turned on the QEW and one of the guests even brought a "left over" bottle of Veuve Rose, yes please! Now we're riding in Style. Limo, Veuve, Stella & Wolfblass. All we were missing was Cavier, Cocaine and Lindsay Lohan to be maxed out on cool.

Arrived at the Hotel Hilton just adjacent the Fallsview Casino and checked in. Powered back the remainder of our cooler in the hotel room with a few others sharing some classic work chat and getting to know their guests before heading to the Casino and spending some of our cash gift. L and I hit the same blackjack table, and while I was dealt 5 first card 2's in a row, and got down to my final $15 minimum bet, I worked it back a nice profit then called it quits. (Side Note: The Dealer hit an impressive 5 ace 20. He was hence forth known as the Ace Burner).

It was Keg Dinner time. Artichoke Dip followed by the Steak and Crab dinner was on the menu for me. So was 3 double Baileys on the rocks and a few double rye and cokes. Some shooters came out a bit later, but I was not responsible for those - although I did partake. I was even able to catch a glimpse of the Bill. 5 or 6 of us took a guess at it, ranging from $1,200 - $2,400. My guess was $1,750 and while the actual bill came to $1,733 (a $17 difference) the Price is Right rules were implemented and I lost to the person who guessed $1,700... Either way, a damn good guess. (Although I suppose since I was responsible for most of it, it was easy to guesstimate haha - 17 people for the record)

Drunk & full - it was gambling time. People split the casino heading to their favorite game. I ended up at the Ultimate Hold'em Game with a few other co-workers, fun enough version of Hold'Em versus only the dealer set up in a Black Jack style seating table. Not the best odds I've found but if the dealer gets cold, you can win a lot of cash. I won some decent money on the game. And in my usual way, made very good friends with the Pit Boss.

It was now bed time for a few people, including L who wasn't feeling too great after dinner. But it was Midnight after an already long day of drinking. I stayed up though and put my name on the waiting list for $2-$5NL Hold'em in the poker room (a non social game but since everyone was leaving what the hell). After about 45 minutes of waiting and playing the Ultimate game another small profit I cashed into the 2-5 game for the maximum $200. JJ and AK to start on my first two hands I was already up about $150. And after putting a brutal beat on one guy an hour later (ha, that normally only happens to me) I was up big. Few bluffs and few hands later (although admittedly I was uber-tight) I cashed out just before 5am with $1150 in front of me). Some $ fell out of my pocket into some slot machines on the way back that didn't pay shit, but what else is new.

So all told I profited about $700, $500 earned since I was given $200 to play with. I ended up being the big winner of the night, but for the most part nobody was down. I think the worst scenario was someone who was only coming home with $100 remaining of their $200 gift. The only loser was the company, the way it should be.

A 5 Star Breakfast Buffet @ 9am (yup only 2.5 hours of drunken sleep for me) on the hotels 33rd floor, overlooking the falls in a complete white out blizzard (really cool to see actually) was very tasty, and helped sober me up. It was not long until we were all back at the office and the 24 hour whirl wind Christmas party was over.

Picture took place the day before - no blizzard pictures to report.