A few pics from our Las Vegas vacation to the APA Nationals!

Team "Stick It In", known only as "Edge Bar" in Vegas

   The wonderful (NOT) Riviera Hotel and Casino, where much money was lost gambling on those damn slot machines.

I actually thought it was an ok hotel...until I saw the others.

 

The Tournament Room.

Rachel, Michelle, and Bill kicking ass at the tables. Everyone got to play, and everyone played really well. But our team likes to have fun, too, not play an entire season in under a week, and only play pool all day long from eight in the morning until three at night. Those crazy under-ranked veterans with their dark circles under their eyes and their Southern accents....it's tough to beat them.

Walked around Vegas with the team...

Above left, a white tiger at the Mirage hotel!

Went to the Venetian, the inside of which has a fake roof that looks like the sky, as well as canals, just like in Venice.

  Saw some free shows- Sirens of the TI, this corny pirate show with horrible singing and music, and cool explosions and people falling off boats and stuff.

And a volcano eruption in front of the Mirage..

Rachel, Michelle, Julie, and I at the Mirage during our day of walking through Vegas.

The lovely Paris hotel.

A view of the Strip from the Voodoo Lounge, on top of the Rio hotel, on the night I went clubbing with William and Bill.

Some interesting food I found- a one pound hot dog, and that crab-like thing next to it, which freaked me out a bit especially after the Fear Factor episode of roach eating I had seen the day before.

 

  New York, New York, the hotel. I especially liked the statue of liberty, in the pic below.

The Disney hotel.

An Elvis impersonator singing at the Stardust Casino. He was one of my four Elvis spottings.

On the last day of the trip, Michelle, William, and I rented a 2005 Mustang convertible and drove out into the desert.

First we went to the Valley of Fire, which had some awesome looking rocks, in interesting shapes, sizes, and colours. The desert was deathly silent. A nice change from the constant dinging of slot machines in Vegas.

After the Valley of Fire, Michelle wanted to go sky diving, and I decided to join her. Skydiving was awesome! And surprisingly I was more nervous during my pool tournament games.

(Above 3 pics courtesy of William, from www.williamfuentes.com.)

When we came back to the hotel that evening, we found Julie and Bill passed out by the pool.

And finally, the view of Vegas as we left on the plane back to New York.

Well, we lost the competition, which I wasn't upset about because of who we were up against. I also lost a 9-ball break tournament, that I only did because I was going to gamble that $10 entry fee away anyway. Michelle won lots of money gambling, and got second place in an 8-ball mini mania competition. I won a little money myself, enough to go sky diving. All in all, I had a lot of diverse fun.

Check out www.williamfuentes.com for some awesome pics that he took of the trip!

   Went to Six Flags, went to Kevin's going away party, drove Kevin to the airport because he finally got his wish to move to Arizona, went to Buggsy's House Party and played Mafia, went to the beach, visited another roof, played pool, etc., etc.

Today I played pool at Speak Easy. I came a little earlier to practice. Oh man, I was so rusty. I lost my match, too, but I didn't play as poorly as I thought I would. That's good, because I was getting a bit depressed and hopeless. I'll get back into it.

Afterwards, went to the movies, and stopped by the Edge. Then I had to take the train to Brooklyn in the middle of the night. Fell asleep, almost missed my stop. Oh I miss my Village apartment.

Spent the day putting pictures on my site from the vacation. In the evening, went to Anyway. Then we went to the city. Stopped by the Edge, then stopped by my old apartment. I miss living in the Village.

Then at 3:30 AM we went on a cruise. The Staten Island Ferry. That was fun.

Today was Buggsy's birthday.

We wanted to go canoeing on the Hudson river, but not enough volunteers showed up, so we couldn't go. Played some free outdoor ping pong.

Then I went to Lucy's.

Douglas and Susanne got married today! I wish I would've made it to the wedding, but my mother was leaving to Russia, so I had to stay home during the day. They celebrated at Lucy's afterwards, so I stopped by there.

Then I stopped by the Edge for a minute, but had to leave to Buggsy's birthday party at Miami, in Brooklyn. The birthday party was fun. Buggsy's friends were all very nice. Afterwards we went to one of their houses and hung out there. I played guitar a little. Zlata and Pasha stopped by, too.

 Back in New York. Tonight, went out with George for Sushi. Oh man, I missed Sushi. Stopped by the Edge. Then went to Anyway with Eugene, Buggsy, and others. I've been carrying my camera around all summer, so I decided to take a break from it for a little while.

Good to be back. I missed everyone. Missed pool. Missed whiskey sours. Missed Sushi and Hot and Sour Soup. Missed American accents. But I miss traveling, too.