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| The MGM Grand is located at 1777 3rd St. in Detroit |
Sometimes, you just have to splurge.
Relieve the holiday stress by spending freely, not worrying
about the budget and just look forward to having a good time.
Sure, some may say it is ruining the holiday season. They
say that it has taken over everything that is holey about this time of year.
That day-after-Thanksgiving spending sprees are ruining all that we have come
to cherish about a holiday that is centered around giving thanks for stuff we
already have.
But damit, sometimes you just need to spend a lot of money alcohol
and gambling.
What? You thought I was talking about shopping. No, that’s
stupid.
This weekend my friend and I took a trip the MGM Casino in
Detroit (located here), and I had chance to stop by the casino’s bar and the
Tap Room, which features a sizable amount of TVs and an average selection of
beers on tap.
We made the trip to Detroit to celebrate a friend’s birthday
(Hi, Tara!!). Now, you maybe be (justly) criticizing. But Dan, this is a blog
about bars? Why are you writing about a casino?
And I will give you three solid answers:
1. 1. During my trip to my original plan for this week’s
banter, The Office Bar, I forgot to take a picture of the marquee, and I was with
a group friends most of the night (The original purpose of the blog was that it
was my own personal experience as an outsider).
2. 2. I don’t remember much from my trip to the Office
Bar. But I’m told karaoke and Macho Man were involved. Moving on.
3. 3. It’s my blog. I write what I want.
After my first royal ass-kicking of the night at the
blackjack table, my friend and I visited a bar and got bottles of Miller Lite.
One would figure that a place that is focused on taking others people’s money
with a slim chance of giving something back in return would have enough money
in return to have a decent craft beer selection. But you’d figure wrong.
To set the mood for the night, I was out with several old
friends and was more interested in hanging out that doing any
passive-aggressive judgment on people I don’t know…but boy how opportunity presents
itself.
To make the night more classy. We were all dressed to the 9s
and ready to hit the Motor City in style. Or at least look like we were not from
Jackson.
Some people in the group said they loved the blog and wanted
to know where this week’s post was (holy hell, people actually look for this on
a schedule basis? Really? I told them that there probably wasn’t going to be
one unless an opportunity presented itself.)
So there I was, with about a dollar in my pocket after
getting throttled at blackjack. (Fun fact, sometimes, the people at the
blackjack table get super pissed at you for making the wrong strategic move,
even though it is not their money at stake if I play poorly. But there was a
dude who constantly asked why I hit on 14. Apparently, saying that about eight
face cards have been played a low card was bound to come up is a poor answer.)
You can’t play blackjack with a dollar, so I just threw it
into a slot machine—if I’m losing money, might as well loose it all, right.
Winner. OK, dumb luck. Winner again, up to eight dollars. Well whatever, I’ll
just play until I lose.
$40 later, well shit, it’s time to go to the bar. (I got up
to $48.95, but then went on a minor losing streak before walking away.)
All the girls in our group were going into a dance club and
the rest of the guys were still losing money at craps (save one in the group, I
think…there was a lot of drinking).
The MGM Grand has a bar called the Tab Room next to the game
floor. I was able to sit down and order a Sam Adams, a welcome change of pace
from the Miller Lite I had on the game floor and the half-dozen Ham’s Lights I
had on the party bus to compliment the half dozen Jell-O shots. Safe to say I
was in a good/loose mood.
The Tap Room features plenty of TVs for me to catch up on
all the college football action of the day. Notre Dame lost again, take a
drink.
Two seats to my right were two gentlemen going over failed
strategies with video poker. It seems their first mistake was playing video
poker—something that could not be overcome. Eventually it turned into a bit of
a scuffle between the two, until one them yell ‘Yo man, you need to cool, one
of them is sitting right there’. I looked to my left to find the casino
employee there were referring to, but then I realized that I was wearing a tie
and blazer, and they thought I worked at the casino.
They had worried looks on their faces, but when I shook my
head and continued drinking, they realized I was not employee. I was too tipsy
to go along with a charade, but I think they were too drunk to figure out I
didn’t work there.
I still had about 35 dollars left, so instead of drinking I decided
to try blackjack again. Again, bad decision making while being drunk. But that
pretty much summed up my entire experience in Jackson over Thanksgiving Break……..but
that’s for another post……if I get around to it.
I did fairly better with my second trip, leaving the table
with 20 dollars. So yes, I did still lose 15 dollars on the trip, but that
beats what I normally walk out of casino with. Hint: It’s what Jon Snow knows. (RIP
Ygritte…..oops, spoilers.)
I spent the rest of
trip at the MGM taking in the atmosphere and trying to help my friends gather together the rest of my more drunk friends to make our bus back home.
You will not find much friendlier wait staff at a casino,
but I suppose that is to be expected. The happier people are, the more they are
will to spend money.
Smoking is legal in casinos, so those who are anti-smoking
crusaders might not enjoy the experience (but I’ll go out on a limb and say
that those who find smoking horrible don’t have a positive view on gambling as
well).
Eventually, we did gather all the member of our group and
waited outside for our bus. And we waited, and waited, and…holy hell it’s cold
outside, where’s the damn bus. It was all sorts of cold in Detroit at 2 a.m.,
but our driver was too much in a hurry to pick us up. Causing some of our more “spirited”
member of the group to walk towards the bus—turns out it was the wrong bus.
Finally (30 minutes later) the bus arrived. I think the dude
asked for a tip, safe to say it did not work out so well for him.
The rest of the trip was filled with drinking more Ham’s (seriously, its costs only a quarter a can!!) and
a lot of loud music. It was really late, and I was ready for a nap. (I know, I’m
like a 5-year-old. But when I was a child, I was the kid who always appreciated
nap time).
Eventually the bus arrived at my friend’s house, where I
crashed for the night. After spending the night in a casino and blowing over a
hundred dollars in a suit, we ended our super classy night the only way we
could. Mario Cart for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (yeah, we’re that
sort of awesome).
Admittedly, the night (and this post) was/is a huge change
of pace from what I normally do, but it is always nice to change the routine
every now and again.
While some spend their day after Thanksgiving (I do not use
the turn B*** Friday for the same reason Ron Weasley doesn’t name He Who Must
Not Be Named) spending a ton of money for crap their loved ones probably don’t
need, I took a lot of enjoyment out of spending money on booze that I probably
do need.
It was also welcomed change of pace to spend some time on
the Eastside before heading back to my home away from home.
My trip to the MGM. Frivolous spending on money that I should
be saving-Yes. A complete change of pace from a traditional bar, thus making it
hard to ensure that this post won’t suck compared
to the other ones - yes (my readers should know that italics mean the
heckler character that I created two posts back).
Taking my out of my comfort zone because I have to deal with
a group larger than a soccer team, which next to deer and the United States
missing a World Cup , is one of my greatest fears – Yep.
Totally worth it and would do it again (after recovering
from a cold/fever I got as penance for my week of debauchery and sin) – Damn straight.
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