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“It’s better to be lucky than good.”
The late Lon Lamppa, my longtime assistant baseball coach, provided those words of wisdom often when we coached together at Babbitt-Embarrass-Soudan- Tower and it’s a saying that coaches are certainly familiar with.
In the world of sports, those words often ring true, as games can be and are decided by the bounce of the ball, a break here or there, an official’s call and even pure chance.
The old saying has been hard to shake from my mind in the aftermath of a quick, weekend and early-week trip to my favorite vacation spot - fabulous Las Vegas.
Previous columns have described the lure of the Vegas lights and sports books and since that first visit during the NCAA Basketball Tournament in 1993, the trips have been many. While still short of triple digits, there’s no doubt the junkets number in the many dozens.
After an anniversary visit with Hollee in October, which included a superb show by music icon Garth Brooks at the Coliseum at Caesar’s Palace, plans were in the works for a return engagement - most likely to coincide with the NFL playoffs or even the Super Bowl.
Hollee deferred. Her Vegas appetite is nowhere near her spouse’s and she’s satisfied with the occasional stop that includes pool time or (gasp) even visiting other destinations than Sin City.
This was to be a venture west with my mom JoAnne, in part to celebrate her long overdue retirement some 18 months ago. But a home project and other obligations prompted her to take a rain check as well, leaving the Vegas lineup to include just myself and one of our favorite couples - the newly-engaged Kelsey Ivancich and Aaron Donais.
Kelsey and Aaron flew out Saturday morning and after some AD obligations at the high school Friday night and taking in Macy’s first home elementary basketball tournament Saturday, the GMC Terrain was pointing south.
To say I’m a creature of habit is an understatement. While Hollee often suggests that I “try new things,” this solo drive included the usual stops: Tobies in Hinckley for dinner and the Park N Go on 494 to leave the car.
Sometime as the Park N Go van pulled up to the vehicle on a cold Saturday night, Lady Luck descended and decided to stick around for awhile.
Riding to Terminal 2, I peered down at my flight information and the number practically jumped off the page. Sun Country. MSP to LAS. Flight 777.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I thought to myself and nearly said out loud. Flight 777? Seriously? It was the first of a few omens and a signal of things to come.
Security lines were nonexistent for this 9 p.m. flight and once on board the Boeing aircraft, I found I had an entire row to myself in the half-filled plane. Clearly, the trip was getting off to a tremendous start.
Vegas’s Harry Reid International Airport wasn’t a ghost town, but it too was quiet for an arrival that approached 11 p.m. Within 20 minutes of landing, I had my luggage and was in a cab to the Strip.
If it’s location that’s a consideration, one can’t beat Harrah’s. It’s in the center of the Strip, a short walk to numerous other casinos and home to plenty of excitement in its own right.
Thanks to Hollee, we’ve branched out to stay at other places a time or two but Harrah’s is probably my go-to when all else fails.
By midnight, I had checked in and the lights and the casino beckoned. It was a short trip downstairs. It had been a long day and a huge one - Super Bowl Sunday was ahead.
This marked the fourth time I’d been to Vegas for the Super Bowl and the second time in three years.
And just as it was in 2023, this Super Bowl pit the world champion Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles.
I had a sneaking suspicion this would be the Eagles’ day, and backed that up with a wager at the Harrah’s sports book.
For a sport junkie, Vegas is the nextbest thing than being at the game and Super Sunday was exactly that.
The many trips west also have built a fondness for video poker, thanks in part to my late friend Coach Tom Blackwood.
A long day included much excitement, and a mixture of wins and losses when it came to the game, the various prop bets and the video poker machines.
Kelsey, Aaron and I capped the day with a wonderful meal at Ruth Chris, Harrah’s steakhouse that provides both terrific food and a picturesque view of the Strip.
Both stuffed and tired after dinner, it seemed time for bed but fate - or perhaps Lady Luck - had other things in mind.
Peg Hartshorn, my mother-in-law, provided a text message that reminded me of our family trip to Vegas a couple years back -and her favorite slot machine. At Peg’s urging, I stopped and spent 20 minutes or so at the Heidi’s Bier Haus Slot located just off of the Harrah’s food court. Unlike in 2023, Heidi brought few bonuses. Now a few bucks lighter it seemed now that the night would end.
But fate would intervene again. Before retiring, I recalled another message sent earlier in the day by my aunt - Judy Omerza.
Judy reported on her most previous Nevada junket and recommended I try a few hands of her favorite video poker game - Triple Bonus.
A few steps shy of the elevator, Harrahs’ lobby bar beckoned and I slipped a ticket into the machine and clicked on Triple Bonus.
The seat wasn’t even warm when after being dealt a couple aces, I discarded the other three cards and sought three more.
These cards came up: Ace, 3, Ace. The machines let you know now when you hit a jackpot and the banner said it all: 4 Aces With Any 2,3,4.
In video poker parlance, that’s known as “Four Aces With The Kicker,” and a bonus of $1,000.
Exhausted and ready for bed moments before, the jackpot delivered a jolt of enthusiasm as I pumped my fist, high fived the bartender and sent a few texts with the photo of the winning hand.
Armed with “the house’s money,” a few more video poker sessions followed and the winnings grew a bit before it was time to call it a night.
Some reflection the following day made it clear that luck and fate played the largest role in the sudden slot riches.
Had I not decided to first call it a night, had I not got the message from Peg about trying the Heidi’s beer slot, had my aunt Judy not suggested Triple Bonus...
Just as happens so often in life, one decision led to another, which led to another, and in this case put me in position to close out the most memorable of Super Bowl Sundays.
Monday was the last day of this abbreviated trip, and instead of video poker and sports betting, it largely involved other activities - including an afternoon listening to Big Elvis at Harrah’s Piano Bar, a scrumptious Italian dinner at the Venetian and even the start of this column.
On this day, after fate had intervened, another old saying applied: “Don’t Press Your Luck.”
Until next time, Vegas.
