SO at the beginning of this week, I got my first Stereoplasm order today and I think I am hooked.
First: the package was so fun to open and there were so many goodies. Candy, tea, samples, and, um, just a whole bottle of maple syrup! I am thoroughly delighted. Everything was wrapped beautifully, as well!
Second, TAT: I’ve been interested in Stereoplasm for a long time, but never ordered because I was worried about the shipping from Canada. I shouldn’t have worried, because shipping was free (on orders over $100) and fast via FedEx. I placed the order late 11/6, got a tracking number on 11/12, saw that the package was picked up on 11/16, and had it in hand on 11/18- 8 business days from order to delivery.
I ordered three of the 5-piece sets (Dawn, Baking, and Darkest Hour), which seemed like a good deal and a nice way to try a variety of scents, plus 4.5 ml bottles of The Autumn People and Pickerel Frog. Then there were a whoooole bunch of stacking freebies and tons more samples on top of those!
I tested some of these fairly early on, so where necessary I have updated the reviews after a few days of resting!
About my tastes: I am very into resins, incense, smoke, woods, leather, and dark musks. I don’t usually want to smell like a straight up cupcake, but I can do foodie scents as part of a complex gourmand perfume where they are balanced by musk or other notes. A lot of sweet and dessert-type notes go super plasticky on my skin, and I have trouble getting any perfume to last very long (2 hours is a LONG time for me). I dislike most florals, but again, if they are balanced properly, I can appreciate them.
My favorites: Sunday Morning, Mourning Glory, Gone Gnome, Snow Leopard
Least favorites: Nocturnal Light, Stretchy Cat, The Ghost Rockets, and Dark, Dark
Overall impressions: This was a great experience all around! I loved the packaging and I am a sucker for fun extras- there were plenty here! I also feel like Stereoplasm has some incredibly unique scents in the indie world. On one hand, this made it challenging to decide what to try, but on the other, it forced me out of my usual scent comfort zone and I tried and liked some perfumes I never would have gone for otherwise! My favorites from this order were totally unexpected.
Here’s the whole haul and my reviews:
DAWN:
Sun Blush (Nearly-naked (and perfectly ripe) fresh peach slices with a hint of ginger root, mulled Rosé wine and fresh marshmallow crème.) 7.5 ml
Sun Blush reminds me of a delicious rosé sangria! The wine note is the most prominent, dry and delicious. There is a bit of the peach and not much ginger. I want to smell the marshmallow, but I’m not picking up on it! This has really good throw until it fades on the later drydown, leaving behind a creamy peach skin scent.
Sunday Morning (*Banana popsicle, vintage furs, edelweiss and salted margarita.) 4.5 ml
I was scared of the banana popsicle note, and I will tell you why. Warning: this is TMI. When I was 10, I had my tonsils removed. When I woke up, I felt queasy, but I was told that I wouldn’t be able to go home unless I could eat something. “Something” ended up being a banana popsicle (a flavor I would not have chosen on my own). I ate the popsicle and immediately felt about 10 times sicker. When the nurse came back to check on me, I reached peak queasiness and vomited a mixture of blood and banana popsicle all over her. This was the first and only time I have ever eaten a banana popsicle. ANYWAY, the banana here is nice and mild and behaves itself. It combines with the salty margarita for a nice tropical feel. I wonder if a banana margarita would be any good? There’s a soft fuzzy musk underneath. This smells sunny and happy, but also soft and comfy and I like it WAY more than I thought I would. It’s a beautiful sunny morning and I am snuggled into soft blankets while a breeze flutters in through my open window. The Velvet Underground start playing in my head every time I sniff my wrist. I love this, and I might no longer have a negative association with banana popsicles! Good throw, and lasts for ages.
Autokinesis (Blueberry ozone, wild ravensara, crushed daisies, silver fir and phenolic catnip.) 4.5 ml
This smells like something from Lush, but I can’t figure out what. Maybe it just smells like a Lush store! I had to look up what ravensara is and apparently it has earthy citrus and licorice notes. The end result is that there is a little bit of everything in here- berries, citrus, pine, herb, florals, and a bit of a powdery vibe. I think that might be why, as it dries down, it just literally smells like a giant box of bath bombs. I don’t dislike it! It’s clean, complex and sort of tickles my nose. Decent throw, long lifespan.
Lights Across the Sky (Circles of sun-bleached wheat, twilight musk, English lavender and upturned fennel bulbs. Shaking saucers under steaming cups of Earl Grey sink into comforting vanilla cream.) 1.8 ml
Dry, grassy wheat, blending seamlessly into Earl Grey tea. The dryness makes me think of tea leaves and not actual cups of tea. This has great sillage when I first put it on! The fennel starts to come out, but it isn’t quite as fresh as I was hoping it would be. There is maybe a hint of creamy vanilla underneath everything, but this is mostly dry and herbal. The late drydown is lightly sweetened fennel tea; as it dries, it doesn’t have much throw. It’s very pleasant but I was hoping for something stronger and longer-lasting.
Stretchy Cat (Soothing green tea garnished with fresh lemon, mint and tangerine peel served with a big bowl of bergamot-zest sorbet)
The citrus here is overwhelming and astringent to the point where it smells like a cleaning product. There is a lot of mint, too, which has a cooling effect but kind of adds to the overall chemical vibe. It has a LOT of throw. Admittedly, I am a slatherer, but I feel like any moment my dad is going to knock on the door and complain that my perfume is too strong, and he is several rooms away at the moment lol. It gets mintier as it dries and the bergamot goes kind of bitter. After a little while, it starts to smell medicinal... like a cough drop. Oh well, I was probably never going to like this because mint/citrus is just not my thing.
BAKING:
Jam Tart (Spanish Seville & ginger marmalade, shortcrust pastry, carmine, crepe paper, drops of belladonna and rose petal rouge.) 7.5 ml
I thought this was going to be super foodie and thus instantly turn to plastic on my skin, but it’s actually very nice. I don’t get much, if any, of the pastry. I mostly get sweet, gingery marmalade with just a touch of rose. Really pretty and nice for spring, I think! As it dries, it’s less jammy and more perfumey, with some papery musk. Decent throw, moderate longevity.
Banilla Cloud (Banana, fresh marshmallow, vanilla cream, white chocolate and hazelnut.) 4.5 ml
At first sniff: I want to eat my wrist. I get a sweet, creamy blend of banana and hazelnut, and I know it’s supposed to be white chocolate but that combined with the hazelnut is giving me a Nutella vibe. The banana fades super fast and then the marshmallow comes out. It never goes plasticky on me, but the drydown is mostly sweet marshmallow with a little bit of hazelnut. It fades super fast though, and is 95% gone in about 30 minutes.
The Ghost Rockets (Fresh marshmallow, candy rockets, cuckoo bread, meteor dust, lily of the valley and hazel.) 4.5 ml
What is cuckoo bread? What are candy rockets? I have no idea, and I don’t think I am likely to find out because all I smell is LILY OF THE VALLEY. This is all old lady floral perfume and powdery sweetness. I’m extra sad because when I first tried it (unrested, fresh from the mailbox), I smelled some yummy marshmallow and had high hopes. After a few days, the marshmallow is still there, but buried underneath a mountain of flowers. Rip. The flowers are tamed as it dries, but the result is a very powdery/papery scent. No marshmallow 😭
Mayflower Fleece ((spun sugalight chamomile/candied gingeearl grey) - fluffy orange clouds of sweet and zesty mayflower fleece (the official treat of the Mayweed Festival).) 1.8 ml
Ginger and chamomile, a touch of zesty citrus (I guess this is the bergamot from the Earl Grey?). Fluffy and sweet! The chamomile goes a little floral but the overall effect is pleasant and spring-like. It gets even more sugary as it dries! Yum. I will keep my sample, but probably won’t upsize.
Soft Cat (Sunday morning biscuits, sticky marshmallow fluff, warm vanilla toe beans and soft mews under piles of sun-dried cashmere.) 1.8 ml
Fresh toasted bread, dry vanilla and soft snuggly musk. This is not very sweet, which I appreciate, and it is as warm and cuddly as the name and description would suggest! There is the faintest hint of plastic (my eternal curse when it comes to foodie scents) as it dries and I am really hoping it doesn’t take over.
Update: after about 15 minutes, it smells waxy and fake, like a cheap vanilla candle. This was SO nice at first... I’m sad 😭
DARKEST HOUR:
Mourning Glory (Thick black velvet curtains, bruised palmarosa leaves, Shanghai spice, wilted white carnations and bible leather.) 7.5 ml
At first sniff, I am surprised at how much I like this. I got mostly carnation and spice, with soft leather underneath. There is a heavy, almost dusty vibe that suggests the curtains. I would also not be surprised if there was some vetiver in there somewhere. Something about it makes me think of funeral flowers, which is probably appropriate given the name. It has a pretty good throw and just smells really well-blended. It’s dark and elegant and gives off a mysterious vibe, and lasts quite a while. I really like this. I feel like I should be dressed in an elaborate Victorian mourning gown, wandering the halls of a haunted manor. I would never have bought this on its own, but I really like it and I’m glad I have a big bottle!
Candle in the Window (Melting beeswax candles, linden honey, chilled air from an open window, freshly-rolled tobacco cigarettes and flint.) 4.5 ml
I get a lovely beeswax note but then there is something really strong that reminds me of cleaning products- like literally Windex or something. I think it must be the “chilled air” because it is a very fresh, cool scent. I want more of the warm beeswax because that note is gorgeous! I am in luck, because the windex scent evaporates after a little while. The dry down is much heavier on the beeswax! The linden honey adds a prominent floral component. I don’t get any tobacco, sadly. Long term, it stays fairly close to the skin and the floral notes mostly fade to pure warm beeswax.
Nocturnal Light (Glowing red amber, star anise, mandrake accord, Egyptian tagetes and blue cypress.) 4.5 ml
Starts out with heavy amber, a teeny bit of anise and something very herbal (the tagetes? I’m not sure). The drydown is earthy, dark and, weirdly, very smoky- verging on acrid. Low throw, but it has a lot of longevity. I’m not a fan of this one.
Dark, Dark (Roasted chicory root, protective rock salt, rugosa rose, ancient myrrh and carnation petals.) 1.8 ml
I get something sharp and herbal- I think it might be the chicory mixing with the rose. There is a toastiness and something that smells dusty and old. I get a lot of myrrh in the background. There is a layer of salt over everything and it’s a particular kind of salt note that makes me think of laundry detergent. This one is not for me! It has good throw and lasts forever. Of course, only scents I don’t like want to stick around on my skin 😂
Snoozy Cat (Soft cotton candy purrs of sweet baby's breath, french lavender, dreamy garden thyme and a hint of chamomile.) 1.75 ml*
I am a big fan of sweet, cuddly lavender scents for sleep, and at first, this is just dreamy. It’s not quite as sticky sweet a lavender as Poesie’s Sleepy Ghost, nor is it quite as herbal as BPAL’s TKO- this is somewhere in between. Lavender is the star here, with hints of thyme and chamomile in the background. It’s sugary and very relaxing. Once it dries, though, this goes super powdery. It’s actually still kind of pleasant, in this nostalgic “this smells like a body spray I would have worn in middle school” way- purple, sugary sweet powder. It fades quickly after that stage, but I guess if I’m using this as a sleep scent, I don’t really mind.
Then, I made two individual bottle purchases-
Lithobates Palustris (Pickerel Frog) (Night blooming jasmine, wet grass, algae, and tomato leaf.) 4.5 ml
So this is a departure from my usual scents, but I’ve come to appreciate jasmine in certain contexts and I thought this could be interesting with the addition of tomato leaf. It has a MASSIVE throw, and the grass and tomato leaf definitely dominates the jasmine. The jasmine is there, and it’s not the jasmine that smells like cat pee (thank god), but it’s also not the sweet, heady pure jasmine that I really like. It smells a bit like fancy soap. It’s actually quite pretty, but a bit too strong and overwhelming lay flowery for me! Still, I am going to keep this around and see what happens to it as it ages.
The Autumn People (Grinning jack-o-lanterns, dripping red wax, fallen leaves, croaking mulch, shivering cardamom pods, a freshly hanged juju bag glittering in the rafters and an old page from the Witch's Almanac.) 4.5 ml
Mostly I get a blast of dry cardamom, maybe some wood in the background- but it could mostly be a cardamom single note. I think maybe this needs to rest.
Update: It’s all cardamom. I am going to keep letting it rest, but all I get, in the bottle and on my skin, is straight up cardamom! Where is the pumpkin? Where are the leaves?!
Now, onto all the freebies! There are a lot; Stereoplasm is super generous with samples!
Early Reflections (Pink grapefruit, melted shea butter, warm skin, yuzu rind, ripe guava and crushed pineapple.) 1.8 ml (bonus!)
This was one of the first Stereoplasm scents that caught my eye- I don’t normally like fruity scents, but I’ve become obsessed with guava lately and I love yuzu as well, so I was really intrigued by this description! I would have bought a full size unsniffed tbh, but it was unavailable at the time I placed my order. Sooo this is really good. I get a lot of tart yuzu at first, and some sweet guava and pineapple. There is not a lot of grapefruit. Underneath is soft shea butter, which warms everything up and smooths out the bright fruit notes. It smells KIND of like something I would buy at Bath and Body Works as a teenager, but like the last time I made this comparison, that is not necessarily a bad thing. This also just might be my personal association with fruity scents, because I don’t typically wear them. This has a bit more depth and “pizazz” than your standard body spray! I really like the combination of shea butter and the brighter fruity notes; it adds creaminess without foodieness. I do wish the guava was more prominent. This stays close to the skin with low throw.
Enjoy Your Waffles (A welcoming breakfast of homemade waffles with plenty of maple syrup, coffee and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Superseded by manipulative whispers from a garden of white daises, heliotrope and magnolia.) 1.8 ml (GWP)
Super buttery in the bottle, but on my skin it’s wildflowers with toasty waffles and a hint of coffee. Hear me out- this smells like going to a brunch buffet in a nice hotel. The lobby is full of beautiful flowers and the smell of breakfast is wafting out of the dining room. The orange juice is not really detectable on its own, but adds a little citrus zing that brightens everything up. This has a ton of sillage and seems to last quite a while!
Update: I retested this after letting it rest for a few days and the hotel association is even stronger now. I think it might be reminding me of the Bellagio in Las Vegas, with the garden in the lobby? The orange juice has also become much more prominent. There is a soft coffee note that emerges in the later stages, but it’s still heavily floral. The dry down is back to buttery breakfast foods and softer florals, but I don’t think I can get past being blasted in the face with flowers at the beginning.
Gone Gnome (Top notes of cilantro and key lime rooted in fresh garden basil, english cucumber and melon blossom.) 7.5 ml (GWP)
This is so not a list of notes I would EVER choose for myself but wow, this is SO fresh and green and I kind of feel like I smell like a salad- but in a good way. (It’s a really fancy salad, with edible flowers and lots of interesting herbal micro greens.) This smells like SPRING in a bottle! The cilantro and basil somehow just work with the tart fresh lime and cucumber. The melon blossom adds a little sweetness but this is a green, grassy, herbal blend, not really floral at all. I can almost taste this perfume. It has a crazy throw at first, but dries down to something softer, like the way your hands might smell after working in the garden for a while, and that stage lasts for a surprisingly long time.
The Great Owl (Ancient amber, frankincense, benzoin and champaka in a hollow draped in thick cobwebs, glowing citronella and vetiver root.) 1.8 ml (GWP)
ALL CITRONELLA. At least no mosquitoes will bother me? It’s November, though, so that probably wasn’t an issue to begin with. I sort of get some soft resins underneath, but they are being completely smothered by the screeching citronella. The citronella gets toned down a bit as I wear it, but wow, it is still pretty strong. I guess I will hold on to this to see if the amber and resins come out a bit more with some aging.
Last Dance (Vintage amber, creamy heliotrope, bubbly champagne, and freshly picked wildflowers.) 4.5 ml (GWP)
Mostly soft amber (light and dry, maybe white?) and white florals- it definitely has a bit of an old-fashioned perfume vibe, with a bit of champagne, just enough to add some fun fizziness. Dries down to a dry amber, low throw but quite nice.
Lovesick Lake (Bright pink and heartbreakingly optimistic; cotton candy served with thick strawberry cheesecake and sour lemon squares on a hot rainy day.) 1.8 ml (bonus!)
Lemonheads and cheesecake! Fades depressingly fast to a sugary lemon with a teeny hint of sweet strawberry. It stays in that soft, candy-like skin scent zone for a little while, and I like it a lot! Over the long term, though, it fades to lemony plastic. Sometimes I really hate my skin chemistry!
Moon Milk (Crumbs from almond tuiles and lavender sugar dust, one last sip of Fortuna tea leaves left behind in a porcelain cup reveal chilled chiffon cream illuminated by a single flame glinting off the gold filigree.) 1.8 ml (bonus!)
This was on my to-try list but I was a bit worried about the almond note. I shouldn’t have been concerned; this is a beautiful scent! I get mostly sweet lavender with a sort of cool creamy lemon and tea, and maybe a hint of an almond cookie note. Great throw, too. It reminds me a bit of Fantôme Kensington, but more tart. The dry down is unfortunately a little flat.
No Skin On (Squishy pumpkin entrails, candy cigarettes, dry forest needles and cobweb glue) 1.8 ml (bonus!)
Pumpkin guts! Un-spiced pumpkin notes are usually a little buttery, and this is no exception, but there is also a genuine fresh pumpkin scent here that I don’t usually get. There’s a little bit of sweetness from what I assume is the candy cigarette note (I don’t actually know what candy cigarettes smell like, though) and faint pine. The pumpkin is still a bit too foodie, but this is getting closer to the pure squishy raw pumpkin innards that I want. I want to try layering this under other blends when I need an extra blast of pumpkin!
Orange is Technocolour (Orange blossom petals with shea butter, house-distilled tangerine oil and apricot jam.) (bonus!)
AGGRESSIVELY ORANGE. Even the oil itself is orange! The tangerine is extremely bright and juicy and there is that nice shea butter note underneath. The apricot jam adds a little more sticky sweetness. I can’t adequately express how realistic this is! I feel like I can smell every part of the fruit- the zest, the pith, the flesh, it’s all there. I never thought I would want to smell like an actual tangerine, and yet here we are. I like it! It dries down to pure orange juice.
Rubies From Your Lips (Twilight musk, smoked wood sage, carnation corsage, holy water, green clove, damp soil and grave moss.) 1.8 ml (bonus!)
Soft musk with spicy clove and carnation, maybe a hint of smoke. The carnation here is stronger and more intensely floral than in Mourning Glory. It dries down to verrry soft clove and carnation petals, but stays super faint (in direct contrast to Mourning a Glory, which lasts for hours)! I get absolutely no moss or soil.
Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) (Soft woodsmoke, hot toddy, mountain ozone and mint chutney.) 1.75 ml (Monthly animal - GWP)
A really nice smoke note with fresh minty air and a warm booziness from the hot toddy! This is so perfect for the holidays without actually smelling like a “Christmas” scent. It’s rich and multi-faceted and I like it very much. The later drydown is mostly sweet woodsmoke that lasts for a long time.
The Star Leaf (Morning dew, rich soil, nurturing chamomile, mossy stone, fresh herbs and all the star leaves you can eat.) 1.8 ml (GWP)
WHOA, this is an extremely realistic garden scent. If Gone Gnome is all freshly picked greens and herbs, this is the garden they came from. The soil, water glistening on bright green leaves, everything! It’s a teeny bit grassier than I would like, but this kind of just adds to the backyard garden image it creates in my mind.

I’ve been seeing a lot of negativity around here recently, and rightfully so. We lost Iowa. I know that’s not an easy fact to take in given the amount of time and effort put into the state from the campaign, staff, and volunteers, but we have to face the truth. We got out-organized.
So what do we do about it?
I’m the author of these previous 4 posts if you have the time to read them. If not, its ok. This post is very much a standalone post. And probably my most important post thus far:
Part 1: https://www.reddit.com/YangForPresidentHQ/comments/b17slb/ive_worked_on_multiple_campaigns_and_managed_a/
Part 2: https://www.reddit.com/YangForPresidentHQ/comments/b9yyyh/getting_andrew_yang_to_the_white_house_step_2/
Part 3: https://www.reddit.com/YangForPresidentHQ/comments/c1h0lj/getting_andrew_yang_to_the_white_house_part_3_at/
Part 4: https://www.reddit.com/YangForPresidentHQ/comments/ds6rh0/getting_andrew_to_the_white_house_part_4/
In this post, I will detail our best path forward. Our best path to shock the political world and get the American people and the media to take us seriously. And it’s not what you think. Andrew has been campaigning tirelessly in IA and NH, but his best chances are not there. Our entire campaign, our entire country’s future rests on us winning Nevada. There is no other state more prime for our message and our vision than Nevada.
I’ve been canvassing in Nevada since November of 2019. I have knocked on hundreds of doors and spoken to hundreds, maybe thousands of Nevadans. We have a chance to take top 3 in Nevada. When textbankers told me to go to IA, I chose to travel to Nevada. And I’m glad I did. The political environment and campaign infrastructure are much better in Nevada. Nevada (and more specifically one city in NV) is a state full of Yang Gang, they just don’t know it yet. Nevada has early voting which has already begun, but their caucus is on Feb 22nd. Nevada is our last stand. And I will detail in this post exactly why we can and should win Nevada. If we don’t, that could very well be the end of this campaign. So buckle up, this is important.
Nevada is the third state to vote. In addition, like Iowa they are also a caucus state. No one was expecting us to win Iowa. Heck, it’s probably a good thing we didn’t win Iowa. With the debacle going on there, our win would have been overshadowed by the IA Democratic Party screwup anyways. That being said, no one is expecting us to win NH either. (If you want to go to NH, please still go. But from this time of posting, we have 5 days to convince NH, we have two weeks to convince NV – do the math). If we lose Nevada however, that is three in a row. More than enough reason for the media to write us off for the rest of the primary cycle. We need to prove them all wrong. We SHALL NOT let the Bernie Bros pass!
We can do this because Nevada has favorable Demographics, the Issues/Politics resonate with its voters, and the Nevada Staff/Campaign are the best I’ve seen.

Demographics:
To win Nevada, we only need to focus on one location. Unlike Iowa and New Hampshire where the population is spread out (there are 99 counties throughout the state of IA), Nevada only has 16 counties and most of them are very sparsely populated. The most important county is Clark County, and the most important city in that county is…..you guessed it, LAS VEGAS. The Las Vegas metropolitan area includes Boulder City, Enterprise, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Summerlin, Winchester, Paradise…etc. The Las Vegas Metro area has 2.2 Million people living in it. The entire state of Nevada has a population of ~ 3 Million people. The Las Vegas metro area comprises of more than 70% of the entire population of Nevada. If we win Las Vegas, we win Nevada. Its that simple.
In addition, you know what Las Vegas has that IA and NH did not? A group of people whom tend to like Yang automatically: MINORITIES!! Las Vegas has a huge Chinatown and we have a Yang office there! Las Vegas had a Chinese New Year’s parade two weeks ago! Did NH or IA have a Luna New Year Parade? FUCK NO! Yang Gang was there and walked in it! We got cheers from the audience! Yang Gang has ran ads in Chinese media for Yang. There are at least several precincts that are majority Asian people! That better be automatic delegate pickups for us. We just need to turn them out!
Las Vegas, unlike Iowa or NH, is very compact. You can finish canvassing 50 doors easily because the houses are close to each other. If you’re really hitting it, you can easily do 100 doors a day. You dont need to hit a few, then drive several blocks. You can simply drive to a neighborhood and bang out door to door very efficiently. Also, unlike IA and NH, it’s a sunny/cool 60-70 degrees in Las Vegas. So people are actually out doing stuff.

The Issues/Politics:
There is no other city where the narrative and issues Andrew Yang champions appear more salient than in Las Vegas. Las Vegas is at the center of the automation revolution, and you can look no further than the famous Las Vegas strip. If you have the money (seriously, it can get pricey) stay on the strip and talk to every bartender, waitress, blackjack dealer, housekeeper, bellman, etc you can. In Las Vegas, the service employees win the elections.
This New York Times article details it very well. (If you cant read it due to paywall, don’t worry, I’ll explain) (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/12/us/politics/nevada-caucus-2020-culinary-union.html)
The most important special interest groups in Las Vegas are the culinary workers union, Local 226, and the bartenders union, Local 165. These unions see automation in front of them every day. MGM recently automated most of their backhouse bartenders. Servers now pick up drinks from a robot and deliver them to customers. I spoke with a bar manager in the Bellagio and he said that in their contracts, there are clauses that dictate they can be automated away by a machine anytime. And they have to be ok with that. So Andrew Yang's message of the Freedom Dividend resonates. In addition, there is one issue the unions care about more than anything else and that is Healthcare. However, this is the best part: they HATE Medicare for All. Not one union worker I spoke with wanted Medicare for All. Why? Because their unions have negotiated for them stellar healthcare for years and years. They love their healthcare. And they don’t want the government coming in and taking away all the hard work their union has done for them. If you bring up Yang to your housekeeper, your waiter, your bartender, I guarantee you their first question to you will be: “What will happen to my healthcare?”. And unlike Bernie, we can say “You can keep it”. (Note: Biden also said that when he visited the unions). If Andrew Yang can win the endorsements of the Local 226 and Local 165, we win Las Vegas/NV. It was these unions whom delivered Hillary Clinton her victory in 2016. Now Andrew has not met with the unions and their leaders yet, and I hope that the campaign is reaching out to them. But until that happens, it us up to US to talk to as many union members as possible.
(Note also: Nevadans have a bad taste in their mouth for Bernie, especially after how the Bernie people acted in the NV State convention in 2016. Maybe using death threats was not the best look for the Bernie campaign. Just sayin: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/17/us/politics/bernie-sanders-supporters-nevada.html)
If you stay on the strip, talk to every employee you can. You can change minds. I Yanged an entire bar by myself when I spoke with the Bar Manager about the Freedom Dividend, automation, and that Yang wont take away his Healthcare. He then bought me a free drink, gave me his card, and committed to taking all his employees to the caucus. Imagine if the Yang Gang descended onto Vegas and did this at every restaurant, every bar, every hotel, and every venue. We would win Las Vegas, and get free shots too.
After speaking to many Las Vegas voters, I’ve come to believe that they don’t like politicians. There’s a reason why Tom Steyer has blanketed the state with his ads. Because Nevadans don’t trust politicians. Thus, Yang is a natural alternative to the rest of the field. Steyer may have some traction, but almost everyone I spoke with didn’t like the fact that Steyer was trying to buy the election. Everyone from Uber drivers to strippers (seriously) found Steyer annoying.
Something unique to Vegas that you don’t see anywhere else is the way wealth inequality unravels itself. Las Vegas is the place where the rich and famous come to party and blow their money away. Yet the residents here don’t scorn or hate them. Bernie and Warren’s rhetoric of the “greed and the corruption” fall on deaf ears here because in Las Vegas, the rich treat service employees well. Talk to any bartendeserver long enough and they’ll tell you about that one time when Rihanna came in and left a $10K tip on her tab. The rich come here to live out their vices, yet they are gracious and generous to the people who serve them. You can spend upwards of $5000 at a nightclub and $20 for a drink on the strip, but once you leave the strip prices drop by at least 75%. So residents don’t feel the price inflation. Don’t want to spend money? Party in downtown Vegas, where a drink is only $3- $4. The residents of Las Vegas don’t hate the rich, and they don’t want a “revolution”. They just want to make enough money so that sometimes they can sit down and enjoy a football game with the high rollers. The Freedom Dividend is the ticket to that life.
The Staff
Last, but not least, is the staff. Speaking from meeting as many of them as I have, the Las Vegas campaign staff are absolutely phenomenal. Mark Peckham, the NV state director did a great job picking his team and it shows. Reading through the threads I see talk about the Iowa staff being unprofessional and not ready for the caucus. I see talk about IA not training their precinct captains correctly, and offices hiring people with no experience. I can tell you, that is certainly NOT the case in Las Vegas. Almost every staff member I spoke with was professional and experienced. I consider myself pretty experienced in politics. There was not one staff member I met who didn’t know their shit. Precinct captain training? The NV staff has been doing that on a WEEKLY basis since November! Sign up for canvassing and are late 30 mins, you bet your ass a staffer will call you up and find out where you are. I remembered when I was considering going to IA and I wanted to know if the IA campaign needed a data analytics guy (my specialty). I asked several staff and never got an answer back. I asked the same question to Las Vegas staff and I got an answer back in seconds. The Las Vegas staff know their shit and they’re here to win. Even their volunteer coordinators are dedicated and knowledgeable. They have daily tables at UNLV, and weekly well attended Yang Hangs. Their offices are clean and open on time. Yang Gangs have houses you can stay in free of charge, and volunteers happily drive you around in a Tesla to get you to your canvassing locations. They’re that fucking good. Convinced yet? Here are the contacts you should add/follow on facebook:
Eileen Patterson, Las Vegas Volunteer Director
Gavin Williams, Field Organizer
Alex Pitarro, Field Organizer
Alyssa Monet Manson, Yang Gang House Leader
Nick Joke (not his real name, but his name on facebook), Volunteer organizer
(these are not all the staff, just the ones I can remember off the top of my head. There are several others, almost all are sharp).
Join the Vegas Yang Gang Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vegasyanggang/
The Las Vegas Yang Gang has a website: https://vegasyanggang.com/
The following are their active offices and hours:
Addresses:
Chinatown Office
4276 Spring Mountain Rd Suite 203 Las Vegas, NV 89102
Henderson Office
580 E. Windmill Lane Suite 130 Las Vegas, NV 89123
North Las Vegas Office
2815 W Lake Mead Blvd Las Vegas, NV 89106
Hours
Monday—Saturday: 10:00AM–8:00PM
Sunday: 12:00PM–8:00PM
(Note: I emphasize Vegas because it is the population center of Nevada. However, if you would like to help win other parts of Nevada, Reno is worthy of helping too. I’ve met several Reno organizers and they are all very capable people.)
Lastly, Las Vegas is truly an amazing city. Nothing beats canvassing 50 doors a day and then settling down to a workout, a spa, and a buffet. Want to Yang marijuana aficionados because Yang has the best drug policy? Great, its legal to buy weed in NV. Go to one of the hundreds of dispensaries in Vegas. Want to Yang sex workers and strippers because Yang wants to decriminalize sex work? Great, Vegas has the best strip clubs in the world. Want to party hard and work hard? Great, Vegas has the best nightclubs and bars you could ever dream of. Want to Yang sports gamblers because Yang wants to legalize online gambling, you can do that too!
So lets leave all our chips on the table Yang Gang. There is no other city more prepared to be won than Las Vegas. Lets lay it all out on the floor and say we did our best. Make Las Vegas our Last Stand. And if we win, if we do, that will be more than enough momentum to carry us to victory on Super Tuesday. Nevada/Las Vegas is better representative of America than any other state/city so far, and America will recognize that. If we win Vegas, we carry enough momentum to finish well in Super Tuesday, guaranteeing our bargaining power in a brokered convention in July.
I hope this is not the last time I write these posts. And I hope you all can join me. What are you waiting for? Buy your ticket. We’re going to Vegas baby.
thank u, next.
Note: last but not least, if you can donate, please donate to the Ken Jeong fundraiser this coming 2/13, will help us hit NV campaigning strong!:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ay-events-lv-1215
Edit: Thank you so much for everyone giving me awards! I just want Yang to win and I firmly believe this is our last stand. We’re in the Endgame now....

This is probably going to get long, I tend to write too much, sorry.
TLDR: Friend meeting me on vacation was quarantined, redditors saved me from going to shows alone, and helped me overcome some of my anxiety and agoraphobia.
I’m a huge introvert, with a mild case of agoraphobia, mainly only affects me when I’m alone in public places. I don’t have much of a social life, I work from home and get out of the house like twice a week to get groceries. I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety all my life, and have isolated myself from the world over the past 40 years of life. I’ll spare you the details, I’m sure it’s in my comment history if you look, but all of this is relevant.
Between isolation, working too much, and a lot of stress from work I’ve been in a bad spot with depression for a couple months. I started telling work that I needed a break. We’re in the middle of a huge project that I’m leading so I never felt the time was right. One of the owners called me one evening and told me that I’m important to the team and they don’t want me burned out and asked that I take a vacation. I can’t share the details publicly, but he made a generous offer to encourage me to go on vacation.
I knew I’d always wanted to visit Las Vegas, but I’d never dream of spending a vacation anywhere by myself. Vacations have always been staycations for me. So I got ahold of an old high school friend who I haven’t seen in 20 years and asked if he wanted to plan a vacation to Vegas together. He said yes, we figured out the dates, and I booked it. Flight, hotel, and tickets for 5 Vegas shows. I booked two tickets to shows every night for us to see, 4 Cirque du Soleil shows plus David Copperfield. Cirque du Soleil was the main draw to Vegas for me, obviously. All ticket sales were final and non-refundable.
I flew in Thursday evening on March 5th, dropped my things in the hotel, and then grabbed an Uber to a dispensary. Legal weed sure is nice. Friday morning I went to the aquarium at Mandalay Bay. There was a lot of anxiety involved but I was proud of myself for getting out there. Stopped at CVS and stocked up on soda after that, because fuck paying $12.75 for a can of Coke from the mini bar, should’ve looked at the prices before I had that first one. Oops. But I digress.
Friday afternoon comes and my friend sends me a text. His job is forcing him to self quarantine for 14 days. Fucking coronavirus. He’s been sick for 2 weeks and his work has sent him to 2 other states during that time. He said he feels fine and just had some sniffles at that point, but his job told him they will terminate him if he came to Vegas. Frankly I’m glad he didn’t get on another plane if there’s any chance he’s carrying coronavirus. Kinda fucked up that his job was flying him around while he was sick but finally refused when it was time for his vacation. No confirmation that he actually has coronavirus, and it’s entirely possible he made up the story, but that’s what I was told.
But that left me in Vegas alone. Panic ensues and I start reaching out for someone to accompany me to these shows. I have a second cousin who lives in town, but we barely know each other. Offered him any he wanted to see but didn’t get a response. I thought, what the hell I’ll make a post on reddit.
I made a post over at /vegas and at /vegaslocals and it got a little attention in the locals sub.
One redditor hit me up willing to see any show I wanted. She said she was the same age as me but had no reddit history that I could check out. We exchanged messages for a bit and she seemed like a decent and interesting person. We switched over to text, exchanged photos, and made arrangements to meet up. I made it very clear that the only expectation was to fill the seat next to me, she made it very clear she was in a relationship. She accompanied me to dinner for a quick burger first, though she declined my offer to get her anything. Then we went over to the Bellagio where she showed me the fountain show, that was far better than I ever expected. Then we went in and saw Cirque du Soleil O. The show was awesome. Highly recommend this show to anybody interested. After the show she showed me around the Bellagio, the conservatory was beautiful. This redditor was awesome, an attractive and interesting person who made me feel very comfortable. We shared some great conversations and she was better company than I could’ve hoped for. I don’t want to say too much and reveal personal info, but if she is reading this, thank you that night was perfect. You are an amazing person, and your boyfriend is a very lucky man.
When I got back from the show I had a number of messages from redditors. I had people reaching out for every show! I checked the comment histories of all, many were long-time redditors with enough history to indicate they probably weren’t murderers or rapists. I figured out who was asking for which shows, sent out some messages to follow up with on Saturday and went to bed.
Saturday I met up with a redditor who wanted to take the tickets for the show that I somehow booked for the wrong date. Seemed like a real nice guy, even offered to give me a free service where he works (trying to leave out personal info here). I’m glad those tickets didn’t go to waste, and I hope he and his wife enjoyed seeing Cirque du Soleil Zumanity on Tuesday. If you’re reading this, I’ve kept your number like you asked and will get in touch when I visit again, you seemed like a cool dude who I would enjoy grabbing a beer with.
Saturday night I met up with a redditor to see Cirque du Soleil Love. This show was phenomenal, and I highly recommend this one for anybody visiting Vegas. It is my favorite show of all the cirque shows I’ve seen, which now stands at a total of 9. It is a little different than your typical Cirque show, but pure eye and ear candy, absolutely stunning visuals. My new reddit friend seemed like an eccentric and interesting guy, and I enjoyed his company and hearing a little bit about his life. We didn’t chat too much, which was perfectly fine. If he is reading this, know that I appreciated your company and wish you the best of luck at the poker tables! I hope you enjoyed your first Cirque show!
Sunday night I was supposed to meet up with another redditor to see Cirque du Soleil Mystere. We made plans on Saturday to meet at a pizza shop and then see the show. Unfortunately she had to cancel to pick up a shift at her job. I was looking forward to meeting her, her reddit comments made her seem interesting. If she is reading this, maybe we can connect next time I visit. If not, just know that not everyone from Ohio is as strange as you think!
So I texted the woman I met on the first night and asked if she had any plans for Sunday night. She said she would be happy to join me. We met up early and she showed me around the Venetian to look at all the beautiful stuff there, then we headed over to see Mystere. I had front row seats for the show, and she had never seen a show from the front row so I was glad I could give her a new experience considering she has already seen all of these shows. The show was great, but I’d say it pales in comparison to many others I’ve seen. This woman who accompanied me has left a lasting impression on me, and she will be on my mind for a long time to come. One of the kindest and most interesting people I’ve ever met.
Monday was my last full day in Vegas. Frankly I was ready to head home at this point, 5 days in Vegas is a lot! The redditor I was supposed to meet up with had a family emergency and wasn’t able to make it. I ended up skipping David Copperfield, because I was quite exhausted, my back was in a lot of pain, and seeing the show would’ve meant I’d get about 4 hours of sleep before having to get on the plane to go home. That was fine with me, no regrets at all. To the redditor I was supposed to meet, I hope your child is doing okay and that you were able to get out of the hospital quickly. I’ve got your number, hang on to mine, maybe we can meet up next time I’m in town.
I want to thank all of these redditors from the bottom of my heart, even those I didn’t get to actually meet - you were kind enough to reach out and helped show me that Vegas redditors are some of the best. You all made this vacation so much better than I ever hoped, and I’m pretty sure I had a better time meeting all of you than I would have had if my friend had made it to Vegas. I’m proud of myself for working past all the anxiety I had when I found out I’d be there by myself the whole time, and deciding to reach out to strangers from reddit to keep me company was the best decision I made while I was there. I am sure that I will keep in touch and next time I visit will definitely be reaching out to catch a show together. One of you touched my heart in a profound way, I think she knows who she is, and I sincerely hope we cross paths again some day. She’ll be on my mind for a long time to come.
So that’s my story of how coronavirus ruined my trip, and how Vegas redditors saved it. I’m truly grateful to these redditors and to reddit for everything. If any of you are ever in the Cleveland area, drop me a line so we can meet up. Though you’ll be sorely disappointed in what Cleveland has to offer compared to Vegas!

Part 1: How I met Alex

I spent the next few days obsessively searching for answers.
Alexander Chase, the Mirage, the paranormal circus magician, the boy who burned a man alive with nothing more than a snap of his fingers and a ghost of a smile. I had seen so much but I understood so little.
I even began to doubt that what happened at the Mirage Carnival was ever real.
The Internet offered little help. Alex had a Wikipedia page, but the sections on his background and upbringing were blank. He had a sizable following all over the globe, but no one quite seemed to know anything about him beyond his performances. Theories and speculations floated about, but never any answers.
One post on an online forum ranted about how the Mirage Carnival was secretly a cult dedicated to witchcraft and bloody sacrifice. Following the barely understandable ramblings was a poorly Photoshopped picture of a glowing purple pentagram in the circus ring. I rolled my eyes.
Despite my best efforts, the only real information I managed to glean about Alex was that he joined the performance scene about two years ago in June of 2012, with a shorter circus performance accompanied by the same troupe.
He had said that he followed all of my work since the Bellagio escape act, which was in June of 2002, exactly 10 years before the Mirage became known to the world.
5 minutes remaining - please use the GameKit payment tool to add extra hours.
I sighed. I had been in the Internet café for almost two hours with nothing to show for it. The punk rock blasting from the speakers and the kids across the desk wearing bulky headphones and yelling at their screens were starting to make me anxious.
I used my last five minutes to check the ticket sales on my next couple of public shows, then logged out of the computer and got up to leave. The group of kids slammed their fists on the desk and screamed in victory, almost startling me into spilling my paper cup of tea all over the light-up keyboard.

Two weeks passed, and I was beginning to believe that life was back to normal.
I was performing at a lavish corporate party for Gateway Technology, a multi-billion-dollar energy company, alongside numerous other performers and musicians. The well-dressed men and women applauded as I took my handkerchief from my breast pocket, set it alight in a flash of flames, and turned it into a snow-white dove that flapped its wings on my fingertips. Outside the giant curved ceiling-to-floor windows behind me was a sunset over glittering streets.
Of all the venues they could have chosen, the big-shots at Gateway had decided to hold the party in a sky-high lounge on the Las Vegas strip, overlooking the fountains of Bellagio.
When seven o’clock drew near and the partygoers crowded by the windows to watch the fountains start their nightly show, I was approached by a familiar face, an old friend of mine from my big stage days.
“Awesome performance, Bryan,” she said, hefting her giant camera and snapping a photo of me as I put the dove back in its cage. “You’ve still got it after all these years.”
“Thanks. Here to catch the celebrity gossip?”
“You know it. Have you seen Scarlet Fantasia? She’s supposed to be here for the late evening shows. Award-winning Close-up Fantasy act.”
I laughed. “I guess I’m not famous enough for an article anymore, eh?”
“Oh, quit it. You know that’s not what I mean.”
A tall, uniformed security guard came up to us.
“Excuse me,” he said. “Ma’am, are you on the guest list?”
“Um-”
“She’s with me,” I said.
The guard furrowed his brow, scrunching up the speckled red birthmark running down his forehead. “Please include all visitors in the guest log, Mr. Herring.”
“My apologies. Please add Topaz Brooke to the log. She’s a journalist for this event.”
The guard nodded grudgingly and walked off.
“Thanks, Herring. Really saved me there.”
“You weren’t invited?”
“Sometimes I have to stick my nose places. You think my job is all smooth sailing?”
Topaz was a photographer and journalist who specialized in snatching sensational articles on big celebrities and influencers. I first met her after my Bellagio escape act, when she pushed past the crowds to take pictures of me as I walked out of the fountains. I ended up remembering her because she dropped her camera into the water and almost got trampled by the crowds.
“I’m glad I’m here,” she said, as the lights in the room dimmed and the fountains far below lit up with five-hundred-foot spouts of golden mist. “Always a good venue.”
“Reminds you of old times, doesn’t it?”
“More like it reminds me not to be lazy with my camera strap.”
As the fountains rose and fell to the music I couldn’t hear, I thought back to the shining metal cuffs around my wrists and ankles, the fresh confidence I had back then as they locked my cage and sank me into the water. My heart was pounding and my breath ran out quickly, but I was sure that a minute was all I needed. Just as I emerged from the water and stepped onto the acrylic platform they had built for me, the clock hit seven o’clock, Ennio Morricone’s The Ecstasy of Gold played, and the fountains erupted all around me, lit up in a dazzling purple glow.
I watched the spouts down below and imagined myself standing amongst them again.
“You know why they don’t turn on the colored lights anymore?” I asked Topaz.
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“The lights. They’re just white now. Why don’t they do purple like when I was performing, or some other colors?”
“The fountains only light up in white, Bryan. They probably used one of those giant projectors to add color for your show. It was very exciting. You don’t get to see the projector come out very often.”
I nodded.
Somewhere at the back of my mind, I must have connected the color purple to what happened two weeks prior, because I found myself asking questions again.
“Hey, Topaz.”
“Yeah?”
“You ever do any articles on Alexander Chase?”
“The Mirage,” she exclaimed immediately. “Oh, I wish. I went to so many of his shows trying to net something, anything. But he won’t show himself to anyone when he isn’t performing. He’s invited to everything but shows up to nothing.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Why do you ask?”
“Just curious.”
Topaz narrowed her eyes. “Just curious, eh.”
“What?”
“You’re never ‘curious’ about other celebrities. There’s got to be something more.”
I pretended to roll my eyes, but really I just needed to look away. Topaz loved to play detective, and she had a knack for it too. It seemed to help out in her career and she actually managed to expose quite a few scandalous details about some powerful people, but in a personal conversation I didn’t exactly want her to pry.
The fountain show ended and the lights in the lounge came back up.
“I went to his circus,” I said, trying to cover for myself. “He’s pretty skilled, so I just wanted to know more about him.”
Topaz made an exaggerated “hmm”. Then she laughed.
“Alright, Herring. I won’t pry. I know you don’t like it.”
I began to say something, maybe to defend myself, but the partygoers on the other side of the room cheered and Topaz perked up.
“Scarlet Fantasia,” she said. “She’s here.”
She clutched her camera and bounded off toward the lounge entrance, where a woman in a sparkling red dress and high heels had just entered.
Scarlet Fantasia, the close-up extraordinaire, broke into media a couple of years ago and became an instant star, quickly working her way up to her recent Academy of Magical Arts award. I remembered her from her appearances on TV because she fittingly only wore red dresses, red hats, and red shoes, and because she had a particularly obnoxious laugh that sounded like a dying seagull. Her style seemed far too over-the-top for me, but I supposed I couldn’t talk when she was a main attraction and I’d become a sideshow.
I stayed by the windows and sipped on a glass of wine as the crowd cheered and Fantasia began her performance.

“Don’t you think she’s amazing?” Topaz gushed as she packed up her equipment and I gathered my props.
“I suppose her skills speak for themselves.”
“No, no. The whole neuroscience thing. Researcher by day, performer by night, a master's degree and a conference award to match her AMA award. Don’t you know?”
“I didn’t.”
“She’s real talent, Bryan. She still publishes papers with the NNI and NSF once in a while.”
“That’s very impressive.”
“What, are you jealous?”
“No, not at all.”
We walked out the exit of the lounge, passing by the tall guard with the birthmark.
“Thanks again,” Topaz chirped. The guard nodded.
“Anyway, Fantasia is actually one of those... pet projects of mine,” she continued. “Can’t go into details, of course, but I’m sure she’s got some real juicy-”
At that moment, we brushed past another party guest, and Topaz turned away from me and began talking into the wall next to her.
“-stuff going on behind the scenes. Something in her research career.”
At first I thought she was simply looking at something on the wall, but she kept talking as if the wall had suddenly become Bryan Herring.
“Topaz?”
She didn’t stop talking.
I tapped her shoulder. She didn’t look.
A chill went down my spine.
I looked back the way we came. Standing at the end of the hallway was the other guest we had walked past. He was small and lean, dressed in a purple dress shirt and black vest, with a deep violet rose pinned to his lapel.
I stopped. Topaz kept walking and talking, all the way down the hall to the elevator.
The young man in purple smiled thinly.
“Alex?”
“Hello, Bryan.”

Alex led me to a private meeting room with a coffee table. As I entered behind him, the door swung closed and I heard the click of a lock.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as he sat down across from me.
“I was invited, just like you,” he said.
“But… you’re invited to everything, and you show up to nothing. That’s what Topaz said.”
Alex smiled. “And I won’t be showing up today, either. I came to see you, Bryan.”
“Me?”
“This is where you inspired me,” Alex said. “Twelve years ago, down by the fountains.”
His eyes sparkled in the way that they had at the Mirage Carnival, when he had laid his hands on the severed crate and breathed in the silence tinged with the scent of blood.
Nothing that he said was threatening in any way, but I found myself eyeing the door.
Alex traced the tip of his finger along his armrest, and the lights in the room flickered and dimmed. Every room in the building seemed to make the best of the view, and through the ceiling-to-floor window adorned with heavy maroon drapes, I could once again see the fountains at work.
Alex stood up and walked to stand by the window, watching the lights fade in and out. After a moment of hesitation, I joined him.
“That day, at the top of the hour, everyone was holding their breath and waiting,” he said quietly. “All at once. The crowds upon crowds of people, just waiting for you. I will always remember that.”
I nodded.
In the silence, I could hear an echo of the music that accompanied the show, layered with distant sounds of the city far below. It was The Ecstasy of Gold.
“Did you do that?” I asked.
Alex smiled and put a finger to his lips. “Listen.”
We watched in silence until the show ended and the white-gold mist stilled in the night.
“I was there,” Alex said. “Among the people. Lost and confused and alone. I had never seen the fountains before, and I had never seen such beautiful magic as I did that evening.”
I stole a sideways glance at Alex. His eyes were the same vivid purple, and in the city lights his smile was soft.
I struggled to remember what he had looked like as he watched the armored man burn to death.
I had a million questions.
“Alex-”
High heels clicked down the marble hallway outside. Several more pairs of footsteps followed. Alex tensed.
“Hide,” he said. “They’re here.”
“What?”
Alex pushed me back against the window. Then, he produced something small and shiny from his pocket and stabbed it deep into my chest.
I choked. The sensation was cold like steel. I scrambled Alex’s hand off my chest and stared down at the spot where I had felt the thing pierce my flesh, but there was nothing there. Not even a tear in my shirt.
“Alex, what-”
“Silence,” he hissed. “And be still.”
He flicked his hand, and the velvet ribbons holding the drapes at either side of the window came undone. The heavy curtain fell into place, concealing me behind them just as the footsteps reached the door.
I stood frozen, staring into the maroon velvet of the curtain that smelled like an old coat closet. Then I heard the door unlock and open.
“Alexander Chase,” a vaguely familiar voice said, trailing the clicking of high heels. “The Mirage, none other. Can I enter?”
“You already have,” Alex said. His tone was dark, a complete one-eighty. I felt goosebumps spread down my arms.
“Indeed,” the voice said. “And you must know why I’m here?”
“Because all you do is interrupt and intervene.”
“Oh, please. It’s time to stop playing your games. I’m here to take you back, Alex.”
The way she said his name, it was almost as if she would rather call him something else.
“You’re welcome to try,” Alex said.
A tense silence hung in the air. Then the woman sighed.
“Security found the Gateway CFO dead in the parking lot.”
Alex didn’t say anything.
“Painted onto the pavement like he had a hundred-story fall. They found third-degree burns inside his empty eye sockets. Alex, do you know what humans call people like you?”
“Magicians,” he said quietly.
“No,” the woman said. “They call people like you murderers. Serial killers. Psychopaths. Are you aware of these words?”
“Don’t patronize me. I have lived here longer than you have.”
“And yet how will you ever belong when you have killed hundreds of people?”
My mind was reeling. I was covered in cold sweat. It took me all my willpower not to make a sound.
Whoever was at the doorway, there was an entire army of people behind her, shuffling their heavy boots in the hall.
“You are a traitor,” Alex said in a low voice. “Leave, before I make you.”
The woman in the room laughed. Her laughter was high-pitched and grating, like someone was slowly strangling a seagull.
Scarlet Fantasia.
“Oh, Alex,” Fantasia said. “You know you could never shake me off your bloody trail. If you think you know pain, you have never once thought about what you’ve done to your victims.”
Something began to push on the drapes, slowly making me inch back towards the window.
“And you have never once thought about what they have done to you.” Alex’s voice was very close, like he was leaning back against me. “To us. Look at you, mutilated just to look like one of them.”
Alex kept pressing into the drapes, pushing me backwards.
“It was a sacrifice,” Fantasia said.
I waited for my back to press against the glass of the window, but it never did.
Alex laughed softly and leaned his weight onto me, pushing me out the window into the open air, the glass rippling as my body passed through it like it was made of smoke.
“Sacrifice,” I heard Alex say from the other side of the window as I felt my feet tip over the ledge. The ever-present smile lingered in his voice.
Then I was in free fall into the glittering city far, far below.
I wish I could say I thought of all the beautiful things in life in those seconds before I hit the ground, or that my life flashed before my eyes and I made peace with myself.
But truthfully, my mind was completely blank as the lights of the Las Vegas strip spiraled up at me at breakneck speed, closer and closer and closer, the desert wind screaming past my ears alongside the distant sound of police sirens. I saw the pavement where I would land, hard unyielding asphalt.
Perhaps I thought about death.
Then, a fraction of a second before the ground came up to meet me, starting at my toes and flashing up to the top of my head, I felt my body burst into thousands and thousands of pieces.
Small, thin, fluttering pieces.
The last thing I saw before my eyes dissolved too was a cloud of purple rose petals swirling into the air.

Next

We'll be visiting Las Vegas next week and I just wanted to get some feedback from locals/regulars. We already looked up everything online, but some of the best locations/attractions are the ones that don't show up on TripAdvisor.
I will try and organize this somewhat.
Food

Bruxie Fried Chicken and Waffles

This is the only suggestion we've gotten so far. Any other local spots? We don't like chains. Any late night pizza by the slice?
Brewery
Able Baker Brewing
Attractions

Hoover Dam (We heard the tours have been vastly reduced since 9/11. How much time should we allocate for this?)
Spring Mountain Visitor Center Gateway (We aren't sure about this one yet. I just noticed there could be potential for some drone pics. Has anyone been here? Any info? Is it worth the drive? Is this drone-friendly?)

Drone Spots

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (Again, any details on this? Any specific trails we should hit? We aren't the most avid hikers, but always like to absorb some nature when we can. Is it worth the drive?)
Seven Magic Mountains
Fox Hill Park (If we go to Red Rock, I would assume we'll hit this on the way. It seems like it would be a safe spot to get some panoramas of the mountains and the park looks really cool with all the colors and surfaces.

Are there any other really cool spaces to get a couple decent drone shots?
Strip Attractions
So, for this last section, I was in Las Vegas when I was 18 (what a blast), but this will be my wife's first time (32). I really want to show her all the cool "strip" stuff.

Lake of Dreams/Waterfall @ Wynn (Is this free? Do we have to be staying there? What time is the show scheduled?)
Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. (What is this?)
Gondola Rides @ Venetian
Volcano and Tigers @ Mirage
Flamingo/Penguin Habitat @ Flamingo
Statue of David/Moving Statues @ Caesar's Palace
Fountains @ Bellagio (When are these scheduled during day/night?)
Eiffel Tower Experience/Arc de Triomphe @ Paris (Is there anything special about this or just a photo op?)
Lion @ MGM
Statue of Liberty/Rides @ New York New York
Valley of the Falls & Shark Reef Aquarium @ Mandalay Bay (Is this cool? Is it worth walking through?)
Sphinx @ Luxor

Are there any other "strip" things that are cool/free/photo ops? I know the pirate show and Treasure Island has been discontinued, which is a major bummer. Is there anything else I missed? Anything at Excalibur or Aria, etc.?
Thanks for all the help.

Weddit,
We lurked on this page since we got engaged in July 2019, but never actually participated. We thought we’d write up a summary to pay it forward.
Overall, and compared to the horror stories we’ve read on here, this was a stress free, easy going and laid-back wedding. We are thrilled with how it went. We invited close friends/family only, about 37 people, and 31 people attended. We specifically timed it on a Thursday at 11am between two major holidays so all we had to really worry about were holiday party bookings.
We did not waste any time and instantly disregarded vendors who were slow to respond and had everything firmed up by September.
We also paid for everything ourselves, because A) we could B) it spares us from having to listen to any family input or special requests.
Invites: We wanted something that didn’t necessarily require an engagement photoshoot but still was unique enough to go on someone’s refrigerator. We ended up going with these in Light Taupe, adding the gold foil: https://www.minted.com/product/foil-stamped-wedding-invitations/MIN-YR5-IFS/big-city-san-francisco Total cost: $280.19 for 35, including pre-printed envelops.
I work for the airlines, so we purchased one positive space ticket for the bride out there, and I jumpseated out there on the same flight. On the way back, we both non rev’d home with no issues. Her one-way ticket IAD SFO bought months in advance: $245 + $35 checked luggage. As someone who works in the airline industry, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of buying a direct, non-stop tickets. It is worth the premium to never worry about delays or misconnects with important events.
Hotel: We emailed 4-6 hotels in the location we wanted (close to 54 Mint off Market Street.) Hotel Abri was the most responsive and gave us a fantastic deal. It was $149/189 per night, waived $40 resort fee, Bridal Suite for us, upgraded Urban suites for everyone else. Total cost for 4 nights: $820 after dumb SF taxes.
Rehearsal Dinner: We didn’t have one. Instead 23 of us went to AsiaSF. Google it if you don’t know what it is. Was a great time, $49pp and $66 after surcharges/tip. Total cost $1385 + $100 for the performers.
Venue: SF City Hall. It was a Pinterest find that seemed to be the best of both worlds. We currently live in Washington, DC but realized we didn’t want to get married here. It was between this or Las Vegas, but only the Bellagio Terrazzo balcony was interesting… that was $8k for a mandatory package that included floral credit and a photographer you had to buy each picture individually. One look at the overpriced food costs and that was a hard pass.
We ended up with SF City Hall 4th Floor North Galley, as it’s favored by photographers for the natural light. Total cost was $1k for one hour, and $7.50 per chair. $3.50 if you want lesser, crappier chairs. But total cost was $1255 for 1 hour + 34 nicer chairs.
Officiant: We used Andrew at http://californiaweddingofficiant.com and did the Wonderful Wedding package. He is very organized, we had about an hour and a half initial Skype call to get acquainted/go over the sample script. We revised it to make it our own, changed the poems, etc. He showed up early to the ceremony, and was very prompt in his responses. Offseason cost: $399
Oh, SF City Hall charges $110 for a wedding license. You need to reserve an appointment, which are available starting 90 days out.
Photographer: While searching Weddit for SF City Hall photographers, we found http://amandaweiphoto.com, checked out her portfolio, liked it and emailed her. She was very prompt in answering our questions, in the budget we wanted, and had availability. Of note, we talked with other photographers, but they were outside what we wanted or too expensive (mandatory all-inclusive packages, or another was $6k.) Amanda was there when we showed up, directive on the first look, and gave everyone great direction. Highly recommend. We showed up to City Hall right at 8am to get the staircase/rotunda when it was empty, shot from 8-10:30, ceremony at 11. We sent her specific examples of what we wanted (group photos and such) and are excited to get them back. Her and her assistant were approximately $2500.
Reception: 54 Mint: Found via another Photographers portfolio, we loved the venue. Bride flew out and did a trial dinner in August, and it was delicious. They have two floors, an upstairs with a bar and a downstairs cellar. We bought out the upstairs for lunch 1-4pm at $55/head + wine. We bought the table decorations and had the cake shipped to them, and they set everything up – we gave minimal guidance and it was beautiful. They asked what kind of wines we wanted and the business sommelier picked the best wine ever, about $50/bottle. Food was ample and amazing, fresh and delicious. We had one Vegan guest they had no problem accommodating. We actually had to start wrapping things up because we were going over our allotted time.
Total cost: $570 deposit + $2776.77 food+service charge + $200 voluntary extra because it was so much food and amazing service. We talked to Rika Zilant, the Director of Operations, who again, was amazingly responsive.
Post Reception, we informally all went ice skating at Union Square. It was $18 per person, and those who chose to go out, paid for themselves. Was actually a really good time after all the pasta, cake and wine.
Cake: We ordered from Milkbar and had it shipped to 54 Mint. One large original Funfetti birthday cake and one small Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark cake. We also had to supply the cake stands, cake knife, and cake toppers. All were shipped/delivered to 54 Mint, and they took care of the rest. Total cost – cakes: $165 other stuff: $200 (we went fancy, BHDLN)
Misc: Artificial but amazing looking flowers: $400 from Etsy (Wedideas). Table runners: $100 from Etsy (Snug Babii.) Table Garlands: $99x2 = $180 from Costco. Welcome bags from Etsy (ConfettiMommaParty) w/contents: We added many different Ghiradelli Chocolates, Aleve, Shout wipes, a nice itinerary, and bottled water. Total cost for everything, about $100. Wooden signing board with our name/date and silver sharpies (ArtAndSoulShoppe): $36. Custom “And So The Adventure Begins” Luggage tag favors (from LetterandLeather): $152
Day after, we hosted a wine tour up to Sonoma Valley for 22 people. We initially looked into Tour companies and busses, but the tour companies seemed overpriced and the busses looked anti-social. We decided the 20-28 person bus from https://executivelimobus.com was worth the premium. Bus pickup was 8am, drop off 6pm. With tolls, it was $1854 + gratuity. The driver, Bhati, was prompt, constantly cleaned when we were off, and was very professional. Highly recommend this arrangement for the social aspect, but put someone you trust by the light/music/HVAC controls. We paid for the bus, but did not pay for anyone’s tastings/purchases at the wineries:
Itinerary:
8am Bus departure
8:30: Golden Gate Bridge Vista Point North for group photos and scenic views
10am: Kendall Jackson Winery – We were greeted with a mystery tasting and immediately sat down, and talked by experts for either the chocolate and wine pairing or the cheese and wine pairing. All were excellent. Those who did the charcuterie board were impressed by the portions. It’s a huge winery. We budgeted 1 hour 45 minutes, but we probably needed 2.5 hours. We coordinated with Angela, and again, she was extremely responsive on the phone and via email.
11:45 Depart KJ
12:15: Arrive Francis Ford Coppola. We got a custom tasting upstairs and tour. I can’t say enough good things about how we were treated, they rolled out all the stops. They have a sit down restaurant but we ordered pizzas to go. After the toucustom tasting, everyone was released to informally do their thing for the last 30 mins. We could have used a lot more time than the 1 hour 45 mins.
2pm: Depart FFC
2:15pm: Arrive Trattore Farms: A smaller, family run place that was sadly impacted by the fires so we were happy to go there. Again, we were given the royal treatment, and not only was the wine great, but they have samples of super good olive oil and vinegars w/bread. We coordinated with Mary, the owner, who again, was super responsive.
4pm: Depart
6pm: Hotel drop off
I cannot emphasize enough the royal treatment each winery gave us. I don’t hesitate to recommend all three of them. I wish we had more time at each, as the ambiance, service, wines, and overall experience was beyond our expectations. Also, all didn’t require final numbers until a few days beforehand, and I made sure they were fine with a few day of audibles.
Some wineries we had to pass on. Some didn’t have food options during lunch, others wanted everyone paid up front for a group of our size. Nothing against them, their options simply didn’t work with our requirements.
Overall, this wedding was done exactly how we wanted it, and it went fantastic. There was no dance floor, no emcee, and no traditional crap that didn’t really interest us. Our group was given the royal treatment by the wineries, and it was beyond our wildest imagination. The group we went with was amazing, and everyone was best friends by the end of it. We left on a Saturday and a lot of the group coordinated on their own to go out by themselves after our departure.
Total OTD cost not including rings or dresses for our multi day wedding: $14,326.64
This wedding was pretty much a dream come true. Picture: https://i.imgur.com/LtgxPnr.jpg

We'll be visiting Las Vegas next week and I just wanted to get some feedback from locals/regulars. We already looked up everything online, but some of the best locations/attractions are the ones that don't show up on TripAdvisor.
I will try and organize this somewhat.
Food

Bruxie Fried Chicken and Waffles
This is the only suggestion we've gotten so far. Any other local spots? We don't like chains. Any late night pizza by the slice?

Brewery

Able Baker Brewing

Attractions

Hoover Dam (We heard the tours have been vastly reduced since 9/11. How much time should we allocate for this?)
Spring Mountain Visitor Center Gateway (We aren't sure about this one yet. I just noticed there could be potential for some drone pics. Has anyone been here? Any info? Is it worth the drive? Is this drone-friendly?)

Drone Spots

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (Again, any details on this? Any specific trails we should hit? We aren't the most avid hikers, but always like to absorb some nature when we can. Is it worth the drive?)
Seven Magic Mountains
Fox Hill Park (If we go to Red Rock, I would assume we'll hit this on the way. It seems like it would be a safe spot to get some panoramas of the mountains and the park looks really cool with all the colors and surfaces.
Are there any other really cool spaces to get a couple decent drone shots?

Strip Attractions
So, for this last section, I was in Las Vegas when I was 18 (what a blast), but this will be my wife's first time (32). I really want to show her all the cool "strip" stuff.

Lake of Dreams/Waterfall @ Wynn (Is this free? Do we have to be staying there? What time is the show scheduled?)
Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. (What is this?)
Gondola Rides @ Venetian
Volcano and Tigers @ Mirage
Flamingo/Penguin Habitat @ Flamingo
Statue of David/Moving Statues @ Caesar's Palace
Fountains @ Bellagio (When are these scheduled during day/night?)
Eiffel Tower Experience/Arc de Triomphe @ Paris (Is there anything special about this or just a photo op?)
Lion @ MGM
Statue of Liberty/Rides @ New York New York
Valley of the Falls & Shark Reef Aquarium @ Mandalay Bay (Is this cool? Is it worth walking through?)
Sphinx @ Luxor
Are there any other "strip" things that are cool/free/photo ops? I know the pirate show and Treasure Island has been discontinued, which is a major bummer. Is there anything else I missed? Anything at Excalibur or Aria, etc.?

Thanks for all the help.

NOTE: This is FAKE HOCKEY. To talk about actual hockey, go to the latest Daily Discussion thread
Trade Deadline Tonight will start TONIGHT!
The /hockey Trade Deadline Game is back! Starting today at 8:00 AM MT trading season is officially open. Trading will run until Thursday, January 31st at 6:00 PM MT.
When you are traded, change your flair on hockey-related subreddits and spend the week from February 1st through 8th cheering for your new team.
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But remember

NO TRADE IS OFFICIAL UNTIL POSTED IN THIS THREAD!

TL;DR - My boyfriend and I went on a week long road trip from LA to Utah (and back). We were pretty #shoestring the whole trip, and then splurged a little in Vegas. Our trip total came out to around $1200 (approximately $450 of which was just spent in Vegas).
Background: We were driving out from LA in our own car (Honda CRV). The main objective was to hit all 5 Utah National Parks, while also seeing things along the way. This trip took place in late March/early April of 2019. I made a super detailed itinerary, which is what I'm referencing to write this post--I'm sure we ended up deviating a little from the plan, but here's a rough rundown of what we did to the best of my knowledge:

Day 1 - Friday (Drive out to Phoenix/Sedona) ~7-8 hours/500 miles of driving
- LA to Phoenix (~6 hours)
- Nami (lactose free ice cream shop??? lol)
- Airbnb in Lake Montezuma, AZ
- Comments: We ended up fighting towards the end of the day (lol the first but only fight on the trip!) and skipped some attractions we had planned on checking out. We also had planned on taking the scenic route (Route 87) to our Airbnb, but ended up just driving straight to it because it was a little darker than expected (I think we initially headed out a little earlier than expected??).
Day 2 - Saturday (Sedona, Monument Valley) ~8.5 hours/450 miles of driving
- Bell Rock, Devil's Bridge Trail, Monument Valley, Muley Point, Moki Dugway
- Hotel in Moab, Utah
- Comments: Driving to Muley Point was a bit nerve wracking because I didn't have that much information on it beforehand, and GPS failed me halfway there/there were absolutely no cars on the dirt path, so I wasn't completely sure I was going the right way. Boyfriend said that Muley Point was the best view he's seen (I thought it was okay).
Day 3 - Sunday (Canyonlands, Arches) ~4 hours/250 miles of driving
- Arches National Park (scenic drive, Landscape Arch, Sand Dune Arch Trail, Double Arch Trail), Canyonlands National Park (Mesa Arch hike)
- Airbnb in Provo, UT
- Comments: Arches was our over all favorite UT NP aside from Zion. The park was super well thought out and the hikes were (super) short and sweet. Was totally blown away, driving into Provo. So gorgeous! Wish we had planned for more time exploring this town.
Day 4 - Monday (SLC, Bonneville Salt Flats) ~8 hours/500 miles of driving
- Bonneville Salt Flats, Salt Lake City (Temple Square tour, Utah State Capitol, Salt Lake City Public Library)
- Airbnb in Torrey, UT
- Comments: The Salt Flats were out of the way, but I'd been wanting to go for years. There was too much water on it to really do anything once we got there, but it was nice to look at, and at least I got to finally go :/.
Day 5 - Tuesday (Capitol Reef, Bryce)
- Capitol Reef National Park (Panorama Point/Goosenecks Overlook, Hickman Bridge Trail), Burr Trail Grill, Route 12 (scenic drive towards Bryce), Bryce Canyon National Park (much of the park was shut down because of the snowfall. We just went to a few of the overlook points along the scenic drive that were still open).
- Airbnb in Toquerville, UT
- Comments: The Route 12 drive was very nice! And highly recommend the random stop at Burr Trail Grill. The closer we got to Bryce, the landscape was completely covered in snow. I honestly didn't think Capitol Reef was all that great.
Day 6 - Wednesday (Zion, Vegas) ~3.5 hours/200 miles
- Zion National Park (Angel's Landing), Checked into Hotel and washed up, Bacchanal Buffet ($139), Bellagio's Light Show, Cirque du Soleil's Beatles' LOVE Show ($183).
- Hotel in Las Vegas, NV
- Comments: Angel's Landing was kind of the highlight of the NP trip (intentionally planned for the end). Bacchanal was disappointing esp for the money spent. Boyfriend and I played MyVegas Slots on our phones for a few months leading up to this trip--we were able to redeem a free hotel (still had to pay for tax + resort fee), free brunch buffet for the following day, and a small discount for the Circque du Soleil tickets (pretty cool!). Honestly, I thought the Circque du Soleil show would be a complete waste of money (I had no idea what Circque du Soleil was, so I thought it was "just a circus"), but it was pretty amazing~.
Day 7 - Thursday (return home) ~4.5 hou250 miles
- Bellagio Brunch Buffet, drive home, Seven Magic Mountains

Food/meals: Not including Vegas, we only ate out a few times (maybe 3 or 4?). We took a cooler with us on the trip, along with a portable gas stove (the cheap ones that are like $20), and a tiny rice cooker. We made stops to grocery stores whenever we pulled into a city to stock up on food and snacks. Most of our meals were eaten in the National Parks or pulled off on the side of the road next to/in our car. Trader Joe's was clutch.
Sleeping: We averaged about $60 per night for our hotel/Airbnb stays.
Transportation: Approximately $340 spent on gas, uber, etc. Driving 8 hours a day sounds a little crazy, but it really wasn't too bad, especially with the small hikes and stops along the way. I think our longest stretches of driving were just in the first and last day, getting out and coming back.
Itinerary: I planned most of the trip, and Boyfriend planned SLC and Vegas, but we talked through a lot of the different options before deciding on a final plan. We opted out of doing certain things that we thought weren't worth the money (e.g. Antelope Canyon, and various other tours that were $20+ per person) or things one/both of us had already done (e.g. we'd already seen the Grand Canyon, I'd previously hiked The Narrows at Zion, etc.). There were other things on our itinerary that we had as extra options, in case we had a change of heart or extra time, and there were also things we weren't able to do that we initially had on our itinerary.
Additional comments: We bought a National Parks annual pass just before heading out, and Boyfriend resold it on ebay for $60 after we got back (but honestly, most of the parks didn't even check for some reason??).
I did a lot of digging through Reddit before coming up with my itinerary--hope this is helpful to someone! Let me know if anyone has any questions...

Previous Post: https://www.reddit.com/pokecomments/bg7xox/inside_boston_underground_poker_part_4_bubbles_in/
So there I was, walking to the Wynn craps table with about $38k in cash in my pocket. I was up $30k for the day in poker, but as always, I had to push my luck.
There's a table off to the side with only one player at it, while the rest of the tables are pretty packed. I prefer a relatively empty table, so I head over there. The guy at the table has weirdly colored chips in front of him, and I realize he's some mega-whale with over a million in chips in his rail. I walk up to the table and he stays sitting, staring into his rail of chips. The table is $100 minimum which is why no one else was there, and I buy in for $10k.
The guy is just starting a new roll, so I put $600 each 6 and 8 and $250 on the 5 and 9, and he instantly 7s out. I'm down $1700 already in about 3 minutes, shit.
I throw $100 on the line, throw a 6 on the come out and put $600 on the 8, $250 each 5 and 9 again. The other guy started the roll with $12k each 6 and 8, $10k each 5 and 9 and $5k each 4 and 10, plus $1000 each on the hardways. I end up going on an insane roll. I'm throwing hard 6s and 8s like crazy, the guy has pressed up to $5k each on the hard ways and $30k each 6 and 8, and I just keep rolling them. I'm pressing my bets as well, and I'm up like $20k plus I have my bets up to $1000 each 5 and 9 and $3000 each 6 and 8, and I'm still going. At one point I bounce one of the dice off the table, and the other guy turns his bets off, and I roll back to back hard 6s, so he missed out on $160,000 from those rolls, it was pretty sick.
I think in total I made something like $35k off of my roll, and the other guy made over a million. The sickest part was that he barely even looked up from his chips, and he never said a word to me or tipped the dealers at all. He went to the bathroom at one point and I made a comment to the dealers, and they said he was still down overall on the day... What a sicko.
I played for a bit longer and ended up with $90k in my pocket, a profit of over $52k in a couple of hours of craps. I went into the Wynn with $8k in the morning and was leaving with $90k about 12 hours later. It was absolutely insane. I walked outside to wait for my car at the valet, and I had stuffed all 9 of the $10k "straps" into the pockets of my jeans. My jeans were busting with all of the cash, and these old people who were waiting at the valet noticed it and were staring so hard, it was hilarious.
Between my cash, bank accounts and investments, I had about $350k to my name at that moment, less than 3 years after moving to Boston with a roll of around $1500. As you can imagine, I felt absolutely on top of the world. All kinds of thoughts ran through my head. Should I go buy a Porsche in cash? Should I listen to my mom and go to school in Santa Barbara, and use my money on a down payment on a house there?
What was certain was the first thing I should have done was taken a bunch of that cash to the bank and gotten it out of my degenerate hands. Instead I drove to the Bellagio, got a room, got some room service, and went to bed. I woke up in the morning and had lost the $90k at the craps table before lunch.
Now you might be thinking that this was the start of my spiral down, that I went and cashed out my investments, got it all in cash, and blew it all at the Bellagio craps tables, but that would have been too simple. Instead I went back to grinding $10/20nl like nothing had happened. I had lost 2 buyins, oh well.
I took a few more shots at juicy $25/50nl games that summer, and like the lucky asshole I was, I never had a losing session in the 5 I played of that game. The other 4 were all at Bellagio, and usually only ran because a couple of specific businessmen wanted to play. They were bad, the games were great, I was still on top of the world in terms of poker.
One session in particular stood out. I sat down with $10k and was on a roll again, running it up to over $20k within a couple of hours. I had maybe $24k in front of me and was the big stack at the table, it was early and there hadn't been too many rebuys yet, and in walks Viffer (David Peat). Viffer was apparently down a few buyins in Bobby's Room and only had enough for our game, so he sat in with $50k. Being the biggest stack at the table besides him, as well as a 21 year old dressed like a complete douche, Viffer instantly focused on me. He was sitting all the way across the table from me (I was in seat 3, he was in seat 8), but as he sat down he called across the table to me, "hey kid, ever lost a $50,000 pot before?". "Not yet, but I look forward to it!", I retorted. Not my greatest comeback ever, but oh well.
I continue working up a stack without playing any big pots with him, and I'm at close to $30k and Viffer is still around $50k when a big pot happens. Since it was a $25/50nl game with $100 dead on the button, a typical raise was $300-350. In this hand, UTG raised to $350, Viffer called from the CO or HJ, the button called, the SB called, and I woke up with KK in the BB. There's over $1500 in the pot already, so I make it $1500 total and everyone calls. There's over $7500 in the pot preflop. The flop comes KTx rainbow, and I'm trying to figure out how long I should wait before checking, and if I should ham it up, when instead the SB open jams for around $8000. I have nearly $20k behind, and I wasn't sure what to do. UTG had about $12k, Viffer had me covered, and the button had under $10k, so raising vs flatting only really mattered significantly vs Viffer. I decided he didn't have much that could have hit this flop strongly, I wasn't getting paid unless he had KT or obviously TT or bottom set, and I didn't want to let him have pot odds with QJ, so I just jammed. UTG snap folded and Viffer stared me down for a minute before folding, and the button folded as well. We didn't flip our cards up, and the turn came an A and Viffer cursed to himself. He admitted later to having AT. River came a blank and the SB flipped up QJo to ship the pot with his straight. Bye bye $24k pot.
I shake it off, I still have around $20k in front of me, and I run it up a bit once again, sitting with around $25k when I get into a big pot once again. This time I raise to $300 with J9s from the CO and one of the donkey businessmen that the games run because of reraised from the blinds up to $900. I called the $600 more, he had around $13k in his stack to start. The flop comes QJ9 and I'm loving life again. He could have QQ, but JJ is unlikely since I have one, and I had only seen him 3 bet once in around 4 hours. Great chance he had an overpair. He instantly bet out $1500 into the $2000 or so pot, and I reraised to $4000, he went all in pretty quickly, and after a little bit of thought I made the call and he proudly flipped up KK. He had a decent number of outs with his gutshot, another K or a Q giving him the pot, but instead the board ran out 5, 5 to give him higher 2 pair in a different way. Bye bye $26k pot.
Those were 2 of the biggest pots I had ever played where it actually went to showdown and I hadn't gone all in with 100% to win. I had around 62% equity with the J9 and 74% with the KK, so it was a less than 10% chance for me to lose both. I ended up leaving the table up $7k, which was awesome after having lost my only 2 all ins for the night, but I was feeling negative, and of course went to the craps table. I lost my $7k profit and went home even for the day.
Another of the biggest pots I ever played was actually at $10/20nl at the Wynn vs another pro who liked to try to make huge bluffs sometimes and had a habit of overthinking stuff in my opinion. I was sitting with over $15k from $8k in buyins, and was having a pretty great session overall, and the other pro had around $10k. I don't remember the action nearly as well in this hand as the others, but I had KTss in a 3bet multiway pot to the flop, and it came KT7 with 2 hearts. Someone bet, the other pro raised, I 3bet, the original better flatted, the other pro 4bet for like 40% of his stack, I shoved, the original raiser folded after tanking, and the pro went into the tank hard. Now this was a guy whose game I respected. He was facing a bet of another $5500 to win a pot of about $23000. When he went into the tank, I figured he had a non-nut flush draw and was trying to figure out if I had some pair and higher flush draw combos or nut flush draws in my range where he'd be way behind. He tanked for nearly 5 minutes and eventually called, the board ran out A, 5 and he said "you've probably got me". I turned over my KT and he goes "oh holy shit I figured you had a set!" and turn over A5hh. I'm not sure why he tanked so long getting over 3:1 with a nut flush draw, even if he put me on only sets, he still had the odds to call, and I'm playing QJhh and 98hh the same way, hands he is ahead of. I didn't mind losing 2 pair vs flush draw as much as I minded that he had me convinced I was good with his tank, and then even more when he said "you've probably got me". I had to leave the game because I was close to tilt after that one.
The WSOP ended and the games dried up a bit. There were still $10/20nl games going at Bellagio usually, but with more grinders and fewer donks per table. Throughout the post- WSOP summer, many of my friends came out to party, and I spent a lot of time with Ashley, growing closer with her. At the end of the summer I decided not to stay in Vegas full time, moving to Berkeley, California, near my hometown and where several of my friends went to university. I played some of the juicy $5/10nl and $10/20nl games in the Bay Area with a medium amount of success, and partied a bunch with friends in frats at Cal. I made lots of trips out to Vegas, usually just for degenerate gambling and not a ton of poker. I had taken some losses in the market, but was still sitting with around $300k between cash, accounts and investments. When Bank of America dipped in November, I bought some for under $12. I still had Jetblue stock which wasn't doing great, and a handful of other stocks which were all struggling in the bear market, but I was convinced it would turn around.
My host at the Bellagio was always inviting me to special events, and 2 stood out. A $1 million freeroll heads up blackjack tournament was the first. It was 128 players, so nearly $10k in value. If you won your first 3 rounds, you were in the money and guaranteed $50k. After dominating my first 2 opponents who knew very little about blackjack tournament strategy, I was feeling confident. Blackjack tournament strategy is very different than normal blackjack strategy since your objective is to beat your opponent, not the dealer, and there are weird rules like blackjack paying 2 to 1. There are a set number of hands you play, and whomever has the most money after those hands wins. My first opponent went broke, so I automatically won that. My 2nd opponent just bet small every time, and didn't compensate when I took a lead, so on the final hand he didn't even give himself a chance to win with his bet.
My third opponent was semi competent, he at least knew basic blackjack strategy, but his betting was wrong and he still played as if he was trying to win chips from the dealer, not merely outplay me. I managed to make it so that on the 25th and final hand of our game, if both me and my opponent won the hand, I won, if both me and my opponent lost the hand, I won. Outside of making it impossible for them to win at all, which is very hard with correct strategy, this is about all you can ask of in a blackjack tournament. Me and my opponent both received face cards first, a great sign for me. For my 2nd card I received another face card, great news, until my opponent was dealt an A and got paid 2 to 1. My only chance was to split my face cards and try my luck to still end up on top, but it didn't work out and my opponent was the winner.
A few months later I was invited to a free $1 million poker tournament. This was it, my ultimate chance. It was 100 invited players only and based on pit and slot play, not anything to do with poker. It was going to be me vs a bunch of degens without any poker skill! The time for the big tournament came, and there was a twist. There were actually 110 players, 10 of whom were MGM executives and had cash bounties on their heads between $1000-$10k depending on their level at the company. They couldn't cash the tournament, they were just there to have fun and add a wrinkle to the game.
I easily navigated the field to start, although someone else at my table got the $2k bounty for knocking out our MGM employee. As the tournament progressed, it became clear the structure wasn't great, especially with so many inexperienced players taking a long time to make decisions. We were down to about 14 players including 2 executives left. Once only 10 real players were left, all of the executives remaining would be removed and their bounties would be put into the regular prize pool. Top 10 got paid, so there were essentially 12 left plus 2 fake players. I don't remember the action too well for this hand either, but I believe I was about 30 bbs deep to start the hand and raised with AJ from the button and got called by both blinds. The big blind was a $5000 bounty and she only had about 5bbs left after the call. The flop came KJ4 and they both checked, and I bet the 5bbs that the bounty had left. They both called. Turn came a T and after the other guy checked, and I thought I had him beat, so I went all in for the remaining 20 or so bbs. The SB tanked and was talking about how he really wanted the bounty. He ended up calling, he had about 1bb behind, and we all showed our hands. The SB had T9 with no flush draw, and the bounty had QJ, so I was 81% to scoop the hand, and only 11% to bust. River T and I'm done. The worst part was that the guy who stacked me with T9, having called with just a gutshot on the flop, managed to lose all of his chips on the bubble and go out in 11th place. He got his $5k cash bounty though...
The stock market continued to crash, and I went harder and harder in on the stocks I thought would bounce back, still investing on margin. Eventually I lost it all in February/March of 2009 when Bank of America stock dropped to $3. I had bought in more at $7, then even more at $5, and when the margin call came in I lost nearly $200k just on that one stock. My average buy price was a mere $6 since I had bought in huge at $5. If I had been able to pay the margin call and hang on, by August of 2009 my 50k+ shares would have netted me a profit of over half a million dollars. Instead I was completely broke. My losses in the market for 2008 and 2009 were nearly $400,000, and I later found out my casino pit game losses were nearly $200,000. If I had been patient, diversified, not on margin, and kept out of the pit, I would have been a 22 year old millionaire. Instead I was busto.
I continued on in poker for several years after that, but unfortunately my persona of trying to seem like a rich kid wasting daddy's money had left me without many poker friends, and without many people who respected my game enough to stake me. I ended up turning to online SNGs and being moderate successful, but still lazy and not putting in the hours I should have. Ashley and I tried to make it work, but she wanted me to move out to Vegas for good, and I was afraid being in Vegas would end in disaster for me as I'd continue to waste a huge amount of money on gambling, money I no longer had. My high school sweetheart came back into my life at that point as well, and I pushed Ashley aside for nostalgia, ignoring the reasons the high school gf and I had broken up several times in the past. In the end, I wanted to be more serious than she did, and I haven't spoken to the high school ex in 10 years. Ashley moved on quickly as she always did, and already had a serious boyfriend by the time I came around and realized I wanted to be with her. She ended up becoming a stripper in Vegas, and the last time I saw her she was a bit of a mess. She moved out of Las Vegas these days and I think she's doing better, but we don't keep in close touch.
By Black Friday I had joined a good staking group and was successful at online SNGs, making a nice hourly, coaching other players, and generally doing well at poker, although in my personal life I was a mess after losing both girls I loved in close succession. After Black Friday I made several stupid mistakes, alienating my backers and many in the poker community. I paid everyone back in the end, but I knew I needed to get out of poker. I went back to college, met my wife and we've been together for nearly 7 years now. I now work as a financial adviser.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed my crazy life journey! Some other crazy stuff happened along the way that I might throw together at some point, but those are more Vegas party stories than much to do with poker.

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