Postcard From Las Vegas

U2

What a show. The performance Friday night in Las Vegas was phenomenal. Much, much better than our experience in Chicago at Soldier Field last month. However, I'm certain much of that had to do with the disasterous seating situation with the infamous overhang.

The show was up there with the concert at Scottrade in December 2005. The combination of a smaller football stadium, the perfect weather, and the Las Vegas energy led to a hell of a show. It was so amazing...and---even if Missouri had beaten Texas---within the first few minutes of the show, I felt like we had made the right decision by going to Las Vegas for U2 rather than going to Homecoming in Columbia.

Dr. Dre, Former President Bill Clinton and the great Paris Hilton were on hand for the fun and games. Bono called attention to their presence. The crowd celebrated with loud cheers the attendance of someone with the most famous album named after marijuana, someone who's received one of the most famous blow jobs, and someone who's given one of the most famous blow jobs.

Here's a look at the set list:

Breathe
Get on Your Boots
Magnificent
Mysterious Ways
Beautiful Day
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Stuck In A Moment
No Line on the Horizon
Elevation
In A Little While
Unknown Caller
Until The End of the World
Unforgettable Fire
City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy - Remix
Sunday Bloody Sunday
MLK
Walk On
One
Where The Streets Have No Name
___________________________
Ultraviolet
With or Without You
Moment of Surrender

As always, I wish they'd have played "Bad," but at least I got that in Chicago. And, as I said about the show at Soldier Field, I don't like the final song being Moment of Surrender. The song has grown on me, but it's too weak to end such a dynamic show.

The opening and closing of the Vertigo Tour shows with "City of Blinding Lights" to start and the crowd singalong with "40" to close as Larry Mullen, Jr. is the only one left on stage was much better. But, nonetheless, this show was incredibly good. It's top two of all-time for me...and that's saying something since I've seen them play close to 10 times.

However, what happened after the show is Top 10 for me as far as surreal experiences go...


Sam Boyd Stadium: The Landlocked Version of The Titanic

The concert was at UNLV's football facility, Sam Boyd Stadium. Unlike the Thomas And Mack Center where the Runnin' Rebels play basketball, Sam Boyd Stadium is about 15 miles from the strip.

And, that formula led to chaos before the show...much less what happened after the show.

Cabs were sparse at 6:30 as we lined up outside The Palazzo. The show was to start at 7 with the Black Eyed Peas opening up. And, while I wouldn't consider myself a big fan of them, we were interested in at least seeing them. But, there were no cabs. Literally...none.

The line was probably 50 people deep...and we weren't moving. And, that's because all the cabs were going out to Sam Boyd Stadium and dropping people off...and then having to drive the 30 minutes or so back into town. It was causing frustration and people to start carpooling with strangers.

We wound up getting to the front of the line after 45 minutes and allowing a couple who was toward the back to ride with us. They turned out to be a cool couple from Kansas City...and we split the cab fare.

However, the experience before the show told me that the experience after the show was going to be 10 times worse. Think about it: thousands---literally, tens of thousands of people---all at a remote location 15 miles away from Las Vegas...and with no cars. It screamed like a potential disaster.

But, I was wrong.

It was 100 times worse.

Maybe more than that.

Knowing that a) it was going to be chaos and b) that they finished the show off right after "With or Without You" with "Moment of Surrender," we headed for the exits quickly after "With or Without You."

I thought I was being all sly.

And, I guess I was.

Except it didn't matter.

When we got down to the outside of the stadium for the cab line, there were already hundreds of people in line. We felt pretty good about the fact that we were already in line and we could still hear the concert going on inside...meaning we had beat the crowd to the punch.

But, as the show ended, the line disintegrated into a bunch of people essentially fast-walking out to the parking lot...and the idea of the cab line was out the window. It was now anarchy.

Thousands of people made their way toward the lot, and in a scene that was similar to the moment in "Titanic" when the ship's crew closes off the gate to the lower and middle class passengers so the upper class could make their way out, the workers at Sam Boyd Stadium closed off the fence to the parking lot so the limousines would be able to get in and out easier.

The minute that fence closed, people began to freak out. One guy was screaming at the top of his lungs, "You fucking Nazis!!! You fucking Nazis."

It became a surreal scene of panic and masses of people stranded in the desert.

We stood there by the area the limousines were pulling out, and it was my plan to give someone $100 to let us ride along with them. I was waving a $100 bill...but so were dozens of others who were stranded. And, no one was picking them up.

We were getting nowhere.

So, we just started walking the 15 miles back toward town because there were literally no other options. It was one of the most helpless feelings.

As we walked the road from Sam Boyd Stadium, we looked back in the parking lot, and the cab line was---and this is no exaggeration---about 3,000 people deep. I'd say it was the size of two to three football fields.

And, no cabs were getting in...because the people who had decided to walk were flagging down the cab drivers before they could get to the stadium by waving money at them. My guess is those people in that cab line were there until the sun came up the next day.

I had one last option: a guy who lives out here but is from St. Louis by the name of Randall Lipic. He's a Golden Griffin grad, but nonetheless, he's still good people. And, he proved it big time Friday night.

I texted him to explain the dire nature of the situation, and he was kind enough to drive out to Sam Boyd Stadium to pick us up. After walking about 2 miles, we sat down and waited for Randall...all while watching people panic and wave money at any car that would drive by.

A couple had been on the phone for about 15 minutes with a cab company...and I believe they were offering a ridiculous amount of money to have the guy pick them up.

Finally, he arrived...and as he was getting ready to make a left to pick them up...he saw all the people waving money...and then kept going.

Wow.

They freaked.

Fortunately, Randall arrived a few minutes later, and he was kind enough to allow that couple to join us for a ride back into town...effectively ending the nightmare.

My guess is that those who stood in line probably wound up waiting for about 6 to 8 hours...because as we were leaving the area, there were hundreds of people walking the streets back toward Las Vegas waving money at cab drivers. No cabs were getting to the stadium.

The concert ended at 11. We were back in Las Vegas---15 miles away---at 1:30 a.m.

Considering the circumstances...as absurd as it may sound...that wasn't too bad.

And, even though it was awful going through it, the concert was still so damn good that the post-concert experience didn't ruin it.


Poker Hilarity

I've only played one tournament the entire time I've been out here. And, that was yesterday.

If you're a poker nerd, you'll love some of the details from this one...including one of the most bizarre plays I can recall seeing in $150 or larger tournament:

The Las Vegas Experience And One of The "Best" Plays I've Been A Part of


Coming Out of Sports Wagering Retirement: Bad Idea

The Palazzo has this sports bar in the lower level that is about as good as it gets. It used to be Jay-Z's 40/40 Club. Then it became just some random sports bar. Now, it's Emeril Legasse's Stadium Sports Bar, and it's the absolute tits.

So, after running reallllly good Friday night with a 7 a.m. arrival back at the hotel, we were looking forward to taking the edge off our hangovers by sitting in this sports bar with our own booth and TV and watching Missouri-Texas.

There was a sports book inside the restaurant/bar, and so I decided for the fuck of it, I'd bet $100 on the Tigers +13.5.

After the first play from scrimmage, that didn't look too good.

A few thoughts regarding Texas' destruction of Missouri:

- Is Jimmy Costello that bad that Blaine Gabbert has to be helped off the field before the backup QB can get in the game. He wasn't good...but man...Gabbert is so beat up, I'd rather see a healthy QB in there.

- Have defenses caught up with Missouri's spread...or are the Tigers just not remotely as talented as the last couple of years...or is Texas' D just that good?

- The Gabbert to Washington back to Gabbert "trick play" made something at Francis Park in the Men's 40 and over league look like the Greatest Show on Turf.

- If MICDS were to join the Big 12 North, would they be the favorite to win this year? When Texas gets to play "the winner" of the North, you'd have to think the spread will be around 30 points for the Big 12 Championship Game. K-State? Iowa State? Really?


The insideSTL.com Halloween Party This Saturday At Helen Fitzgerald's

It's only a few days away now. And, we're getting fired up about the fun and games this Saturday at Helen's.

insideSTL.com is pleased to announce our first Halloween Party at Helen Fitzgerald's (3660 Lindbergh). The fun and games take place on Halloween night at 9 p.m. until close. We're giving away $1,000 for most creative costume...and then $1,000 for the sexiest costume. Joe Dirt will be playing at the First Annual Halloween Bash at Helen's, and you can get tickets in advance for $10 at Helen Fitzgerald's or at the door on the night of the event.

This should be one hell of a cocktail party. It's all Halloween Night at Helen Fitzgerald's, and it's all made possible by Monster Energy Drink , The Tan Company, Halloween Thrills, Eureka Butcher Haunted House,  and Red's Corn Maze Massacre.

Leading up to the event, we'll be displaying costumes from one of our sponsors, Halloween Thrills located at 14918 Manchester Road in Ballwin. You can give them a call at (636) 527-7131.