This year it’s me, Mark and Ezra. We’re staying at The Stardust, which is pretty much a pit (they’re tearing it down next year), but it was cheap.

Mark got in Wednesday night. Ezra and I got in Thursday about noon. We watched the first day’s games at The Stardust. The sportsbook was pretty lame and there was an older guy who was drunk and slightly nuts who tried to befriend us (or anybody who’d listen to him). Ezra inexplicably gave him a drink ticket which only fueled his fire. He claimed to be from Boston which made him Ezra’s best friend.

The first game was Duke vs. LSU. Mark and I reluctantly put money on LSU (because we wanted to root for LSU, but didn’t think they’d win). Our new crazy friend and I jawed the whole time. He kept claiming, “Duke’s a second half team;” called UConn’s coach John Calipari (it’s Jim Calhoun); claimed to be ex-Red Sox Denny Doyle’s cousin, Sheldon, which prompted an inside joke from “When Harry Met Sally:” “Ooo, ride me, big Sheldon… If you need a guy to do your taxes, Sheldon’s your man.” Duke ultimately lost on a terrible shooting performance by JJ Reddick. Memphis also won us some cash on an easy win over Bradley.

Then things got interesting. Texas and West Virginia went toe-to-toe (we had Texas giving 3). West Virginia tied it up with a deep “Pittsnoggle 3” to seemingly send the game into OT, but Texas ran down court frantically with about five ticks left and hit a desperation three for the win.

Next up was UCLA vs Gonzaga. Mark and Ezra bet the ‘Zags getting four. I abstained, because I needed UCLA to win in my pool. ‘Zags controlled the entire game until the very end when they collapsed. UCLA went up by one after a late strip and the ‘Zags missed a desperation three. Everybody wins: Mark and Ezra cover; my bracket survives.

We walked over to the Wynn casino to check it out, then back to the Stardust for cheap blackjack. 

Friday morning we played basketball outside at UNLV, then back to the Stardust for the buffet.

We watched Friday’s games at Treasure Island. Early games were Villanova/Boston College and George Mason/Wichita St. BC broke out to a commanding early lead. Mark and Ezra had BC +2.5 points; I had a teaser that gave me BC +6.5 and UConn -2 (later), but I still had ‘Nova getting to the Final Four in my pool, so I wanted them to win - just by one or two. Thankfully, ‘Nova fought back to force OT. BC went up by one, but the ‘Cats had a last shot with an inbounds play. The play gave Will Sheridan an lay-up, but BC’s block was clearly a goaltend and ‘Nova won by one.

Then it was time for UConn/Washington and Florida/Georgetown. Florida won a hard-fought battle (and covered), but our attention was on UConn and one of the most hideous first halves of basketball we’d ever seen. They looked awful and Washinton stifled them on D to the point that UConn committed a record number of turnovers.

UConn fought back though, and somehow kept it close and Rashad Anderson a chance to tie it - which he did. UConn went on to win by six, so I won one bet and pushed another.

Black Saturday started okay with another spirited round of basketball outside at UNLV and another comped trip to the buffet. We then high-tailed it back to Treasure Island where we proceeded to lose every bet we made as Texas was manhandled by LSU and Memphis forgot to show up for it’s game with UCLA. The games also caused havoc with my brackets as I had Memphis and Texas in the Final Four and my low score pick of 103 that had stood since the first weekend was usurped by UCLA/Memphis’s pathetic 95 point showing.

NOTE: Oddly, this is where my writing ends. The only other memory I have of this trip (and perhaps why it never got down on paper) was UConn’s monumental loss to George Mason the next day in the Elite Eight. I don’t remember much about the game, but I remember when it ended I had such an awful taste in my mouth for Vegas. The mix of UConn getting upset, losing money on our bets, and a lousy venue is the trifecta we always try to avoid.