Well, Summer 2012 is just about finished. This past Labor Day weekend signified one last time to hit the beach, have a cookout, or find one last summer love. For most Americans, that is. For me, it was one last opportunity to recklessly spend money and drink. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s just dive into this engrossing chapter of the Atlantic City Diaries!
Friday
3:45PM – The crew this time: OB (star of Chapters 2 and 4), Rainman Suite’s founder Keith, and yours truly. The destination: Revel, again. The goal: drunkenness. As loyal readers know, I often have a low budget on trips to Atlantic City, and, at this time, I am in the process of moving, so my money is much lower than usual. Therefore, I must exercise self-control, and by that, I mean I must drink more alcohol rather than gamble. I’ve modeled myself after Charles Barkley, in the sense that I am not a role model.
As mentioned in previous chapters, taking the bus down always involves stealthy drinking. However, due to my aforementioned money shortage, I went cheap – instead of buying several smaller bottles, I bought a giant two liter bottle of Pepsi that was on sale at the local CVS. This, combined with my cheap liter of Rory B. Bellows brand rum, did very little to mask the fact that I was a bus rule-breaker. Additionally, OB made sure to point out that I was drinking as loudly as possible, banging pots and pans like it was New Year’s Eve, marching up and down the bus aisle singing “RORY IS DRINKING, ON THE BUS!” This may not be true, but it certainly felt akin to this as it was happening.
Keith Stone: I, meanwhile, had pounded a carton of Bandit wine at Rory’s apartment before the bus. When heading to New Jersey, do as white trash does.
6:30 – We arrive in Atlantic City. Aside from some slight spills, the bus trip was without much ado. While OB and Keith would be getting off at Showboat (which is next door to the Revel), I got off at Caesar’s. I had a small amount of comped slot dollars to play, which expired at the end of August. While I won absolutely nothing, it helped sate my appetite for gambling. When I arrive in Atlantic City, every second before my first foray into gambling is spent on thinking about when I am going to gamble. This small detour helped me alleviate this thought – for a bit.
I strolled down the boardwalk, chugging my 2-liter-Pepsi-and-horrible-rum concoction, taking in the sights of the Jersey Shore in the late summer, which was primarily seeing a naked man get arrested. The boardwalk is also littered by numerous t-shirt shops, pandering to the latest catchphrase of the day (i.e. “YOLO” and “Call Me Maybe” shirts). However, MTV had just announced the cancellation of Jersey Shore, and you could see the disappointment in all the store owners’ faces. Stay strong, my poorly-made crap-slinging entrepreneurs, I’m sure the next horrible exploitative phenomenon is just around the corner.
MKS: I’m looking at you, Honey Boo Boo.
7:30 – I meet Stone and OB at the Revel, where the great OB has procured us another comped room (although not a suite this time, but I’m not complaining). We have dinner reservations are Azure again at 9:30, and we decide to drink more in the room as preparation. Bad idea.
Rainman Suite 