Section I goes to Vegas

I knew it was going to be a memorable weekend when Wael Sawan, following a strong run on the craps tables, sported for six of us to roll to the Hard Rock in a triple-stretch Escalade limo, replete with mirrored neon ceilings, laser light show and (yes) fog machine.

Section I and our guests hit Vegas from Thursday April 11th to Sunday April 14th and by all accounts the town will never be the same again.

Daily activities included lounging poolside at our hotel (with hourly private tours of the lazy river given by Chris Dixon), visiting all of Vegas’ best thrill rides (Jason Price recommends the Stratosphere’s Big Shot before the parent company goes bankrupt), strolling the strip (while collecting business cards from Sin City’s special “local talent”), and dining at the world-famous Spago in Caesar’s Palace (as well as the LA-famous In’n’Out Burger on Highway 18). In addition, there was a surprising amount of money dropped in… the MGM Grand arcade. Finally, it should be reported that Karl Holmes rented a convertible on Saturday afternoon and drove five hours to witness the sunrise over the Grand Canyon the following morning.

Nightly activities included a healthy mix of gambling, eating and clubbing (not necessarily in that order). Incredibly, most participants were even for the weekend, with two lucky I’ers winning back more than the cost of their trip. We won’t announce who was down the most for the group, but it should be reported that Eric “Yau Baby” was seen physically beating a Barbary Coast ATM machine at 3 AM one morning.

Section I Goes to Vegas was wild, crazy-and a resounding success. Many thanks to Ashish Chugh and Melissa Bridgeford for planning the trip.

By the way, Wael, the section’s big winner, sported for the very same Escalade to take the 15 of us-luggage and all-back to the airport: a fitting end to an incredible weekend.