Vegas

Before I begin I have to acknowledge Joey and the 50 hot dogs and buns he ate in the Las Vegas qualifier. Incredible. And Rich LeFevre put down 30.5 - a personal best that would of course win any other qualifier but this one. And I thought Ron did 20, but he's officially credited with 15. My 12.5 was next, then screenwriter Josh Heald with 11. El Toro ate 10, as did Doug "Cerberus" Ecks. Of the eight other competitors none pulled 10.

And I apologize for the photo quality. I only had the video camera with me, and the photos are all captures from video. Except for this first one that T2 took with the normal camera.


Photo of me, being dropped off at DIA.






I stayed at the Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel. Hotel?!? Maybe Hoe-tel. Well maybe the place wasn't THAT bad. Maybe a step or two up from the Panama Palms. T2 is the only one who gets that reference. But I'd call it Motel 3. Not Motel 6, but Motel 3. It's very conveniently located about half a mile west of the New York New York. Close enough that I could have walked to the Strip and back again, but I had to sample the bus system, the CAT - Citizen's Area Transit.



Very easy to get around. The day I got there, a day before the contest, I hopped on it and went to a deli to get a samwich and a quart of strawberry milk for dinner. Not too big of a meal, but I knew it would be the last food before the competition so I wanted to be full. After eating I went back to the strip.



I had to go by the Hooters hotel. T2's favorite place ever. Went back to the NYNY for some BJ action. Blackjack at my stakes, well, won't hit it big but it's a fun way to pass time. Then I head back to the Motel 3 for a solid night of sleep.

Thursday dawns beautifully. From my vantage point at the hoe-tel, it's a very nice sunrise over the strip. I get to the NYNY about 11:00. I play some slots and check out the venue.



The contest will take place outside the NYNY on a walking area before the Brooklyn Bridge. It is kind of a weird spot - no room for a big crowd to gather like big crowds do; the area is more wide than deep.



It was cool how the event was a couple hours long. At 1:00 there were hot dog contest heats for employee teams. The individual winner ate 7 hot dogs and buns. At 2:00 there was a contest for Las Vegas public employees - police, fire, that sort of thing. I do not know who won that as I was staying inside in the AC. It was hot for sure, 97 or 98, but not too hot.

As for the contest, I started just like I wanted - I finished the first plate of 5 hot dogs and buns in under 3 minutes. That's great, and as planned. But on dog 7 I got quite sloppy, the cheeks began to fill up, and it went how it went. About when the 10, 9, 8 countdown toward the end began I was at 12 but got the dog in so 12.5 was secured. I looked over once, and saw that my position on the table at the stage left didn't provide a view of Joey or Rich. That would have been something to watch - Joey had to be throwing them down in 10 seconds or so!



Here's me taking a look at my prize - the nastiest chomp on my inside lip! I've bitten it a lot lately so it's no big deal. In the photo you can see the crater-sized bump that is there - so biting it over and over is to be expected really. At one point in the contest I put part of the bun on it. It was a bleeder and it didn't stop until over an hour later. Yowza.



I check out the next morning. Head to the airport, play some slots to pass time. Actually came out ahead at the airport.



Here I am thinking about how it went. Notice my homage to Miss Holloway.



Shot of the Crocs. Crocs have made in-roads in Las Vegas but I saw none.



And I'm back. Thanks, Shamalama!