Pool is a Journey: Real Birthday in Vegas Post

Okay, okay, now that I had a little fun about this, let me tell ya some of what I can tell ya (lol) about my Birthday. :)

I decided in Sept of last year: "Hey, why not go to Vegas for my Birthday in Feb? Vegas is my favorite city, life is short, what the heck!" So, I made arrangements to go to Lost Wages for my February 9th Birthday of this year. :)

I had many plans for my Birthday vacation, but I didn't do get to check off many of the items on my list - like, I wanted to ride one of the rides on top of the Stratosphere, and get a cool massage with those rocks on your back, and get that new tattoo for my Mom, etc. But, even though I didn't do half of the things I thought I would, I truly had the best birthday yet! I had SO MUCH fun!

Me, the first morning in Vegas!

The main part of the trip for me happened to be pool related, so that is why I am sharing my Birthday with you via my pool blog. :)

First things first - I flew First Class on the way out there (yay for AA miles!), hired a driver in a town car to pick me up from the airport, and then stayed at the Mirage for free. :) Yea, I get comps; I'm a high roller. (just kidding!! I get offers in the mail all the time because they know I'm a sucker for gambling).

My First Class meal! WOW! Did they know it was my Birthday? lol

Besides seeing "America's Got Talent" Winner/Entertainer on the last night (the awesome Terry Fator), I mostly gambled with friends, drank a lot, stayed up too late, and barely slept! lol. While that sounds like a "typical" Vegas trip, it was all during my Birthday week with great friends! Having great friends around me doing my favorite things is what made the trip so special for me!

The Terry Fator Show at the Mirage. I had 4th row seats, right up front!!

Ah, the Terry Fator beer cup that I carried down the Las Vegas strip from casino to casino for hours! LMAO

Now, here's the best part - the festivities ON my Birthday (that pool-related part I mentioned at first).

Besides my favorite city, Vegas just happens to be the home of some good friends of mine in the pool industry. So, I was VERY excited to be able to have dinner with them on my Birthday! I sent them all a 'Save the Date' email to forewarn them I was coming to town, lol, and not to make plans for Feb 9th.

My dear friend Sunny Griffin set up the dinner plans and after-party and I am still so very thankful for her taking the lead and getting it all planned out! It was above and beyond what I had expected (I thought it was gonna be just a great dinner!).

The wonderful couple Sunny and Mark Griffin (of BCAPL and CSI) who are good friends of mine, live in Vegas, as does my lovely friend Holly Ryan. Ravi who travels to the tourneys and knows many pool players also lives in Vegas. Justin from The Action Report also lives in Vegas and so does Eric (aka Fatboy). All of these peeps are known in the pool world/industry and I happen to also consider them all good friends. So, picking Vegas to spend my Birthday with my friends was going to be a special treat for me. To top it off, Sylver Ochoa and his roommate Raul were in Vegas for some poker tournaments and Sunny said there was enough room to invite them to dinner as well. Sylver and Raul are fellow pool players and friends from Texas, so it was an added bonus for my B'Day.

We all went to my fav restaurant: Ruth's Chris Steak House. Yummy! What a treat that was! Great friends, favorite restaurant, great atmosphere, and superb food. :)

At the bar, waiting on our table.

Posing before our meal arrives for our tummy's!

Justin and the awesome dessert that everyone loved.

Sylver and Raul - always cracking up and enjoying life.

Me, with my dessert and cosmo. Happy Birthday to me!

Ravi and I - he wore my favorite color!

And here's Holly and I. :)

Yummy salad!

Me and another cosmo. Love me some Pomegranate Cosmos!

Yay! Me and Sunny!

Sunny caught another group photo of us having a good time. I love that she takes as many photos as I. :)

Eric (who many refer to as 'Fatboy') and his awesome girlfriend, Kelly, could not make it out to dinner, but they invited us over to their house afterwards. I had "heard" about his house, but let me just say it's not a house - it's a mansion. Seriously. I mean, he lives next door to Wayne Newton, if that helps describe the scene for you. So, we all go over to his house and Kelly gives us a tour of the biggest home I've ever been in in my life! We are all just kinda walk around with our mouths open. Holy Cow!!

Getting to hang out at Kelly and Fatboy's place was icing on the cake for my Birthday - we all had such a memorable evening hanging out, having fun, and playing pool in an amazing house!

This is their shower - has a tub in the middle, 4 showerheads and a statue in it.

This is their bed - two California King matresses. That's a long headboard!

Their staircase.

After the amazing tour of the amazing mansion, then the guys play pool as the chicks talk among ourselves. Mark and Justin play on the snooker table, Sunny and Ravi on one of the 9foot tables, and Sylver and Fatboy are playing friendly games of one pocket on the other 9foot (these are each in separate rooms, of course).

Justin and Mark.

Justin.

Here is Fatboy and I, posing!

Ravi and I

Ravi and Sunny playing pool.

Sylver and Fatboy playing One Pocket.

Sylver talking about a shot to Fatboy.

Sylver, Mark, Fatboy and Justin.

It was such a GREAT, memorable, absolutely fun Birthday for me! Favorite city in the world, spending time with great friends, playing pool in an awesome house, excellent Birthday dinner, gambling a lot, sightseeing, not sleeping, buffets, nice drinks, etc. - very memorable, very special. I will never forget my best birthday yet!