Hooker, Cooler. Cooler, Hooker.

Taking too many bad beats? Economy got you down? Bet on the Steelers last Sunday? Life is hard, I know. But at least you're not sucking the toes of a Vegas hooker. That, friends, is Rock Bottom. Thank goodness we have The Good Dr. Pauly around to remind us there are greater cesspools than ours.

Please to enjoy Existentialist Conversations with Hookers: Maelstrom at the Hooker Bar, featuring a sage and philosophical Otis.

Oh...but that's not all! I have a dark place in my heart for Coolers. My buddy Bro is a Cooler of the first order. I once had a craps croupier ask if I wanted him "thrown out," because every time he walked within a 10 foot radius, the shooter would crap out. Memo to self, avoid Michalski at all costs.

Emmisarries From the Land of Indulgence

I think we have all, at one time or another, stared into the abyss in Sin City. Most of the time, we are there for the sheen, for escape, and there's no need to go past the surface, which, naturally, is what the city sells. We get in, get our fix, and get out. Occasionally, you go on a bad run. The cards and dice rot the sparkly paint job, corroding it to rust, and we are forced to face the darkness. Pauly knows more than most and sees the truth behind the glow. It's easy to forget after a hit-and-run weekend, what a diabolical place Vegas really is. Cibola. The mirage in the desert. Nobody wins.

Unless you're there for reasons other than the turn of the wheel. That's what I get out of these two great posts. With all the debauchery swirling around, debauchery our heroes don't necessarily disapprove of, they stick close, finding rewards in each other, surety in friendship amidst the turmoil.

I will be joined by a special guest this upcoming WPBT event. When I initially invited her, I was a bit nervous. I'm not known as someone with a great deal of restraint or maturity, especially when there's ample alcohol and even more ample action to be had and was concerned about her seeing me in my typical Vegas state of glorious irresponsibility. Then I realized, these trips long ago stopped being about wagers and action. They are about hanging with some of my favorite people in the world; the best parts are always the unexpected conversations and that feeling of deep-running camaraderie. That, I know she'll enjoy. As will I.

Which doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to someone needing a wheelchair or throwing their beer in their own face.