Do Not Forget List:
5 hour energy (a.k.a. Old Man Juice) - About when I turned 30 my body started to reject the notion that I could drink heavily more than 1 night in a row. Coupled with the fact that I started to say things like 'It's really not worth staying up past 1am' I had to resort to this magical bottle to keep things going. I'm also weirdly price conscious about certain things so 5hr is really a misnomer for this Walmart brand little guy:
Eternal >>>>>>>>>>> 5 hours.
Sunglasses, hat, swimsuit - Standard 'take a break' gear to hang by the pool. Though I'm not sure Harrah's has a pool. Or if it's free. Been a while since I've been to Vegas and wanted to take a break from Poker or Pai Gow or walking around.
Flask? - This one is questionable. For whatever reason, I am of the conspiracy theory that the free mix drinks are heavily watered down. Bring a little flask, go by the store, and you got yourself some drunk insurance. It just doesn't make sense that I can have 15 mixed drinks and not be in a coma.
Ibuprofen - They don't call me Old Man Marsh for nothing.
Cigars and cigar cutter - Not sure if anyone else is a fan of cigars, but they are a mainstay for any Vegas trip. I usually order from Cigars International and have my cheaper, everyday cigar priced at about $3-4 per stick. I don't smoke everyday, but enough that I needed to start buying in bulk.
For this trip, though, it's going to be some Fuente Hemmingways. If I was only allowed to smoke one cigar the rest of my life it would be this one.
Incredible taste and thick, white smoke. I also might grab a Padron 1926 series. I think this was the most recent 'very good' cigar I had and I vividly remember lighting it up and thinking 'Man, I'm too drunk to fully enjoy this bad boy.' (I think I was pregaming the once per quarter poker night with college friends.)
My background in cigars began when my older brother was in college and started getting into them. He brought some home one break and we all had one. From there I was sold as the 'cool thing to do', but would only later realize it's less about being cool and more about connecting with people.
We smoked some in college and, for guys especially, it gives you something to do while you chat and connect. I'd never in a million years call a friend up to talk on the phone, but if he wants to come over and light up a cigar or play golf or shoot pool we can talk for hours.
If you watch Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee on Netflix, Jerry and Bill Burr do a great breakdown of why cigars are so good. They force you to slow down. Cigarettes are fast, and you're in a hurry. You light a cigar knowing that for the next 20-60 minutes everyone can just chill with you or eff off.
Headphones - I still have my Bose Noise Cancelling (corded!) headphones that I bring to the table. I try my hardest to engage at the poker table and not look like I do this everyday. But when you do it everyday there is a breaking point of shutting out everyone else for a while. I also have to occasionally go to my 'Happy Place'. Poker very rarely tilts me and over the past few months the only time I really punted stacks from tilt was because of life tilt.
I'll get into my poker playlists later, but my Happy Place consists of:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSvlJe1mwlw
Followed by
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XaS93WMRQQ
I've been a Tom Petty fan since middle school and I had an interesting experience re-discovering him the past few years. Everyone knows his radio hits, but I started buying his full albums and listening to them straight through. He has so many incredible songs that never get played. I was shocked. And this particular one came on in the background while I was walking through the kitchen and it stopped me in my tracks.
*Bonus Question* Is this a sad song or a happy song?
For the Bad Wolves, I just like hard rock/light metal. Both songs combined just resets my mental palate.
5 Weeks Until Vegas!