I almost guarantee this is going to be the worst TR Ever but I'm going to give a decent live TR a shot.

I will be in Vegas through the weekend, for a bowling tournament at South Point. It's the 2019 Military Bowling Championship. I have events Saturday-Monday and I'll be leaving town Monday night.

I'll be staying downtown at The D and I'm arriving in town around midnight PST.

Feel free to check out now as this TR will include:

-No chip porn
-No poker (I dont think)
-No craps/blackjack sessions
-No food porn
-No hookersnblow

But will include,

-Lots of random pic dumps with no context
-Lots of shots from Fremont Street
-Lots of off strip shots
-Lots of side action in bowling
-Catching up with a few local friends
-A minimum of 1 drink per hour at all times.
-Large doses of THC

Which I can elaborate on. This bowling tournament goes from the 3rd to 20th of August with 4 separate 3 game squad times daily. Saturday I'll be bowling doubles for a 3 game score. Sunday, the 4-person* team event, and Monday morning a 3 game singles block. The total 9 game score is posted as an "all events" score to which the tournament takes from every entry and standings are published at the end of the tournament. Where you can really make money in these tournaments are in the side action. There are high game pots at $5/game per squad which pay out the top 2-3 scores per game. That prize fund is broken down and distributed. There are also "brackets" for $5 and $10 each. With these, blocks of 8 bowlers are randomly seeded NCAA tournament style and your 3 games are pitted against other bowlers in that bracket. So your 1st game score is used against another player heads up and the winner moved on, the 2nd game score is pitted against the winner of the other game 1 match, the winner of the 2nd game match is placed in the finals vs the other winner of their match and your 3rd game score is used to determine the winner. In a $5 bracket the winner is paid $25 and the runner up $10 with the tournament taking a $5 rake. In rare cases a tournament is take free. I plan on entering 60-80 brackets per day and most likely all of them on the final day.

I am also bowling 2 other side events called "sweepers" where it's just a 3 game total score and the prize fund is broken down in a 1:4 or 1:5 ratio.

If you guys have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them all. I'm leaving Baltimore, BWI now and will arrive in Vegas in about 8 hours (layover in ATL for an hour).

Pictured: bags, and the Baltimore architecture around my apartment.

More pics coming later. I'm in need of an airport beer.

My FiL is ex-military (Vietnam-era Marine), and a very good bowler. Would he be eligible for this (next year)? I know he's bowled in a tournament at South Point years prior, but I don't recall if it was this event. And I don't know (yet) if he's there now, but I'll ask my wife later tonight.

Either way, I'm in for the sweat. Can I suggest some hookersnblow, you know, just to liven things up?

Looking forward to it Foatie. For some reason I thought you lived (or used to live) in or around Vegas

I did up until March 2018 when I moved to DC. I've been living mostly between Baltimore, DC, and the Eastern shore of MD for the past 3 months.

Are bowling balls treated just like any other checked bags? Just an extra fee for weight maybe ,or do they need to be handled/checked in/retrieved differently.

Looking forward to the action, you always have interesting things to say. Good luck, knock 'em dead.

Yes they are, 50 lb limit. I throw 15 lb balls and the bags weigh about 2.7lbs each. I brought 4 to this tournament, 2 in each bag, my shoes and accessories in the extra slot in one bag. My slacks and jerseys/polos for the events in the extra slot in bag 2. Bookbag has 4 t-shirts, underwear, and 3 pairs of shorts for chilling outside of bowling hours. Currently have 13 mins left on a short layover in Atlanta. I'm praying that my bags make it since we were on the ground an extra 20 mins in Baltimore.

Shirts care of legendary party promoter Kirill (@slutwhisperer)

Hoping your bags made it. The older stepson is a bowler and his bags didn't make it one time and it put a crimp in things.

Everything made it!. Going to post a proper update later, but I feel like I've been hit with a bat. So much for chilling. I got Vegas hammered drunk went to Denny's, threw up after I ate it, and lost 2hrs of time of where I must have gambooled off about $220. The thc oil, water, tea, and knockoff Panda Express (pretty good btw) is helping. I have to bowl the first event in approximately an hour.

Haha, great stuff.

Lanai, or the world food court?

Wish there was a live video feed of this, has potential.

Am I correct in assuming this thing is a scratch tournament? What's your average?

Back in my bowling days (about 5-10 years ago), my average was about 195, low enough to not be able to hang with the big boys, but high enough to make playing handicap tournaments annoying because there's always some dude with a 120 average who has the series of his life and I have no shot.

This is a handicap tournament. My entering average is 195. The first sweeper tournament I'm just finishing. About 6 spots outside of the money line. I missed way too many spares, and 3 of my 6 misses would have got me paid. 678 scratch was the cut score for 3. I had 639 (189-253-197) scratch and whiffed about $200 in side action. The scoring pace was pretty high. 5 PM is in the south point bowling area and I have doubles with my partner who is a 217 avg. We should have a decent shot. Overall gambling has been brutal with not a single hit. Down about $680 so far on bowling/roulette/video poker (ultimate x).

I'm going to fire another $300 in side action tonight and try to make better shots.

Nice Foatie is back in town. Love your downtown pics, look forward to your off strip pics.

Do you find Baltimore to be, “filthy”, “rat and rodent infested mes”?

Curious how people are reacting to that who actually live in Baltimore.

I miss when the plaza had electronic poker tables im sure you miss em too

Great thread, looking forward to this one.

Op, you may enjoy this as a bowler. Growing up my really good friend lived next door to this old guy who owned the local bowling alley. Really nice guy, but his son who was there all the time was a complete jerk. Everyone kept saying he was a great bowler, taking after his dad.

My response, through sheer ignorance, was "Dick Weber just owns the bowling alley, he is tool old to bowl, and who says his kid is any good?"

Those electronic poker tables were the nuts. People from Baltimore seem pretty pissed about what Trump said. Locals are pretty fierce in their allegiance to the city although people here will say the same things Trump said about Baltimore.

The scoring pace in the arena is about 25-30 pins lower than the bowling center. I had a disaster of a first game, 181. Not sure if that's going to get me through many (or any) brackets.

My friend Rulah Divine from Raise Alwayz and "Eye of the Grinder" came by to give blessings. I'm looking forward to a post game smoke session.

I love it!!

Foatie you’re the king of ribs of pics.

Bowling like garbage, so F it....

A good final game should squeak me out a -15 net loss on the day with -$15 loss on $325 in side action. I got in a total of 65 $5 brackets and ended up sneaking 1st in 9 of them ($225) and 2nd in 10 of them ($100). My scores with my handicap were 217 (187 scratch), 209 (179 scratch) and 254 (224 scratch). The lane play strategy in this one was in a completely different part of the lane than the one earlier and it took me forever to adjust. My partner shot a 3 game score of 219-205-201 for 625 scratch, 659 with his handicap. I'm not sure where that puts us, as there are going to be over 1800 doubles entries between this weekend and the end of the tournament on the 20th. But it should put us in cashing position. The oil pattern is pretty difficult and puts a premium on speed control and accuracy to get the best entry angle into the pins. I'm getting a ton of pin handicap and the scoring pace is low. Tomorrow is the team event and I have a solid team that I'm bowling with.

I'm currently in a Lyft back downtown. I'm going to charge my phone, eat and shower. Then I'm going to get together with some friends of mine that are in town from Ireland. I bowl tomorrow at 1pm.

I'm sure I'll be too drunk to update in 2-3hrs.

Presently degening on Keno while I wait for the crew. I'm stoned to the Gills off of this Gelato vape cartridge. It's damn near panic inducing. Send help.

I wish vape pens got me that high, enjoy and spike 5 numbers+ (i don’t remember how many you need for
It to pay well)

I heard there's a guy who had a full proof system for beating Keno.

Too bad he doesn't post on 2plus2 anymore.

GL foatie. May your balls aim true.

I promised myself that I wouldn't go full degen but I did and ended up drinking until 4am at the stratosphere of all places. My phone died, but all of the seediness that you could expect from a walk from the stratosphere to downtown at 4am was there. Drug offers, prostitution, and dozens of homeless were there. The 4 of them bailed halfway for an Uber back to the Stratosphere and I walked the rest of the way to the D. I Immediately went to the bar tops for drinks and probably dusted off $250 in video poker & Keno.

I'm bringing extra portable chargers with me. I bowl in approximately 3 hours. I feel a bit more confident as to what ball I'm going to have to use and the reaction shape that I'm going to see on the lanes. So I'm going to enter 100 brackets ($5) which may require entering some scratch brackets as yesterdays handicap brackets were only 66. The scores were so low for the competition level that a 220 scratch game would have you winning about 80% of your brackets. That's very attainable, the execution just has to be there.

Right now I'm rehydrating. These Hard Seltzer's are my new favorite thing ever.

I'm going to catch a Lyft to South Point in about 20-30 minutes and then do a pic dump of the morning.