Had and exit row on the ride in - nice Better late than never I guess.
I have no excuse for getting the 2017 GO JUMBO recap out this late other than one of my favorite vices – sloth. Gluttony is up there. And it often goes even better with sloth. I mean, who doesn’t love those days when you do nothing but sit on the couch eating something nine out of ten doctors don’t recommend. That’s a great day. Put some football on the telly and it’s a wonderful day.
But given a choice between gluttony and sloth – sloth is better. Doing nothing without overconsuming beats stuffing your pie hole while being active. In my book at least.
But guilt ultimately wins out. Fans across the globe are demanding an update.
Actually, the BBofG fan base, other than some bots in China and the former USSR, are located entirely in the good ‘ol USA.
OK, enough stalling. Here’s the recap.
Woz and I got there on Thursday as is our tradition. After a full year we can’t wait to put down some real wagers. Pat and Pete wanted in on the action and so texted in their picks. We dutifully made all the wagers, got a good viewing spot in the SuperBook and got the weekend off to a great start.
I have no excuse for getting the 2017 GO JUMBO recap out this late other than one of my favorite vices – sloth. Gluttony is up there. And it often goes even better with sloth. I mean, who doesn’t love those days when you do nothing but sit on the couch eating something nine out of ten doctors don’t recommend. That’s a great day. Put some football on the telly and it’s a wonderful day.
But given a choice between gluttony and sloth – sloth is better. Doing nothing without overconsuming beats stuffing your pie hole while being active. In my book at least.
But guilt ultimately wins out. Fans across the globe are demanding an update.
Actually, the BBofG fan base, other than some bots in China and the former USSR, are located entirely in the good ‘ol USA.
OK, enough stalling. Here’s the recap.
Woz and I got there on Thursday as is our tradition. After a full year we can’t wait to put down some real wagers. Pat and Pete wanted in on the action and so texted in their picks. We dutifully made all the wagers, got a good viewing spot in the SuperBook and got the weekend off to a great start.
Sully went with the upgrade - Hugh passed Even better when we were joined by Joe and Mrs. Joe. It had been too long old man. You live the closest and come too rarely. Now that you are retired from barely working you need to step up your game!
As the evening wore on, Pat was doing great betting the overs, Pete blew his pick, Woz struggled with the NBA and NHL while we both were slightly ahead on football. Typical for a Thursday (other than Pat winning)
It was a good warm up.
For me, Friday sucked. During the day at least. The gig I was on kept me in my room all day – working. It blew. Glad that one is over.
The rest of the gang arrived during the day and other than Hugh and Sully didn’t do a whole lot.
The Irish brothers did something fantastic. They went to a race track and drove high performance cars. Hugh drove a Porsche Cayman GTS while Sully went with the Lamborghini. Five laps of pure heaven. While they were there the Blue Angels were practicing overhead – getting ready for a Veterans Day show.
Race cars and Blue Angels. Pure adrenaline rush.
As the evening wore on, Pat was doing great betting the overs, Pete blew his pick, Woz struggled with the NBA and NHL while we both were slightly ahead on football. Typical for a Thursday (other than Pat winning)
It was a good warm up.
For me, Friday sucked. During the day at least. The gig I was on kept me in my room all day – working. It blew. Glad that one is over.
The rest of the gang arrived during the day and other than Hugh and Sully didn’t do a whole lot.
The Irish brothers did something fantastic. They went to a race track and drove high performance cars. Hugh drove a Porsche Cayman GTS while Sully went with the Lamborghini. Five laps of pure heaven. While they were there the Blue Angels were practicing overhead – getting ready for a Veterans Day show.
Race cars and Blue Angels. Pure adrenaline rush.
Fridays are starting to become my new FFDY When I finally got my work done I started my duties as Director of Fun. Time to get everyone together in one spot. It was like herding cats. But several texts later we finally met up at the Beer Park by the Paris casino. A superb outdoor outdoor sports bar.
We slammed four picnic tables together as the attendance this year was fantastic. Hugh and Sully raced over, Joe and Mrs Joe came down from the strip, Pete, Pat, Fuss, Woz, Trent, Berg all convened for a great night.
Soon, the only thing flowing faster than the beers were the same old stories. With a few new ones thrown in. It had been some time since we had talked about Jim C’s bachelor party.
The GO JUMBO Fridays are quickly approaching becoming my FFDY! Just getting together with the gang is the best.
But Saturday is still my FFDY. The gang is all together, drinks were on order, the wagers are made. It’s time for football and fun.
We slammed four picnic tables together as the attendance this year was fantastic. Hugh and Sully raced over, Joe and Mrs Joe came down from the strip, Pete, Pat, Fuss, Woz, Trent, Berg all convened for a great night.
Soon, the only thing flowing faster than the beers were the same old stories. With a few new ones thrown in. It had been some time since we had talked about Jim C’s bachelor party.
The GO JUMBO Fridays are quickly approaching becoming my FFDY! Just getting together with the gang is the best.
But Saturday is still my FFDY. The gang is all together, drinks were on order, the wagers are made. It’s time for football and fun.
Especially if MSU keeps playing like THAT on Go Jumbo weekends And then just like that the fun stopped. State got bushwhacked by Ohio State. They played like our floor football team. Not sure if we wouldn’t have beaten them on that day. It was awful.
With a beat down that bad there had to be a reason. It couldn’t have be that we were that bad or that Ohio State was that good. No, it had to be something more metaphysical. A greater power had intervened. We looked around for scapegoats.
Mrs. Joe was the first victim of our wrath. A woman in the Sportsbook on GO JUMBO? The first two letters of GO JUMBO is Guys Only.
But that couldn’t be it. Mrs. Joe knew more about football than the rest of us. She earned a life time pass when she was there when State made the biggest comeback ever against Northwestern.
It had to be something more sinister.
That’s when Woz said “At least my UConn bet is looking good”
Woz had violated the Big Al Rule!
He tried to snake his way out. “But I bet on UConn”
Doesn’t matter. This was settled a long time ago. You can’t bet against UConn of for UConn. The Big Al rule is absolute.
And it proved itself again this year. Some idiot bet on UConn and we all paid the price. If I see that again in a future year I’m going to rip up the betting slip and burn it in the smoking lounge.
With a beat down that bad there had to be a reason. It couldn’t have be that we were that bad or that Ohio State was that good. No, it had to be something more metaphysical. A greater power had intervened. We looked around for scapegoats.
Mrs. Joe was the first victim of our wrath. A woman in the Sportsbook on GO JUMBO? The first two letters of GO JUMBO is Guys Only.
But that couldn’t be it. Mrs. Joe knew more about football than the rest of us. She earned a life time pass when she was there when State made the biggest comeback ever against Northwestern.
It had to be something more sinister.
That’s when Woz said “At least my UConn bet is looking good”
Woz had violated the Big Al Rule!
He tried to snake his way out. “But I bet on UConn”
Doesn’t matter. This was settled a long time ago. You can’t bet against UConn of for UConn. The Big Al rule is absolute.
And it proved itself again this year. Some idiot bet on UConn and we all paid the price. If I see that again in a future year I’m going to rip up the betting slip and burn it in the smoking lounge.
Hugh Trent and I made a few trips to the Clubhouse Yup – you heard that. There’s a smoking lounge called the Clubhouse in the Super Book now.
Nice little set up with 9 TVs and a damn good ventilation system. Hugh, Trent and I made a few stops inside over the weekend. Very enjoyable. Watching football with a drink AND a cigar is by far, the best way to go.
The only downside is that as good as the ventilation system you still reeked of cigar smoke when you get out. Good thing I stopped worrying about what I smell like a long time ago.
After a sufficient crucifixion of Woz for violating the eighth deadly sin we tried to recover our losses on the remaining games. Fortunately, after the Nebraska fiasco of a couple of years back I limited my bet on State. I was going to not bet it at all but when I saw the line jump to State +18.0 I hurried from the Buffet to get in line to make bet a Mini Mega. Dumb move. I should have stayed and had that third helping of roast beast.
Nice little set up with 9 TVs and a damn good ventilation system. Hugh, Trent and I made a few stops inside over the weekend. Very enjoyable. Watching football with a drink AND a cigar is by far, the best way to go.
The only downside is that as good as the ventilation system you still reeked of cigar smoke when you get out. Good thing I stopped worrying about what I smell like a long time ago.
After a sufficient crucifixion of Woz for violating the eighth deadly sin we tried to recover our losses on the remaining games. Fortunately, after the Nebraska fiasco of a couple of years back I limited my bet on State. I was going to not bet it at all but when I saw the line jump to State +18.0 I hurried from the Buffet to get in line to make bet a Mini Mega. Dumb move. I should have stayed and had that third helping of roast beast.
I made my only Mega Bet on Southern Miss giving 10.5 - they won by 9 Going into the weekend my picks were getting worse by the week so I made only one Mega Bet. Which I lost of course.
Friday was starting to look like it would be my FFDY after all.
After the game, Pat went into the casino. He made up his losses and then some on something called The Buffalo slots. He texted a picture of his winnings. It had a comma in it. Nice
The Big Flippy was perfect. Perfectly random going 2-2-2. Well maybe not so random. There were only 3 pushes on the day and the Big Flippy picked 2. That's kind of odd.
Friday was starting to look like it would be my FFDY after all.
After the game, Pat went into the casino. He made up his losses and then some on something called The Buffalo slots. He texted a picture of his winnings. It had a comma in it. Nice
The Big Flippy was perfect. Perfectly random going 2-2-2. Well maybe not so random. There were only 3 pushes on the day and the Big Flippy picked 2. That's kind of odd.
The Big Guy's Georgia bet was almost as bad as our State bets The Big Guy phoned in a bet on Georgia which trailed only State in getting blown out. Had I known about Woz's transgression I would have told him to save it.
Fuss tried getting his money back on the ponies. He would pore over the Horses A$$ Almanac, make his picks, watch the race, lose and then go. “Damn gal gave me the wrong slip again”. Maybe you should use a different window
Fuss did have one big win and he let me in on it. He boxed a superfecta. If five of the eight ponies he boxed won in any order we were big winners.
One of the combinations won! 140 to 1 pay off!! Yeah baby!
Problem was we only had a dime on each bet. We came out $2 ahead. We used the winning for our next drink round.
Speaking of which - we consistently forgot to ask for drink coupons. To get a free drink you have to bet $50 to get a drink coupon and then present it to BeDDy. But you need to ask for them. They won't hand out a drink coupon unless you ask. Which we almost always forgot to do.
We would come back to our tables in the back and go "Damn it I forgot again." By then it was too late. I promised to print REMEMBER YOUR DRINK COUPONS in big bold letters on the bottom of next years Go Jumbo Bettors guide.
Fuss tried getting his money back on the ponies. He would pore over the Horses A$$ Almanac, make his picks, watch the race, lose and then go. “Damn gal gave me the wrong slip again”. Maybe you should use a different window
Fuss did have one big win and he let me in on it. He boxed a superfecta. If five of the eight ponies he boxed won in any order we were big winners.
One of the combinations won! 140 to 1 pay off!! Yeah baby!
Problem was we only had a dime on each bet. We came out $2 ahead. We used the winning for our next drink round.
Speaking of which - we consistently forgot to ask for drink coupons. To get a free drink you have to bet $50 to get a drink coupon and then present it to BeDDy. But you need to ask for them. They won't hand out a drink coupon unless you ask. Which we almost always forgot to do.
We would come back to our tables in the back and go "Damn it I forgot again." By then it was too late. I promised to print REMEMBER YOUR DRINK COUPONS in big bold letters on the bottom of next years Go Jumbo Bettors guide.
Gotchya - by half a point After our outstanding win on the Superfecta I got a text from Fuss. He had moved on to the slots. He sent a picture of his winnings. It was even more than Pat's. The gauntlet was thrown.
The SuperBook was its usual self with plenty of yelling, cheering, taunting and just having a grand time. One fan yelled out during the Georgia game "What do they know, they're just college kids. Their brains aren't fully developed"
Classic.
Saturday ended more on a whimper than a bang. I was remembering my drink coupons and it finally caught up to me. Others had drifted off into the casino. Woz Joe and Mrs. Joe closed it down with the Hawaii midnight eastern game trying to get back some of the days earlier losses.
Sunday started out the same way Sunday did, Woz, Mike and I grabbing tables soon joined by Pat. As we were waiting for the others to join, Woz said that we just missed yesterday's group parlay bet by one game.
The group parlay was that we each put in $2 on our favorite college bet. With seven entries the pay off was 100-1.
The only miss was Boise State. I checked the Big Book of Guesses. "Woz - Boise covered" A stunned looked. We won a 100-1 parlay??
Woz started towards the betting window picking up speed as he went. Then, suddenly he pivoted and walked back. "I forgot to check the Fresno State game. What was the score" I checked. "31-21 Fresno" I said.
"We were giving 10.5"
Holy crap. We lost a 100-1 parlay by the hook? A freaking half a point? A fitting encore to Saturday's betting.
Sunday was much better. I won all but two wagers including several Mini Megas and a double Mini Mega on San Diego which offset half of Saturday's losses. Pat and Woz had great days as Detroit and Atlanta covered. The Big Flippy went 3-3 to keep perfect on the weekend.
Pat came back after the morning games. "Sorry I was late in getting back, I had to get this" and he pulled out a 1099. He had gone back to the Buffalo slots and won so much this time that he had to file with the IRS .Challenge accepted Fuss. Challenge won.
The SuperBook was its usual self with plenty of yelling, cheering, taunting and just having a grand time. One fan yelled out during the Georgia game "What do they know, they're just college kids. Their brains aren't fully developed"
Classic.
Saturday ended more on a whimper than a bang. I was remembering my drink coupons and it finally caught up to me. Others had drifted off into the casino. Woz Joe and Mrs. Joe closed it down with the Hawaii midnight eastern game trying to get back some of the days earlier losses.
Sunday started out the same way Sunday did, Woz, Mike and I grabbing tables soon joined by Pat. As we were waiting for the others to join, Woz said that we just missed yesterday's group parlay bet by one game.
The group parlay was that we each put in $2 on our favorite college bet. With seven entries the pay off was 100-1.
The only miss was Boise State. I checked the Big Book of Guesses. "Woz - Boise covered" A stunned looked. We won a 100-1 parlay??
Woz started towards the betting window picking up speed as he went. Then, suddenly he pivoted and walked back. "I forgot to check the Fresno State game. What was the score" I checked. "31-21 Fresno" I said.
"We were giving 10.5"
Holy crap. We lost a 100-1 parlay by the hook? A freaking half a point? A fitting encore to Saturday's betting.
Sunday was much better. I won all but two wagers including several Mini Megas and a double Mini Mega on San Diego which offset half of Saturday's losses. Pat and Woz had great days as Detroit and Atlanta covered. The Big Flippy went 3-3 to keep perfect on the weekend.
Pat came back after the morning games. "Sorry I was late in getting back, I had to get this" and he pulled out a 1099. He had gone back to the Buffalo slots and won so much this time that he had to file with the IRS .Challenge accepted Fuss. Challenge won.
I was the big winner this weekend As the afternoon games were at the half, I was coming back from the biff and there was Trent grinning holding up an old newspaper. It was the State News from 1979 when Magic led us to the NCAA championship. He was going through old boxes from his basement, came across it and decided to bring it to Vegas.
That's cool. We looked at the articles and reminisced, telling some other great stories from the State News. The best are true but not suitable for family gatherings.
Then Trent turned to me and handed me the copy. "It's for the Doofus Deck" What? Now that is too cool.
Regardless of the betting on the games, I came out way ahead. A copy of the best issue ever of the State News. Thanks Trent!
It's up there with the signed Magic jersey and a copy of the Sports Illustrated from the same day. Perfect
Shortly afterwards, the Executive Committee met to close out the activities and discuss next years meeting. By unanimous vote we determined that the 2018 GO JUMBO trip will be November 3. State will be playing at Maryland. Should be a win this time
We also love having the trip when daylight savings time ends. We need the extra hours sleep. Make sure to change your clock next year Woz.
And REMEMBER YOUR DRINK COUPONS.
GO JUMBO!!
That's cool. We looked at the articles and reminisced, telling some other great stories from the State News. The best are true but not suitable for family gatherings.
Then Trent turned to me and handed me the copy. "It's for the Doofus Deck" What? Now that is too cool.
Regardless of the betting on the games, I came out way ahead. A copy of the best issue ever of the State News. Thanks Trent!
It's up there with the signed Magic jersey and a copy of the Sports Illustrated from the same day. Perfect
Shortly afterwards, the Executive Committee met to close out the activities and discuss next years meeting. By unanimous vote we determined that the 2018 GO JUMBO trip will be November 3. State will be playing at Maryland. Should be a win this time
We also love having the trip when daylight savings time ends. We need the extra hours sleep. Make sure to change your clock next year Woz.
And REMEMBER YOUR DRINK COUPONS.
GO JUMBO!!
