15^th Annual Veggy Open, 2011

It’s been a couple months since 7 of the finest flew away from the desert sun in Las Vegas. As always, a good time was had by all. It’s always a tough trip on the old body and this one was no exception. No man should have to endure 5 days hanging out with the Veggy Open guys.

Life circumstances gave this year’s Veggy a different vibe. Within the last few months, Freck, Vinny and Gil all had to deal with the passing of their mothers. We only have 1 mother during our lifetime and they are very important in our life.

T Wally and Gloria were fortunate enough to share an emotional dinner with the Reif family just 2 days after Mrs. Reif passed away. To be with Gil, Chris, Connie, Shari, Al and Aunt Gladys were as good as company any person could ever be with. There were tears, laughter, stories and pictures that were cherished by all. We sang happy birthday to Aunt Gladys as she celebrated her 89^th birthday. As always when out with Mr. Reif, there is great food, unlimited cocktails and no financial contribution allowed. His generosity is much appreciated. Another constant with the Reif family is gaming, so after dinner we enjoyed some of that. Gilly wanted no part of T Wally’s community bonding. Yes, a good choice by Gil. Gil hit a couple of 4 of a kind on $1 slots and cashed a couple hundo. It was a nice win, a good mind breaker for Gil, even if only for a moment to relieve his mind from the roller coaster journey he experienced the last couple weeks.

T Wally checked into Harrah’s Wednesday afternoon with 4 sets of clubs and 2 coolers filled with adult beverages. Gil showed up around 7:00 pm, Spider/Vinny and Freck/Scooter were there a short time later.  We hit the table’s full force, community gaming. If it wasn’t for Spiders 3 of a kind in three card poker, it would have been a rough night for all. We enjoyed gaming together and finished in the black.  It had been a long day for all, thus an early night as we all got to crash in our own bed that evening. It’s amazing how much better one sleeps without 3 to a bed! We knew Scoot was lonesome when he pushed the 2 beds together to keep the “community” theme going. Can you say Gaylord?

6 members left Harrah’s early in the morning to meet Travy at Sunset Station in Henderson. Travy was packed with Bud products, rafts and toys. After playing parking lot football, we all piled in the van and headed towards Willow Bay Arizona. This was our first time tackling the Colorado River. Was the river ready for the Veggy Open guys? Was it prepared for Aquaman? We all know, no mortal man can be prepared for Aquaman.

We were used to 85 degree Lake Mead water. The 50 degree Colorado River was not what we expected. Immediately, the topic of shrinkage came up.

As we cruised south in our 26 foot pontoon boat, Spider pulled back on the throttle just as Vinny was standing up. This catapulted Vinny through the boat, crashing into Gil and Travy. Minor injuries were sustained, but Vinny saved his beer! Then just 5 minutes later, both the metal anchor and Bud Light raft flew starboard side right into Gil and Travy. Both narrowly escaped injury. We felt it was going to be a long day.

After an hour on the river, we stopped in a cove where the water temperature was 65 degrees. The Earl of Mead tested the water, planted the flag and decided this was the place to hang out for a few hours. It was a beautiful cove, clear water and surrounding mountains, perfect for a fun filled day in the water. With the outside temp over 100, the 65 degree water felt very refreshing. We played football/whiffle ball toss, badminton, Jai Alai and Shamu mounting.  Although all Veggy Open members are physical specimens, getting on the Shamu raft was difficult for all. After a double dose of Freck and Scooter, poor Shamu had enough, popped and sank to the bottom of the river.

The double Bud Light raft was occupied 100% of the time. Was this because there was a cooler packed with cold ones in the middle of the raft? Probably.

Aquaman was watched by everyone. When he wiggled in the water, the alarm was sounded. We all stayed at least 10 feet from this species. He did behave (thanks to water depends) and all nature rejoiced.

Travy injured his knee as he slipped on the seat, a little wining from this Hoffman product. However, his WIU attitude took charge and this Western stud gutted out his injuries to get a nice training swim in for his upcoming 2 mile ocean swim in just 2 days.

The weather, water and camaraderie was the best. It was time to gather everything and head back to the dock. Along the way, we noticed these cliff jumpers throwing their bodies off these 50 foot cliffs. A few members expressed interest in doing this. Was it the 2 cases of beer we consumed talking? We watched several people jump and our guys said this is our time. Spider, Travy and Freck showed their manhood and traversed up the mountain to the cliff peak. Freck was winded, so Spider was the first to jump. He made it look easy, obviously calling on his Legendfest experience to dominate the water. Travy followed in his footsteps and made a successful jump. Finally it was Freck’s turn. He stood still as we all cheered him on. A gal behind him yelled, “you better grab your balls.”  Freck showed her by wrapping his pinky around the family jewels and plummeted 50’ into the Colorado River.  There was a splash that would have capsized the Titanic.

On the way back to Willow Bay, we experienced beautiful scenery as we saw hawks, mountain rams and big horn sheep.  It was a nice finish to a fun filled day on the water.

It was very hot as we loaded everything in the van. The temperature was 119 degrees.

We arrived at Harrah’s, showered and donned the 2011 Veggy Open shirts. Scoot will definitely retain his VP status with these classy shirts as well as the 15 years anniversary hats.  We did the annual shot or two before dinner, but Old Crow was nowhere to be seen. It was a smooth brandy these 50+ year old members enjoyed. Mature status deserves a finer drink.

Dressed to kill in Veggy Open gear, we headed to Toby Keith’s restaurant. Oh yea, the ladies were looking. Seated at dinner, we raised our glass to Mrs. Cunningham, Mrs. Azzano and Mrs. Reif. We enjoyed a nice dinner, exchanged a few gifts and were ready for gaming.

Scoot took the Macanudo cigars to the outdoor Carnival bar between the two casinos. Smoking these cigars was our best experience in the raucous atmosphere. Lots of activity going on here, very loud as all those seated at the bar were given multiple shots. There was a band cranking out 70’s music, we were right in our element. We picked out a table for community blackjack, it was the wrong table. In less than 30 minutes, this unfriendly dealer took all our money. We decided to try community slots. We picked out the wrong slots. Fortunately, we got back $18 from a hundo start, so this was like winning. Typical community action.  Next year the word community cannot be mentioned or you will be blackballed. One for all, one for one ! Have we finally learned our lesson?

We decided to game inside at Harrah’s. Individually, no community. Believe it or not, most did pretty good. Travy dominated 3 card poker and craps, walking away with several black chips in his pocket. Gil did well at Paigow, incurring massive comps. Even though Scoot was distracted from the entertainment near the Toby Keith blackjack tables, he was able to focus enough on 21 and scored a nice victory.

It was getting late, but we were feeling no pain. We all agreed one more table and we’ll call it a night. We sat down at Penny Joe’s table. She was in awe of the Veggy Open group. Most women feel the same way, as we are used to the fanfare. She had her eye on the Veggy Open group….. who wouldn’t, she is only human. After Spider had 4 cards to a Royal Flush, just 1 card shy of a $35,000 cash, she paid a lot more attention to this studly cheesehead. Penny Joe had to rotate tables and serenaded “Spidy, Spidy, come to my table.” It was very entertaining, but this was our clue to call it a night. It was 3:00 am and having to get up at 5:00 am, we called it a night.

Friday morning came early as we met in the lobby at 5:45 am for our 6:30 am tee off. 7 of the finest were ready to tackle Black Mountain golf course in Henderson. 8 time, Freck and Vinny were in the first group, followed by Gil, Spider, Travy and Wally.  As 1 member stepped up to the tee, Travy bellowed out, “ from Willow Bay, Aquaman !”  Not a good visual.

After 9 holes, the 1^st group were all close, shooting under 45. The 2^nd group was led by Gil and Travy at 47, Spider and T Wally not too far behind.  The weather was actually overcast, not nearly as hot as previous Veggy Opens. However, a few guys started to fade around the 14^th hole. Although Vinny had 4 pars and a birdie, his absence from the Veggy showed, as his studly body broke down as he missed a few shots and finished with a 99. Spider and T Wally both gutted out a brutal round of 109.

Would Gilly or Travy win their first Veggy Open? Would 8 time obnoxiously crown himself 9 time?  Would Freck become a 3 time Veggy Open champ? Yes he would! The physically fit Freckster shot an 87 to win the 15^th annual Veggy Open. Travy finished 2^nd with a 92 while Gil and HLM tied for 3^rd with a 97. We enjoyed a few cold ones in the clubhouse,  packed up our sweaty bodies and headed to Gloria’s for lunch.

It was nearly noon before we chowed down on the best lasagna lunch mankind has ever tasted. An honorary member, Felipe as well as Grandma Glo’s friend Dave joined us for lunch. As always, the lasagna/sausage were second to none.

8 time presented the Henricks Cup to 3 time in an emotional ceremony. Tears were shed, mostly by 8 time because he didn’t win. Although the speech seemed to focus on 8 time’s past victories, he graciously presented the Cup for Freck to sign. A loud round of applause for this 3 time winner, humble/shy guy, except when in Lake Mead. It was a poignant moment, the Henricks Cup being held by two good friends, winners of a total 11 Veggy Opens.  We enjoyed a great meal, lots of laughs as we said goodbye to Gloria and headed back to Harrahs.

Immediately upon arriving back at the hotel, the norm has always been to game right away, community style, win or lose, then grab a shower. This trip, ½ of the members were blown as they crashed right away, saving themselves from a community beating.

After all members had showered and were ready to roll, we headed out to get something to eat. After dinner, we enjoined listening to the dueling piano’s in Harrahs. Great music, fun environment.  We gamed, enjoyed a few cocktails and had a good time until the wee hours of the night.

Saturday morning came early, most members only getting a few hours of sleep. Gil left with his dad for Chicago and Travy bolted early for an ocean race in Manhattan Beach. We wished them well, now only 5 were left.

The night before, we discussed renting a cabana at the pool, something never done in Veggy history. We decided to splurge and spend the $150 to enjoy the luxury of a poolside cabana. We never imagined our bar/food bill for the day would be 5 times that!

Scooter, Freck, Spider, Vinny and T Wally strolled to the pool @ 9:45 am Saturday morning. Before 10:00 am, we were working on a 32 ounce spicy Bloody Mary that kicked our butts. By 10:30 am, we were all ready for a nap.  We switched to beer and rum runners and got a second wind. The 110 degree heat helped to sweat out the alcohol, but it was a long, long day. The cabana allowed us to play euchre, watch sports on TV, and be treated like kings. We has 5 reserved lounge chairs outside the cabana that poachers tried to use. Once our enforcers, HLM and Freck approached them, they were gone in a heartbeat. Lots of ladies wanted to hang out with us in the cabana. Can you blame them? We all had our shirts off and most of the pool crowd wished they could be a part of our group. We enjoyed talking with a group of guys/girls from New Mexico as well as a few young ladies from Nebraska.  Stacy and Alicia put on a clinic of corn husker wrestling in the pool. They had body, tongue and belly piercings combined with multiple tattoos, and mouths like a sailor.  They thought T Wally was 61 and Scooter was 37.  Obviously they were not playing with a full deck. We had fun talking with them, but after a while, Freck had enough. The man with many names booted them out of the cabana and we never saw them again. When Dribbles gets near water, he is definitely in control.

We ended the afternoon dominating water volleyball and called it a day, a very long day.

After getting cleaned up, we decided to walk a short way to Gilly’s saloon and get something to eat. The strip was packed. The line to get in was way too long, so we decided to go in the side door. We did get in, but the alarm sounded and they escorted us out of the saloon. We decided to head back to Harrah’s and eat at Kerry’s Gourmet Burgers We never thought a $20 burger could be justified, but we were wrong.  We were stuffed, tired and pretty much spent. After 30 minutes of Toby Keith blackjack, we called it a night. We were in our own beds, toes up and out by 10:00 pm. Our old bodies just can’t handle things like the yester years.

Sunday morning, only Scoot, Freck, Vinny and T Wally were left. We enjoyed a nice Sunday brunch at Harrah’s and decided to walk to Caesar’s. We checked out a lot of stores and got to see Andre Dawson  at Field of Dreams. Scooter had a nice conversation with Andre about Greg Maddox. As we walked back to Harrah’s, we stopped in the Rockhouse for a cold one. One led to another as we watched the youngsters play beer pong. With a few under our belt, we knew what was coming next…. Community!

We sat at the Dealertainers 3 card poker table at the IP. Pink, Madonna, Billy Joel, Ric Ocasek and Tina Turner impersonators were very talented. Pink was our favorite as we doubled up with her as our dealer. We actually left each up a hundo from community action.

We decided to enjoy a nice steak dinner at Bill’s Gambling Hall. We dressed in our best Veggy attire and walked to the restaurant. The steak, wine and atmosphere was very nice, a perfect last meal for the 15^th annual Veggy Open.

After 5 days of various cocktails, shots of Brandy, cases of beer, limited sleep, community gaming, hanging at the Colorado river, poolside at Harrah’s and golfing in 110 degree heat, we knew the end was near. We scored a table in the dueling piano bar, ordered 1 round and called it a night.

Freck was gone at 5:00 am Monday morning. T Wally took Vinny to the airport a few hours later, and then there were 2. The president and executive VP were the lone members left. We decided to check out our old stomping grounds, The Trop. We had good memories here, as this was our main stay for over ½ of the Veggy Opens. To our surprise, the newly furnished Trop was very nice. This might be the home of the 2012 Veggy Open.

T Wally dropped off 8 time at the airport and then there was 1.

After saying goodbye to one of my closest friends in life, I pulled over, cranked up XM radio 70’s station and reflected on the last few days and life in general. All of us are over 50 and moving forward with this challenging journey we call life. I’m not sure any of us have it figured out, but for the most part, we are doing OK. We are blessed to have a great group of family and friends. Let us never forget the Veggy creed, although we acknowledge that family always comes first and we spend most of our time with our family, “Life is precious, spend time with friends while you can.”

The 2011 Veggy Open was a male bonding event like all others. A good time was had by all.

May the Good Lord bless you all the days of your life.

My best always,

T Wally Wilson

See Pictures Here