Ian returns and Evo 2011!
So Ian Dundore returned a couple of weeks ago (from Iceland) to Los Angeles, and we took advantage of the situation by hanging out pretty much every day he was here. We went to Swingers, hung out at Venice Beach, visited places that changed in Santa Monica and LA since he left. We talked a lot about politics, and the cultural differences in Iceland vs America. I read some of his dad's novel - which had way, way too many instances of the word "penis" on the front page. Basically Ian is still cool, and It was SO refreshing and awesome to know He could be gone for five years and we could get back to talking like it was just temporary. I love that kind of friendship. He's doing very well for himself in Iceland it seems.
A week after that (meaning last week) I took Vest with me over to Las Vegas for Evo 2011, and to indirectly celebrate Fatguy's birthday. The hotel we were staying at was Imperial Palace, which was a badass choice:
- it's smack in the middle of the strip so we don't have to walk far
- Dealertainers right downstairs are super fun
-Party Artie (aka Comet's dad) was there, and he is just such a cool guy.
However the room itself had some issues, mainly the fact that it was 7 guys in one room and they all preferred to speak in Spanish. The physical room was great. Two twin beds, a blasting A/C unit, nice sheets, a game console in the TV, an ok view. I had no problems with the actual room. But 7 guys and an extra monitor and a PS3/360 combo, 5 joysticks and a lot of adrenaline for Evo was just too much. I spent most of my non-evo time with Fatguy and Mike Aure instead. Which included getting those tall margarita cups and playing blackjack and Roulette. Good Times.
Saturday I woke up, took a shot of vodka and cinnamon whiskey and headed to Le Burger Brassiere:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/le-burger-brasserie-sports-grille-las-vegas
Let me tell you they had an italian-style burger that was nonsensically delicious and I'll be goign there again whenever i hit Vegas. Fantastic food and fries. So yeah me and Mike hung out a lot and he told me about the drama that led him to delete most of us who hung out with him in years past. I can't blame him for what happened even though it was a bad situation. We also went to Noodles, which had some godly Chow Mein. So far in Vegas none of the sit down restaurants have ever been any type of disappointing. They are all so good in their own way that I've come to the conclusion that you really can't go wrong unless you go to a shitty fast-food place. But I digress.
Evo 2011 was mad hype! Super Street Fighter Four Arcade Edition, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Tekken 6, BlazBlue, King of Fighters XIII, Skullgirls, UFC3, Street fighter X Tekken preview, Mortal Kombat 9, Dreamcasts playing MvC2, and all sorts of retro consoles. Company sponsors were there selling merch as well like Capcom, Madcatz, and a bunch of Tshirt people. All of it fit in one massive ballroom, and there were panel discussions in another room. I can seriously see Evo as an up-and-coming gaming convention, or maybe get bought out by a bigger one.
I didn't enter anything but I did cheer on Vest, who eventually got 34th place.
As far as gambling went, I failed in everything. Roulette, slots, Blackjack, and Ultimate Texas hold'em. Lost around 300 bucks total not including food. However the time frame between Thursday and Saturday was marked by 18 hours of awake and 4 hours asleep straight so i was awake for most of friday night into the morning, then asleep sat evening and I honestly don't know how I survived until Sunday when I went to see the Evo finals for MvC3 and AE (which were sick).
A week after that (meaning last week) I took Vest with me over to Las Vegas for Evo 2011, and to indirectly celebrate Fatguy's birthday. The hotel we were staying at was Imperial Palace, which was a badass choice:
- it's smack in the middle of the strip so we don't have to walk far
- Dealertainers right downstairs are super fun
-Party Artie (aka Comet's dad) was there, and he is just such a cool guy.
However the room itself had some issues, mainly the fact that it was 7 guys in one room and they all preferred to speak in Spanish. The physical room was great. Two twin beds, a blasting A/C unit, nice sheets, a game console in the TV, an ok view. I had no problems with the actual room. But 7 guys and an extra monitor and a PS3/360 combo, 5 joysticks and a lot of adrenaline for Evo was just too much. I spent most of my non-evo time with Fatguy and Mike Aure instead. Which included getting those tall margarita cups and playing blackjack and Roulette. Good Times.
Saturday I woke up, took a shot of vodka and cinnamon whiskey and headed to Le Burger Brassiere:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/le-burger-brasserie-sports-grille-las-vegas
Let me tell you they had an italian-style burger that was nonsensically delicious and I'll be goign there again whenever i hit Vegas. Fantastic food and fries. So yeah me and Mike hung out a lot and he told me about the drama that led him to delete most of us who hung out with him in years past. I can't blame him for what happened even though it was a bad situation. We also went to Noodles, which had some godly Chow Mein. So far in Vegas none of the sit down restaurants have ever been any type of disappointing. They are all so good in their own way that I've come to the conclusion that you really can't go wrong unless you go to a shitty fast-food place. But I digress.
Evo 2011 was mad hype! Super Street Fighter Four Arcade Edition, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Tekken 6, BlazBlue, King of Fighters XIII, Skullgirls, UFC3, Street fighter X Tekken preview, Mortal Kombat 9, Dreamcasts playing MvC2, and all sorts of retro consoles. Company sponsors were there selling merch as well like Capcom, Madcatz, and a bunch of Tshirt people. All of it fit in one massive ballroom, and there were panel discussions in another room. I can seriously see Evo as an up-and-coming gaming convention, or maybe get bought out by a bigger one.
I didn't enter anything but I did cheer on Vest, who eventually got 34th place.
As far as gambling went, I failed in everything. Roulette, slots, Blackjack, and Ultimate Texas hold'em. Lost around 300 bucks total not including food. However the time frame between Thursday and Saturday was marked by 18 hours of awake and 4 hours asleep straight so i was awake for most of friday night into the morning, then asleep sat evening and I honestly don't know how I survived until Sunday when I went to see the Evo finals for MvC3 and AE (which were sick).