Between the video we did for the show, the strange compilation episode we posted last week and countless other mentions, you may have already heard that the At the Buzzer folks were in Vegas last weekend for Dave’s bachelor party. It’s been a busy May, to say the least. Shaun and I just got back from Phoenix yesterday now that Dave’s actual wedding is done. We’ll deal with Dave and his death from the show in the days to come — for now, let’s talk Vegas.

Dave actually had a pretty profound way of looking at Vegas — he said it was the only place he could think of that he was both excited to visit and excited to leave. It’s a strange beast. On the one hand, there’s plenty of bright lights and opportunities for fun, whether you like gambling, taking in a show, or just wandering around the strip watching the eclectic group of people. On the other hand, walking through the city leaves you feeling like you need to take a shower after about three minutes, and that eclectic group of people is looking for ways to separate you from the money in your wallet.

That’s not to say we had a bad time on the trip — far from it. It’s just that for every good experience, like the hours we spent gambling on the first night or watching Penn and Teller at the Rio, there’s something equally bad, like the drunk girl sitting outside our hotel room and insisting on talking to us each time we passed by.

…or the vomit on the elevator.

I didn’t have my camera with me on the first day of the trip, so we missed out on the ATB crew entering a poker tournament and didn’t get any footage of Dave’s ridiculous run in craps. Then again, that means we can choose to pretend certain things didn’t happen, like the throngs of drunken people crammed inside the McDonald’s on the strip at 2 a.m. or the world’s worst Homer Simpson cosplayer stumbling across a nearby walkway.

I hadn’t been to Las Vegas since I was around 3 years old, which doesn’t exactly count. My experience was such that I don’t feel the need to rush back. Again, the trip was actually good overall, but that was a byproduct of the company and the jokes and the experiences more than it was the venue. The Penn and Teller show (and the food at the Rio) were great. Getting second in the poker tournament and turning a profit on my gambling was pretty cool. Other than that? Well…

We had dinner at a seedy sports bar off the strip on the first night where the owner spent the entire time staring at us while we ate and gave us the absolute bare minimum service. We stood in line for damn near everything (probably because it was Memorial Day weekend) from taxis to tickets to a surprisingly bad buffet. We stayed in a hotel room where some exceedingly clever person scratched off a sign on the patio door and changed it from “please do not drape anything on this balcony” to “please rape anything on this balcony.”

But the important part was that we celebrated Dave’s occasion with a great group of people and laughed about all these crazy experiences. And that’s why I can say the trip was a success with a straight face.