As the year 1995 came to a close, my dreams that began in March, had wound up in a trash heap. To say I was in a bad frame of mind, was to put it mildly. I had concocted some kind of plan to try to win money on a month to month basis in Vegas in 1996, but with little money left, I knew it was a long shot at best.
On the weekend of January of 6 and 7, we had a tremendous blizzard hit the northeast. Where I lived In south Jersey, 36 inches of the white stuff covered the area, and everything in the area was shut down for days. I had already booked a flight for Friday, January 12 to Vegas, so with snow shovel in hand, I went to work. By Friday, snow plows had cleared the roads enough that I could get to the airport in Philadelphia. My dad dropped me off, and when the plane left the ground, it felt good to head back to Vegas, my usual ‘Happy Place’.
My reason for this trip was to try to make some money on the doubleheader at Madison Square Garden on the 12th. Roy Jones Jr. was fighting Merqui Sosa, and Tim Witherspoon was going against Al ‘Ice’ Cole on the undercard. Having checked my old ‘Boxing Update’ newsletter, it listed odds that were favorable to make about 4 grand if things worked out right. When I checked into the Rio Hotel off the strip, I was sick in my stomach that no odds were listed on the bouts for that night. Mind you, this was before the internet and cell phones, so there was no way to find this crap out unless you lived in Vegas. A quick trip to Caesar’s showed the same thing, and I was shocked. No odds on Roy Jones on HBO? Dismayed, I returned to the Rio, and figured a way out to see the bout anyway.
I drove off the strip to a seedy hotel that listed on their sign that their rooms had HBO. I plunked down my $40 to the obvious hooker hangout, but what did I care? I wasn’t gonna sleep in the dump, just watch the fights and leave.
I literally sat on the edge of the bed the whole time I was there, the place was so gross. Tim Witherspoon won his fight, which I would have won money on, and then the main event started. Jones disposed of Sosa in two quick rounds, and despite Sosa’s bitching, it was the right call. Had any casino taken bets, I would have won about $4,000 that night, but there was nothing I could do about it. What I could do was, leave that crappy hotel as soon as Roy’s fight ended.
Fortunately on Saturday, I was playing some dollar poker machines at the Rio, and hit four-of-a-kind on 2 straight plays. I cashed out my $700 ticket quickly, and was thrilled, since that pretty much covered the cost of my entire trip! I excitedly called my dad to give him the good news, and told him to tell my mom as well. It certainly made the rest of my Saturday night more enjoyable, and after a nice buffet, I got some sleep, and flew home to Jersey the next day.
Although I was disappointed no odds were listed on the fights, I won the $700, and had a pretty good time overall. My next trip was planned in three weeks, so I did what I could to enjoy my winter.
FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM AT kensoldtimeboxingchat
LISTEN TO MY PODCAST ON SPOTIFY AT kensoldtimeboxingchat
