carrie & i drive to boston and check into the Marriott and spark up the laptop on the T

10am on a Saturday seems an odd time to be at the Horse Track, but hey - who are Dan & I to argue with well-laid plans
And in my first bet on the second race, $1 box trifecta 5+4+8

and it pays $544.50 - yes! while the rest of em work the 'science' of betting!




then for the fifth race, we get the 'Goodfella's' treatment down to the actual track for


mighty joe healey with his name in lights and the silver cup


and the ladies take a shot of the band of gamblers before the start of the 5th


joe watches #6 take the race by a few lengths


presents Jorge with the trophy cup


and the publicity shot with joe 'touching him' even though he barely knows the guy!


bet $60 for the rest of the day and didn't even come close. apparently my early morning score had
absolutely nothing to do with skill or ability....go figure.

---

4pm: after an interesting and ear opening cab ride from East Boston to
Boston Billiards in Fenway, they hold joe down to get him padlocked into
the 'ball and chain' for the night


and then plays a mean game of pool, even with the "Hammer" on is ankle


merrett & ernst after convincing "evangline" to taste of the margarita!


joe, erni & frank




walt & rich


the future brother-in-law kciked his game up a notch - and beat joe and multiple games (for money)
until the double or double or nothing got up to $20/man and they choked scratching on the 8

---

9pm: phase 3 of the day begins, the mayfair express picks us all up at
the pool hall and we head to Connecticut, more specifically, Foxwoods!


somehow they convince paul to join us and celebrate in the back seat
with the competitor to the 'champagne of beers'

(paul manages to spill half of it on his person before finishing the glass)

yelling screaming "colander head, colander head, your ..."


joe displays the burden he must now carry


stopped for a bathroom brake in RI




and the soon-to-be brother-in-law helps carry the ball into the casino
where joe has to "check" it at the door - if only life were as easy
(that is spilled beer from Paul - joe did not, i repeat did NOT have a bladder problem!)


did some gamblin (won almost $400 on LetItRide after Frank & Chris decided it wa a worthless game


headed to the nightclub (where Mark, Chris & Frank hit the floor)


frank withdrew 3 hundy to test the waters towards 3 in the morning, sat
down and 'invested' his money - with a 115% return for 10 minutes 'work'


3-4am we sat in the bus trying to gather all the guys for the ride home,
and within 5 minutes of leaving all but 4 were sleeping half-comfortably


with Chris on fire and ready to keep the party going




heading north on I-95, the sun peaking over the horizon at 6am and
Ernst's insides have had enough of us, the busride, the gambling and staying put.


6:00am, back in the South End, Ernie heads home and i get a cab from
Kenmore back to the Marriott


where it looks to be a beautfiul day, if only i can get some sleep (& not wake up Carrie)
before they kick us outout and we return to Vermont


one helluva a 24 hours, i have 'made' money on the trip and i think we all had a great night
joe is definitely ready to settle into the next stage of his life (non-bachelor-hood) and i
don't blame him one iota!

hope he can find a pair of bolt-cutters to remove the ball and chain!
thanks walt and all for a great night!