The flight to Vegas from Los Angeles is more of a quick jump where the plane goes up and then comes down. It is for this reason that our party could only put down about a single drink before touchdown. That or the flight attendant wouldn’t give us another. Boo hoo. At least Dave hooked up the free drink coupon.

After a little preparation in the room and we are ready for club Tao in the Venetian. The line is pretty long, but we enjoy ourselves and get to the front in no time flat. I tell the bouncer my name is Travis Cannell and I am on the list (which my other friend PROMISED me I was). No, no Travis. WTF I say and whip out the cell. A quick text message to my friend and suddenly- OH YES. I am now on the list, one minute later. What the hell are with these stupid lists. I think they just print out 20 pages of crap and then wait for people to bust out the dollars or pull out some connections.

TAO is great. My favorite part about the club is that it has a little couch in the center raised up on a platform. A power couch. Ohhhhh how I wanted to feel its velvet. But alas, no power for me. Not that night. We in fact never moved from a single spot and just had a great time.

I believe, although I am not certain, that this is where the MONTANA pose started to develop. The MONTANA pose is when one stands tall, arches’ ones back and thrusts their right hand into the air, while pointing the head to the sky and the left arm arches towards the right. The MONTANA pose is used to attract attention, and yes, it works like a charm. We met friends and influenced people. We took silly pictures. We won.

The night deteriorated at the Monte Carlo where we ate breakfast. The priceless moment was when I loaded my fork up with a load of egg and then looked at Dave and said- should I? HELL YES is the answer, and so suddenly Jake is hit with a nice scramble to the face. Food starts to fly and then it is time for bed. I am done.

The next night started at the Empire Ballroom with a little dance party hooked up by our friend. As we cut a rug we realized that not only did we rock but we knew how to dance. Too Short came on and we then got hypy. Rock on. After a little tiredness and some hilarious videos of Jake stumbling around on the strip, we head off for some good old fashion fun where we belong- at the craps tables. Then the text message hits from my club promoter friend Kalika- Come to pure it says. We are with the Penthouse party. You can get in. OH MY GOD. I grab my friend Dave in disbelief and show him the messages with a chuckle- then we run for a cab to head for Caesar’s Palace.

I had totally underestimated my friend and before I knew what was what I was sitting at a table in Pure nestled in-between beautiful ladies and powerful CEOs. What had happened I wondered? What indeed. Suddenly I was “in”.

The fun then went to the infamous “Rainman Penthouse” (from the movie) where there was even more to feast my eyes on. Kalika introduced me to more people than I can possibly remember. A CEO there, a model there, I even met a blogger (check it out, he blogged about this night! http://www.jackcolton.com - posted 1/15/07). Wow. I spent a good deal of my time catching up with my old friend and giving some props to the lady who made it all happen. And to top it all off- it was the dawn of my 25^th birthday. A quarter century of existence and counting! What a night. I certainly threw out a couple of MONTANA poses and tried to convince just about everyone to come to Missoula. Making a big scene, as usual.

The absolute best part of the night was when I looked out from the two story bubble view window at the Rainman Penthouse and shouted with my arms in the air- HELLLOOO VEGAS! I have never felt more alive.

Certainly my best birthday yet, even though the next day was a goose chase to track down my phone, which eventually brought me back to the Rainman Penthouse. A guy brought it to me and said- hey happy birthday man, and good luck back in Montana. Sounds like a cool place.

Glad to know I made an impression.