My family was planning on meeting up in New Jersey the day of the concert anyway for L'Oreal's "Your Dog is Worth It, Too" event. I'm required to go every year to collect and carry free samples of various dog food, treats, toys, etc. Michele needs me to be a pack mule and I like to show off my arms. It's a win / win. But since we were all going to be in the same state, Michele was able to convince Mom to go with Kasey and I to Atlantic City. My mom is just like me. She doesn't like unfamiliar places, situations, etc. We both have very small comfort zones, so I was glad she decided to come. We had dinner at the Showboat, which is just down the boardwalk from Revel. Mom and Kasey argued about who was paying while we waited in line. Each demanded to pay. I calmly said, "let's just all agree that I'm NOT paying." I'm so funny. The food was great! Buffets are amazing. We don't have them in New York so it was a real treat.
We got back to Revel about an hour before the show was scheduled to start. Kasey went to play poker and we went to find our seats. After getting settled, my mom insisted we go to the bar to get drinks. I ordered a vodka and Red Bull. My mom looked pensive. She asked the bartender what she could get. I laughed and said, "Mom, you can get whatever you want." The bartender said the same thing. She got a Long Island Iced Tea. Then we had another battle over who was going to pay. The look on my mom's face when the bartender told me the total was $38 was priceless. I'll admit that it seems high even to me, but I played it off.
The show started right on time. Shocking! Reba sounded GREAT! You could tell that she was singing live, but still able to belt it out. I knew the words to just about every song she sang. I was lip-syncing along with most of them. The thing that I liked about the concert was that it was authentic. She sometimes talked in between songs and you could tell that she wasn't reading a script. She took the time to individually introduce each band member. She did two medleys, which was a great idea. She has over 30 years of songs so she can't do all of them, but you want to hear all of them. Naturally, she did Fancy for the encore. The entire audience was just waiting for it because that's become one of her signature songs. It was such a good concert, though I was a little disappointed that wasn't as big as the last time I saw her. No dancers, no video screens, no props. But she sounded great and had a great time, so I enjoyed it. I also noticed that most people were sitting down most of the time. Come on guys! Get up!
After the show, we went to buy souvenirs. My mom bought a keychain and I bought a t-shirt that turned out to be way too small. Sure it was a fitted cut, but it's just ridiculously tight. Kasey was concentrating on the giant stack of chips in front of him, so we wandered around the casino floor. My mom pointed out $3 on the floor, so that became my gambling money. We played some .$01 slot machines. You always lose and so the money goes quickly. My mom did win $1.75 on one machine. I was so excited! I'm also a dork. When Kasey left the table $600 richer, he gave me $125 worth of chips to play Blackjack. Now I know how to play the game - it is pretty easy. Get to 21. Simple enough. But the issue I have is with the counting. I'm not very good with math. One hand I got 21 and was so excited because I thought that I won all the chips that the other players bet too. Apparently it doesn't work that way. I was there for about 20 minutes before I lost it all. At least it wasn't my money. Around 2:00 am, we made it back to Michele and Kasey's house. I was super tired so I waved everyone away so I could fall asleep on the couch.
I'm so glad that my family is doing things like this. We used to only see each other on major holidays, but now we're getting together much more often. It had been years since my mom and I had done something special with the just the two of us. I'll always remember drinking and laughing before the show started. Great memories!
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