Happy Birthday, Uncle Ray!
By Wyatt Earp | October 3, 2010
So, I finished off a busy weekend by attending my Uncle Ray’s 60th birthday celebration. My Aunt Noreen, and cousins Colleen and Ray reserved a private room at Parx Racing and Casino (formerly Philadelphia Park) so we could bet on the ponies. The surprise party was after my uncle’s birthday in order to throw him off, and he was definitely surprised when he walked in (above.)
The room was freakin’ sweet. Huge open buffet (and al-key-hol), our own betting kiosk (manned by Michelle, who was great), and ten flat-screen TVs against the wall (three for the odds/racing, and the others for the Phillies and NFL Sunday Ticket). I kept saying, “I wonder what the poor people are doing today?” before I remembered I am one of the poor people.
Uncle Ray’s birthday cake. Teh awesome.
The racing was just as good. There were nine races today, and I threw money on every one of them. The middle race – the fifth – was entitled “60 Candles.” Along with the private room, my aunt sponsored that race, which meant that twelve of the party guests could go to the winner’s circle after the race to get a photo with the winning jockey. The track announcer even wished Ray a happy 60th. It was cool, and it seemed like everyone was having a great time.
Oh yes, the betting.
Randal Graves and I made a lot of bets, but nothing ridiculous. A few dollars here, a few dollars there. It took me a while to get back into the swing of things, since I haven’t been to the track is a year, but after the second race, I was good to go. I put my winnings in my left pocket, so I had an idea of how I was doing. I took $200 to the track and spent $160. I came home with $245 after I won $52.50 in the last race. And anytime you can come out even or better at the track, it’s a good day.
Of course, any time you can spend a beautiful day at the track with your extended family – and bring home some green – it is a better day. Happy birthday, Uncle Ray! I hope you had a terrific day.
Topics: Coolness! | 10 Comments »
October 3rd, 2010 at 10:23 pm
Sounds like everyone had a wonderful time! Congratulations on coming out ahead on the betting situation.
October 3rd, 2010 at 10:25 pm
DL474 – I usually don’t. The last race saved my bacon. $5 across the board on #11 and the stud won the whole shebang!
October 3rd, 2010 at 11:22 pm
What a great day for you all. Happy birthday to your Uncle Ray!
October 4th, 2010 at 12:49 am
A very Happy Birthday to Uncle Ray
October 4th, 2010 at 1:03 am
You left with more $$$$ than you came in with…..therefore….accoring to this Administration and Congress, you are part of the evil wealthy and must pay for all the social and medical services used up the uninsured and illegal immigrants….
October 4th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
I won $60 dollars…but I spent $70 doing it.
October 4th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
RT – Yeah, it was a great time.
Rick – Thanks.
Fenway – Damn. I would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for those meddling kids.
Randal – I was hovering just above breaking even until the last bet. That put me over for good, but I think I spent closer to $200. Winning a total of $45 is a more accurate guess, I think.
October 4th, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Boo Yah! A good 60th. And I ended up going form the basement of the poor house to the corner penthouse of the poorhouse. Cha-Ching!
October 5th, 2010 at 10:15 am
Dr. Evil – Moving up in the world. Maybe you can save enough to cheer for a real football team like the Broncos. Heh.
October 5th, 2010 at 9:47 pm
Happy belated birthday, Uncle Ray!