What should have been two full days of driving takes me five, and instead of staying with a friend in Pittsburgh on the first night, I end up sleeping in my car in the parking lots of hotels for the first four nights until I make it to him. It being mid-December, I drive straight into a gnarly storm which, because much of the route runs right along the Great Lakes, follows me all the way home. The game is great, we get full of bratwursts and very drunk on brandy, and the next morning I pack up to head out. Still, I felt like a winner, and had a lot of fun. A few lucky pulls at the slots, and a few good hands of blackjack, and all of the sudden I'm up more than $200!! I, of course, get excited, and start playing like a fool, and my $200 gain ends up a $38 gain at the end of the night. I put $10 in my front pocket and left my wallet back at the house, figuring that would keep me from making any dumb decisions.

I knew I was going to be tight on funds for the drive home, so I couldn't afford to lose much at all. There is NOTHING to do in Green Bay besides Packers-related stuff, so when we got into town the night before the game, we went to the Oneida-run casino. Following the game, I would drive home to Philadelphia, which is about 16 hours of total road time, in good weather.

Winter semester in college had just ended, and my friend invited me to go home with him to Green Bay for a Packer game. It's not a huge financial win, but fun nevertheless. This is one of my favorite stories to tell.

Biggest roulette win