LAS VEGAS - POOL PARTY! There are a couple of dozen pools in Vegas where you can get your SPLASH on for July 4th, and after doing extensive research, you are welcome, wanna throw out a couple. Say hello to The Jemaa pool at The NoMad Hotel, which is actually part of the Park MGM. Here’s what you can look forward to. Inflatable flamingos and pizza slices. Chugging from champagne bongs and ordering crazy drinks, like the ‘Porn Star’ which features champagne and Absolut Elyx topped with a Barbie doll or a Ken doll. SERIOUSLY? Yea, they’re SERIOUS! And I’m probably leaning to the Ken doll if you’re interested. Nevada residents get in free, so, if you’re in Vegas, CALL ME, and I’ll give you my license. As long as you are 6'3" with brown eyes and grey hair, you should have no problem!
Of course, there is the Bare Pool at The Sportsbook. According to their literature, they offer a sophisticated, upscale environment that encourages European-style sunbathing. And, as we all know, European is a code word for top-optional. Well, I AIN’T sophisticated and probably certainly not upscale. But did tell Mrs. Ecks that I have to take one for the team, and drag myself down to the Strip to report back to the millions reading this column. They ask you to take a stroll along the jungle-like path to discover a 14,000-square-foot hideaway. There are two luxurious dipping pools, a full-service bar, a half-dozen plasma screens, lavish poolside daybeds and well-appointed cabanas. It’s gonna cost you some large bills, if you need a price yell, but it’s only money, right.
July 4th is also burgers, dogs, and bar-b-q. We’ll focus on the dogs and take you to Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York for the Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest. Of course there’s only ONE name to talk about when it comes to dogs, and that’s the SPECTACULAR Joey Chestnut! Once again, ‘Jaws’ BLEW away the competition last year, guzzling/slurping 76 dogs, grabbing his 14th title in 15 years. Joey beat his own record of 75, which was set just a year prior in 2020. On the women’s side, Michelle Lesco pounded down 30.75 dogs to win the title, with Miki Sudo sitting out the competition in anticipation of her first-born child. Not sure how they measure the .75, but maybe she didn’t eat the whole bun.
Sportsbook, which is offering a variety of prop bets for this year’s contest, currently has Chestnut as an overwhelming favorite, with additional odds on the projected men’s Sportsbooks. Got Joey Chestnut at -$2500, Geoffrey Esper at +$700, Nick Wehry at +$1000, Darron Breeden at +$1200 and Gideon Oji at +$2000. The Over/Under 74.5 dogs.
If you have not seen this extravaganza before on TV, check out the MC in the boater hat, George Shea. One of the BEST we have EVER heard. And by the way, we have a hot dog contest on our patio every 4th, and the first family member to SIX without heaving, WINS!
Benjamin Eckstein is a nationally syndicated sportswriter/oddsmaker. His column, America’s Line, with the Ecks & Bacon appetizer, has run in the New York Daily News and over 100 other papers since 1988. You can follow him online at www.americasline.com. He is beloved by most, when he picks Sportsbooks, and detested by others, when he picks the occasional loser. If you wanna piece of Eck, hit his email... ben@americasline.com.
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