Cigarettes and rebellion have always gone hand-in-hand, and in an age of cigarette packet-sized health warnings, now more than ever, smoking a fag says: 'I do not give a fuck.' But if Brandon Flowers is hoping to strike a seditious pose by sparking up at the start of the interview, it's not going according to plan. The Killers' frontman is on all fours rooting through the junk that carpets the anteroom at the band's rehearsal space. "Has anyone seen my lighter?" he asks, rocking back on his heels. The question hangs in the air while Brandon cocks his head, waiting for an answer like a meerkat listening for a predator. Twenty-five years old and with a delicate bone structure, there's something almost dainty about him. Receiving no response, he returns to his search. "Oh, Jeez," he sighs. "I had it just a minute ago."
It's a scene that emphatically does not suggest a rebel without a cause. The mess isn't helping. The Killers' HQ - an industrial unit sandwiched between a construction supplier and the offices of a housing development just off Dean Martin Drive in West Las Vegas - is ankle-deep in designer clothing. A Dior Homme suit lies crumpled by the door; there's a pile of shoes topped like a sundae by a pair of Marc Jacobs trainers; and anyone wishing to enter the shoebox room the band use as an office must negotiate a mountain of discarded jeans. Many items are identifiable as coming from the wardrobe of Hot Fuss, The Killers' hugely successful 2004 debut album - triple platinum in the UK with two weeks at Number One and five million sold worldwide. Look! There are the shirts, ties and suit jackets they wore when they thrilled Glastonbury 2005 with indie rock anthems Mr Brightside and Somebody Told Me. That was the crowning moment of a two-and-a-half year tour that finally concluded in October of last year. It seems that after playing that final date in Miami, they returned to Vegas and shrugged off their image onto the floor of this bland white box.
Now a fine layer of dust covers the dead clothes. The Killers have no further use for white tuxedos on their second album, Sam's Town. Today, Brandon wears a black polo shirt, black pin-stripe waistcoat, black jeans and black boots. Where there used to be a layer of foundation, there is now a beard - an untrimmed beard at that. Dave Keuning (30, guitar), Mark Stoermer (29, bass) and Ronnie Vannucci (29, drums) all echo Brandon's black ensemble. Ronnie has added Aviator shades and a handlebar moustache for a dash of motorcycle cop, Dave's frizzy bubble of hair gives him a Marc Bolan-ish air, and there's something very teenage about Mark's scuffed Vans.
Short of walking around wearing sandwich boards saying, "Our new record is a bit heavier than the last one," The Killers couldn't hope to communicate that message more effectively. And they have gained some musical girth on Sam's Town. The pop hooks that made Hot Fuss so irresistible survive intact - see the ringing guitar riffs on first single When You Were Young - but there's a newfound punchiness, coupled with an epic sweep. The minor-to-major uplifts on Bones are fabulously dramatic, the coda to Why Do I Keep Counting? thrillingly intense. Comparisons to Bruce Springsteen have been made. If they overstate the case a little, they are at leaset qualitatively accurate. The Killers are back and this time it's serious - they've got the bootlace ties to prove it.
"Hey, it says here that Springsteen's headlining Glastonbury next year," shouts Ronnie, who's flicking through the NME. He nods sagely at the page without looking up.
"Really?" asks Dave, nicknamed Crazy Dave on account of his alledgedly volatile nature.
"The Boss is headlining one night, we're playing second on the bill the next night and Kylie's headlining the Sunday," says Brandon, charging like a bull through Michael Eavis' as-yet-unannounced line-up with what subsequently proves to be a characteristic gaucheness.
But that lighter is proving elusive. This being America, none of the people hurrying to-and-fro prepping the world for the release of Sam's Town smokes. Manager Robert Reynolds - Bobby Rey to the band - barks into his mobile, booking his band onto eye-wateringly demanding tours. "We're going to make a lot of money," he cackles to himself before switching calls to make a series of stern pronouncements on legal matters. Dave, Mark and Ronnie disappear for a jam session. Artwork is approved, B-sides are decided on and schedules are hammered out.
"I can't find it," Brandon says, finally. But he's not going to be denied the opportunity to underline The Killers reinvention with a puff of smoke. "Let's go to the gas station. I'll have to buy one. It's too busy to talk here anyway."
+
Brandon's black (of course) Volkswagen Touraeg four-wheel drive is barrelling down West Flamingo Road into town. "I was a bell boy there," he says, pointing out of the driver's window at the stucco facade of the Gold Coast casino. "I was working there when we were signed."
Coming from Las Vegas, it is perhaps inevitable that casinos play a big part in The Killers' story; not only is Sam's Town named after one, it was recorded in one, too.
The band began writing songs while on the road with Hot Fuss, turning up early for soundchecks to run through new ideas. On a trip home to Vegas, George Maloof, a hotelier known for cultivating famous friends, invited them to record the album in the new studio he'd built at The Palms, his flagship hotel-cum-gambling den. When the tour finished in October 2005, they returned to Vegas and spent five month finessing the songs they'd sketched out on the road. Then, in February, they decampled to the third floor studio at The Palms and recorded Sam's Town over 11 weeks.
Producer Flood (U2, Depeche Mode) encouraged them to experiment. They overdubbed, fiddled with synthesizers and played with new equipment. It took them five weeks to get the backing vocals right. The band sang the harmonies, then double-tracked them four times. The end result recalls Queen wondering, "Is this is the real life? Is this just fantasy?" When Ronnie, a trained classical percussionist, brought some kettledrums down, eyebrows were raised; but the fabulously bombastic coda on Why Do I Keep Counting? vindicates his indulgence.
"That's kind of the Ben Hur of the album," he says. He's not wrong. Sam's Town is a record on an epic scale. "Yeah, it has drama," he continues. "But, at the same time, I think it's a little more exposed than Hot Fuss. It's a little more naked. Last time it was about a lot of fictional things." By "fictional", Ronnie means that Hot Fuss wore its predominantly British influences for all to see. Brandon's taste in music is rabidly Anglophile - he constantly references The Smiths, The Cure and Joy Division - and it showed. By contrast, Sam's Town is an unequivocally American record. The lyrical imagery is pure American dream - cars, girls, wide-open spaces and escaping to a better life. "We're burning down the highway skyline/On the back of a hurricane that started turning/When you were young," sings Brandon on When You Were Young. That's the basis of the Springsteen comparisons then, though the lack of pathos more closely recalls another blue-collar rocker from New Jersey - Jon Bon Jovi.
The phrase "this town" recurs throughout the album, and it's always receding into the distance as The Killers escape to a new life. "This town was made for passing through/I never did get along with everybody else," sings Brandon on This River Is Wild. On Read My Mind he "never really gave up on breaking out of this two-star town", while on the title track he offers something of an explanation: "Nobody ever had a dream round here."
"With the first record, there was this feeling that there was this world out there that we didn't know," says Mark later in the day. Before The Killers, he studied philosophy: now he's their quiet one. "We wanted to get out and away from this and be somewhere else. We hadn't had a lot of experience - hadn't travelled much - then we were gone for three years. We didn't sit down and say that we wanted to make a record about how we're glad to be home, but that's what happened naturally."
It's not an angsty record. The Killers have already escaped with Hot Fuss, and, having done so, they view the experience fondly now they're back. There's a mistiness to Brandon's eyes as he explains how the album got it's name.
"Sam's Town is a casino on the edge of Vegas," he says. "I grew up in Henderson, which is out on the way to the Hoover Dam. My mom and dad lived in a trailer park, and my dad used to hitchhike up and down Boulder Highway, which is the only way you could get to Vegas. Sam's Town was the first thing you saw on your way in to town. So, when you're driving down Boulder Highway from Henderson, I always thought you finally knew you were getting somewhere when you saw Sam's Town. It was kind of like a beacon."
"It's not a completely American album," contines Brandon. "We still have our English influence, but we're also from the Wild West. Somehow we've managed to unify all that on this album. it's just such a perfect resemblence of what we are."
At the petrol station, Brandon rummages through the glove box looking for change to buy a lighter. "This is a great album," he says, pointing at Highway Companion, the latest from iconic American rocker Tom Petty. "I've always been a big fan of his. He's such a great American artist."
Yes, Brandon: we get the point.
+
When Brandon finally lights his cigarette, he smokes it awkwardly, like a child mimicking something he's seen the grown-ups doing. However, when he cheerfully admits that, "I feel the same mentally as I did when I was 12," it's not a knowing nod to the fact that he sometimes behaves like a loveably precocious child, but a reference to an unusually comprehensive grounding in pop music at an early age.
When Brandon sings about "this town", he doesn't mean Las Vegas. He means Nephi, Utah or Henderson, Nevada, where he spent his childhood. His parents are Mormon and he is the youngest of six children. "I was a surprise," he says. "I've got a 42-year-old sister." If he was issues about his "surprise" status, he chooses to gloss over them. "It turned out perfect because my brother was a teenager when I was a kid," he says. "He would bring home things like Rattle And Hum by U2 and I would watch it. I remember he bought Live In Dallas by Morrissey. It was always him watching these things, or his door was shut and you'd hear The Head On The Door by The Cure blasting through the house and rattling the walls."
The Killers were formed when Brandon answered an advert Dave had placed in a local paper in late 2002. Dave cited Oasis as a big influence; Brandon had seen them play recently and responded; and, as Dave has said in previous interviews: "He was the only person to reply to my ad who wasn't a complete freak." However, the band was born in Brandon's brothers bedroom.
"His room was like a shrine," enthuses Brandon. "It was a holy place. I wish I could show you a picture of it. It was covered in posters. There'd be a big picture of Elvis wearing a bow tie that just said 'The Smiths' [the artwork for The Smiths 1987 single Shoplifters Of The World Unite]. You had The Cure wearing face paint [the artwork to The Cure's 1985 single In Between Days] - all that kind of stuff. I remember Morrissey being on the cover of the NME, with the halo [from 1985] - stuff like that. You just wanted to know about these people 'cause they were so cool. My brother seemed like such a cool person. But he was a teenager, so he wasn't going to be that nice to me, a kid."
Brandon was fascinated by his brother's collection of music, magazines and posters, but he was denied access to them - officially, at least. "I would sneak in," he says. "I knew he'd be angry if he found out, but I would go in as soon as he left the house." For a long time Brandon was too scared to actually play anything. "That didn't come 'til later. I just used to go in there because I liked it. Then I got to the point where I'd actually take a tape out and put it in. It took more guts to do that."
It was a life-changing moment. "I was ten and the first song I played was Sing Your Life by Morrissey. I remember dancing about to it."
The lyrics to Sing Your Life include the lines, "Sing your life/Just walk right up to the microphone/And name all the things that you love/All the things that you loathe." It's intriguing to wonder what Morrissey makes of the neophyte he inspired with these lines.
Eventually, Brandon inherited his brother's tape collection. "It was around the same time CDs started coming out in a big way. He started buying CDs and gave me his tapes. And that was it: it took off from there. I got a hundred of the best albums - all the New Order, all the Morrissey, all The Smiths, The Beatles. I started buying posters. I went to see The Cure in concert. It was just kind of a continuation of my brother. And it was nice because, though my parents were strict, they were already used to it from him. There was no, 'My dad doesn't understand me,' or any of that kind of stuff. My mum likes The Smiths."
Brandon was 13 and his favourite band was late-'70s/early-'80s American new wavers The Cars, and particularly their jaw-droppingly catchy 1979 single Just What I Needed.
"I wouldn't exist without that song," he says. "That was the one. I remember driving around with my mum when I was 13, and we're living in Nephi - a really small town - and I felt so cool when I put that song on. Like: 'I have something that none of these kids I'm going to middle school with tomorrow have.' That excitement is what music's about, isn't it? That's why I understand the mentality of people that don't like us because we've sold so many records. I used to like it when no one else knew about a band. So I get that - I do."
+
Brandon's first band was called Blush Response. It was never going to work out. Not because he refused to move to Los Angeles with them, but because he is utterly - comically - shameless. He's given to making outrageously boastful statements like: "It's not like the '60s, '70s and '80s now. There are only a few bands around that are really good, that just do it. I mean, there's what, five or six of us?"
For the record, in Brandon's estimation, those bands are Franz Ferdinand, Razorlight, The Strokes, The White Stripes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and, of course, The Killers.
"I don't want people to think I'm lumping myself with other people just to make us sound cool," he says. Really? It sort of sounds like you are. But he just steamrolls through it. "Yeah, but you know what I mean," he says, grinning at his own cheekiness. He's so disgracefully forward you can't help but laugh along with him - Oh you are awful, Brandon! But joking aside, The Killers are the most commercially successful of all the bands he mentions.
Later, back at the rehearsal space, the band run through Sam's Town at deafening volume in preparation for the forthcoming tour - first the US, then the world. The infectious, almost contagious, chorus of When You Were Young sounds fabulous, as do the U2-like guitars and Twin Peaks synths of Read My Mind. Meanwhile, Smile Like You Mean It and Somebody Told Me benefit from the newfound harder edge.
They somewhat heavy-handedly underline the new direction by playing Paranoid by Black Sabbath and Get It On by T Rex. That's the thing: The Killers are not a subtle band. Their songs are like a wet kiss from a girl who's a bit too drunk. They are big and brash, and not everyone loves them for it. Mr Brightside and Somebody Told Me might go down as well at hip nightclubs as they do on the festival circuit, but the DJs play them with the same guilty look they wear when playing a pop record.
"I hate that," says Brandon. "Like writing a song you can hum somehow cheapens it? It makes me think of this quote by Morrissey. Everybody knows how he read Oscar Wilde, Keats and Yates when he was growing up and that he wanted to be a writer. He was talking to this journalist who asked why he hadn't become a writer, and Morrissey said: 'What I do is more powerful than what you do because I can write down these words and you get it to a melody. How can you beat that?' I'm of the same opinion. I don't understand why a good melody that's memorable is a bad thing."
Being dismissed as pop particular aggrieves Ronnie. "When we first came out we got compared to Duran Duran all the time. Jesus Christ! We got a keyboard player now all of a sudden he's Nick Rhodes! Come on!"
"The people who criticise us for being too poppy don't get it," agrees Mark. "I think that's the problem with a lot of rock music. People are afraid to write a song any more. Either that or they can't. And that attitude hurts music in general. The best bands ever have all written great songs. You can still do it and do it intelligently and it can be original. This isn't a studio creation with a producer writing these songs for us. We're not Avril Lavigne, or something like that. We're a real band writing real songs, just like a punk band would do, except that we write pop songs."
You get the impression that The Killers knack for showboating pop hooks that border on vulgar is inextricably tied up with the brazen side of Brandon's personality. But while his ebullient charisma, not to mention the songs themselves, mitigates his outrageousness, there is a less attractive side to his ego. He has a combative streak. He can't resist taking pot shots at emo bands, notably Fall Out Boy, whith whom The Killers share an A&R man.
Has he heard how many emo kids it takes to change a light bulb? "No." None. They just sit in the dark and cry. It's a full 30 seconds before he stops laughing. When he does he admits: "Yeah, we've had problems with other bands. You know, when you walk in the room it's like..." He whistles the theme to The Good, The Bad And The Ugly. "We're like gangs."
And while the other members of the band are diplomatic on the subject of Brandon, you don't have to read too deeply between the lines to conclude that there have been internal issues, too.
"Some people will think Brandon's the big genius," says Dave, visibly bridling. "There are songs, such as Why Do I Keep Counting?, where he's written every note. But there are others, like When You Were Young, that were more of a collaboration - like Mr Brightside, where I had some of the music and Brandon came up with the lyrics. We always have arguments about who wrote what. The truth is that we all help in that process."
When asked how success affected them, Ronnie says: "There were certain things that needed adjusting. When you're on tour for two years, people can get a little needy. It doesn't help that you're surrounded by yes men and everybody's working for you. At times we've had to say, 'Who do you think you are?' to people. No one wears the trousers, but some people would like to. I think if it wasn't for the people in the band kicking each other in the ass... Let's just say there was some ass-kickin'."
It doesn't take a genius to work out whose ass needed kicking most often.
+
It's the following day and The Killers are back at their rehearsal space. The topic of discussion is what to wear in the video for Bones, the second single. It's a big deal: the director is Tim Burton. "I feel like Frank Sinatra when I sing it," announces Brandon. "With maybe a little bit of Morrissey and a little bit of Elvis, too."
Of course he does. But if securing the services of Tim Burton tells you one thing, it's that The Killers are about to get even bigger, perhaps even make the leap to the same level as Coldplay et al. Already stars, they are about to become superstars. Brandon can hardly wait.
"Do you know that Rolling Stone didn't want to put us on the cover last time," he says indignantly. "They didn't think we were stars. We sold five million albums! What more do they want from a band?"
Whatever was required, Brandon would be happy to do most things. "I'll do stuff that some people don't want to do, 'cause I want people to hear the music," he says. However, even he has limits. "The Rolling Stone thing made the record label think: 'What can we do to make them stars?' If I go on vacation with my wife, do they have to send somebody to be there to take pictures of me? Is that how you become a star? I don't want that. I walked down the red carpet one time and I realised I don't like it. But you don't have to walk down the red carpet for people to hear your music. We do still have some of that indie blood running through our veins."
He heads off at a tangent: "When you walk around Liverpool, you think of The Beatles, or you go to Manchester and you think of The Smiths or Oasis. I want you to come to Las Vegas and think of Sam's Town. And I think we've started to capture that, which is a truer version of The Killers, 'cause that's where we're from."
He pauses.
"I used to live across the street from Sam's Town. Maybe it'll be like our Abbey Road where people go to take pictures."
Is that what he'd like?
"I wouldn't mind it," he says, desperately hoping it will come true.
He puts a cigarette between his lips, looks down at his trouser pockets and pats them in search of the lighter he bought yesterday.
"Hey, I don't suppose you've got one?"

1. Fremont Street Experience - 3 stages with Live bands, plenty of street performers, 2 OG casinos (1 of which lets you take a picture with $1,000,000) plus plentiful bars/restaurants. Spending money is not required. We didn't make it at night, but from what I understand it is a good show. During the summer there are more popular artists that perform in the area.
2. Buy a bus pass. $20 for 3 days of unlimited rides. Bus stops at most casinos on the strip as well as Fremont Street. It can get crowded, but it is far cheaper than Lyft/Uber or parking your own vehicle.
3. Plan on having cash on hand for tipping. They gave us a booklet with recommended tipping amounts for just about any potential service you could require. On a budget you don't want to be that tourist that doesn't tip when expected, but you also don't want to overdue it. Just a quick few (Bellhops $1-$3 per bag, Housekeeping $5-$10 per day you have them clean, Buffets $5-$10 per person)
4. Just about everything else can be purchased using Credit/Debit cards. Even a lot of the street performers take digital payments now (Zelle, CashApp, Venmo, Paypal)
5. High Roller observation wheel - If you are 21+, I would recommend getting the "Happy half hour" tickets (Cost a bit more but include unlimited drinks on your ride) which can be used at any time of the day, but definitely go at night. Pods are supposed to hold up to 40 ppl, but when we went we had about 12-15 people besides us. Plenty of room and plenty of time to get your drink on.
6. Wear comfortable shoes, When looking at a map it can be deceiving how far things are from each other. You will find out quickly that you will put some mileage on. My wife and I averaged about 9-10 miles of walking per day, and that was with us trying to avoid it due to medical issues.
7. Hotel - We stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacations, it's a very nice hotel. Our room was massive, included a full kitchen, dishwasher, dishes, washedryer, and an in wall safe. Be aware, they will ransack you with signing up for a sales presentation. If you are willing to sit through the presentation you will score some goodies, like free show tickets or free dinner, etc. You are under no obligation to buy anything, but if you want free... this is a good way.
8. Speaking of washedryer in our room, check your booking closely to see if you have one. If you do, make sure to not overpack. We stayed a week and probably could have packed for 3 days and been just fine.
9. Book a room with a full kitchen if possible. We went grocery shopping after checking in and stocked up enough basic foods for the week so we didn't have to eat out every meal. When every meal is going to cost you a minimum of $15-$20 per person basically everywhere, it can add up quick. Plus all of the dishes were included, we just had to wash them. They also provided dishwasher detergent.
10. Resort Fees - Be aware of the hotel charging resort fees. As far as I am aware, every hotel on the strip at least has resort fees. HGV had one at $30 per night (Which literally paid for our "complimentary"Wi-Fi, having a phone in our room, and being allowed to self park) Valet was $40 per night billed on our hotel tab.
11. Do not engage with the sales people on the streets unless you are truly interested. It is easy to get scammed and you aren't getting your money back. They also will hound you if you show the least bit of interest in what they are doing. If you bring kids, be aware that there is a TON of pornographic material/cards being handed out or offered in newspaper style machines. Not to mention the "showgirls" that are wandering around with very little on offering to take pictures with you (for a fee of course), there are also BDSM women that walk around and offer to spank you, in front of everyone of course.
12. If you are a people watcher, be aware there are limited areas to sit and just people watch unless you sit at a barestaurant. There are surfaces around to sit on in some places, but I wouldn't count on it.
13. Our 2 favorite restaurants on our trip. Margaritaville (Which we were informed will be closing down it's current location due to their lease expiring, but they are looking for a new location.) and Heart attack grill. If you don't know what either of those are, go on youtube and search. Heart attack grill is a themed restaurant and it is geared towards unhealthy eaters (or fat people if you will). Food was delicious though. Margaritaville had great food, great atmoshere, and great service.
14. Buffet - If you are tempted to spend $$$ on an expensive buffet, be aware they really aren't worth the cost if you are on a budget. We went to the Wynn buffet ($75/person) which included our non-alcoholic drinks. If I had known then what I know now, I honestly would have ONLY gone for dessert. While there is a large assortment of really good food, it is all designed to fill you up quickly and there is just about zero chance you get your $75 worth unless you are a professional eater (or eat like one). But going for desserts, you have so many different choices to try and the portions are smaller being desserts. If you were to buy these desserts at a normal restaurant, they would price between $5-$25. That means you can quickly get your $75 worth without overeating. As of this post, Wynn buffet is the 2nd most expensive buffet, behind bacchanal. We only ate at the Wynn buffet, but there are also more reasonably priced buffets around $30-$50 per person.
15. Blue Man Group - If you haven't heard of them, look them up. They are a comedy show, but not stand up comedy. It's skit based, involves lots of music and crowd interaction. There is NO TALKING from the members of the blue man group, they only act. Which just adds to the show, we loved it. It's a little pricey, I paid about $135 each for tickets... but it was pretty much the highlight of our trip.
16. Any restaurants you plan on visiting, make reservations. Most you can make online. It may not be needed, but if you show up and there is a line down the block, you get to skip the line. Well worth it, just make sure you are there on time or you lose your spot.
17. Avoid buying tourist trap excursions off websites claiming to give you a deal. 99% of them are either the exact same price as if you walk up to the venue or possibly even slightly more expensive. Not to mention, they are literally called a tourist trap for a reason. If you have money to blow, have at it. But on a budget, you won't miss out by not getting sucked in.
18. At basically every restaurant there will be a photographer walking around offering to take pictures. Don't be fooled into thinking these are free photos. They will give you one complimentry photo that is tiny, like as small as those instamax cameras (1x1 photos). They will offer you 2 larger photos (4x6) in a (not so) fancy cardboard photo frame. At the time of this post, it was $20 per photo. *Tourist Hack* If you want the photos, tell them you do not want them and they will offer you both photos without the cardboard frame for $20. This worked at every single restaurant that we hit. Although, we only purchased twice, because how many restaurant photos with logos and crap on it do you need?
19. If you really want to save money, do things OFF-strip. Everything on the strip is pricier, I do mean EVERYTHING.
20. All gift shops have basically the same things. We visited the "Worlds Largest Gift Shop" and also one called ABC gifts (or something like that). Honestly, the Worlds largest felt crowded and overwhelming. The ABC shop we went to had some nice things in it that we bought, I would recommend them.

I have a local spicy group in my area and we meet once a month at different restaurants to have “challenges” to help promote the local restaurants and get people together. I have a Facebook group that has about 300 members and allows people to talk/sell/buy everything spicy as long as it’s local. Same with Reddit but the Reddit sub isn’t as big as the Facebook page.
Well, I have been giving the opportunity to where I can bring a spicy convention to my city to an arena free of charge. But the few well established spicy events have not responded to my emails or taken my calls.
We are not a small city but nothing like this has been done before. What would be y’all’s advice in trying to get someone or an event planner’s attention to come to my area?
The only thing they would be out on is advertising, there is a hotel attached to the arena and a casino as well…….

My wife wants to see Pete Davidson in July. I have never been to the casino and stupidly assumed that it had a hotel attached, but it does not. Any suggestions on a nice place to stay for the night?
Thanks in advance!

My spouse received a citation for "disorderly conduct" stemming from one too many drinks on the casino floor that led him to banging on the wrong hotel room door in the early hours of the morning. Hotel security escorted him to the 'back of the house' and called an ambulance based on his intoxication/incoherence. Paramedics and police arrived and took some information and the hotel security eventually not to worry about anything that he wasn't in trouble, but that following protocol he would no longer be allowed back at the casino. Nearly a month later was we he discovered the events of that night had resulted in a disorderly conduct citation and pending court date.
Today was his online court date. While he is not an English speaker, he thought he could navigate through this with the help of the court appointed interpreter, but when the judge explained to him that although he is a permanent resident, this type of offense could impact his ability to become a citizen or even lead to deportation, we both felt we needed to seek legal counsel.
We're shocked — and terrified; what seemed like such an insignificant event is upsetting our reality, but and we need to navigate this properly. Everything I've read leads me to believe that as this is a first time offense of any kind for him, it's highly unlikely he'd receive anything more than a fine — there could be possibility it might result in life-altering consequences based on how the state of NJ appears to categorize offenses of this kind.
As we look into how to obtain and/or pay for attorney, I'm seeking advice or thoughts from everywhere I can think of based on the facts I have shared above. Obviously I am aware no one can give me any definitive answers or predict any eventual outcome, but I am hoping for some general reassurance that a citation of this sort is not generally likely to have a lifelong negative impact on his — and our lives?
Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this.

Hello everyone!
I will be in Vegas this summer for NBA Summer League. It will be my first time in Las Vegas and the US. Been reading a ton of reviews everywhere and trying to figure out where to stay. I'll be looking to watch games and connect with people across the basketball universe, no real interest in the casinos, etc.
I'm on a really tight budget, so I'm looking at the cheapest places possible near in the strip and would love some help. I will either book a hotel for all 6 nights I'm there or a cheaper option on the first weekend and then upgrade for a better hotel. I have looked at the Serene Boutique, Ellis Island, Rio and Treasure Island as cheaper options for at least the first few nights and would like to know which ones are the best bets in terms of security, cost, proximity to the arena and the strip, etc.
Would really appreciate the help. Thank you!

Has anyone seen Alex talk about Frank Zappa and the Mothers Of Invention as an influence at all? I’ve never seen it, but then again I don’t rifle through every interview of his. However, when I listen to Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino, every time, without fail, I hear that Freak Out record all over it. From the schizo vocals/backing vocals on Golden Trunks, even the guitar riff/tone itself, the chords, to the weird breakdown of “the Martini Police” melodically, to even the name itself of The Martini Police (who are the brain police, which has a very similar feel to that moment in Star Treatment. Tons of other similarities between TBHC and Freak Out it’s insane.
I know everyone talks about Bowie and his voice and lyrics hit that sure, but I hear so much Zappa and was wondering if anyone can confirm this via an interview or anything.

Has anyone left the industry and returned?
I have been licensed since 2011 and worked as an esthetician at a day spa, hotel casino spa, and wax studio for 2 years following that. I went back to a 9-5 and have been climbing the ranks ever since. I went from making 24,000 at a 9-5 in 2016 to 57,000 a year…but I hate it. I feel so unfulfilled. What I LOVED about esthetics is working with the clients (when the senior esthi’s weren’t moving them from my books!) what I disliked, and made me leave the industry were the other therapists, so bitter, catty, and just straight up mean. I’ve the last 3 years I have been going back and forth with myself on whether or not I should dip my toe back in and return to the treatment room. Money is a big factor in that, it’s not like I am making gobs of money, I just feel like I have worked so hard to get where I am that I am afraid to let that go.
Has anyone experienced anything similar? Did you return? How did it go?
Any advice would be helpful.

Hey guys, I've got myself into a hole I can't get out of on my own it seems. I'm a 41yo man and I've been married past 20 years to the love of my life and we have 2 kids together. I've always been somewhat successful and took care of my family. 2 years ago my wife started lying all the time and I found out she was cheating and I gave her a second chance after she begged me not to leave. She kept lying to the point where I started working from home bc I couldn't trust her. I found out she had gotten on drugs and she started getting in trouble with the law and I've bailed her out many times. Then a year ago she cheated again and then I left her and she went to jail and like an idiot I bailed her out under the condition we both go to rehab and fix our marriage and fix her addiction. So I dropped my kids off at her dad's and bailed her out and we flew to LA to a rehab. That lasted 5 days before she said it wasn't the kind of rehab she wanted to we went to one in Vegas and next thing I know she runs off for several days and partys and then she started ripping casinos off and it was a mess. Then the next night we left a casino and go to subway and next thing I remember was waking up in emergency room bc of a fentynol overdose! I've never touched fentynol in my life! I figured I must have somehow touched some somewhere in Vegas that night. Then next day we go back to LA to a rehab and that night she tells me she wants a divorce and then she got me kicked out of the rehab before we could even talk about it. So I go to a rehab on my own thinking we'd meet back up after the rehabs but that wasn't the case. Turns out she had a boyfriend at the rehab and turns out she poisoned me with fentynol. She literally poisoned me and watched my heart stop in subway until paramedics resuscitated me. 20 years of being best friends, Bonnie and Clyde, soul mates and she did that to me. It destroyed me. 100% destroyed me. I flew out to Phoenix to my mother's to try to cope with everything and that was 6 months ago. I'm still here with nothing. I've been so depressed and barely made it through the past 6months and I miss my kids so much but I've lost everything and have nothing and to top it off my mother doesn't understand depression and constantly puts me down and makes me feel horrible and last week she kicked me out with nothing. But I guess I deserve it for being there 6 months with nothing to show for it and not getting any better. Sooo... I've been going from hotel to hotel and I'm out of money and I'm not going on the streets! I'll put a bullet in my head before that and that's where I'm at now. I'm out of options. At this point I don't know what to do. I need a little help with a good job. I need a place to stay. I miss my kids so much and they need me and I don't know how to get back to the man I was before she destroyed me. But one good thing is she is in jail and going to prison for stuff she did with her boyfriend. I did not turn her in for Vegas. I just found out she did it last month. Anyways I don't know what I'm expecting writing this but it's pretty much my last plea for help. I can honestly say I can't go on much longer this way. Im a good person. I've been a financial advisor and most recently had a welding shop that was successful for 10 years til last year when all this started. If anyone out there can help me in any way you have no idea the impact it'd have on me and my family. It would more than likely save my life.Thanks for reading! Apparently I dont know how to post stuff bc it's saying to provide method of payment. I have paypal and Google pay. But I'm not looking for money. I'm looking for a good job and I guess money would be nice and help alot but I need to get back on my feet and get a place to stay. Idk, any help would be appreciated. And believe me, this is going against every grain in me to ask for help. Omg why is the post button greyed out! Holy shit!

General opinions on the hotel? My friend and I are on a bit of a budget, and it looks standard, but I wanted to get some opinions on it.

AMAZON GIFT CARDS ONLY - No Trades - One Hour Holds - Open to Offers on Multiples - Prices Firm for Single Selections - Please Comment First - CHAT REQUESTS IGNORED

DISNEY

• Beauty and the Beast (2017) - $3
• Finding Dory (2016) - $3
• Frozen (2013) - $3
• The Good Dinosaur (2015) - $3
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) - $3
• Hocus Pocus (1993) - $3
• Inside Out (2015) - $3
• The Lion King (2019) - $3
• Maleficent (2014) - $3
• Moana (2016) - $3
• Mulan 4k (1998) - $6
• The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) - $3
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) - $3
• Thor Ragnarok 4k (2017) - $6
• Thor Love and Thunder 4k (2022) - $6
• Zootopia (2016) - $3

FOX

• Assassin's Creed (2016) - $3
• The Counselor (2013) - $3
• Deadpool (2016) - $3
• The Greatest Showman (2017) - $3
• The Heat (2013) - $3
• Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015) - $3
• Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016) - $3
• The Martian (2015) - $3
• The Peanuts Movie (2015) - $3
• Prometheus (2012) - $3
• The Revenant (2015) - $3
• RoboCop (2014) [VUDU/GP] - $3
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) - $3
• Spies in Disguise (2019) - $3
• Super Troopers 2 (2018) - $3
• True Lies 4k (1994) - $8
• Widows 4k (2018) - $6
• X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - $3

LIONSGATE

• American Psycho 4k (2000) - $6
• The Cabin in the Woods (2012) - $4
• Dirty Dancing 4k (1987) - $6
• Divergent (2014) - $4
• Dream a Little Dream (1989) - $4
• Dream Scenario (2023) - $6
• Dredd (2012) - $4
• Dredd 4k (2012) - $6
• Ender's Game (2013) - $4
• Everything Everywhere All at Once 4k (2022) - $6
• Ex Machina 4k (2015) - $6
• The Expendables 2 (2012) - $4
• The Expendables 3 (2014) - $4
• The Expendables 1-4 4k (2010, 2012, 2014 & 2023) - $15
• The Hateful Eight (2015) - $4
• The Homesman (2014) - $4
• The Hunger Games (2012) - $4
• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) - $4
• Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 2 (2015) - $4
• The Iron Claw (2023) - $8
• It Comes at Night (2017) - $4
• Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019) - $4
• Joe (2014) - $4
• The Kid (2019) - $4
• Knives Out 4k (2019) - $6
• Maggie (2015) - $4
• The Making of Trump (2015) - $4
• The Man Who Fell to Earth 4k (1976) - $6
• Men (2022) - $4
• Midway 4k (2019) - $6
• The Mist 4k (2007) - $6
• Much Ado About Nothing (2013) - $4
• Now You See Me (2013) - $4
• Orange is the New Black: Season 1 (2013) - $4
• Orange is the New Black: Season 2 (2014) - $4
• The Possession (2012) - $4
• Priscilla (2023) - $6
• Requiem for a Dream 4k (2020) - $6
• Reservoir Dogs 4k (1992) - $6
• Rob Zombie Trilogy (2003-2019) - $6
• Shivers (1975) - $4
• Stand Up Guys (2012) - $4
• Terminator 2: Judgement Day 4k (1991) - $6
• Total Recall 4k (1990) - $6
• The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent 4k (2022) - $6
• Unhinged (2020) - $4
• Wonder (2017) - $4
• The Wraith (1986) - $4
• You're Next (2013) - $4

PARAMOUNT

• Bad Grandpa (2013) - $3
• BumbleBee 4k (2018) - $6
• Event Horizon 4k (1997) - $6
• Gemini Man 4k (2019) - $6
• Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014) - $3
• Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011) - $3
• Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015) [iTunes ONLY] - $2
• Mother (2017) - $3
• Overlord 4k (2018) - $6
• Paranormal Activity - The Marked Ones (2014) - $3
• Pet Sematary (2019) - $3
• Rocketman (2019) - $3
• Scream 4k (1996) - $6
• Scream 4k (2022) - $6
• Scream VI 4k (2023) - $6
• Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) - $3
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) - $3
• Top Gun 4k (1986) - $6
• Top Gun Maverick 4k (2022) - $6
• True Grit (2010) - $3
• World War Z (2013) - $3

SONY

• 21 Jump Street (2012) - $3
• The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) - $3
• Appleseed: Alpha [SD](2014) - $3
• Bad Boys For Life 4k (2020) - $6
• Black Hawk Down 4k (2001) - $6
• Concussion (2015) - $3
• The Dark Tower (2017) - $3
• Don't Breathe SD (2016) - $2
• Drive (2011) - $3
• The Equalizer 2 (2018) - $3
• Fury (2014) - $3
• Godzilla, Mothra & King Ghidorah Collection (1992, 1998 & 2003) [MA - SD] - $15
• Hotel Transylvania (2012) - $3
• Hotel Transylvania 3 (2018) - $3
• Insidious: The Last Key (2018) - $3
• Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 4k (2017) - $6
• Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) - $3
• Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - $3
• Passengers 4k (2016) - $6
• Peter Rabbit (2018) - $3
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies 4k (2016) - $6
• Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017) - $3
• Sausage Party (2016) - $3
• Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018) - $3
• Spider-Man 4 Film Collection (2017, 2018, 2018 & 2019) - $15
• Spider-Man Homecoming (2017) - $3
• Spider-Man: No Way Home 4k (2021) - $6

UNIVERSAL

• Apollo 11 (2019) - $4
• BlacKKKlansman (2018) - $4
• The Breakfast Club (1985) - $4
• Brian Banks (2019) - $4
• Casino 4k (1995) - $6
• Cult of Chucky UNRATED (2017) - $4
• Colossal (2017) - $4
• Contraband (2012) [iTunes ONLY] - $2
• Darkest Hour (2017) - $4
• Despicable Me 2 (2013) - $4
• Dr. Seuss' The Lorax (2012) - $4
• F9: The Fast Saga [Both Theatrical & Directors Cut] (2021) - $4
• Good Boys (2019) - $4
• Hail, Caesar! (2016) - $4
• Halloween Kills 4k (2021) - $6
• Hardcore Henry (2016) - $4
• Holiday Inn (1942) - $4
• How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 4k (2019) - $6
• The Hunt (2019) - $4
• The Huntsman - Winter’s War - Extended Edition (2016) - $4
• Hustlers 4k (2019) [iTunes ONLY] - $4
• Inglourious Basterds (2009) [iTunes ONLY] - $3
• It Came From Outer Space 4k (1953) - $6
• Jaws 2 4k (1978) - $6
• Jurassic Park: The Lost World 4k (1997) - $6
• Jurassic Park III 4k (2001) - $6
• Jurassic World (2015) - $4
• Justice (2017) - $4
• Knock at the Cabin 4k (2023) - $6
• The Last Starfighter (1984) - $4
• Lone Survivor (2013) - $4
• Megan Leavey (2017) - $4
• Minions (2015) - $4
• Moonrise Kingdom (2012) - $4
• Monty Python's The Meaning of Life 4k (1983) - $6
• The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor 4k (2008) [MA ONLY] - $6
• No Time to Die 4k (2021) [iTunes ONLY] - $6
• Nope 4k (2022) - $6
• The Northman 4k (2022) - $6
• Oblivion (2013) - $4
• Phantom Thread (2017) - $4
• Pitch Perfect (2012) - $4
• Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) - $4
• Renfield (2023) - $4
• Scarface (1983) [MA ONLY] - $3
• The Secret Life of Pets (2016) - $4
• The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) - $4
• Spartacus 4k (1960) - $6
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie 4k (2023) - $6
• The Thing (2001) - $4

WARNER BROS

• Barbie 4k (2023) - $8
• Black Adam 4k (2022) - $6
• Dune Part 2 4k (2024) - $12
• Elvis 4k (2022) - $6
• Legion of Super-Heroes (2023) - $3
• Live Die Repeat - Edge of Tomorrow 4k (2014) - $6
• The Lost Boys 4k (1987) - $6
• Poltergeist 4k (1982) - $6
• Westworld Season Four: The Choice 4k (2022) - $8

It's that season again! lets get out there and support our local businesses and our community.
June 1st - Kickoff Block Party (21+) @ Cocktail You'll find us on June 1st from 7-10pm on the 2300 & 2400 blocks of Central Ave dancing in streets, enjoying live entertainment, and celebrating in a way that only the LGBTQIA+ community can! Featuring DJ Ace Vedo, a giant Red Bull truck, local LGBTQIA+ performers, corn hole, and a few surprises, the first Satur-GAY of June in the Grand Central District will not disappoint! https://www.stpetepride.org/events/2024-kickoff-block-party
June 6th - Stonewall Reception ($75pp) @ The James Museum Join us in celebrating the history of the Pride movement while supporting St Pete Pride's mission during this impactful event. With guest speakers, open bar, and some other special treats, this is an evening you won't want to miss. https://www.stpetepride.org/events/stonewall-reception-2024
June 8th - Youth & Family Day (free) @ North Straub Park This joy-filled event will bring thousands of LGBTQIA+ youth, queer families and allies to North Straub Park for this one-of-a-kind Pride event. Last year’s event was a remarkable reflection of St. Pete’s diverse and open-minded community, with many of the attendees being ally families. Guests will enjoy family-focused activities, vendors, and main stage performances. https://www.stpetepride.org/events/st-pete-pride-youth-family-day
June 13th - Rhythms of Pride (Latin Dance) @ Wet Spot Get ready for a night filled with vibrant music, dazzling drag performances, and captivating arts from south of the border. Experience the fiery spirit and colorful culture of our Latin Queer family as we come together to dance, laugh, and celebrate. DJ Ace Vedo will be spinning the hottest beats to keep the energy high all night long. https://www.stpetepride.org/events/2024-rhythms-of-pride
June 14th & 15th - Shades of Pride (Juneteenth Remembrance) @ The Factory Day 1, Friday, from 5:30pm-3:00am will feature a Prequel to Ballroom, Poetry Slam and Night Party. Day 2, Saturday, from 1:00pm-3:00am will feature panel discussions, live musical performances and closing out with The Honors Ball. https://www.stpetepride.org/events/shades-of-pride-2024
June 22nd - Pride Parade Festival (free) @ North & South Straub Parks The festival, held on June 22nd, from 2pm-10pm, in North and South Straub parks will host a variety of local vendors and food trucks, Glamstand front row parade seating, beverage gardens, multiple stages, family area, and more! Make sure to check back for event maps and updates! https://www.stpetepride.org/events/2024-pride-parade-festival
June 22nd - Pride Parade (free) @ Bayshore Dr Get your confetti, Pride flags, and dancing shoes ready as over 100 groups march the parade route coming together for an unforgettable celebration of inclusion, representation, and visibility! Grab your crew and get set to show that world that in Florida love always wins! https://www.stpetepride.org/events/2024-st-pete-pride-parade-presented-by-seminole-hard-rock-hotel-casino-tampa

So much discourse on here has been about perplexing complaints, disappointment and weird nitpicks … is that what film discussion has devolved into? Can we discuss the good that is actually there onscreen, cool things and moments and potential of the movie …
This is a bit of a summary of comments I’ve made on others repetitive posts, but, truly people’s reactions to this movie are so odd.
This is a solid franchise installment. It is not enslaved to the previous installments. It explores new characters, new scenarios, new concepts, and a new adventure tone. It is well made and directed, with good characters and story.
I saw one comment dismiss this movie as not good and “just CG” and treat it like a transformers movie? Ridiculous. Once the complainers and nit pickers move on from whatever dark gritty depressing Caesar sequel was in their mind, (I love those three, but they can’t and shouldn’t all be the same) and disentangle what they expected or imagined with whats actually there to enjoy onscreen, I hope they don’t dismiss something as quality as this so quickly.
Most franchise installments are garbage, this is actually good, and does what a table reset sequel should do, and people are like “whhhaaaa no Caesar”, “whaaa why isn’t Proximus Grand Admiral Thrawn”, “whaaaa why isn’t Noa Rambo?”… “I am an expert on rust and oxidation in worlds of talking apes” …
I really enjoyed it. Do I think it’s as transcendent or as quality as Dawn? No. But I also don’t need or expect every installment in a franchise to top the last or be some iteration of just like the last or to get more and more serious and dark. Quite the contrary, I was glad this had a whole different tone than War, which while I respect its incredible filmmaking, was pretty serious and grimdark.
I enjoy exploring new potential and characters and expanding the world and scenarios. The filmmaking was good, each story beat led to the next and the scenes were built in an immersive way. These characters are not Caesar, they are different. I am perplexed by a group of people who supposedly enjoy the franchise setting their phasers for complain instead of enjoy.
Another common comment: Not as good as Dawn. Why does it have to be one or the other? I doubt we EVER get an installment as good as Dawn, since no franchise EVER gets an installment as good as Dawn. But that reductive view is not the point of a franchise and not the point of film discussion for anything besides twelve year olds. The point of a franchise is to continue in an enjoyable entertainment world full of potential. Is every Star Wars movie not as good as Empire a failure? No. Is every Bond movie not as good as Goldfinger or Casino Royale a failure? No. Is every Mission Impossible not as good as Fallout a failure? No. Cheeseburgers can be good, AND steaks can be good. Life is not one big YouTube ranking video, otherwise you wouldn’t enjoy anything.
Some fun things we CAN discuss :
How do we work toward ending at the 68 original? The Nevada bunker humans, will they launch a nuke and California will sink into the ocean and we will come to realize that Statue of Liberty is the one from New York New York hotel in Vegas? LOL.
Will Raka learn more about Caesar, and come back to Noa and say : you didn’t realize you were his lineage with those eyes and that mark on your chest? Did you get picked up by an eagle as a baby and get dropped with your adopted parents in Eagle Clan?
With Mae: I feel we are being shown the best and worst of humanity and life at the same time. Humans got in this mess by trying to use technology to manipulate nature. Noa and his clan (interesting to consider why they are a separate offshoot) live in harmony with nature and the Eagles. They eventually win through this harmony.
Mae shows the best and worst of humanity, she and they are survivors and will do anything to survive, she uses the good climbers to reach her goal (perhaps manipulating all events from the beginning to get Noa and his friends there and use them) She will kill her own kind. She and the humans are over reliant on technology to survive.
She doesn’t like seeing Noa able to fix the cattle prods and even perhaps plans to kill him because he’s too smart, as she’s willing to kill her own kind for the apes to not have technology. But Noa reminds her that she was saved by Raka and kindness. And that stays her hand.
Also at the ending the question lingers: Can humans live at peace with those that are different than them, without trying to dominate them? The ending of Rise was a good setup, but also very open ended. As was Dawn. This seems in line with those endings.
Maybe the point and message of the movie is to co-exist, to live in harmony with nature, to not try and dominate others or bend nature or others to our will, to not depend on technology too much, and instead embrace nature and coexist as eagle clan does with the eagles. Discussing and figuring out what the film actually says as made by competent professionals is more enjoyable than instead discussing what you wanted it to say in the dark revenge teenage coloring book of your imagination where all movies are grimdark and the same.
Can we have some discussion instead of just complaints?

Posting here because I need help/advice. I 28f have been with my bf 27m for 5 years now. My bf has difficulty holding down jobs. He was always looking for something better which was fine. However last year he quit his job and took on drinking and taking edibles daily. It’s embarrassing to admit but I stayed thru it all. He used insta cart and doordash to make his monthly bills but it’s not enough. I’ll pitch I here and there to help with his car payment. I’ll break down in bullet points bc i don’t know how else to tell my story.
Holidays: For Christmas I bought his family gifts and had him say it was from both of us. I knew they were getting us gifts and I didn’t want to get something without giving them something?? None of my family knows how bad it is. I’m really close to them and I just brush things off. I lied and told them he finally found a job but he hasn’t. I didn’t get a Christmas gift. But I gave him money. He took me to a steak house for my birthday. Paid for it. Then asked I pay back for my meal bc he miscalculated and needed the money. He did buy me flowers for Valentine’s Day. I bought us an expensive dinner for his bday. I will admit I like a certain type of lifestyle even if I can’t afford it so I may overspend on things.
Addiction: Recently he lost his wallet which meant no Id which meant he couldn’t go to the dispensary or buy alcohol. He ended up finding his wallet but I offered to hold onto his id. It was going well but one day I left an expired id with him so he could buy a beer. I left and came back 24hrs later and he was drunk at 5pm. He gets overly emotional and depressed when he’s drunk and I don’t know what to do other than comfort him. Before I would say I was going to storm off or leave him and that would send him into a deeper spiral so now I nod and try to appease him.
Credit card debt: I’ve been swiping my card for food and drinks for both of us. He uses my car for DoorDash which means I pay for the gas. Before he quit his job (he had been unemployed for 3 months before his most recent job) he really wanted and oled tv and asked I put it on my card and he would pay me back. He made payments for the three months that he was employed then stopped. He ended up selling the tv it was $1,100 he kept the money to pay his bills and buy weed. I finished paying off the card myself. I’m in such a hole borrowing money in hopes I can cover my ass until the next paycheck. I got a part time job im starting soon which should help me a lot. I make a decent wage.
Financially irresponsible: we went on a trip to the casino (he was still employed at this time) I booked the hotel on my credit card. He ended up winning $5,000!!! The first night there. Want to guess what he did next??? He took copious amounts of edibles and blew $3,000 of it on more gambling. He won another $1,000 and also blew that. With the remainder he bought a pc AND I had to beg him to pay me for his half of the hotel room. He did pay for dinners and lunch while we stayed there.
Promises: he says he’ll pay me back. I’ve helped him make his car payments. I help him with food. He says things are going to change. He paints this really pretty picture that I so badly want to be true. But it’s MAY 2024. He quit his job June 2023. He promised me Christmas he promised me my birthday gifts. All which fell flat. And now I just feel like a fool. He says once he starts working he’ll pay me back.
I’ve been helping him apply to place none call him back. He also can’t pass a drug test currently.
Relationship: aside from the money I think we’re okay? We trust each other we love each other. When we’re together we’re always laughing and having a good time. We get along. On weekends we take turns on who gets to pick the movie. He’ll watch twilight and mean girls with me.
The only thing is when he is in withdrawal or hungover he becomes easily agitated and needs space to calm down. The worst he’s done is raise his voice and so do I. Normally he just needs to walk it off or blow off the steam and things get better. He’ll hyper fixate on something I did and call me out on it. I’ll apologize but he won’t let off of it when he gets like that there is nothing I can say to change things. In my mind if I did something wrong I get it I’m sorry but there’s nothing I can do to change it? But if he lies or does something he brushes it off and gets upset with me for being upset at his lying?! He’s a terrible texter and never answers his phone. If I needed immediate help I’d be out of luck. But I always have to be there for him. Let’s say he’s having a bad day he needs me there and wants me there. I have to drop everything and if I don’t he feels bad and guilt trips me.
In the end what I would like to see is him get clean and sober find a good job so we can buy a house have a family. Right now he is on an upswing where he makes his promises that things will get better and things will change. If things crash again and he fails to find a job I will have no choice but to leave even if I don’t want to. Go ahead and roast me bc I know I should know better but I can’t bring myself to leave him.

In Primm, there is a Casino that’s inspired by Buffalo Bill’s Hotel & Casino in real life Primm.
However, in the real life location, there is a Denny’s inside, and in New Vegas there is not
Please Obsidian/Bethesda, add the Denny’s