Lady Luck Joins Vegas Vacation

Friday, August 7, 2009

Page 11

AT THE SIDEBAR (Column)

Lady Luck Joins Vegas Vacation

By J’AMY PACHECO

I meant to buy a lottery ticket this week.

I rarely buy them – mostly because in the 20-plus years California has had a lottery, I’ve never won more than a few bucks. I was an avid participant the first few years, but now can’t remember the last time I bought a ticket.

I should have bought one this week, because Lady Luck seemed to be on my side.

Last week, my family took our annual vacation to Las Vegas. We’re not big gamblers; in fact, I rarely play at all in Las Vegas. When I was young and single, I loved to play craps. But one day, I looked at everybody’s money on the table, and then looked around at the glittering casino around me. I put two-and-two together, and came up with…well, the idea that maybe I didn’t like gambling so much after all.

The reason we travel to Las Vegas every summer has nothing to do with gambling. We go for an annual doll convention – a fun, four-day event that allows us to see online doll friends from all over the world.

While there, we take classes and seminars; dress up for themed meal functions, and play in a midnight pajama bowling tournament. Most of us stink at bowling – I think the same team always wins. But the rest of us laugh a lot, and get cheesy plastic trophies for our efforts.

This year, the convention added two activities: a slot tournament, and a treasure hunt through the casino. I did them both.

I’d never participated in a slot tournament before. I only had to pay $20 to play, and the prizes were doll-related, not cash. It was extraordinarily fun, and hilariously funny to sit among my fellow doll collectors pounding on the “spin” button as fast as possible.

We did two 15-minute heats, and I have to say, my arm was killing me at the end. But it was all worthwhile – I came in second place.

Considering I rarely win anything, that was a pretty big deal. I didn’t even care that the doll prize I won was one I already had.

I also won the grand prize at one of the seminars I attended. It was a big store display of very realistic-looking, doll-sized food that is wildly popular in Japan. It was pretty cool, and I think it will look great hanging on the wall in my doll room -- if I can keep myself from opening it.

My daughter did exceptionally well. She entered a Taylor Swift lookalike doll in a makeover contest, and won first place in the “rising stars” category. That wasn’t too bad, considering she was competing against adults.

That alone would have made the trip, but during the door prize drawings – an incredibly fun event that takes three hours – my daughter won the final “big” drawing to win a very limited edition doll.

Throughout the convention, people who have watched my daughter grow up at the convention kept giving her dolls, doll clothing, and even a doll doggy. I was touched by their generosity – and wondered how we’d get it all home.

But the biggest surprise came on the last night, when the names of everybody who got the treasure hunt answers right were put into a drawing. When the convention host drew the name of the winner, that person declined the prize – and the host drew another name.

“I suspect this will be the first time in history that a child brings their parent to the convention,” the host said before he announced my daughter’s name as the winner.

The prize was free registration and hotel for next year’s convention. The room burst into applause and cheers, and my daughter was so overwhelmed that she started sobbing.

We’ve been home for days, but I’m still stunned at how lucky we were. I’m also still trying to figure out where all these new dolls are going to go. But it’s a nice problem to have.

Since we met with such uncharacteristic good luck in Las Vegas, I meant to buy a lottery ticket this week. It’s entirely possible that I used up all my luck in Las Vegas, but it sure would be fun to find out that wasn’t the case.

Since I forgot, I guess I’ll never know.

It’s okay. I’ve got lots of new dolls to play with, a very happy daughter, a ton of wonderful memories, and a nifty little bowling trophy for my bookcase.

If that’s not winning, I don’t know what would be.