It was 2010 and one of my nearest and dearest Kelly (along
with her twin sister) was turning 30 and so obviously we went to sin city to
celebrate. Obviously.
The trip was full of hilarity, debauchery, some law
enforcement muckety muck, and a load of great memories (some fuzzier than others)
but I learned one thing for sure, what happens in Vegas does not necessarily stay
in Vegas.
Exhibit A: The birth of The Unsolicited High 5 aka The Unsoli Club
The birthday main event was Saturday night so on
Friday my co-conspirator Britt and I head downtown to see what kind of
trouble we can drum up. As the night is really getting rolling (read: lots of Elvis sightings, a sick Styx cover
band, Paul Stanley photo ops and plenty of cheap whiskey) we decide to cool our jets at
the 4 Queens Casino and see if luck would in fact be a lady tonight. Britt tries her hand at Roulette and I find a $10 Black Jack table with a toothless dealer named Benny.
Inside of 15 minutes
we’re both about $300 lighter and pouting. Lady Luck, you can suck it.
"I'm telling you baby, you always double down on an eleven"
As we make our way to the bar, Britt drops a
coin into the Wheel of Fortune slot machine, Joker! Joker! Joker! or something
to that effect because she scored $30 bucks and starts wildly High Fiving
anyone with hands. That looked fun. The High Five part, not the slot machine
part. As I leave Britt at the slots and head to the bar solo I begin randomly offering up High Fives to every person between me and my destination, sometimes accompanied
with an “Up High” or a “High 5” and every person who I offered it to, hit me
back. Suddenly I didn’t care about the three hundo I had just gifted to the 4 Queens
and decide this was more fun and FAR cheaper than gambling.
About 30 minutes later Britt re-emerges dejected
after losing her winnings and another Benjamin on top of that and she’s ready
to gun Bacardi and diets like tomorrow isn’t ever coming. I tell her about The Unsolicited High 5 and since she’s a gamer we make it a
competition. To make it interesting we whip up a set of rules and point values.
The idea is simple, walk up to any stranger
and offer a High 5 or a High 10.
- 5 points for every High 5 Hit Back
- 10 points for a High 10 Hit Back aka "Double
Fives"
- Double points if the person has to set their drink down to
facilitate the Hit Back.
- Loss of similar points for a rejected Hit Back aka a “Hanger”
- Spotting: This is when your competitor points out a target they think
might be a Hanger. These tend to be old ladies and some foreigners. These are
considered High Value Targets. For
example if I spot Britt an old lady and she goes for the High 5 and is left
hanging not only does Britt lose points, but I am awarded her lost points.
HOWEVER if I spot her an old lady and she goes for the High 5 and gets the Hit
Back she gets the points and I lose the same point value.
Vegas is obviously the best place to really rack
up the points, because if you sell it like you just won a new Chrysler well
then what sane person can resist the hit back?
I am happy to report that The Unsoli Club has
expanded into other markets and is thriving in Southern California. For
information on starting your own charter, a full set of bylaws, the list of
Elders and Tribunal Requirements, send me a message and I’ll connect you with
our Traveling Secretary, Steven Vince.
