August 17th - 14:55

Title: August 17th - 14:55 Medium: Super-8 film Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Resolution: 2880 x 2160 File Type: H.264 Codec / MP4. Comments: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas... Every time I visit sin city I feel like I am living inside of a Hunter S. Thompson novel. Maybe because when I was reading about it growing up and watching the Johnny Depp version of the film and then going there for the first time on a road trip right after college in 2015 with my friends Matt and Colin while on a handful of mushrooms and Mary Jane. The lobby was melting and the slots were ringing colors into my ears and we could not stop laughing at the seafood dinner buffet at 3:33 AM. Somewhere between Ceasar's Palace and Luxor, Matt gambled all his money away by repeatedly betting on red in roulette nine games in a row. I was pissing off people in blackjack by asking the dealer to hit me, no matter what hand I played. Sometimes I feel like the only way to enjoy this circus of a place was to be tripping out on something or other. Hell, every time I go there I am. Ethan and I were lit up by Stanford LSD. Programmed by Hollywood media? Potentially. There are so many movies made here that create this idea of what this place is and can be when you get there. A drugged up odyssey, a mafioso lecture, a mathematician winning one over, and of course we cant forget infamous heists by the clever thieves. Choose your own adventure. For us it was taking psychedelics, a page and a couple chapters out of Hunter's book. God have mercy on us in this bugged out state of mind. I can admit it is not optimal set or setting to take a trip . I don't even know why we continue to do it. Yet here we are. There is this strange nostalgic appeal that we never lived. To revisit a dead era and life through the lens of the wackiness and perception shifts of gonzo journalism. The thrill and excitement for poetic guidance. Though the times have changed over 50 years. I guess its not the 70's anymore. Never spending longer than 24 hours in Vegas and this time was no different. Jason, from Gabba Gallery, introduced us to his best friend Chase. She was an all-star hostess with all the hook-ups in town. She was juggling two phones, since she was bringing out clients from all over America. Hospitality at its best. How to get people to come and spend their money; Free rooms, Free food, and free drinks all day long... Before she went back to work I made her portrait in the lobby, there was a strict rule not to shoot where the games were being played. So I found this fountain of youth to bring the fluidity of nature and healing into a greedy and gluttonous space where dreams are lost and fortunes are found; only if you leave before spending it that is. A town where lady luck is in a sip of liquor. Drinking liquid confidence. Where anyone can feel like a genius if you play your cards right, pull a lever with lights, and roll a seven with the dice. You can't game the system without getting your limbs broken. Remember kids, there is no crying in the casino!