VegasChatter

For purposes of this scientific study, we stuck to seven basic but lucky drinks:
· Beer
· Mixed drinks like rum and coke
· Shots and On The Rocks
· Margaritas and frozen drinks
· Martinis
· Wine
· Champagne

Let's go ahead and marry those cocktails with seven casino games:

Blackjack, for us, is most fun with a large group of friends, often in a party pit or with loud, live music begging us to bet bigger. That's a lot of distraction while we count cards play table captain, so simple drinks work best. With that foreshadowing, we double down on Captain and Coke.

Before Hollywood Americanized James Bond, his game of choice was baccarat, or Chemin de Fer if you're a stickler for trivia. That can only mean that when playing against the banker, the drink of choice should be a martini -shaken, not stirred of course.

Slot machines come in all shapes and sizes with all sorts of themes and noises. Much like beer is drunk from bottles, tall cans, short cans, fat cans, taps, kegs, and beer balls. But our real reason for pairing beer with slots is there's a lot going on with these machines these days. Between dings and dongs we're pushing buttons, pulling arms, spinning wheels, looking up, choosing bonuses, shooing the old lady lurker away, and trying to spend every last penny. Slot players can't be dealing with ice cubes, straws, or umbrellas. Give us a beer bottle to hold onto. The label should fit the denomination: Bud Light on the nickel slots, something a little frothier on the dollar machines. And as always, the goal is more Hangover but less hangover.

Roulette's another game we like in large groups. "Strategy" consists of going with red or black, betting on favorite numbers, recent winning numbers, recent non-winning numbers, random numbers, even numbers, odd numbers, or groups of numbers. We nominate (insert favorite booze) on the rocks and shots. The former because all those numbered coasters are right there. Shots are to celebrate every time you win - or commiserate a loss. Psst...it's just a reason to do shots.

The first time we played Craps was late at night early in the morning on the way to breakfast. A lonely but jolly pit boss caught our attention and attempted to teach us the game. For him, we can only assume it was either a frustrating or most amusing encounter based on our lack of comprehension at this hour. In the end, breakfast and champagne mimosas were calling our name more than the roll of the dice. In honor of our first time, can we define classy craps as rolling the dice with one hand and sipping bubbly with the other?

Video poker requires interaction and strategy. There's even apps for that. Do you hold those Jacks or go for the Royal Flush? Much like choosing a fine wine and whether to swirl or swig we say. If the VP is being played at the bar, we'll also accept cocktails as a match, Gene.

The only times we've played Keno have been in Chinese restaurants or with Grandma. Nana loves her margaritas but in honor of liking our Kung Pao spicy, Scorpion Bowls and frozen cocktails are a suitable matches for Keno also.

If you don't gamble or an exclusive drink for each game is too restrictive for your britches, the Ed Hardy drinking game dares you to mix beer before and after liquor. Now tell us, which drinks go with your favorite game and why?

[Photo: Pulse of Vegas]