My friend Larry was courteous enough to be born on New Year’s Eve, as well as having cultured in himself the ability to be a most excellent host. These facts conspired to bring about a great New Year’s Eve party. He decided on a casino theme, and spent his birthday daylight building a craps table. There was craps, blackjack and texas hold’em for everyone (no real money changed hands, we promise!), as well as more than enough alcohol for three times the crowd (which was large!). The Merchant’s parents were there, and charming Tom attempted to drink the whole party under the table. He almost succeeded! And we’ve all almost recovered. ‘Til next year!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"