HINT: If you’re sending us a book to review, it doesn’t hurt to boast a subtitle like ‘Hustlers, Hookers, Headliners and How NOT To Get Screwed in Vegas.’ Rick Lax‘s new work ‘Fool Me Once‘ does just that. And if you’re  planning a bachelor party weekend in Vegas, you must read this “field guide” if you want to make it out in one piece.

'Fool Me Once' by Rick Lax

The sad truth in our post ‘Hangover‘ world is that every Average Joe thinks that they can handle Vegas and not get conned/go broke/die. It’s even worse for guys traveling to Sin City for the first time (like some of you may be getting ready to do for a bachelor party).

….Oh, let me guess, you’re different. You’ve been to Vegas before. You know how to “do Vegas right.”  Alright hotshot, allow me to pose the following questions to you:

1. Do you think you can read any player’s face at the poker table?

2. Do you think the hot bartender will really drink the $12 shot you’re going to buy her?

3. Do you think Criss Angel’s “Mindfreak” is the coolest show on television?

By answering “yes” to any of these questions, you immediately are disqualified as being “ready for Vegas.” No worries though. As I said before, ‘Fool Me Once‘ is your field guide for your Vegas adventure. Rick wrote the book after his girlfriend was fooled by a conman in Chicago. The overwhelming paranoia and feelings of helplessness could only be soothed by traveling to Vegas to learn how the deceivers, hustlers and con artists really work. He took these bastards on heard first… and lived to write about it. Buy ‘Fool Me Once’ on Amazon

In ‘Fool Me Once,’ you’ll learn how to spot card counters, bluff poker pros, create your own polygraph test and pick up woman without cheesy pickup lines. Now, if that doesn’t sound like a hell of a bachelor party weekend, I don’t know what the hell does!

In addition to having mad skills as a writer, Rick can actually draw pretty well.

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Are you planning a bachelor party weekend in Las Vegas? Have you read ‘Fool Me Once’ by Rick Lax? Tell us your thoughts on the book in the comments section below.

Here’s the dilemma – you want a kick-ass, memorable bachelor party, but you’re worried that the Best Man hasn’t the slightest clue about planning a stag night. If only there was a comprehensive book full of ideas, games, gag gifts and stripper etiquette tips that could help him put together a stag night to end all stag nights. If only you could buy this book and give it to your Best Man. If only I was about to introduce you to ‘Stag Night‘ by Christopher Measom….

Stag Night by Christopher Measom

‘Stag Night: A Bachelor’s Last Night of Freedom‘ is a 176 page behemoth of a bachelor party planning guide. This baby runs the spectrum of the bachelor party planning experience from the history of stag nights to destination party planning to alibi creation. There’s even a section all about bachelor party tales. Hey, there’s no better way to avoid your own failure than reading about other people’s.

I sat down with a beer the other day to pound through this thing. I’m honestly not kidding when I say it was one of the most enlightening Saturday afternoons I’ve had in awhile. It wasn’t easy narrowing down my favorite excerpts to three, but here they are:

Zorbing

Zorbing – Have you heard of zorbing? I sure as hell hadn’t before I read about it in ‘Stag Night.’ To quote from the book, “zorbing is the practice of humans traveling in a sphere, generally made of transparent plastic, usually for fun.” Basically, as a bachelor party activity, you and your friends get put into giant plastic balls and get pushed down really big hills. Sign me the hell up!

Gags

Classic Gags – The book encourages  the use of gag gifts. We wouldn’t have it any other way. One idea that is suggested is putting the groom in a giant sperm costume for the night.

Drink Recipes

Stag Drinks – This is an area of the book that I can really get behind. In an effort to be an honest critic I prepared a martini based on the recipe from the book. Four martinis later, I was satisfied they had it down. Drink on!

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You can purchase ‘Stag Night’ for the shockingly low price of  $9.97 RIGHT NOW by clicking here.

AND

In honor of the kickoff to wedding bachelor party season, we’re giving away one copy of ‘Stag Night‘ to a lucky reader. To qualify for the drawing, simply leave a comment  below. We’ll randomly select the winner at 5:00 PDT on Friday June 4 2010.