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Las Vegas Part 2 Vocabulary Lesson

Hello and welcome to the vocabulary lesson for the conversation “Las Vegas Part 2.” In this conversation Joe and his best friend Jaeson are continuing to talk about when Jaeson was living in Las Vegas and going to college there.

Okay, let’s begin.

Joe starts off by saying, “I’ll tell ya….”

Ya is just short for you. It’s a casual way of saying you.

Okay, Joe goes on to say, “when I think about you going to college in Vegas….” Vegas is short for Las Vegas.

He goes on to say, “it just, I…. It’s so hard for me to believe….” So hard, meaning so difficult. Very difficult for me to believe.

“because I think of myself going to college when I was 18. And, y’know, I just, I would have been like a kid in the candy store there.

Okay, when he says y’know…. Y’know is just short for you know. Y’know. Like a kid in the candy store.

What this means is to be very excited about something. Like a kid in the candy store. For example: Josh loves books. When he goes to the library he is like a kid in a candy store. Like a kid in the candy store.

Then Jaeson laughs and says, “Yeah….”

Yeah is just casual or informal for yes.

He goes on to say, “well, you do run into a lot of temptation there.” Run into a lot of temptation there. This is just meaning that you would have a lot of things that you would want to do there. For example: There is so much to do and see in San Francisco that I run into a lot of temptation living here. Run into a lot of temptation.

Jaeson goes on to say, “Uh….”

Uh is just a filler word. It has no meaning. It’s said sometimes when trying to think of more to say.

And he goes on to say, “y’know, and especially as a college student and you’re hangin’ out with other folks.”

Now hangin’ out. Hangin’ is short for hanging. Hangin’ out means just casually passing the time. For example: I like hangin’ out in the park. Hangin’ out. So he’s saying hangin’ out with other folks. Folks just means people.

And Jaeson continues, “And, y’know, the, the bars are open all night…” And Joe says, “It’s your first time living on your own…”

Living on your own means living away from your family.

And Jaeson says, “First time away from home, exactly.”

First time away from home means the same thing as living on your own. It’s the first time living away from your family.

And Joe says, “yeah, exactly. So is, is UNLV actually on the strip?” Now UNLV… That means, or that’s short for University Nevada Las Vegas. This is the school where Jaeson went to college. Actually. This just means really. And the strip. The strip is one main street in Las Vegas where many of the casinos and hotels are.

So then Jaeson says, “Um….”

Um is the same as uh. It’s used as filler. It really has no meaning. Sometimes it’s said when trying to think of more to say… the same as uh.

And then he says, “it’s close. You’re like about a couple of miles away from the strip.” Now, like here. This is said in a lot of conversations. It really has no meaning. It’s just filler. Filler means it doesn’t even have to be there. You could take like away and the sentence would still make sense. So he says you’re “a couple of miles away from the strip,” …a couple meaning about two.

And Jaeson goes on to say, “But it’s, y’know, it’s probably like walking distance from some casinos.” Walking distance means it’s not too far to walk to. It’s close to walk to.

And he continues by saying, “Because, y’know, not all the casinos are on the strip, uh…” And Joe, “Oh my gosh.” Oh my gosh. This is showing emotion such as I can’t believe the university is so close to some casinos.

And Jaeson says, “y’know, some of them, some of them are off the strip. And there’s, y’know, there’s even like bars where they have like video poker and…”

Video poker is a game played to win money.

And then Joe says, “On campus?”

Campus. This is the area where there is a college or university.

And Jaeson says, “blackjack. Like right across the street.”

Blackjack is another game played to win money. And what he’s saying when he says, right across the street… he means directly across the street from the university.

And Joe says, “Oh man.”

Oh man is the same as oh my gosh. It’s showing emotion. And here it’s like he’s saying, I can’t believe there are places to gamble so close to the university.

And Joe goes on to say, “You know that they just want to entice the, uh, students to come out and gamble.”

Entice means get the students to come out and gamble. Just to get the students.

And Jaeson says, “Oh yeah, y’know, and some people, y’know, they get, y’know they have a problem or whatever.”

Whatever is just a filler word. It has no meaning here. You could take it away and this sentence would still be okay without it.

And he goes on to say, “Or they get caught up in the moment.”

Caught up in the moment. This means to become completely involved in something. Caught up in the moment. For example: When Chad is gambling, he can get caught up in the moment and forget how much money he has lost. Caught up in the moment.

And Jaeson says more. “And they just start gamblin’. And then they lose and they start hittin’ the ATM….”

Now gamblin’. This is short for gambling. Hittin’ the ATM. This means to take money out of the bank. For example: I hit the ATM because I didn’t have any more money with me. Hittin’ the ATM. Hittin’ is short for hitting. So hitting the ATM.

And Jaeson goes on to say, “And, and losin’ some more tryin’ to win it back and, y’know, it’s….” So losin’ is short for losing. And tryin’ is short for trying.

And then Jaeson goes on to say, “I saw…” And Joe says, “It’s an ugly cycle.” This just means it’s a bad situation.

And then Jaeson continues by saying, “yeah, I had a couple of good friends who, uh…. Man they just kinda’ threw their, their lives away almost just gambling, all the time, y’know.” Kinda’ is short for kind of. It’s just putting those two words together. Kinda’. Threw their lives away. This means destroyed or ruined their lives. For example: When Stan began to drink too much, he threw his life away. His wife divorced him and no longer wanted him to see their children. Threw their lives away. Or in this example, threw his life away.

And then Joe says, “Wait, did they gamble, were they gamblers before they arrived in town? Or…” And Jaeson says, “Y’know, maybe a little bit.”

A little bit means a small amount. For example: I could not go to the concert because I only had a little bit of money. A little bit.

Jaeson goes on to say, “but it’s just, it’s always right there.” Right there means right in front of you.

And Jaeson says, “There’s always that temptation, y’know? And, y’know, I don’t know, none of them really had, had the kind of money to where they should be, could be gamblin’….” The kind of money. This means a lot of money. They didn’t have a lot of money to where they could be gambling. For example: Jennifer wanted to stay at an expensive hotel but she didn’t have that kind of money. Kind of money.

And Jaeson goes on to say, “y’know the, the amounts that they were talkin’ about.” Talkin’ is short for talking.

And he says, “Like, uh, Gina’s friend Foo, one time he had to borrow like 5,000 dollars from us to cover some…”

To cover means to pay.

And Joe says, “What?” And Jaeson says, “yeah, yeah, he had gambled away some money off his mom’s credit card.” And Joe says, “Oh man, did she find out?” And Jaeson says, “Uh, no, coz that’s, that’s why he wanted to borrow the money from us. Y’know, so…” Coz. This is short and informal for because.

And Joe says, “Oh, I got you, to pay before she saw it.”

So I got you means I understand. For example: Bridgit said, “Hey, did you hear what I said?” And I said, “Yeah, I got you.”

And Jaeson says, “Yeah, yeah coz if his parents saw the bill and, and figured out that he was gamblin’ away the money on their credit cards, they would totally lose their cool.” Totally here means completely. Lose their cool. This means to get angry or upset. Lose their cool. For example: My parents used to lose their cool when I would talk on the telephone for a long time. Lose their cool.

And Joe says, “Yeah.” And Jaeson says, “I mean…” And he laughs.

I mean is…. What he is saying here is, “What I am trying to say.”

And Joe says, “Yeah…” And then Jaeson says, “They would, they would flip out on him.” Flip out. This means to get angry or upset. Same as lose your cool. Flip out. For example: Once when I was 14 years old my parents flipped out on me because I did not come home one night. Flip out.

And Joe says, “Yeah, I’m not surprised. My parents would have killed me…” Would have killed me. What Joe is saying here is his parents would have been very angry at him. For example: My parents would have killed me if they knew I drank beer when I was 15 years old. Would have killed me.

And Jaeson laughs. And Joe says, “if that would have happened. Y’know, they wouldn’t have been laughing, I’ll tell you that.” And then Jaeson says, “Oh yeah, well, y’know, you lose that kind of money, it’ll make, it’ll make even the, the hardened….”

Hardened here means strong.

“y’know, guy break down and, and cry, y’know.”

Break down and cry. This means to cry. For example: I knew that when my cat Sigmund died I would break down and cry. Break down and cry.

And Joe says, “Yeah, yeah, I’m sure.” And Jaeson laughs and says, “It’s no fun, man. That’s why, y’know, I never really got into gamblin’ that much….”

Got into means just… means started.

And Jaeson goes on to say, “uh, y’know. I just, I, I did, like they flew me out there for my recruiting trip, to be on…”

Recruiting trip. This is a visit to a college. You visit the college if you are thinking about going to school there.

Joe says, “Wait, wait, recruiting trip?” And Jaeson says, “Yeah, I was on the diving team there…at UNLV.” And Joe says, “Oh at the college?” And Jaeson says, “Yeah, springboard diving.” Springboard diving. This is just a sport.

And Joe says, “Wait, you mean like what we see in the Olympics?” And Jaeson says, “Yep.” Yep is slang. It’s very casual and informal for yes.

And Joe says, “Oh, man. I can’t wait to see…” And Jaeson says, “Yeah.” And Joe says, “next time we go to a place where there’s a pool and a diving board, you’re gonna have to show me some of these tricks.”

Gonna. This is short for going to. And tricks… This just means different dives.

Jaeson says, “Yeah, y’know, I’ve got some, uh, I’ve got some tricks that I…” And Joe laughs. And Jaeson says, “that I can use. Y’know, I would do, y’know, the worst are the hardest ones. I would do like a front three and a half or, y’know, a back two and a half.” What he’s talking about here…. These are just different kinds of dives.

And Jaeson goes on to say, “I did three meters and one meter springboard.” What he’s talking about here is he dove from two different heights on the diving board. He dove from three meters and he dove from one meter.

And he goes on to say, “Y’know, we did practices.”

Practices are he would dive with people from the diving team.

And he says, “So I didn’t really get the chance to gamble that much. ‘Coz after classes, y’know, I would have to go to, uh, go to diving practice and bang out my dives…” Bang out. This means to do quickly. Bang out. For example: Joe and I banged out the housecleaning so we still had time to go to the park. Bang out.

And Joe says, “Yeah.” And Jaeson says, “so, um…” And Joe says, “I mean, I just, uh, I would just imagine though….”

Imagine means think.

“since you’re actually there it’s like when in Rome, y’know, like you’re gonna start gambling.” When in Rome. This just means behaving the same way as a certain group of people. When in Rome.

And Jaeson says, “Yeah, y’know, for a lot of people it’s just a quarter here or there.” A quarter is a 25 cent coin. So for a lot of people… what Jaeson is saying is they only put 25 cents sometimes into gambling machines. A quarter here or there.

And Jaeson goes on to say, “Like, y’know, you’ve got to do your laundry….” Do your laundry means wash your dirty clothes.

And Jaeson says, “so you, you pop a quarter in the machine as you walk by and…” Pop a quarter in the machine means to put a quarter in the gambling machine.

And Joe says, “Oh, they have them at the laundromat, too?”

Laundromat. This is a place where you wash your clothes.

And Jaeson says, “if you win. Oh yeah, at the 7-11s…”

7-11 is the name of a store.

And Joe says, “Oh man! “ And Jaeson laughs. And Joe says, “My gosh. Y’know, it’s just like, it’s, no matter where you go….”

So he’s saying anywhere you go.

“there’s gambling round the clock.”

Round the clock. Round is short for around. Around the clock means all the time. For example: I was working round the clock to save for my trip to Africa. Around the clock.

And Jaeson says, “Yeah, yeah, I mean it’s, it’s definitely, y’know…. They’re, they’re definitely watching, uh watching people gamblin’ around the clock. Of course there is no clocks there, which makes it easier for you to lose track of time.

Lose track of time. This means to forget what time it is. Lose track of time. For example: When I go to a club to dance, I can lose track of time. Lose track of time.

And Joe says, “Yeah, you know what I hear is, uh, they actually….” Or he’s saying they really….

“uh don’t put the clocks up. So when you’re in the casino you never, like, think of ‘oh it’s too late, I need to leave.’”

Don’t put the clocks up. This means there are no clocks to be seen anywhere in any of the casinos.

And Jaeson says, “Yeah, exactly, uh, y’know, you just, the only way you know is, is when you’ve lost all your money and…” Joe laughs and says, “Oh, and then it’s time to go home.” And Jaeson says, “game over! Time to go home.”

Game over. This means the end. To be finished. Game over.

And Joe says, “But I guess if uh, if you, actually, uh, made enough money and you met a pretty girl then maybe it’s time to go get hitched.” And he laughs.

Get hitched. This means to get married. For example: My parents got hitched after only knowing each other for two weeks. Get hitched, or in this example, got hitched.

And then Jaeson says, “Yeah, well, y’know, I, uh, Vegas is the, the town with the most wedding chapels per capita….”

A wedding chapel is a place to get married. And per capita means for each person. So Vegas is the town that has the most places to get married per person or for each person.

And Jaeson goes on to say, “in, in the entire world.”

So what he’s saying is in the whole world.

And then Jaeson says, “So there’s a lot of people there tyin’ the knot….” Tyin’ the knot. Tyin’ is short for tying. So tying the knot means getting married. It’s the same as getting hitched. For example: My parents tied the knot after only knowing each other for two weeks. Tying the knot.

And then Jaeson says, “y’know, gettin’ hitched.”

Gettin’ here means… that’s just short for getting.

And then Jaeson says, “They have signs there. Michael Jordon got married there and Elizabeth Taylor and, y’know…. It’s a pretty big deal.”

A pretty big deal. This means very important. A pretty big deal. For example: Getting married is a pretty big deal to my parents. They don’t understand why I don’t want to be married. A pretty big deal.

And Joe says, “Yeah.” And then Jaeson says, “I got married there, um, but…” And Joe says, “Yeah.” And Jaeson says, “that’s, that’s, uh, that was a long time ago. Eight years now we’ve been married.” And Joe says, “Wow.”

Wow is the same as oh my gosh or oh man. It’s just showing emotion. For example, here it’s like he is saying that’s great that you and Gina have been married for eight years already.

And then Joe goes on to say, “Well it’s all worked out so that’s great.” All worked out means everything is going well.

And then Jaeson says, “Yeah.”

Alrighty, this concludes the vocabulary lesson for the conversation “Las Vegas Part 2.” If you feel you need to, go back and listen to this lesson a few times. You want to make sure that you have a basic understanding of the vocabulary. If you do go back and listen to it, don’t get too worried or stressed. Make sure you listen in a relaxed way. And then when you feel like you’re ready, go to the mini-story.

Alright then, see you next time. Goodbye.