It had been an exhilarating weekend. After Powell's speech on Friday, May 9, and the A.R.O.B. Group's trip to Laughlin on Saturday, there seemed to be new momentum being gained every day. Bob Ryan immediately went to work trying to figure out how to disperse a hundred million dollars donated by Nevada gamblers and casinos. He had brought briefcases full of data, print-outs, and reports along; the A.R.O.B. Group had been charged with making the Laughlin donation a memorable pr event to encourage other businesses and communities to initiate their own fund-raising efforts. Indeed, the American Red Cross has collected hundreds of millions from citizens all over the country. Money had poured in from other countries. But the United States of America had suffered untold trillions of dollars in damage. The cost of rebuilding was immeasureable. One of the first orders of business when they finally settled into their suite of rooms at the Golden Nugget was to regroup. Jil Adams recommended that the now infamous A.R.O.B. Group be renamed the PAROBA Group (a new acronym for Paulette, Adams, Ryan, Oetting, Baker, and Annette). A subtle acknowledgement that - like it or not - Paulette and Annette were now part of this band of party revelers, Adams nonetheless was not all that pleased. As is often the case, she was completely comfortable working with the three guys she'd known for a long time; now she had to contend with two virtual strangers who might be an asset to their work (but just as easily could become a liability). Oetting had similar concerns. He'd seen Baker's tail wagging in the fall of 2006; like a puppy dog anxious for another leg-humping, Baker couldn't resist the lure of the prey that got away. He was a womanizer, and there was no doubt that Paulette and Annette were - well, women...women of ample and statuesque proportions. By Saturday afternoon Adams, Ryan, Oetting and Baker had settled in for some serious work. Only Baker knew what was would happen next: Annette and Paulette abruptly burst through the doors that sealed off the PAROBA Group's secluded conference room. Jiggling, and juggling pitchers of 'Green Meanies' from Joe's Crab Shack on the lower level of the Golden Nugget, the buxom beauties had gladly taken a hundred-dollar bill from Baker, and sampled the tantalizing rum concoctions before bringing massive quantities of the green libation to the 'meeting'. The trouble with 'Green Meanies' is that they sneak up on you: what tastes like Hawaiian punch packs a wallop like Wild Turkey.
Adams, Ryan, Oetting, and Baker hadn't been off the plane for more than four hours and already it was party time! If Colin Powell found out, he wouldn't be happy. But, as reckless as it seemed, it served as an appropriate 'ice breaker' which allowed Ryan and Adams to get to know the two new partners better. By 7:30 Saturday evening, Paulette had taken Bob down to the casino to show him her favorite poker game. Annette and Baker had managed to sneak out of the conference room to whereabouts unknown. Adams and Oetting sat in the conference room by themselves, and finally looked at each other and said, "What the hell? When in Rome, do as the Romans do!" By 8:00 p.m. the conference room was dark and empty with Bob Ryan's mountains of paperwork spread all over the huge walnut oval-shaped table. Work would have to wait until Sunday.