Rust's first journey to Las Vegas was during simpler times. Senior year of college, Rust and three buddies roadtripped from Iowa to Nevada. They loved college basketball — Iowa State is Rust’s team — and in 2005, they decided to go to one of the sportsbooks and soak up another side of March Madness.
They got hooked watching one game after another on the big screens, feeling an energy that was different than anything they’d experienced before.
They went back the next year, then as some of them fell off, other friends joined in. So did girlfriends on occasion.