History of the Splashbar and Splashy Awards

[Doug “Cigarman” Smith LM-3209-147]

Several people have asked me what are the splashys and what's the deal with the Splashbar obsession.

So, I wanted to give those that aren't familiar with the event a short history and why it's important to so many of us.

Starting in 2004 the CCA moved its annual convention to the Riviera.

There was a bar in the back of the Riv which people passed by on thier way to the convention halls that was actually called the "Splashbar". At the time the Rivieras top show was called Splash and since this bar was just outshine the showroom, it was named appropriately.

Now for years the Splashbar was an unofficial meeting spot for club members and those attending the convention. Day or night, no matter when you walked by the Splashbar, there were chippers there ready to welcome you and talk chips.

One of the people that spent most of the convention at the bar was an awesome friend Brian Cashman.
Because of his time spent in his own special place at the bar he quickly became known as "Mr Splashbar"

In 2005 I spent many hours at the bar myself including staying up with several other chippers well into the next morning. That night I finished the last bottle of Glenlivet and was told there was NO more left at the Riviera.

When Brian heard the story he said, we should give an award for that and the Splashy Award came into being.

I was awarded the very first Splashy Award the next year in 2006 and show pictures below.

Since then Mr Splashbar made sure the event continued every year with a new honoree each convention.

Now while the Splashbar and Splashys were never official club sponsored events, it was a great time for all and a gathering of friends and chippers that we all looked forward to every convention.

In 2009 the convention moved to the South Point. But that didn't mean the Splash Bar or the splashy awards went away.

The Island bar in front of the casino cage became the new unofficial "Splashbar" and sure enough Brian had his designated seat at the end of the bar.

Sadly Brian passed away in 2017 which was terrible news for the splash bar family.
The following year we have a VERY special Splashys and took donations to fly Brian's wife and family to Vegas. During that event we were able to show his family how much he was loved and missed by his Splashbar family which most of them has never met.

It was a very special night where we each got to tell stories about Brian and how much we loved him.

Not wanting the Splashbar Tradition to go away, I decided to step up and take over as MC and organizer of the Splashys the following year.

This will be our 16th year celebrating the Splashys and while this is not really a club event, the award ceremony is open to all and everyone is encouraged to attend.

Each year we give thanks to our founder Mr Splashbar as well as those splashy faithful that are no longer with us. We also present an award and special chips to each years winner.

This years winner is Scot "Wheelchair Time" Parriott.

So what does it take to win a splashy?
Well for one you need to regularly attend the splashy awards and spend some time at the bar.

Some like myself won the award for drinking too much (Similar to this years winner)

Others did special thinks like Aaron Peacock when he fell into an elevator shaft the prior year.

Some like Chris Carlson are always willing to help with the event and he has been HUGE since Brian's passing.

The 397 secret judges vote and wallah, there is a Splashy Winner.

Why did Scot win the award this year?,, well other than being a great guy and awesome volunteer, your going to have to ask him yourself (if you don't know already)

Now that you know the history or the award and about the Splashbar itself, we hope to see you there in June !!!!!!