I need to get one of these.

Okay, not really…but it’ll definitely help me get a new one if I play my cards right, literally.

For the past year or so, Scoot has been complaining about his TV’s reception. Apparently it gets “snowy” whenever he watches it however I’ve never seen this Scooterian phenomenon. We’ve watched the entire first season of “Wonder Showzen”, several NBA games, and a classic episode of “Married…with Children” on his set and I’ve yet to see any snow. Anyway, I digress.

After listening to his numerous gripe sessions, Codding and I flat out asked him why he doesn’t just buy a new set one day while we were out having lunch. Those of you that know my boy Scoot know that nothing — and I mean NOTHING — ever has a simple answer in his world. He then began to lay out the reasons as to why he won’t just go buy another TV: (1) he has to have a specific sized TV for his entertainment center, (2) it has to be a specific color to match his other electronic equipment, (3) it has to be an HDTV, and (4) apparently HDTVs cost billions and billions of dollars.

Later on that day, Codding went to BestBuy.com and found several sets that meet Scoot’s criteria and were priced anywhere between $350-$900. One set, the best value of the bunch, was a small 13″ Pretty Princess set which we all know would have been a perfect addition to Scoot’s television viewing pleasure. And God knows there is pleasure in Scooter’s television watching time because he has every channel that cable has to offer. Yes, every channel. That’s a whole other story in itself. Again, I digress.

Well, it dawned on me how Scoot can get a “free” television set that meets all his criteria. I located the one on BestBuy’s site and showed it to him. “That’ll work!” It was then that I sprang my idea on him on how to get it. We’ve decided that we’re going to do it so, hopefully, in the end we’ll both come out of this with nice new HDTVs. How does it work? I’m glad you asked.

Every Tuesday night after bowling, we will go to Harry’s for a beer with the gang and then head off to the Ameristar. Armed with $100, we will each play blackjack at the same table until our money has either turned into $300 or disappeared completely. If we reach the $300 mark, the original $100 goes back into our pocket and the $200 in winnings goes into a special envelope. Win five weeks in a row and Scoot will own a new HDTV…for “free.” It’s as simple as that.

Other rules? If you lose three weeks in a row, you’re out…no exceptions. Otherwise, you just keep gambling on each week until you’ve won the grand it’ll take to get the set. Now as you may or may not know, Scoot’s not exactly lucky when it comes to playing blackjack. But I have a feeling that this run will be different.