Since Thanksgiving when we were in Vegas visiting Mr. W’s family, “the brothers” were working on a Christmas Scam to pull on their parents. It started with Gamer Bro asking Mr. W, “Hey, you wanna pitch in and get Mom and Dad a Wii for Christmas?” I wondered aloud if they’d ever play it. Gamer Bro said that his parents have said that they want one, and that a lot of “old folks homes” have them in their recreation room for fun and exercise. Gamer Bro got their Rocker Bro involved, and then said they were going to call their Chicago Bro to join in, too. After the four brothers all gave the thumbs-up, their parents decided to come to us for Christmas. Mr. W called Gamer Bro and asked if we should just buy the Wii here and give it to their parents, but Gamer Bro already bought it, so it’s in Vegas. How to get it to their parents for Christmas?

Gamer Bro boxed up the Wii and the extra accessories he got, wrapped it up, and put a tag on it that made it look like it was a gift to Mr. W from Gamer Bro. And then he got THE PARENTS to transport it themselves! The parents asked what the present was, and Gamer Bro lied, “I got him an XBox Live access card. It’s the size of a credit card but I put wood blocks and bricks in a box to throw him off.” So when the parents got here, they said to Mr. W, “This is for you from [Gamer Bro.] Isn’t it HEAVY?” Mr. W wondered aloud what it was. They kept making a point of, “It’s heavy! Be careful, it’s HEAVY.”

Just now on Christmas morning, Mr. W sat his parents down, put the box in front of them, and said he was gonna open his present. Mr. W’s father warned him again that it’s heavy. Suddenly, Mr. W ripped the tag off and explained that it’s ACTUALLY to THEM from their four sons and their families. I snapped photos of their shocked expressions as they learned they were duped, having lugged and driven their own present here from Vegas. They seemed happy with the Wii, and Mr. W’s mother warned her husband, “I’m gonna be hitting you playing this.” The father’s phone call to Gamer Bro after opening was a simple voice mail, “Hey, thanks for the Wii, you con.”