We consider ourselves to be fairly intelligent people. We've got the college wall hangings diplomas, the professional(ish) jobs. But sometimes, we do and enjoy things that would lead you to think we're not the brightest crayons in the box. These are our guilty pleasures, and we've come to accept the fact that, in spite of ourselves, we're going to enjoy them. Immensely. One of this Phillyist's biggest guilty pleasures is Rock of Love, the VH1 reality show featuring ex-Poison frontman Bret Michaels (MySpace) looking for lots of dirty, dirty sex from women half his age love. Part of our affinity for the show is Bret's thoroughly tongue-in-cheek approach to it. He knows that, for Christ's sake, he was the lead singer of Poison. How seriously can he really take himself? And for the record, we will admit that Poison's "music" is another guilty pleasure of ours. How can you not love songs like "Talk Dirty to Me" and "Unskinny Bop?"

So, because Bret Michaels always puts a big ol' smile on our faces, we got really excited when we heard that he'd be playing at the Atlantic City House of Blues, in the Showboat casino. We don't need much of an excuse to go to Atlantic City in the first place. Although, with gas prices what they are [puke], we haven't gone nearly as often as we used to, or as often as we'd like. But Bret Michaels gives us plenty of reason to brave the shore traffic and the $60 it apparently costs to fill our gas tank these days.

To sweeten the pot, though, it's not just the Bret Michaels concert we're going to make the trip for. Oh no, there's going to be a triple shot of Bret on Friday evening. Showboat will be giving away Bret's customized, tricked-out 2001 Mercedes SL, and Bret himself will be announcing the winner's name at 8:00 p.m. So we recommend you cut out of the office early (or just take the day off) on Friday and get down to Showboat for some gaming, because what you have to do to win is be a Total Rewards member (and if you're not, don't worry, because it takes about 1 minute to sign up at the casino), and earn some Total Rewards points by playing at Showboat anytime from 6:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (The number of "entries" into the giveaway you earn is based on how many points you earn throughout the day.) So there's Bret event #1.

Bret event #2 is the concert at the House of Blues. Do we really need to give you any more motivation to check out the awesomeness there? And finally, there's the Bret Michaels nightcap. There will be an after-party for the concert at the pool at Harrah's. Bret will be performing two songs and will be doing the rock star hang-out thing. We visited the pool for the Tila Tequila party during our last visit, and while the crowd there was populated by vapid imbeciles not really people we prefer to party with, the space was really kickin'. We hope the crowd for the Bret Michaels after-party will be much more our speed. The doors at the pool open at 10 p.m. and admission is $25. Rumor has it that Bret's appearance will be at roundabout midnight.

So, Friday night. You. Us. Atlantic City. We're gonna party like it's 1988.

Bret Michaels
Atlantic City House of Blues at Showboat Casino, 801 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ (map)
Friday, June 13, 2008
Doors 8:00 p.m. (Bret hits the stage ~9:00 p.m.)
Tickets: $37-$47