If you are in the Tampa area, and interested in an amusing night out, stop in any night at The L.A. Hangout, a bar in Lutz, Florida. The name of the bar has nothing to do with California; the L.A. stands for Lutz Area Hangout. The bar is home to one of the largest Beer Pong parties in the United States.
For those visiting Florida from Germany and the U.K., Beer Pong is a simple game, really. You line up cups of beer across a special Beer Pong table. You then throw a ping pong ball across the table. If you get the ball into the cup, you drink. Kinda like the American college folk game Quarters, but it’s with ping pong balls. Like the lady says in the movie Priscilla Queen of the Desert, “I can perform!” Except now YOU can perform. You just have to get it in the Solo Cup.
The bar has a full week’s lineup of stuff, and is a great place for foreign visitors to get a good taste of Florida fun. Wednesday night is trivia night. Thursday is nickel beer biker night. The website puts it well. “Yes beer is a nickel… NUFF SAID! We are busy and you WILL have fun. Period.” Friday night is country night, with pig roasts and giant 4X4s in the parking lots.
The beer pong is serious, and begins at 10 p.m. On Sunday nights, Time magazine, which recently featured the bar, reports that 20 to 40 teams compete in the game. To play, it costs $5 per person per team. You drink free until you are knocked out of the tourney. So bring a driver to take you home or some cash so they can roll you into a cab
L.A. Hangout, 16411 N. Florida Ave. Lutz, FL 33549, (813) 964-5631, www.thehangoutbar.com
Editor’s Note: It’s 10 miles from Busch Gardens.
Second Editor’s Note: There is some discussion about the image, which is the Beer Pong image from Wikipedia Commons. Apparently Kevin thinks it is him.
