David Ruthven and his girlfriend had been sitting in the same spot at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino since 10 a.m.: Just outside the Starbucks, strategically located next to the parking garage, adjacent to the side doors of the Joint, the club where Blink-182 will kick off their reunion tour.
Their goal was to try and meet someone — anyone — from Blink, no matter how long they had to sit there. And then, at about 1:30 this afternoon, their patience paid off: They met Mark Hoppus.
"I kind of just looked and he was walking right there," Ruthven, who lives in Colorado but came to Las Vegas to see his girlfriend and check out tonight's Blink show, laughed. "It was kind of crazy, he just showed up, and then he started taking pictures with people."
So Ruthven, ever resourceful, leapt out of his seat and fought his way to the front of the crowd, where Hoppus (flanked by a burly bodyguard) was shaking hands and taking pics. After a minute of waiting, Ruthven and Karli Tanner (who, Ruthven pointed out, was not his girlfriend) got to shake hands with Hoppus and even got a picture.
"He was nice, just in a hurry," Ruthven said. "Still, it's cool he stopped to take pictures."
"I was super-excited! I've always wanted to meet him," Tanner added.
Of course, Ruthven's girlfriend missed out on the action — she was dropping off a handmade Blink-182 sign she and a friend had made. ("It says 'Give Us Your Drumsticks,'" her friend explained. "It always works. We have like 20 sticks.") But at least she'll have the picture to stare at. And they'll all be going to Blink's show tonight, too, after some scoring tickets off Craigslist (they paid $75 per ducat). So, all in all, a pretty great day … and proof that patience really is a virtue.
Oh, and for the record, I am told Hoppus smells "fresh and clean."
Follow tonight's Blink-182 tour kickoff show on Twitter! Follow the show live in Las Vegas at @mtvnews.