Tough gig, being Santa. Sure, little kids love you, and you get summers off, but what about all those department store impostors who report to you? Pain in the ass. And the elves, man: Let's just say that good help is hard to find. That last month, though, is the real bitch. Yeah, Santa's got production managers and QC people, but hey, Christmas is basically on him.
Imagine the pressure.
That's why St. Nick likes to blow off a little steam before the rush and go back to the North Pole a little busted up, but refreshed and ready to go.
And guess what? Santa Claus' favorite debauchery destination is Tampa Bay. The guy brings an elf along and goes buck wild: Sex, drugs, violence, theft, gambling, maybe even a little rock 'n' roll.
And he likes that the cops feel his pain and look the other way. Until this year, that is. When Santa went A Little Too Far.

Plus, really good Santas
This article appears in Dec 5-11, 2007.

