Posted By: Squeezylabeef
Thanks for all the replies folks, despite the handwringing with some of you.  

The course of action appears to be a) do not contact friend during visit to his city.  The odds of running into him are small.  If for some unlikely reason I bump into him, I tried calling but couldn't reach him.  He never returned the messages I left with his secretary.  Wife brings up our wild night.  He looks puzzled and plays along or denies.  If the latter, I admit my gambling habit later.  I drove to the local casino and pumped some cash into the slot machines.  "Sorry honey, you know how i like to play the lottery.  I just wanted to try and win something big."  Should cover it for the most part.

The local friend gets prepped on my gambling prior to the next professinal get-together potentially involving the wife.

No involvement of friends ever again.

Any thoughts on that plan?