Hurricanes fans find their way to Vegas for Game 6: ‘It’s a chance of a lifetime’

For many, watching a pro sports team hoisting a championship trophy is a bucket-list item at best, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity if given the chance.

With the Carolina Hurricanes one win away from a Stanley Cup title, several Triangle-area fans took the financial plunge to fill that bucket, including Steven Jackson of Raleigh.

When the Hurricanes defeated the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday evening to go up 3-2 in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final, Jackson knew he had to go to Las Vegas to see Game 6. His family and friends had discussed the possibility of the trip while tailgating before the game, and now it was time to make it happen.

So, while his daughter Charlotte drove home, Jackson was on the phone looking up flights.

“I woke up the next morning, and it just felt right,” Jackson said. “Like, let’s do this. It’s a chance in a lifetime. I might not get this opportunity again.”

And so on early Saturday morning, Jackson, Charlotte, Charlotte’s boyfriend, Trevor Cooling, and Brian Dean, all decked out in Canes gear, boarded an American flight to Las Vegas via Phoenix.

Jackson had taken Charlotte to Game 3 in Las Vegas, and they found themselves staying at the team hotel, where Charlotte ran into Canes Coach Rod Brind’Amour in the hotel’s gym. Going to Game 6, Jackson said, was also a chance to redeem themselves — the Canes lost Game 3.

“I couldn’t imagine myself missing this game” Jackson said.

The four hope to take a sign in telling Vegas Coach John Tortorella that they brought his clothes with them. (Tortorella said after Game 5 that he was going to leave his clothes at the Raleigh hotel since they would be going back to Raleigh for a Game 7).

“It is a pinch-your-skin kind of moment, let’s soak it in and make the best of it and bring it (the Cup) back to North Carolina,” Jackson said.

This story was originally published June 14, 2026 at 1:33 PM.