FATHER'S DAY and MEMORIES of the STARDUST

My Andrew, and many of his friends,

graduated middle school this week. I congratulate them all as well as the faculty and administrators that made the Grizzly GTMS experience, less grisly.

THE OFFICIAL ANDREW FAN CLUB AND SUPPORT TEAM

This week also included Father's Day and my family was kind enough to bestow upon me a LeRoy Neiman lithograph; celebrating the existence of my former employer, the now defunct Stardust Casino (1958-2006).

I frequently make the point that in other generations, young men who didn't know what they wanted to be, enlisted in military. However, due to the fiasco in Vietnam, baby-boomers were less anxious to serve.

I had no direction coming out of college and the gaming industry became a nice fit. You could say that casino work made a man out of me. And my five-year Las Vegas career wouldn't have been complete without my Stardust time.

In my era 1979-1984, Las Vegas casinos were divided into three main categories: toilets where a 40/hour week would gross less than $175.00/week, better downtown jobs where you could gross around $375.00/week and strip casinos where you should make at least $700.00/week.
Although the Stardust was near the bottom of the strip casinos, it was a great job. I was fortunate to get hired there without "juice" and fifteen months experience. Back in my pre-burn-out days, I can say without sarcasm that my time there was a two-year joy ride.

To illustrate the Stardust's positive influence on me, I have said on millions of occasions that; I loved working there so much--that by my second day off, I couldn't wait to get back to the action. Okay, I was a crazy idealistic kid but its no exaggeration to say I had countless adventures and met an ever-spinning revolving door of characters...so much so that my stories are filled with them.

The lithograph will be prominently hung above my computer work station. In that position, I hope my writing will continue to be inspired by it.

Who knows, maybe next Father's Day I can get the replica Maltese Falcon statuette that I also covet.