Published January 29, 2004, in issue #0304 of The Hook

BY LINCOLN ROSS BARBOUR

On Friday, January 23, a little bit of Las Vegas spun into our primarily G-rated hometown. Although there were no topless revues, cocktail waitresses, lions, tigers, or over-the-top magic hacks, the Omni Hotel did host a bit of good old gamblin'-- just for kicks (and charity)!

UVA Children's Medical Center, in an effort to spice up their fund raising, brought together a host of corporate sponsors for a Viva Las Vegas Night. The $50 entrance fee got you in, fed you, and gave you some play money.

Throughout the night, you could buy more play money with real money if your luck wasn't so hot. There were also giveaways galore. From gas grills to diamonds, a lot of lucky people went home richer.

By far the best game of the night was Horse Track Racing. Six horse statues were laid across a checkered racetrack. A volunteer rolled three dice, and the horse statue on the number moved one space. Sounds boring, right? Wrong. People went absolutely nuts, hooting and hollering just like at a real horse race. You'd have thought Secretariat was on the track.

Finally, what would a Vegas Night be without an Elvis impersonator? Nowhere near as much fun. Yes, in all his glory, there was the King (or someone who looked kind of like him if you squinted a little). He gave a wonderful performance with all his heart.

A little bit of campy fun at the Omni. Who'd have thought it?

It's Vegas Night Baby!

Joe Massino of Massino's Casinos Inc. gets the crowd going.

Westley Love grabs like a madman for prizes in the air-filled slot machine.

A hunka hunka burnin' of love for ya

Mike Foley announces the start of the horse race.

Teresa and Noel Culbertson hope for the big win.

#

>> Back to The HooK front page