One Degree from Curly Sue

Picture this: it is Saturday evening, and Buckwalter is in one of his employer's practice studios working on a recently purchased book of Coltrane transcriptions. Outside, there is a sudden ruckus, and the Madame appears in the doorway of the studio. "Guess who just walked in," she says.

"Who?"

"Jim Belushi and Kenny G."

And it actually was. There's a new casino in town -- more on that later -- and these two C-List celebrities had been invited down to party at the opening of the new nightclub there. Jim was in need of three harmonicas in case he wanted to sit in with whatever band was playing there, and Kenny G... well, I'm guessing he just needed a friend. So now I can add Belushi and G to the list of mostly-famous celebrities that I've spotted in my life. The list is topped by Robert Loggia, but that's a story for another time.

In other news, Station Casinos' newest property, Red Rock Casino, opened a mile or so from our apartment last week, and we have sampled it extensively. It is beautiful, fabulous, and altogether the most Strip-like off-Strip casino I've ever seen. The stakes at the table games -- when we finally found them -- were respectable (although not as delightful as the Suncoast's fifty cent roulette), and the slots are looser than Paris Hilton. Case in point: one twenty cent spin on a particularly loose machine unlocked bonus after outrageous bonus, and I walked away $32 richer. On a penny slot, that's one hell of a pay out.