SAYING GOODBYE TO A SHRINE …

Every good thing must come to an end — so they say.   Bobby and I are here at the Sectional in Las Vegas at the Riviera.   I was not around in the early days (although I spent part of my honeymoon at the Flamingo in ’63).   I believe before the Riviera, the tournaments (Sectionals) were held from about 1984 to the very late nineties at The Union Plaza and were run primarily by Martha Beecher and Grace Matthews.   They were extended from four days to seven because of their enormous buildup in popularity.   In fact, I understand their success rate improved for the Spring Sectional (300%), Summer (400% to 1,000 tables) and Fall (200%) over that period and each were awarded a plaque for such a tremendous feat.   Apparently, then the tournaments were moved to the present site.

Sadly, though the Riviera boasts a tremendous history in the entertainment field (and attractive bridge tournaments), the people presently in charge have announced they are moving on to Bally’s — not too far away, initiating their new home with the Regional in June — a couple weeks before the Bergen-Cohen Reunion Seminar at The Wynn.   Las Vegas is a popular site — even with the present economy.

Since Bobby and I live in a delightful suburb called Summerlin (far from the maddening traffic of the Strip), our only missions here are to pick up out of town guests staying ‘downtown’ or to attend the local tournaments where we are as I write.   The attendance was good yesterday as not only are the bridge devotees in this area very upbeat and bridge-crazy (not all bad)  — but many motor from local states (or even fly in) for the fun of the bridge and the gambling.    So Friday night we will bid The Riviera a fond farewell and look forward to our debut at Bally’s, which I hear is adjacent (and connected) to ‘Paris,’ a rather ‘new’ hotel/casino in comparison to the legends of the fifties when this city was more like a ghost town.