“Is there anything else people can do at casinos – besides, you know, winning?”
Here’s the promo copy from Amazon:
Want to get back to Las Vegas when it was FUN? Pastor Trey Coyle has father issues – while Sarno’s Ghost, his partner-in-Sin-City-slapstick, just has issues…
The trick to being a trickster is not trickiness, it’s persistence. You’ll never get a better laugh than the one you reap from simply tickling someone who trusts you. What’s the secret sauce? The indescribably-delicious comedy magic? Keep tickling.
“So I race in the back of this casino, and there’s your friend, and he’s on his knees and I swear the man is praying to these giant statues of… I don’t know what to call them… The Pride of Lubbock, maybe.”
I grinned. There ain’t no snob like an East Texas snob. “You were at Harrah’s – and, yeah, I think Sarno’s Ghost was playing with you. The gods of his idolatry are Buck and Winnie Greenback, and their little dog Chip.”
It’s a gorgeous piece of statuary, for what that’s worth, public art expressing this subliminal marketing message, in its abbreviated form: “And the horse you rode in on, Jasper!”
Buck and Winnie are dripping with money, first because that’s just what happens when you come to Vegas, and second because, “Who the hell are you to call me gauche?” Buck is settled, satisfied with his spending displays, but Winnie is just about to ask an I-hate-to-be-a-bother question: “Is there anything else people can do at casinos – besides, you know, winning?”
The simple, subtle message? Throwing away your earnings at Harrah’s is the perfect revenge to take on all those snooty know-it-alls in your life. The casino takes your money as your ransom on your own irrationality, then gets you to laugh about it. You can call it Carney, and I’ll join you in that. But it’s art, too – indelible in memory and deviously persuasive.
“So we ran around that statue for a while. He’d slink over one way, so I’d run around to catch him, but then he’d scurry over to the other side. There were people gathered around, and I remember hearing a little boy who couldn’t stop giggling.”
“Benny Hill called,” I said. “He wants his sight gags back.”
“Everything that lasts is a family, and every game is Poker – Liar’s Poker.”
Watch as itinerant raconteur – that’s hobo to you – Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Willie takes you on a frolicking adventure in Las Vegas – with the world’s biggest televangelist, Pastor Trey Coyle.
And here’s the last page of the book, the call to action:
If you liked this little book, please do these three things:
1. Review it on Amazon.com. Reviewed books are read books.
2. Tell your friends. Where would they be without your sound guidance?
3. Buy more of my books! It makes a big difference when I go to the supermarket.
Thanks for your attention, no matter what!
–Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Willie
Of all the awful crap that happened this Summer – hurricanes, earthquakes, plagues of liarcasts – Las Vegas got to me the worst, I guess because I love that crazy-stupid place so much.
Only time can heal these wounds, but if you want to laugh for an hour, come and laugh at Las Vegas the way you remember it.
How? By winning big, of course.
