Las Vegas 2008 CAC

I had left a day early for the annual reunion of the CAC that was held again in Las Vegas. The city that never sleeps and is always full of new things. Last year in April, when I left, the new Wynn casino was just ready to open. Its grandeur and beauty stood out like a diamond in a field of stones. It beckoned to all passing on the strip in the same place that the Desert Inn stood. Now, it has a partner to be opened this fall by the name of Encore.

Standing just as tall and amid the same opulence as Steve Wynn placed on his first masterpiece. It is really amazing, the beauty that is happening to the strip that has seen many changes in the past few decades. Soon, the north end of the strip will have another jewel in her crown as a huge building is taking shape in the spot where the El Rancho was. This is across the street from the Riviera, where our reunions have been held for most of the past eight years.

I had a wonderful breakfast with the Ortons at Denny's near their home. I can still remember crossing old Route 66 in the mid 60's and getting a 49’er breakfast at the many Denny's that dotted the southwest. That breakfast, by the way, was only 49 cents and included all the coffee you could drink. I had the Grand Slam and saved a few pieces of bacon for Keelie and Dash, the two guard dogs at the Orton compound.

After a great morning, I called to see if my room was ready at the Circus Circus across the street from the Riviera, and, a short time later, Barry took me to get checked in for the next four nights of fun. After checking in, I decided to check and see if any of the “old timers” had gotten in at the Riviera.

A lot of new things had happened at the Riviera that had been host to a lot of superstars over the years, including the late Liberace. The area that we used to have our reception area at had been converted into a large sized pool table arcade that brought in professional players to give instructions and sell their wares at.

I wandered down the hallway past where the rooms were that our banquets were held and finally got to the area where we would be set up the next morning. Much to my dismay, there was a chess tournament going on, and no old retired or new wrestlers were at any of the tables.

I decided to return to my suite across Las Vegas Boulevard and relax for the rest of the night. I made a few calls and found out that the guy sharing my suite had just landed and that he would be at the hotel in a short time. I then got a call from Bill White, and he wondered where he was. He told me he was staying at the same hotel and wondered if we would still be making the trip to Sheplers to get new suits for the banquet.

We met, and he told me that our suites were in different towers and that he wanted to get things straightened out down at the front desk. Before you knew it, we were off to Sahara Road to one of the bigger Sheplers stores in Las Vegas. There are three in town, and this was the better stocked ones.

Travis, Bill and I parked in the closest area we could get and proceeded to get busy in the store. I wanted to get a new suit, and Bill was looking for a new leather coat. Before long, I had one of the most beautiful suits in my hands, and, much to my surprise, I had lost some weight, as the suit hung on me very loosely. My luck, as it was, I couldn't find another in my size. That left me a choice of buying another dark colored suit or just get a sport coat and slacks with a matching shirt.

We had a lot of fun with the check out person, who was quite befuddled with out good hearted nature. Bill completed his sale and was given a 30% off coupon for his next purchase. Since he was probably not going to return for some time, he shared the coupon with me. It saved me nearly $40 off my coat. The clerk then gave me the same coupon, and I told Bill to return his items and get the sale cost with the coupon. It saved him nearly $45.

The poor girl was getting very agitated at us for our antics, but we were just trying to save a few $$$ so we could play the slot machines when we got back to the strip. The store manager thanked us for our business, and we returned to the hotel to ready ourselves with a huge buffet dinner.

Following a great meal at the Circus Buffet, we returned to my suite, where I unveiled a few dozen movies that I had brought along to watch on my laptop. At 9:30, we decided it was time to retire, and Bill and Travis went their ways, and I sunk into a deep sleep in my huge comfortable bed.

Monday morning, we met at the Riviera at 9 a.m. for breakfast at Katy's. We were joined by C.C. Starr from Arizona. I dined on a huge plate of my favorites, biscuits and gravy, while everyone else filled up on their delicacies. Setting across the room were Terry Funk, J.J. Dillon and Bruce Swayze. Also, Fr. Jason Sanderson was with Ross Hart, and near the pool sat George Shire and Joyce Paustian.

At 10 a.m. we went to the reception area, where they were still frantically setting up displays for our room. The previous people with the Chess tournament had not been cleaned out by the hotel, and everyone was rushing to get things in order. I met with Red Bastien, former CAC President, and Nick Bockwinkel, our club President, along with Karl Lauer, who is in charge of Vice. (an old joke ... he is our Vice President and was always telling people that he took care of all the vice while Nick took care of duties)

To be continued ...

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers

2003 BWC Hall of Fame Inductee
2004 CAC Hall of Fame Inductee
2006 LWA Hall of Fame Inductee
2007 TCCW Hall of Fame Honoree