CAC 2006 Part Two

I had traveled to Las Vegas to not only see Bob Orton Sr. and his family, but also to be at the 41st annual convention of the Cauliflower Alley Club.

Bob, Rhonda and I had gone to Mt. Charleston, some 45 minutes from their compound near the north-south expressway that moves a lot of traffic through the Las Vegas valley.

We began Thursday morning by going to the Plaza Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas. It was formerly owned by Jackie Gaugan, who also owned The Las Vegas club and El Cortez casinos, among others.

The splendiferous majesty of the building that encompasses nearly two city blocks at the north end of Fremont street where Main Street joins it. The two high rise towers where most of the rooms are on both ends of the complex. The center has the Casino and various businesses in it.

The newly renovated coffee shop is where we started the day by having a super breakfast of egg omelet and fresh fruit platters, served with mounds of freshly baked rolls and biscuits. There was even a huge bowl of chicken gravy, along with a platter of bacon and sausages.

Following a wonderful breakfast, Rita and Rhonda went to the slot machines while Bob and I went to the third floor to meet with the members of our other family. It was as if a president or a prime minister or a king had entered the room when Bob drove his motorized cart into the reception area of the CAC.

He began to get handshakes from everybody in the room as they came forward to renew their friendship with the grandfather of Randy and the father of Cowboy Bob Jr. and Barry O. Flash cameras and video cams were running, taking all this into the archives and memories of every fan in the building.

I wandered into the training area, where a ring had been set up and the young lions were being put through a training session run by Les Thatcher and Scott Casey. Many of the masters that had come to the event were in attendance, like Manny "Raging Bull" Fernandez and Tiger Conway Jr., along with Harley Race and Larry Hennig. They all gave their insight on how the students were doing and offered advice and suggestions to improve the students’ learning process.

It wasn't long before I felt a huge pair of arms come around my back and grab my chest with the authority of Goliath. I turned, and it was C.C. Starr and Billy Anderson, who had made the drive up from Arizona to be in the middle of things. Almost instantly, I was challenged to a game of Cribbage. Before you knew it, we had a group surrounding the table where the tournaments would be held on Friday and Saturday.

C.C. was a good player and had learned a lot since we played last year. He gave me a good run for my money and then beat me. I then felt another couple of huge hands on my shoulders and turned to see Bill White standing over me, stating that he also would like to feed me my head on the cribbage board. He was joined by his family for the event, as he was one of the legends being honored this year.

Bill and I went head-to-head on the card table, and I was lucky to get a win over him. The Destroyer came into the area and began to pick up the donations for the cribbage tournament. All the proceeds would benefit the educational scholarship fund that the CAC has set up.

We had played for almost five hours before we broke up for a meal. I really needed the break, as it gave me a chance to go around the room myself and say hello to all the friends I know that attend on a regular basis.

Bob Orton Sr. and his family had returned to the Orton compound, where Ox Baker and his wife Peggy had come to visit. Ox is one of the people that is in Barry's newest movie.

I retired to my suite on the 12th floor and called it an evening after being up again for 20 hours. It just seems like, every time I go to Las Vegas, I can't find a clock, but then, who needs to tell time when you’re having fun with your other family.

Friday morning started by going to the buffet breakfast. I joined Killer Brooks, Don Fargo, Bob Geigel and Bill Kersten at a six-foot-round table. I chose a huge plate of fresh fruit including grapes, oranges, watermelon and cantaloupe. Then, I went through the food section of the buffet and selected eggs, bacon and waffles topped with sugar free syrup.

After a wonderful breakfast, we ventured back to the third floor, where things were just starting to get into gear for the biggest day of the reception area. Most of the people that would be attending the Saturday night event would be checking in today.

As I was standing there talking to Tiger Conway Sr., I felt a nudge on my leg and turned to see Mad Dog Vachon smiling at me as he began to tell me "It's a DOG eat DOG world" in that copyrighted growl of his. He asked if I was ready to get warmed up on the cribbage board. He and his brother, Paul "Butcher" Vachon, are probably without a doubt two of the best players in the game.

I told Mad Dog and Butcher that I would come down in a while where they had set up a display area in the nostalgia room. They were anxiously awaiting the fans and history buffs that would be coming through the doors in just an hour.

To be continued…

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