Casino night turns the West wild

Folks from across Sisters Country - and beyond - gathered at the legendary waterin' hole, Brand 33 Restaurant, on Saturday night to slap down the cards and roll the dice.

Cowboys mingled with mountain men and saloon girls (and one very attentive and disapproving member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union) in a Wild West extravaganza to benefit Sisters Park & Recreation District (SPRD).

The Wild West Casino Night featured blackjack, craps, roulette and Texas Hold 'Em, all provided by Team Casino, an event production team out of Bend. "Funny money" crossed the felt at a furious rate as the gamblers helped fill the coffers of the local organization.

"I thought it was a great event," said Anne Heath, SPRD's business manager. "Lots of people said, 'This is so much fun; you have to do this every year.'"

Among those who pledged to be back was a group of dentists in town for a conference at FivePine. The group includes many Western enthusiasts, and they turned out in blanket capotes and fur caps. They told Heath that if the event was scheduled next year on their conference weekend, they'd be back

for it.

That's exactly the kind of buy-in SPRD was looking for with the first-year event.

"We wanted to get it established," Heath said. "We wanted people to come; we wanted people to have a good time."

About 140 people attended, and they enjoyed learning craps at a central table run by pit boss Travis Fryback. Russell Nute and Donna James of 99.7 The Mountain served as emcees and Nute provided music.

The Nugget's correspondent had a successful run at blackjack, even though everything he knows about the game comes from an Ian Tyson song: "Never hit 17 when you play against the dealer/For you know the odds won't ride with you..."

Outside, aspiring cowboys tried their hand at roping dummy calves, while inside, Sheriff Bonnie Malone scooped up miscreants and stuck them in jail, demanding high bail to spring them. Virtually every person swept up in her dragnet pleaded innocence and solid social standing, but Malone was merciless. She was also noisy, punctuating announcements of each capture with shots from her cap revolver.

"Sheriff Bonnie was a hoot," Heath said. "She got into her role."

The event made a modest profit, which, according Heath, will seed a reserve fund for the district through its foundation.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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