tive than usual. (Imagine!) People overflow the dance floor and tables around a small stage. I am, according to a bartender, witness to the premier over-60s-singles scene in Vegas. The pace on the floor is an easy mosey — old friends and lovers taking a turn to the rhythms of a one-man country band. All you need is a gentle sway. Country on Thursday and Friday. Saturday, Jerry Tiffy does old Italian hits — when I ask the manager what that means he says, “You know,” and croons a few bars of “That’s Amoré.” Sunday afternoon is polka and the evening features a steel guitar and vocalist duo. Jack Berweger, Skyline barman for 30 years, leads me to a black-and-white photo depicting a tiny shack of a building. Lettering proclaims “Dixie’s Bar Casino Texas Chili” across the side and “Dance Band Fri Sat Sun/Dice 10¢” on top. “That’s how this place started,” says Jack. “In the ’40s.” G r e e n mi nd The Emerald Island (120 Market St.), ablaze with light in quiet downtown Henderson, has undertaken an aggressive transformation. The result: a delightfully incongruous physique. An Art Deco turret straight out of Gotham beckons into the night. The rest of the casino, inside and out — even the loading dock — is like a community theater production of Hamlet. Or the Secret Garden. Or a Yeats poem. Endless murals of decaying stone walls, distant castles, rolling dales and a few swords for good measure. But the patrons have come for the entertainment of gambling. A lake of machines fills the room. A corner of display cases and shelving glitters — watches, wallets, jewelry — an adult arcade. I sign right up as a player. Every Thursday, players line up to pick a free gift, but no free play. The restaurant serves corned beef, ice-cream fudge pie and award-winning barbecue 24/7. I take my chances with the Enchanted Garden machine and my earlier winnings disappear. The words of a man I met bellied up to a video poker machine ring in my ear: “Make your peace with how much you’re going to lose. Never go beyond that.” I’ve lost my dollar. I’m exhausted from all the dopamine surges, and I’ve made my peace — with, for at least one night, letting Vegas do what it does best: promise fun and riches, lull you into admiring the layers of flash and attraction, and trick you into giving in, for a moment, to the embrace of hope. Just don’t bring more than a dollar.
Physical therapy brings motion to life. Did you know a
physical therapist could help you:
> improve
your mobility and motion
> reduce
pain without medication in many cases
> avoid
surgery in many cases
You’ve heard about physical therapy, but what can it bring to your life? With extensive education and clinical expertise, a physical therapist will evaluate and diagnose your condition. He or she will create a customized plan of care to either prevent a condition from occurring or get you back to doing the things you like to do. Physical therapists graduating today hold either a master’s or a clinical doctorate degree. You can make an appointment with a physical therapist directly. Learn more and find a physical therapist in your area at www.MoveForwardPT.com.
Nevada Physical Therapy Association
702-492-6872 www.nvapta.org Email: info@nvapta.org
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