Meeting the Daughter of the Ex-Lions' QB

Our Sunday began in a typical quiet fashion, with an 8 a.m. service at the Lakes Lutheran Church.

Because of the time change, both Helen and I were moving a bit slowly. After church Helen sent me down to the Strip to see if any of the casinos were giving away money and, surprisingly, some of them were.

I parked at Bally's and checked the poker room, but found nothing interesting there and a line of 6 names ahead of me. So I crossed Flamingo and strolled into Bill's Gambling Hall where I won $25 playing blackjack. At the same table was a young couple from Grand Rapids who were here for a 4-day trip. The young guy was pretty surprised that I was here for five months and didn't think he could possibly "do Vegas" for that long. While at Bill's I also made a $30 hoops bet - NC and Duke to score under 165 points. That was a winner for $27 + $30.

Then I walked down through the Imperial Palace and into Harrah's where I sat down alone at a $5 table. The dealer, Heather, did the usual chitchat about "where are you from?" and I told her Michigan. She asked if I had grown up there and I said yes.

"Maybe you've heard of my Dad," she said. "He was a quarterback for the Lions back in the '60s."

"Oh really, what's his name."

"Karl Sweetan."

Of course, I had heard of Karl Sweetan. Right away I told her I best remembered him for a 99-yard TD pass to Pat Studstill.

She explained that her Dad later played for the Rams, then in Canada and finally ended up back in Las Vegas as a dealer himself. He died young, at 57, of heart troubles. She's followed in his footsteps in the gaming industry. She seemed sort of sad and mentioned that she really didn't have anything from her Dad's FB career, except one football card. Her older brother, who she doesn't speak with, got the other stuff and eventually sold it, she said.

Anyway, I ended up losing $100 at Harrah's and said goodbye to the Ex-Lions' QB's daughter.

I continued my trek to the Venetian where I played bj and won back the $100, finishing the day with a profit of $25 from blackjack and $27 from my hoops wager. A fun, interesting day on the Strip.

While I was strolling the Strip, Helen was on the phone with Natalie, watching TV and reading. I got home about 4:30 and made us a five-cheese lasagna dinner (thanks Stouffers!) with a salad. Very tasty.

Today our adventure continues...