Game of chance

Christine Carrillo

It started on a bus trip to Las Vegas when Bill Franklin stood up and

asked, “Does anyone like to play Scrabble?”

Gloria raised her hand and responded, “I do.” And, as they say, the

rest is history.

That bus trip, organized through the Costa Mesa Senior Center, brought

the Franklins, both in their early 70s, together and, after a year of

courtship, the two married in 1996.

Since then, they have attended casino openings throughout Las Vegas

and attended their latest opening Monday night.

With no casino openings scheduled in the near future, the Franklins’

hobby hit an abrupt end, but it won’t slow them down.

From dancing to traveling, playgoing to gambling, the Costa Mesa

couple has kept their six-year marriage active.

“I read two newspapers every day looking for things we can do,” Bill

said. “People always wonder how I find things out, and I tell them it’s

all right there.”

And the two have been right there for every casino opening over the

last six years.

Having stood with anxious crowds of thousands pushing their way

through the casino doors at such openings as the Monte Carlo, New York

New York, Bellagio, Venetian, Paris, Mandalay Bay, Aladdin, The Palms and

Trump 29 in Coachella Valley, the Franklins completed their 10th casino

opening run at the Pechanga Hotel and Casino in Temecula.

Being a retired travel agent of 22 years, Bill has always had an

interest in travel and hotels.

“I had always fantasized about being the first person in a hotel,”

Bill said.

And it was everything he thought it would be.

While the couple attends the hotel openings, enjoying table poker and

dollar Wheel of Fortune slots, they don’t always stay in the hotels they

help christen.

They often can’t afford to.

Their frequent trips haven’t put more than $1,198 winnings in their

pockets at a time, but they have had their perks.

Bill, who frequently asks guests if he can see their rooms, managed to

get a $2,650 a night suite for $39 a night, Gloria said.

With deals like that, they can afford to take trips to Las Vegas four

or five times a year, often becoming the envy of their friends.

“Our friends think it’s great,” Gloria said. “They’re kind of jealous

of us, but they aren’t motivated to do it. We’re kind of the exception,

not the rule.”

The exception among many other people their age, that is.

“We like the excitement, the ambience and the energy with all the

people,” Gloria said.

Having both lived in New York City at different times in their lives,

the Franklins carry over their love of the hustle and bustle of the city

streets to their love of the busy Las Vegas strip.

During each of their stays in New York, Bill and Gloria lived in the

same neighborhood and worked for the same company. But they had yet to

meet one another.

After many years and two divorces each, the retirees who even lived in

the same apartment complex finally met on that bus to Las Vegas.

And they have no plans to stop.

“We both like to gamble, that’s the bottom line,” Gloria said.