Paging Doctor Elvis!

Wow, this post will top off the "Yonkers Trilogy" that has marked this week's posting.

Like many cash-strapped municipalities, the City of Y decided that legalized gambling would be a financial panacea- the self-imposed gullibility tax poses few problems for politicians of the two major parties. The legalization of gambling in the U.S. is a funny beast... in most regions, legalized gambling has been confined to reservations, riverboats, or racetracks. The New York City metro area lacking any extant native groups (the Ramapough Lenape Nation is the closest extant native group, straddling the NY/NJ border about twenty miles from NYC), New York state allowed the historic Yonkers Raceway to install slot machines, and the racetrack transformed into a "racino" in 2006.

Well, the only thing I gamble with is my life, and the prospect of feeding a slot machine (like a Skinner Box rat which almost never gets any goodies) holds no fascination for me. I do go to the place de vez en cuando, though, to see live entertainment.

One "must see" act is Yonkers native Dr. Nazar Sayegh, who is not only a family practitioner, but a hall of fame Elvis interpreter as well. Last night, to commemorate the eve of the King's birthday, Dr Sayegh brought his act to the raceway for two sets of music. I am happy to say that he wore jumpsuits for both sets, and am even happier to say that he sang a rendition of Poke Salad Annie. The good doctor puts on a fun show, and comes across as a genuinely nice fellow. If a sequel to Bubba Ho-Tep is ever green-lighted, the good doctor should certainly get a cameo as a nursing home physician.

Bonus Yonkers trivia: Lady Gaga is now on record telling Jay Leno that the rumor that she was a Yonkers native upset her more than the rumor that she was a hermaphrodite.