Legendary blues guitarist B.B. King’s amusing and insightful ramblings on living in Vegas, gambling and other important things:
• “I’ve never been bothered by the heat in Vegas. I’m from Mississippi. I’m used to the heat.”
• “I used to have a bad habit of gambling. I liked keno and blackjack, those were my games. But when I moved (to Las Vegas), it cut my habit. I go home now. The way I tell my friends, when you’re single, you’re always looking for girls. But when you get married, you don’t need to look for girls anymore. With me, before I moved there, whenever you’d go to a casino, you’d gamble and would never go to bed. Just stay at the tables. That’s the way I was then, but now, I live there and it’s like being married. I don’t need it.”
• “I’ve got a bad leg, which started when I was about 12 years old. The older I get, the worse it get. I sit down a lot more when I perform, and I don’t walk as much as I used to, but otherwise I feel fine. I still have a good time. Oh, do I.”
• “About ’68 was when I got divorced. I haven’t really been close (to remarrying) since. I feel that one foot’s already in the grave, so why should I let some lady put the other in (laughs)?”
• “I don’t have anything to do with the business side of the club. Our CEO is a young man named Tommy Peters. But they do always respect my decisions on the food. I wish they’d stop doing that, because I’m fat enough already (laughs). I’m cutting back my menu. I rarely eat meat now. I’ve lost 15-20pounds, I think, but I like food and I like good food and the clubs do have good food.”
• “I don’t smoke now. I used to, but I haven’t smoked in 40 years. I don’t care for smoke now. When the Surgeon General said smoking was hazardous to your health, I stopped smoking. Smoking got in the way of performing. So what would I rather do: Smoke or perform? I’d rather perform. It wasn’t a hard decision.”
• “I don’t think most people in Vegas know that I live there. I never do hear anything about B.B. King living in Las Vegas. I see where a lot of other people live in Las Vegas. I check the paper, I read about who lives there. But I see where people talk about who they see here, but I’ve only seen that about myself a couple of times in 30 years.”
• “(When told Smokey Robinson also has a home in Vegas) I didn’t know he lived in Las Vegas! Yeah, he’s a great guy. He’s a good businessman. And Jackson, old-man (Joe) Jackson, he lives there too. I know that.”
• “(When told the economy is causing some serious blues) Well, I think you’re on your own (laughs). I can’t help you much there, because it’s giving me the blues, too.”