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JUNE 2000 Welcome to the month of June which in past years was usually the month that welcomed the rainy season. This year it has been different as we have just experienced a very wet May which at least did provide a cooler environment. The weather may have been cooler but things were hot at Clarkton's Mirrors bar on 23 May as the first handicap 9 ball tournament was held. It was so successful and the results were so unpredictable that it is planned to continue this tournament every two weeks. Players were classified as either "A" or "B" based on their local pool records and history. On this first night there were only 5 "A" players out of the 16 contestants. To help make up the 16 even Harry the Horse was invited to play and I am at best only a "C" player. I expected to be out of there after my first game but to my surprise I hung in there after my first loss and nearly managed to be in the money. The entry fee was 500 pesos which went into the prize fund and management provided each player with one free drink. The "B" player, when playing an "A" player was allowed to win by sinking either the 5 or 9 ball. This made a big difference for those less skilled players and made for some interesting results. The first place winner was a "B" player, John McLeod who scored an upset victory over Dave Hamilton, a very fine player that had just flown in from Las Vegas, Nevada the day before. I must admit that Dave fell victim to jet lag (I'll help you here Dave with a good excuse) as that could be the only explanation for Dave, in the first game, scratching, thereby leaving John with an easy ball in hand on the five ball. John had to win this first game in order to play Dave in a best of 3 final. Everyone there figured that John was dead meat in a best of three, but, alas, good ole Dave proceeded to repeat his foul shots on the 5 ball in the next two games. John, happily pocketed 2,500 pesos after sinking two more ball in hands on the 5. Dave could not believe his luck and even John was amazed, but all the "B" players were ecstatic and jumped up to shake John's hand and give a few slaps to the back (not too hard as John is a bit old). It was a fun evening and the handicap allowed lesser players to be able to compete and have a good chance of progressing. Well done to George B. and Ace, the organizers of the tournament and the very fair refereeing by Ace which provided a complaint free evening. Hans and Wally were congenial hosts and even played in the tournament. Wally will be leaving us shortly to return to Switzerland, in fact he may have already departed by the time you read this as I do not have a specific departure date yet. Wally has been a popular figure at the Clarkton and also Blackjacks and his management expertise can only be matched by any replacement, not exceeded. On 7 Jun a second 9 tournament was held which was won by a local Filipino "A" player. John McLeod managed to come in third this time. The next tournament will be on 21 Jun. John C., the owner of Margarita Station e-mailed me and indicated that he took exception to some of my negative comments in last months column. He felt that I was telling folks not to come to Angeles City. No folks, this was not my intent. I, of course, am pro Angeles City, and want many tourists to come here. The point I was trying to make is that those of us in the tourists industry in Angeles City face obstacles that make it difficult for us to provide the entertainment many folks look for. It is hard work to overcome those obstacles but folks are trying. Can you have a good time here? You bet your ass you can! Just don't get hung up on comparing us to Thailand and realize that one can enjoy both locations and that there are many visitors that continually return to Angeles City for what we do have to offer and the pleasure of being able to converse with a lady without using sign language. Anyway, I accept any comments about my column, good or bad, but I am independent and not subject to pressure from any person or group. Many things I write about are facts and can be confirmed, and some things are my opinions or information/comments passed on to me from others.
George Bottrell was the pioneer of this type business in this town when he first opened the well known Checkmark business centers. Checkmark continues to hold the reputation of being a first class business center with locations at the VFW, Margarita Station and the Swagman. There is extensive construction going on at the building that used to hold the Culture Shack (an enterprise that continually lost money) and Ocean Shirts. I've heard that the second floor will have some employees offering some of the latest visual internet activities. That should be an interesting site to visit when it is up and running. Mark Smith is an innovator so I will continue to give you updates as construction progresses. It looks like this will be a first class facility. Bollie Bolton, GM of Fontana has informed me that future plans include the addition of a fine dining, Chinese and Japanese restaurants. Within one year 300 more villas will be added to the many already available. It appears that Fontana has rapidly become the "in-place" for the Manila population and Angelenos. It is a beautiful location and under Bollie's guidance I am sure that there will be continued growth for the next few years. I met a 5'9" beautiful lady that is related to the ex-mayor, Ed Pamintuan who is employed at the new casino being built on McArthur Highway. She has told me that the new casino will be more in the style of a Vegas casino, featuring a nice restaurant and entertainment. Being from Las Vegas, I can assure you that it will not even come close to being that nice but at least it should offer more than we have seen in Angeles City before. Certainly, it will be a lot better than the one located at Fontana which features nothing more than the basics of gambling which will attract many Chinese who love to gamble without any distractions. It will be interesting to see what this new casino has to offer and how they plan to attract those border line gamblers that like a little entertainment while they lose their money. Well done to the Powder Keg team who has won first place in both the Monday and Wednesday night pool leagues. One of the best deals in town? The 8 oz filet steak meal offered by Dave and company for only 170 pesos. This ole horse waters at the mouth every time he thinks about it. I have sampled it and believe me, it is a very good feed for the price. Another good buy is the 400 gram (14 oz) New York steak at the Blue Boar Inn (300 pesos) and the super whopper burger (described as not good, but great!). Last month I gave you a heads up about the forthcoming Subic Bay Marine Exploritorium which will feature 6 false killer whales and six South American Sea lions opening on 1 Nov. This date has been confirmed and it sounds like something that will bring a lot of tourists to Subic. This has not been publicized yet and you are getting an advance heads up from the "Horse's mouth". I will tell you something else that will be hard to believe, sources tell me that the Clark-Subic road will be constructed and a lot sooner than a lot of us thought. The ground breaking was for REAL as engineering and land augmentation is underway now. Initial construction is due to start after this rainy season. It will be 43 kilometers long and will start from Subic's Tipo road, over the National Highway and on to Clark with exchanges at Basa, Clark commercial area and Clark Resort area. It will be a bonded road which means that trucks carrying duty free items can't exit at anywhere except their final destination. The exit on Clark will be near the Centennial Park. It is estimated that the driving time from Clark to Subic will take only 20-30 minutes. Completion of this project is projected for two-three years from now. It is a monster project. To learn more about Subic and forthcoming projects check out their new website at www.subicchamber.org which went on line in April. Information about the Marine Exploritorium will be added to this website by 1 Jul. Getting excited? I certainly am, things are popping at Subic and this will be good for Angeles City as well. Anything to get those tourists here. More good news. A creditable source has informed me that Charles Horne has two Airbus 320's due to arrive here by 10 Jul (a bit larger than 737's) and it appears that all appropriate clearances will be coming down. Keep on it Charles, we are really looking forward to seeing your airline "take off" and keep on flying. I have also heard that many of the big international carriers have been visiting the Clark Airport lately and many are wondering what this might lead to. No definite news here but there is hope that there might be some positive developments in the not too distant future. I will keep these big old horse ears to the ground. A dubious honor has been bestowed upon Jimmy D, of the Blue Boar Inn by Roy's bar manager, Herbie. Now old Herbie has declared that Jimmy D is an "asshole" and that every one in Angeles City that knows him feels the same way. With these words, Herbie and Clive evicted Jimmy D from Roy's bar at the start of a Sunday night pool match. Now, ole Jimmy D was a bit despondent about this until he realized that there are a lot of people in Angeles City that have heard people call them "assholes". With this in mind, Jimmy D has declared that he will form the "Asshole's Club" and will meet every second Saturday at 12 noon at the Blue Boar Inn. Of course, all assholes are eligible to join and are encouraged to attend. The first item for discussion, after election of officers, will be how to call some one a "liar" without offending them. Now, this is difficult, for some folks, when being called a liar, react violently accompanied with a lot of bluster and self-indignation. I suspect that this must be traced to one's childhood when most children have had to listen to these words "Don't lie to me young man". Of course one cannot respond to this in anger as most of the time he HAS been caught in a lie and of course, one can't yell at one's mother. Instead, one waits for adulthood so he/she can put on a big show when called a "liar". This must be avoided, of course, so maybe one could use the word "fabricate" instead, like "Sir, I believe you have uttered a fabrication". One could say "Sir, I believe you have distorted the facts and should reconsider your last comment". Now, I am sure that there are assholes out there that could provide many more suggestions and I certainly hope that these will be submitted at the first "asshole's meeting" to be held on 9 July. See you there?? P.S. For sure, all asshole members will be denied entry to Roy's Bar.
I finally had a chance to stop by the "Top Inn" bar on Don Juico Ave, next to the Aurora Sports Bar. Met one of the owners, Bob, and had a very fine evening. What a nice place to go to, there is plenty of room, well air-conditioned, a pool table and quite a few charming ladies in some rather sexy red short-shorts serving the drinks. We are hoping that Bob will give some serious consideration to putting up two dart boards and enter the twice weekly dart league. Meanwhile, there is certainly enough room inside and out for the Angeles City Hash House Harriers to make a "home-home" there once in a while. That famous Hash House Harrier, and man about town, Jack Clayton (Supot) has departed for England for three months of work. He will return in September after building up his slush fund again. Jack leads the ideal single man's life and enjoys every minute of his 9 month visit here each year. Jack not only chases the women, or do they chase him, but he is also an avid lawn bowler at Greenlands Sports Club as well as trying a hand at golf occasionally and darts as well. A more well liked individual would be hard to find and all that know him, look forward to his return. I have encountered a few people coming here to live permanently and one of the questions they always seem to ask is how to manage their funds once here. One has various options but I will only relate the method I follow. Have your funds (retirement checks, etc.) deposited in a savings account in the country of origin and open a checking account whereby a certain amount is transferred from savings each month. Come here with enough money to last you a few months and open up a dollar account with a check for a few thousand. It takes 30 days for a check to clear here. Now you can withdraw dollars as needed bearing in mind that you must keep your account up to a pre-determined level. In this way, you have funds at your disposal here and also funds safely tucked away in your country of origin. I do not recommend opening a dollar account at the Bank of Commerce as all too often they do not have dollars available on the day you want them. They also, at times, indicate only two times a month you are allowed to withdraw dollars. Metro Bank and BPI do not have any restrictions. If you plan to withdraw a large sum of dollars then you are advised to give the bank three days notice. The system works and the banks are reputable. The Pink Pussycat has temporarily closed its doors. Regretfully, the owner, Buck had to return to the States because of a death in the family. Two days after his departure his wife closed the doors to await Buck's return. Hopefully this popular night spot will not be closed too long. . Being June, the number of tourists coming to Angeles City has really slowed down. This is typical and it has nothing to do with the Abu Sayaf kidnappings or the "war" in Mindanao. Angeles City remains a safe place to visit and anyone thinking of making the trip has nothing to fear.
For those who might be interested, Lea Salonga will be the lead actress in the "Miss Saigon" musical to be presented at the Cultural Center starting in Oct. Lea will be performing for three months of the six month schedule. Tickets for the general public will not go on sale until 1 Jul with the most expensive seats going for four thousand pesos. I have promised the wife that I will take her, book a hotel for the night and take her out to dinner. Yes, this will be costly, but worth every peso and of course, I have informed her that this is, most definitely, a once in a lifetime treat. Gosh, only 6 months to Christmas! A half a year gone already - time flies when collecting social security. I do not ask much for this year, just that Hillary Clinton lose in New York!! With those words of wisdom I leave you and remember, "Be kind to horses". |
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The Kitten Bar, we mentioned last month. I very near competition. The are expected to be opening very soon. Run by the same management as the Jungle, it looks impressive inside as well. With a large layout. More to follow soon.
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