A Star is Discovered by the Escondido Humane Society

Commentary by lyle e davis

We jump-started Valentine's Day last Saturday night by taking in a "Laugh for Lives" event at Harrah's Rincon Resort and Casino in Valley Center (near Escondido, California).  It was a fund-raiser for the Escondido Humane Society and was billed as an evening of standup comedy.  A comedian named Karen Rontowski came on stage and saved the evening.  Rontowski stole the show and had the audience in the palm of her hand as she comfortably paced the stage and offered her observational comedy.

It was a particular delight to the audience as the preceding acts were woefully lacking in both talent and laughs.  The barest of titters, an occasional giggle would occasionally interrupt a silent, somewhat fidgety audience.  The emcee, a gentleman named Tony Calabrese, seemed to think that talking loudly into a microphone equated to being funny (he was dead wrong), a gal “comedienne” named Judy McDonald, who, if she deserved to be on a stage at all, should have been on the next one out of town, and a young man named Mark Neuberger who had, perhaps, three good lines in his whole routine.  But Karen, ah, Karen!  What a breath of fresh air she was.  She’ll be appearing again in Escondido come April, and we’ll be seeing her show again.

 Karen Rontowski - Top Comedian

The show itself drew approximately 300 persons who showed up at $20 per ticket, in a small, but comfortable venue, The Pavillion, at Harrah’s.  A number of local sponsors picked up the overhead tab so proceeds of all ticket sales went directly to the Escondido Humane Society. An estimated net of $6000 was raised for the Society as a result of this event.

For those interested, Harrah's Rincon Resort & Casino is a very new, very plush casino/resort.  The rooms are beautiful, spotless marble floors, very, very expensive carpeting throughout the entire hotel.

But eat before you come.

The food is adequate, at best, and overpriced, particularly at the International Buffet. I will not return to the Internatinal Buffet . . . but not just because of price.  They have three lines . . . Gold, Platinum, Diamond.  The Platinum and Diamond lines are for those frequent guests who have earned 'points' to qualify them.  Gold is for the occasional guest who wanders into the resort and seeks something to eat.  Doesn't matter if you're a paying guest at the hotel . . . if you're "Gold" you have to wait in a long line . . . kinda like waiting in a cattle car.  I think we waited a good half hour.  When we did get in, the food was adequate . . . but that's about it.  It was priced at $19.99 per person, but it was no bargain, either for service or food, particularly for service.

Later, I had breakfast at San Luis Rey Cafe.  A pleasant venue, food was good, seemed fairly priced;  $7.99 gave me two eggs, bacon, pancakes, toast.  Service, again, was a bit slow, though very personable.

Earlier, we had eaten sandwiches at The Corner Grill.  It's okay if you enjoy very plastic food service places.  Everything is bundled up in plastic.  It's an inside fast-food place, for all practical purposes.  I don't eat there unless I'm (a) starving, and (b) in a rush.  It's designed for the slot machine player(s) who just have to get back to their slots.

Have not eaten yet at the Fiore Steak and Seafood.  We shall, in the future.  It looks rather pleasant, the menu both diverse and reasonably priced for a fairly upscale location.

A brand new parking garage, with plenty of security cameras, well landscaped grounds, a lovely cabana section adjacent to hot tub spas and swimming pool, beautiful art work on all the walls, both in the lobby as well as corridors, all combine to offer up a fairly pleasant place to stay at reasonable rates.  We paid $99 for our room and it compares to rooms for which I've paid $250 a night.

It's a nice little getaway for a night . . . or a weekend.  Particularly if you're a gambler.  Neither Evelyn nor I gamble very much (I wagered a whole $25, lost all but $6.50 of it  . . . which I had won back . . . and called it a night).

We hope the Escondido Humane Society will repeat this “Laugh for Lives’ event.  It’s a great opportunity for an enjoyable fund-raising opportunity.  We only urge that whoever books the acts (a) re-books Karen Rontowski, and (b) pays more attention to the supporting acts and emcee.  Personally, we would have paid $20 a seat just to see Rontowski alone, she was that good.

Good luck next year to the Escondido Humane Society.  Keep up the good work!