BLYN — For 7 Cedars Casino manager Bill Matsko, the next seven days should be momentous and exhilarating.
Not because today is 7/7/07, possibly a rather busy day at the casino.
Not because the television reality show “Survivor” will hold auditions at the casino next Friday, which, as luck would have it, is Friday the 13th.
And certainly not because today — which has become a popular wedding date nationwide for couples wanting to increase their happiness odds — is a day when people will hold their nuptials at the casino.
Such nuptials won’t happen there.
7 Cedars turned down the all those who asked to book weddings on 7-7-07.
The reason the next few days will be momentous for Matsko is that today, he and his sweetheart, Donna Courter, will wed in a small ceremony at their home near Poulsbo.
The couple contemplated having the event at 7 Cedars, but decided they wanted something more intimate.
And 7 Cedars assistant general manager Jerry Allen said that, although the casino received a number of requests from couples wanting to have their weddings today at his venue, all were turned down.
“We thought that would be more of a distraction for our staff,” he said.
“We certainly expect to see a lot of activity here.”
Matsko, who’s worked at 7 Cedars since it opened 13 years ago, said the wedding was originally to be at 7:07 a.m.
“But we’re going to change that time, for the convenience of people who are coming,” including Matsko’s best man, casino general manager Fred Napoli.
The newlyweds do have to marry in the morning, though, since they’re headed for Seattle to catch a cruise to Alaska at about 11 a.m.
Courter, a real estate agent, and Matsko decided more than a year ago that they wanted to spend their lives together.
The 7-7-07 date suited them, Matsko said, because they have family members whose birthdays fall in July and because, well, it’ll be an easy anniversary date to remember.
“Donna is a numbers person,” Matsko added.
“We just said, ‘Why not?’”
The atmosphere at the casino today — the only 7/7/07 this century — isn’t likely to be serene.
Since July 1, the 7 Cedars’ marketing crew has been randomly passing out tickets to a drawing for two envelopes containing $777 each and five envelopes with $77 each.
The drawing is to be held at 7:07 p.m. today.
Lucky Matsko
Matsko, meanwhile, said he’s felt lucky for a long time.
“I’ve been very fortunate,” he said.
When he met Courter a couple of years ago, “I wasn’t looking for anybody. Neither was she.”
“I was on a sabbatical [from dating]. I had been single for 20 years,” after getting married too young, said Matsko, now 60.
As he and Courter got to know each other, they found they had the same values, including a strong work ethic and sense of independence.
Matsko, who spent 24 years in Las Vegas casinos and worked at an Oneida tribal casino in Green Bay, Wis., before moving to Sequim, counted his blessings.
“I’m just lucky, lucky to be at 7 Cedars and lucky to be getting married to someone I love.”
________
Sequim Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
