Columnist John Katsilometes: The latest outreach efforts at the Sand Dollar Blues Lounge

Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2005 | 8:41 a.m.

Fabulous Las Vegas runs Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in the Las Vegas Sun. Reach John Katsilometes at kats@lasvegassun.com or at (702) 259-2327 or (702) 812-9812.

Sunday morning is the time to be at the Sand Dollar Blues Lounge -- if you have no desire to experience the blaring rhythms of Scott Rhiner and Moanin' Black Snakes, or don't want to stumble onto a sticky dance floor populated with beer-swilling blues revelers.

In fact, Sunday morning is a good time to be at the Sand Dollar if you want to be alone. That's how it was Sunday when I happened into the Sand Dollar at its most-off time (around 11 a.m.). That's to be expected; the charge for new owner Pat McKnight (who reopened the unvarnished club in May) and even newer manager Shirley Williams (who returned as manager in October) is to have the place teeming with a wide cross-section of music fans each night.

Some of the club's planned improvements are rudimentary -- a new back-light sign is going to be fastened above the doorway this week. As it is, trying to find the Sand Dollar, which sits inauspiciously in a small strip mall on the corner of Spring Mountain Road and Polaris Avenue, is an unnecessary challenge.

And securing a gaming license (which happened on Oct. 1), to ensure the bar's 14 video poker machines would actually produce revenue, has helped.

But music is the draw and Williams, wife of local bluesman John Earl Williams (who has long fronted the Boogieman Band), is bolstering the lineup.

Saturday, the Sand Dollar is hosting a medical benefit for Las Vegas entertainer Junior Brantley, who broke his hip in a fall in October, from noon through 3 a.m. A total of 12 bands will take part; donations are being accepted at the door.

Drawing music is comparatively easy, but drawing the right type of clientele is another matter. In the years before McKnight took over ownership, the Sand Dollar had a well-earned reputation as a rough-and-tumble nightspot. A fatal shooting in the bar's parking lot in August was not the most positive free advertising, either.

"We want it back, energized again like it used to be," Shirley Williams said. "We want it to be vibrant again." As vibrant as a brand-new sign, even.

NoteMart

Coast to coast: The South Coast has set an opening date -- the newset property for Boyd Gaming will open to the public at 7 p.m. on Dec. 22. The resort is at Silverado Ranch and Las Vegas boulevards. The hotel will have 660 rooms, a 16-screen movie theater, an 80,000-square-foot casino, a 64-lane bowling center and (uniquely) a 4,400-seat Equestrian Center ...

Centennial wrap: The Las Vegas Centennial concludes at 11 a.m. Thursday at Centennial Plaza on 400 S. Fourth St. with a time-capsule dedication ceremony orchestrated by Mayor Oscar Goodman.

The capsule is filled with items that show how we celebrated No. 100. Included are a cocktail waitress uniform (unoccupied) from the MGM Grand, the book "Nevada Yesterdays" by the late Frank Wright, a souvenir "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign, CDs of songs by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley and other Las Vegas notables, and mementos from such shows as "Le Reve" at Wynn Las Vegas, "Ka" and "La Femme" at MGM Grand, "Penn & Teller" at the Rio and "Zumanity" at New York-New York ...

Cheerz!: On Monday a Las Vegas company, Cheerz USA Inc., sent us a hangover cure. No, it wasn't a fistful of extra-strength Tylenol and a liter of Gatorade. It's called Cheerz, and it is sold in a box of 48 25-milliliter plastic shot containers. Cheerz is said to be a safe, all-natural counter to the short- and long-term effects of excessive drinking. We'll provide an update on this when we find someone willing to act as a guinea pig for medical purposes.