‘Flying Scotsman’ out to win, but doesn’t sweat it

Rob Miech

Gary “The Flying Scotsman” Anderson before a practice round of darts Thursday at Mandalay Bay. Back in the day, he made marble fireplaces. This week, he’s trying to win the eighth Las Vegas Desert Classic.

By Rob Miech

Friday, July 3, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

Bulls-Eye!

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Las Vegas is hosting the Las Vegas Desert Classic this week at the Mandalay Bay. It's the biggest dart competition in the United States with the winner earning $50,000.

Las Vegas Desert Classic Dart Tournament

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Gary “The Flying Scotsman” Anderson is a bit torn between the blue-collar life he led chiseling fireplaces out of marble and carving a name for himself in darts.

“You get a bit lazy as a darts player,” he said Thursday at Mandalay Bay.

He has attempted to bring the same discipline and work ethic he formed in 15 years at his former trade to the sport that has served as his livelihood since 2002.

He’s been challenged.

“Darts used to be my hobby, now it’s my job,” said Anderson, 38. “Still, I want to treat it as my hobby. I don’t give it 100 percent. I’m easy-going. If I win, I win. If I lose, I lose.

“It’s nice to win, but I won’t lose sleep over a game of darts. Never.”

Anderson beat Wayne Mardle, 6-2, in the opening round Wednesday of the PokerParty.net Las Vegas Desert Classic and will play Wes Newton today in the second round.

Against Mardle, in both his first live Sky Sports televised match in the U.K. and his first on the bright Las Vegas stage, the Flying Scotsman helped himself with his carefree attitude.

He always drinks black coffee in the morning. For some reason, when he rose Wednesday, Anderson chugged down an energy drink. He didn’t remember the flavor or who made it.

“God knows, it was horrible,” he said.

By the time his match started, Anderson had a rash on his arms, and he was feeling light-headed and shaky – not a recipe for success in darts.

“You just try to knock it out of your head,” he said. “Wayne’s a great player. It’s a hard game, anyway. I tried to concentrate on the game and getting on with it. I tried to sort it out and did all right.

“I’ve thrown before with the flu. You can moan and grump, but if I got beat it would have been because I didn’t play better darts. He never really got going and my doubles helped me for a change.”

In February, Anderson jumped to the Professional Darts Corporation after eight years with the rival British Darts Organization, where his headlines often involved a lake.

At the Lakeside Country Club, site of the BDO’s World Championship event in Surrey, England, Anderson recorded five first-round exits and one second-round departure.

Those darts ended up at the bottom of a lake on the country club grounds.

That’s when he’d think about those marble fireplaces.

“I do miss the building site,” said Anderson, who threw his first dart at 25. “I’d miss getting up in the morning, going to the site and just working.”

He has found that tending to a bar he bought in Somerset, England, keeps him plenty busy when he isn’t practicing darts.

Anderson might not want to admit it, but he’s plenty serious about darts, too. He’s staying at the Flamingo and has spent most of his time here either in his room or throwing darts.

Tuesday, he lost to living legend Phil “The Power” Taylor, a 14-time world champion, in a semifinal of the one-day Las Vegas Players Championship.

“Every player here is very good, except for one,” Anderson said. “Mr. Taylor has everything wrapped up, doesn’t he? He’s amazing.”

Unlike his travels throughout Europe, and Australia and Malaysia, Anderson hasn’t scouted around Las Vegas for marble fireplaces, in hotels and restaurants.

Studying the craftsmanship of others has become a pastime for Anderson.

“I’m always looking at them,” he said. “I want to see how old they are and what they’re made of, even though those days are long gone now.”

Ultimately, he admitted, turning a slab of marble into a fireplace is more difficult than trying to carve a niche in the world of darts.

“Marble is very delicate,” Anderson said. “It’s so fragile. It’s very heavy and very strong, but very fragile at the same time. The darts, that’s the easiest.”

Especially when he stays away from a certain energy drink.