LAS VEGAS and ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Oct. 21, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- In the Nevada desert, an oasis of dreams shimmers: Las Vegas. After losing his life's savings in the stock market, Wayne Chapman finds himself old, broke and devastated. Desperate and suicidal, he takes what money and courage he has left and impulsively drives to the glimmering lights of Las Vegas to win enough to began a new life or end the old one. This is the story author David Roland details in his new novel, The Last Drive To Vegas (now available through 1stBooks).
As Wayne begins his journey, he experiences a sexual encounter with a female hitchhiker he meets at a truck stop. The next day a teenage runaway he encounters at a motel begs him to take her with him to Vegas, which he reluctantly does. Arriving in Vegas, he stays at a boarding house run by an angry, combative couple, who feel stuck with each other. Two old men, who are horse players, and a girl from a commune also live there. She teaches him a little about Zen and positive thinking, and he tries to apply that teaching to his gambling.
A three-week adventure filled with zany, colorful characters, Wayne's journey illustrates the dread of old age, the gambler's mind, horse racing, casino gambling and hookers, all fused with humor.
After being fired from his brief position as a sports writer over 40 years ago, author David Roland yielded to the "call of the wild" and began his "exciting, but foolish adventure" of betting on horses and dogs for a living. Now retired in St. Petersburg, after playing most of the major tracks throughout the country and living in Las Vegas for a number of years, he's thoroughly knowledgeable of the gambling life. Drawing on his experiences of observing people, gambling games and human nature, he has written a stirring novel that sweeps the reader through a roller coaster of emotions.
The Last Drive To Vegas is his first novel.
For more information or to view excerpts, visit www.TheLastDriveToVegas.com.
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