Within the past two weeks, an alert popped on my phone via The (Shreveport) Times — I love an alert — telling me that a longtime local sandwich business in Shreveport was closing and selling the business.

Immediate panic.

That could only be one place: Deli-Casino on Shreveport’s E. King’s Highway.

With a nervous, helpless, anxious finger, I hit the button to read the story. And…

Cue up the Hallelujah Chorus.

I mean, I feel bad that the other business feels they need to close. And good for them, that they have other ventures. And hopefully that franchise will remain open.

But Deli-Casino is a MUST have. A MUST HAVE. Yes, that is in all caps. And Deli-Casino is still making it happen, cap’n.

Why? One word: Dale and Sam George, the longtime owners/operators.

Need more words?

Fine: Casino Po-Boy: “Our house po-boy with regular mustard stacked with ham, salami, and bologna topped with melted cheddar cheese.”

You can get six-inch or nine-inch. Once I got a six-inch, but again, I made that mistake just once. Nine-inch Casino Po-Boy for me. If they had a 27-inch, I’d probably get that. (I recommend extra cheese.)

How many times have I been at their drive-thru window? Lots, but not enough.

Sometimes when we all worked at The Times, one of us would call in an order and I was usually the guy who did the pick-up. Seems like my dear sandwich-loving friends Kathie Rowell and Maggie Martin were partial to the One-Armed Bandit: Kaiser Roll, ham and salami, provolone, marinated olive mix. I had one once or twice. It was good. Better than good.

But I could not and cannot get off the Casino Po-Boy. Oh I tried a Club once too. It was “even more succulent than I had imagined,” to steal a Seinfeld phrase. But it wasn’t the Casino Po-Boy, which should be called the Casino Rich-Boy.

Thank you, Deli-Casino. You are a winner winner chicken dinner. If and when you retire–Lord help us all, and you should–we will still sing your sandwich and hospitality praises.

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