For caterers and casinos, a lucky No. 07-07-07

Allison Linn Senior writer • Profile • E-mail

After Pamela Yager found the man of her dreams, of course she wanted the wedding of a lifetime.

For Yager, that meant holding the ceremony at 7 p.m. on July 7, 2007. And it meant  stretching the celebration over the course of seven events. If things work out, Yager, a comedian and party planner, may even end up with 77 guests at her high-end New Orleans shindig.

Although she never considered seven to be her lucky number before now, Yager admits she’s kind of gotten into the spirit of things.

“I’m planning on having seven husbands,” she jokes.

Every bride likes to think they are unique, and Yager’s lavish fete is sure to be talked about for years to come. But her choice of a wedding date is far from unusual — in fact, even Yager herself knows two other couples who are getting married that day.

July 7, 2007 is definitely going to be a lucky day — if you’re in the wedding or gambling business, that is. Companies ranging from caterers to casinos are gearing up for an influx of business from those seeking to take advantage of what is thought to be an auspicious day.

The idea of lucky numbers can be traced back to the ancient Greeks. Still, it’s not entirely clear how seven emerged as an especially lucky number in Western culture, said Underwood Dudley, a retired mathematics professor from DePauw University and author of “Numerology: Or What Pythagoras Wrought.”

“It’s just part of the way humans are wired, I suppose. Humans need religion and they need numbers,” he said.

Richard Markel, director of the Association for Wedding Professionals International, is expecting between 75,000 and 80,000 weddings to take place on Saturday, July 7 — 25 to 30 percent more than normal for a Saturday in July. Wedding Web site The Knot said 38,000 of its members are reporting a July 7 wedding, compared with about 12,000 on average for a Saturday in July.

Some Las Vegas hotspots also expect 07-07-07 to be a big day for gamblers who are feeling lucky. After all, you can use three sevens to make 21 in Black Jack, and some slot machines come up 7-7-7 for a jackpot.

“We fully expect, because of various people’s beliefs or suspicions, that we will be busy,” said Scott Voeller, vice president of marketing Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

But at Mandalay Bay and elsewhere, the rush to wed appears to be the hottest trend for July 7, 2007. Wedding venues, florists and caterers are working overtime to accommodate the excessive number of brides, with some scheduling weddings from the crack of dawn to the wee hours of the night, and many having to turn brides away.

Markel has heard of weddings being squeezed in at such odd hours as 12:07 a.m. and 7:07 a.m. He’s also hearing from unusual locations, such as zoos, who are getting wedding bookings because other venues are already filled up. Demand is so great that Markel even set up a Web site listing places that can still accommodate weddings on that day.

Even Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has gotten into the act, with plans to host seven weddings in its stores on July 7.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority expects 07-07-07 to be one of the busiest wedding days ever — and that’s saying something in a city known for quickie weddings.

Little Chapel of the Flowers in Las Vegas will host 110 weddings on July 7, starting at 6:30 a.m. and ending at 11:59 p.m. That’s more than double the 40 to 50 weddings they would normally host.

In order to keep the 30-minute ceremonies running on schedule at its various chapels, the venue has been calling brides daily, said Whitney Lloyd, director of sales and marketing. The biggest problem: finding enough staff to handle the onslaught.

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