Bernhard: Gambler From Vegas

When Las Vegas is mentioned, one instantly conjures up the image of the corpulent, cigar-smoking plutocrat, laced with booze, squandering fortunes on the game tables. But to baseball player Pete Bernhard, Vegas means more than liquor, money and women. After all, Vegas is Peter's home town.

"Las Vegas is really an interesting place to grow up," Pete said. "The people who live there don't frequent the pleasure palaces. They're trying to preserve a sense of community amidst everything, and it's difficult when there is a slot-machine in every grocery store."

He is quick to point out that there are actually more churches in the city then there are casinos. "Well, they're more like marriage halls than they are churches. They've got a minister on call all the time, and most of them do a very brisk business," Bernhard said.

Bernhard loves to tell the story of one of these commercial preachers. "We used to call him 'Marrying Sam' back home," he said. "He was making $40.000 a year off the business before they found out he was a fake. But they declared everybody married by him legally bound, probably so that there wouldn't be a lot of bastards running around."

Western High School, which Bernhard attended, used to have a monopoly on Nevada sports, winning five state championships in his senior year. "There were only nine other high schools in the entire state, so the record isn't as impressive as it seems," he said. "Still, we used to travel 500 miles to play a baseball game."

Baseball is Bernhard's game, and he admits that the opening of the spring season at Harvard "really turns the year around."

"I knew I couldn't tear this place apart intellectually when I came." he said. "So the baseball season means a great deal to me."

A two-year starter on the Crimson nine, the left-handed Bernhard has spent most of his varsity career in right field, batting 286 last year and leading the team in triples. With Peter Varney's return to catcher this year, he will take over the first base duties.

"It won't be difficult making the adjustment," Bernhard said. "Hell, they even had me playing third base in high school. I was the only left-handed third baseman in Nevada. The first time they bunted to me. I threw the damn thing into left field."

Bernhard feels that the team is well stocked in every position and should make a strong run for the Eastern Inter-collegiate Baseball League championship.

"Our problem is really that we have too many good players and not enough positions. I can guarantee you that Harvard will be playing the best college baseball in the country this year," he said.

A Government major. Bernhard plans to return home and do social work after graduation. "That's if I can stay out of the draft." he explained. "I may not know how to play poker, but coming up number two in the lottery is just not coming through with all the cards."