By Linda Jones
Bill Hawkins in Famous Bonanza
Bill Hawkins has done many things in his life, including a career in the Air Force and top-secret work for defense contractors. Along the way he and his wife collected an impressive houseful of antiques. Wherever he’s lived, he’s always gambled.
Gambling was in his genes; his parents loved to gamble and when they retired, they moved to Nevada. His twin brother Jim also enjoys gambling; both Bill and his wife Carol have same-gender twins.
The Famous Bonanza is his favorite casino and he plays there 90 percent of the time, although two Black Hawk casinos have his favorite machines and he plays there occasionally.
Bill said, “I’m old school. I like certain machines and go where they are. I know the Bonanza employees – most of them have been here since the ‘90s. When I visit my dad in Nevada I pick up [twin] Jim in Albuquerque and we go see him together and we all head to a casino. I play the tables there.
“Carol likes to gamble too, just not as much as I do, and we come up to gamble together a couple times a week.”
Asked if they drive, Bill said, “We’ve taken the bus a thousand times and driven maybe 10 times. We catch the bus a mile from our house.”
They caught the antique collecting bug in Germany. Many of the popular collectibles are made there, and during his four years of Air Force service, Bill and Carol collected furniture, Hummel figurines, clocks and more. Their house has more than 1,800 antiques.
Holidays are spectacular in the Hawkins house. They bring out appropriate antique decorations for Easter, Halloween and Thanksgiving, but the apex of their collection comes out at Christmas. More than 100 Santas are brought from storage to celebrate Christmas and almost that many angels, plus the Nativity scenes. Carol is the manager of their holiday displays (and their storage) as well as a scrap-booker.
Both have led busy lives during their 47 years of marriage. Bill says during his 20 years in the Air Force he was a “paper pusher” – but a paper pusher with a top-secret clearance – and he was sent to some exotic countries to push that paper, including Viet Nam and South Korea. For his last five years of active service he was an Administrative Superintendent at Lowry, and after his discharge he “pushed paper” for Stearns Rogers Engineering and Raytheon Engineers. He says he retired for good in 2002 – but then he took a job driving cars for Denver Auto Auction for a year.
Bill is a fast-pitch softball pitcher and a bowler. He doesn’t pitch much now because fast pitch is hard to find, but he pitched plenty for the Air Force. He became an expert bowler when he was young because he worked in bowling alleys; his average used to be more than 200.
Bill and Carol have a daughter, Tracey, and a son, Todd. Their four grandchildren are Camey, a 21-year old interior design student, 18-year-old Craig, Stephanie, 12, and Jason, 9.
