Sullivan’s Pub turns spare change into big smiles

Talk about a penny saved is a penny earned.

Pahrump business owner David Sullivan said this week that the old cliche is about to pay off in spades for some lucky local boys and girls.

Sullivan, the namesake of Sullivan’s Pub on the valley’s northwest end of town, said he will be able to put smiles on about two dozen area kids this holiday season thanks to the generosity of his customers.

He recently purchased 24 bicycles from Walmart destined for the underside of a few Christmas trees.

He made the buy with pocket change. Literally.

Earlier this year, Sullivan placed a plastic five-gallon water container on the far end of his pub.

A note attached stated that any spare change would be appreciated and soon donations came pouring in from customers.

“We have done this type of thing before for the VFW and we were able to give out about 17 bikes. It’s the customers who are doing it and Sullivan’s is just the sponsor,” he said.

The coin drive far exceeded Sullivan’s expectations.

When opened, the container yielded more than $850.

After an additional donation from Sullivan, more than $1,100 was collected when all was said and done.

The pub’s co-owner Bill Anderson said this week that a local gaming establishment offered to count the booty.

“We brought it to Saddle West and they dumped it all in the coin counting machine. The receipt they printed off showed the total amount came to $1,150.55. The pennies came to $219.35, the nickels came to $72.60, the dimes were $113.60 and the quarters were $742. We also got three one-dollar coins,” he said.

Anderson said the real chore came when Sullivan, Anderson, and a few pub employees took on the tedious and toilsome task of separating the coinage.

“Between the four of us, it took over seven hours to sort all of the coins out in their proper denomination. When we were done, our hands were just covered in black soot from the coins,” he said.

Sullivan, meanwhile, said the coin counting crew also encountered numerous problems while the process was taking place.

“The dimes kept hiding under the nickels,” he said with faux lament.

The owners said they will give the bikes to a yet to be determined elementary school where students are good candidates for the gifts, based entirely on the financial stability of the student’s parents.

Lower income families will be placed on the “short list.”

The owner has set up a “Toys for Tots” collection box at the establishment along 2450 W. Mesquite Ave.

In addition to making Christmas Day a memorable one for local kids, Sullivan has something for the older set this holiday season, too.

He said he wants to send lucky winners on a vacation or “holiday” in the United Kingdom.

“We have a drawing for a trip to Ireland or Scotland for two people. We are going to do that on the 5th of January here at 7 p.m. Two people from this bar are going to Ireland or Scotland,” he said.