I had been on the Imperial Palace casino floor for less than five minutes when I got the call.
"Casey, we want you to come work for us in Billings, Montana."
I had just turned 22 years old, fresh off a backpacking trip around Europe with two of my best friends after graduating from USC. Now, we were in Vegas to watch another friend take aim at the World Series of Poker main event. Suffice to say, we were in no rush to get on with the rest of our lives.
But that didn't seem to be an option for me anymore.
On the other end of that phone call was longtime Q2 News director Jon Stepanek and fairly recent Q2 Sports director Scott Breen. I'd never spoken to either (you remember the days before Zoom, don't you?). But something about Billings felt right. Five minutes later, my friends and I had more to celebrate that weekend in Vegas - the start of my career.
That was July 2007. It's been 14 years since that moment (I outlasted the Imperial Palace!) and I've fallen in love with Billings, with Montana, with this life ever since. I was in the sports chair for 12.5 of those years, transitioning over to news when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and I've enjoyed every minute of the challenge and change.
Here's to the future.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CaseyConlon
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