The first time the Weekly Volcano wrote about country legend Merle Haggard coming to the Emerald Queen Casino we figured we better treat the dude with respect. He's a legend, after all - plus we feared he might keel over dead at any moment from a life full of hard, twangy, country living. Almost 10 years later, Haggard is coming back to the EQC this week. It's betting like this that typically makes us steer clear of casinos, but for Haggard (yet again) we might make an exception.

[Emerald Queen Casino, 8:30 p.m., $35-$70, 2024 E. 29th St., Tacoma, 253.922.2000]