Wyoming

Drinking Wyoming: The Hurricane In Aladdin — A Shot And Slap In The…

Published

2 years ago

August 17, 2024

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Drinking Wyoming: The Hurricane In Aladdin — A Shot And Slap In The…

Cowboy State Daily’s ‘Drinking Wyoming’ is presented by Pine Bluffs Distilling

ALADDIN — At most bars, bartenders will tell you they can make anything. They know all the “usuals.”

They can make margaritas, whiskey sours, old fashioneds. They’ve got red wine. They’ve got white wine. And they’ve got beer, including Wyoming craft beers.

In other words, they’ve got the same-old, same-old.

But when you walk into the Aladdin General Store, what you’ll find are some truly creative cocktails. They’re not the same-old, same-old.

Like this year’s Sturgis rally drink, designed by Jordan Yates, a self-taught mixologist who has been working at the Aladdin General Store for five years with her fiance and bar owner Trent Tope.

The drink is called The Hurricane. It’s a simple shot of Koltiska, a Sheridan Wyoming liquor and not to be confused with the signature drink of New Orleans of the same name.

What you’re buying at Aladdin is not just a drink. It’s an experience.

For this drink, the bartender climbs on top of the bar and sits in front of the customer. The shot of Koltiska is poured directly into the customer’s mouth. Then, after the customer successfully swallows the drink, there’s a bit of a unique water chaser.

Water is actually flung into the customer’s face, and then is slapped. Not too hard, but it’s enough to make a sound.

“For the (Sturgis Motorcycle) Rally, we kind of do more shots that are out there,” Yates told Cowboy State Daily. “If you can get an experience with a drink too, then that’s a good way for the bartender to make more money, too.”

The Hurricane costs $40. The bar only keeps $5 of that. The bartender gets the rest.

Who’s Buying These Drinks

While it seems like no one would voluntarily pay $40 for a shot and a slap in the face, Yates averages 15 to 25 Hurricanes a day during the two to three weeks in and around South Dakota’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

“Some of the ones I’ve served were wives buying them for their husbands,” Yates said.

Other times, someone was just curious and brave enough to take a shot in the dark, because Yates won’t tell them what’s all involved with the drink is until they buy one.

There was something contagious, though, about the drink because after one person bought one, pretty much everyone else in the bar would follow suit, Yates said.

During the rally week, The Aladdin General Store bar was always filled to the brim. It was standing room only for this historic 128-year-old stop that’s right across from the South Dakota border.

While Cowboy State Daily was there, several bikers who had found the place for the first time walked in and their immediate reaction was, “Awesome! I like this place, it’s so cool.”

They took a seat on the rustic wooden bar stools draped with animal fur and ordered a beer or a shot in a place that combines history with a kitschy ambiance. Historic brands on the front of the bar speak to the area’s rich, ranching roots, while jars of Vienna sausages, rebranded as Porcupine Peters or Chorizo De Coyote are offered for sale.

The Aladdin General Store also offers a range of alcoholic products that include Wyoming craft beers and liquors. Black Tooth Brewing Co.’s Hot Streak is one of the more popular beers, while the shot of Koltiska is the bar’s No. 1 seller.

The seemingly never-ending stream of rallygoers visiting the location has provided an enormous financial boost to the Aladdin General Store over the past five years that Yates and Tope have owned it. They estimate that up to half their annual business happens during the month of the Sturgis rally.

“For the rally, we have some of the bartenders who are hired just as shots girls,” Yates said. “They specialize more in shots. So it’s the fun shots, and the specialty shots too.”

Specialty shots are a little more than a simple shot of Jack Daniels or Fireball.

“These are more like lemon drop shots and stuff that take a little bit more to create,” Yates said. “But we always try to have fun with the cocktail menu.”

Jordan Yates is the mixologist for Aladdin General Store’s bar. She’s come up with quite a few interesting cocktails to serve at the bar, including The Hurricane shot. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
A rare quiet moment during the Sturgis Rally week at the Aladdin General Store’s bar. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Trent Tope, right, talks to some customers at the Aladdin General Store’s bar during Sturgis Rally week. The bar is popular stopping point for motorcyclists driving the Devils Tower loop. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Hurricane Shots are just $40. What are they? A shot that comes with an unusual water chaser, and a Titanic slap at the end. Bartender Jordan Yates said she sold an average of 15 to 20 of the shots each day during rally week. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
It may say Wedding Fund on the front, but it says something entirely different on the back. It was turned around too quickly for Cowboy State Daily to read, but it was something like Stripper Pole Fund. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Visitors like to leave dollar bills with messages on them. They’re taped to the ceiling in the Aladdin General Store’s bar. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
The liquor cabinet at the Aladdin General Store has a surprising amount of diversity, with things like pumpkin chocolate liqueur, vanilla vodka, and Koltiska for the infamous Hurricane shot. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)

Year-Round Creativity

But it’s not just during the Sturgis rally that Yates’ creativity is on tap at the Aladdin General Store. She is always dreaming up new cocktails for upcoming events the bar plans — Christmas, Fall Festival, St. Patrick’s Day — there’s always something going on that makes a great excuse for a party, and the Aladdin General Store is more than happy to take advantage.

“Right now what I’m working on is the Fall Festival,” Yates said of the store’s annual autumn celebration. “I actually grow pumpkins out back here, and then I make a pumpkin mix out of them.”

That fresh pumpkin mixture gets used for pumpkin pie shots, which also include a bit of Mozart Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Liqueur, vanilla vodka, and cream.

“It’s so nice and creamy,” Yates said. “We do a little whipped cream on the top of it, and that’s usually one of our biggest hit.”

The Pumpkin Pie Martini is another popular one, that has just a bit more of the vanilla vodka, and is less creamy.

To round out the menu, there’s a margarita that uses apple cider, caramel apple butter rum, and an apple cider Moscow mule.

“You always have to have a margarita on the menu, right?” Yates said. “We dip the rim of that in caramel, then do a bit of salt on it, so it’s a salted caramel rim.”

The Fall Festival includes a crockpot cook-off, which is open to any dish that’s cooked in a crockpot, whether it’s chili, bread, cobbler or something else.

“It was perfect last year because we had people who made full meals in their crockpots and people who made desserts, so it was a full meal for everyone,” Yates said. “Every year that gets a little bit bigger. Last year we had 200 people.”

Aladdin has a population of just 15, so the event is clearly bringing in a lot of tourists who don’t live in the community, and it’s just another vital part of keeping a piece of 128-year-old history alive.

The Aladdin General Store in Aladdin, Wyoming. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
The old cash register at the Aladdin General Store still works, and is used daily. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Trent Tope makes change using the old cash register in the Aladdin General Store’s bar. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Fun photos of fun times at the Aladdin General Store’s bar decorate the walls. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
The 128-year-old Aladdin General Store has a lot of history behind it. The bar has preserved a number of brands from ranches in the area. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Some of the unique products for sale at the Aladdin General Store. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Black Tooth Brewing’s Hot Streak is a top-selling beer at the Aladdin General Store. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Just like Vegas, what happens in Aladdin stays in Aladdin. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)

Contact Renee Jean at renee@cowboystatedaily.com

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.

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Wyoming

Wyoming 3A and 4A Girls State Basketball Tournament Set for Casper

Published

3 hours ago

March 13, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming 3A and 4A Girls State Basketball Tournament Set for Casper

The final weekend in the 2026 Wyoming High School basketball season is here. The 3A and 4A girls’ basketball state championships are in Casper, where two teams will win a state title during the second weekend in March. The Class 3A and 4A girls’ games will be at the Ford Wyoming Center (FWC) and Casper College (CC). Both defending champions can defend their title after qualifying for the state tournament. The defending champions in Class 3A are the Douglas Bearcats, who have officially won seven in a row. The Cheyenne Central Indians will try to repeat in 4A.

WYOPREPS 3A-4A GIRLS BASKETBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE 2026

Day one action in 3A is at the Ford Wyoming Center. Day two is at Casper College. The consolation and third-place games are at Casper College. The championship is at the Ford Wyoming Center on Saturday, March 14. It is the first of the four big school state championship games.

THURSDAY, MARCH 12:

Final Score: (2W) Lander 52 (3E) Burns 43 – The Tigers’ 13-point lead was trimmed to 2 in the 4th quarter, but Lander answered with a 7-0 run to regain control of the game. Then a 10-0 run over the last 3 minutes helped them pull away. Goklish had 13 points to lead 3 Tigers in double figures. Barrett scored a game-high 24 points for the Broncs.

Final Score: (4W) Lovell 57 (1E) Wheatland 48 – The Bulldogs pulled away with a 15-7 third quarter. Ali Walker and Brooklin Clark combined for 36 points and 13 rebounds. Anderson had 19 pts to lead 3 Bulldogs in double figures. Lovell shot 51 percent, including 62.5 percent in the 2nd half. They also had 12 second-chance points.

Final Score: (2E) Douglas 39 (3W) Pinedale 37 – The Bearcats built a 9-point lead in the 2nd half and held off a Wranglers comeback. Pinedale had a chance to tie the game with 5.1 seconds left, but missed a free throw. Douglas makes 1-2 FTs, and the Wranglers didn’t get a shot off in the last 2.1 seconds. Leah Ewing led Douglas with 12 points. Sarah Smith added 9 points & 15 rebounds. Alyxis White scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Wranglers.

Final Score: (1W) Cody 82 (4E) Buffalo 43 – The Fillies used a 23-point 2nd quarter to pull away, and then added 26 in the 3rd quarter. Grace Hays scored 24 points to lead five Fillies in double figures. Cody scored 18 points off turnovers and had 17 second-chance points. The Fillies shot 55 percent and held the Bison to 29 percent from the floor. Karly Davis scored 22 points to lead Buffalo.

FRIDAY, MARCH 13:

Game 5: Burns vs. Wheatland, 9 a.m. (CC) – loser out

Game 6: Pinedale vs. Buffalo, 10:30 a.m. (CC) – loser out

Game 7: Lander vs. Lovell, 3:30 p.m. (CC) – semifinal

Game 8: Douglas vs. Cody, 5 p.m. (CC) – semifinal

SATURDAY, MARCH 14:

Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 9 a.m. (CC) – Consolation Trophy Game

Game 10: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 10:30 a.m. (CC) – 3rd Place Game

Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 2:30 p.m. (FWC) – Championship Game

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WyoPreps 3A-4A Girls Regional Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Final Basketball Poll 2026

WyoPreps 1A-2A Girls Regional Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Poll 2-25-26

WyoPreps Girls Basketball Week 10 Scores 2026

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Nominate A Basketball Player for the WyoPreps Athlete of the Week Honor

Day one action in 4A is at Casper College. Day two is at the Ford Wyoming Center. Day three is trophy day, and for 4A, all the games are at the Ford Wyoming Center. The championship is at the Ford Wyoming Center on Saturday, March 14. It is the third of the four big school state championship games.

THURSDAY, MARCH 12:

Final Score: (2E) Cheyenne Central 57 (3W) Evanston 42 – Central jumped out to a 9-0 lead and never trailed. Evanston pulled within 10 in the 4th quarter, but was outscored 10-5 the rest of the game. Wade & Needham scored 10 points each for the Indians, who scored 30 points off 29 Evanston turnovers. Hiatt had 21 points for the Red Devils.

Final Score: (1W) Green River 45 (4E) Sheridan 38 – OT – The Wolves survive the Broncs. They outscored them 10-3 in the extra session. Isa Vasco scored 23 points to lead all scorers. She scored the last 13 points of the game for GR and had the tying 3-pointer with 10.8 seconds left in regulation. Bilyeu & Erramouspe had 11 pts each for Sheridan.

Final Score: (3E) Thunder Basin 44 (2W) Star Valley 39 – OT – The Bolts outscored the Lady Braves 13-8 in OT. Addy Rouse led 3 TB players in double figures with 18 points. TB was 11-13 at the FT line in OT. The Bolts scored 15 points off 18 SV turnovers. Ambrey Nelson paced the Braves with 9 points and 10 rebounds.

Final Score: (1E) Cheyenne East 63 (4W) Natrona County 22 – The Thunderbirds used a 21-point 2nd quarter to pull away. East had 6 players score between 9 and 12 points. They scored 23 points off 24 NC turnovers, and East shot 54 percent for the game.

FRIDAY, MARCH 13:

Game 5: Evaston vs. Sheridan, 9 a.m. (FWC) – loser out

Game 6: Star Valley vs. Natrona County, 10:30 a.m. (FWC) – loser out

Game 7: Cheyenne Central vs. Green River, 3:30 p.m. (FWC) – semifinal

Game 8: Thunder Basin vs. Cheyenne East, 5 p.m. (FWC) – semifinal

SATURDAY, MARCH 14:

Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 9 a.m. (FWC) – Consolation Trophy Game

Game 10: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 10:30 a.m. (FWC) – 3rd Place Game

Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 5:30 p.m. (FWC) – Championship Game

James Johnson Winter Showcase Basketball Tournament 2026

Photos from game action at the James Johnson Winter Showcase tournament in Cheyenne.

Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Shannon Dutcher

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Wyoming

WYDOT warns of texting scam claiming to be from “Wyoming DMV”

Published

15 hours ago

March 12, 2026

Press Room

WYDOT warns of texting scam claiming to be from “Wyoming DMV”

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – The Wyoming Department of Transportation is warning residents about a texting scam, known as “smishing,” in which fraudulent messages claim to be from the “Wyoming DMV.”

The texts have demanded payment for traffic tickets, personal information, and have threatened recipients with driver’s license suspensions, additional fines and legal action. Some messages include suspicious web links.

The texts threaten driver’s license suspensions, fines and legal action in an attempt to obtain personal information(WYDOT)

WYDOT said it does not send text messages or seek personal information this way. The agency also noted it does not collect ticket fees and does not refer to itself as “The DMV.”

Residents who receive a message of this type are urged not to open it and not to share any personal information. The scam texts can be reported to the Federal Trade Commission through a link on WYDOT’s website.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

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Wyoming

UNLV Holds on to Defeat Wyoming in 2026 CU1 MW Men’s Basketball Championship

Published

1 day ago

March 12, 2026

Press Room

A thunderous comeback made for a thrilling opener of the opening game of the 2026 Credit Union 1 Mountain West Men’s Basketball Championship, but the No. 9 Wyoming Cowboys fell just short of the No. 8 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels, who held on to advance to the quarterfinals, 73-70.

UNLV got out to a 13-point lead by halftime thanks to a dismal shooting half by Wyoming, which shot 12-38 from the field and 2-17 from 3. Wyoming came roaring back in the second half and took the lead at one point, but the Runnin’ Rebels found a way.

“I thought our late-game execution, which has been pretty good for the most part for a lot of this year. We’ve won a lot of close games. We’re 3-0 in overtime. We’ve won a lot of close games, so our late-game execution really was at a high level,” UNLV coach Josh Pastner said. “Obviously, this isn’t a plays game. It’s a players’ game. The guys next to me (Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn and Kimani Hamilton) got the job done, made big shots, and that’s just the bottom line.”

Which was particularly impressive given UNLV star Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn went scoreless in the second period after dropping 15 points in the first. The scoring load and playmaking had to come from elsewhere after Wyoming guard Damarion Dennis locked Gibbs-Lawhorn down.

Down the stretch, that came mostly from Kimani Hamilton, who Gibbs-Lawhorn told to take over late.

A wild turnaround jumper by Hamilton, along with some massive free throws in the pressure cooker — including two with two seconds left to take an insurmountable three-point lead — kept UNLV just out of reach of Wyoming.

“Earlier in the year, things just happened to go my way, but there are multiple people on this team that can do the same thing, if not better than I can,” Gibbs-Lawson said. “When you have Kimani playing more than 30 minutes a game, it’s going to be hard to beat us with how locked in we’ve been defensively. Walter Brown, Tyrin Jones, they made some big plays, blocks and steals tonight.

“(If) We continue playing how we played defensively, then I think we have a good shot at this thing.”

But perhaps no play was bigger than Tyrin Jones’s final of six blocks on the night: up a point with less than 10 seconds left, Wyoming missed a jumper and got an offensive rebound. On the putback, Jones rose to the rafters for a block on Damarion Dennis, who had a double-double and led the comeback effort. In the moment, the crowd pleaded for a goaltending call, but he got to the ball just in time.

To go with seven points and five rebounds, his six blocks were tied for the fourth-most in an MW tournament game.

“I was debating if I could try to have him pump fake twice, but he got it up quick,” Jones said. “I got just enough and I was thankful to get it out of the sky, then it ended up in our hands. … I just knew my timing was going to be enough just to get it right at that top, peak moment.”

The Runnin’ Rebels will meet No. 1 Utah State in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

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