Vying to tie the knot on triple-7 date

DONEL HARDY and John Allison figure they must be a very lucky couple indeed.

They met seven years ago, went on their first date on September 7, and then found out they and Hardy’s daughter Kelli all shared the same birthday — July 7.

“John pulled out his driver’s licence because I didn’t believe him,” said Hardy, 40.

They live at an elevation above 7,000 feet in Mammoth, California, and their post office box number is in the 70s.

So they settled on a wedding date and a lucky place to get married — July 7, 2007, in Las Vegas.

The couple are among thousands looking to get lucky in love who are expected to flock to Las Vegas to tie the knot on a very propitious date — 7/7/07 — which comes along only once a century.

Nationwide, marriage planners report a high demand by couples to say their vows on July 7.

Las Vegas casinos and the city’s many wedding chapels are going to extra lengths to cash in on the triple 7 jackpot.

More than 60 couples are to be wed in mass ceremonies at Mandalay Bay and Caesar’s Palace hotel casinos. The Flamingo has scheduled 77 back-to-back weddings, running from 7am to 11pm. The Venetian opened up a second bridge location to hold weddings.

“Within the first 15 minutes, we had sold out of our bridge location, which was a hotel record,” said wedding services manager Darlene Wilson.

But while some are seeking to have better luck on their second or even third time around, experts say it takes more than just good fortune to make marriages work.

A little sense of destiny, however, doesn’t hurt.

“It’s kind of something that’s shared that will never ever, ever happen again in their lifetime,” said Temple University psychologist Frank Farley.

“Maybe that alone can cement it a bit. Because they can say, ‘We started off in a totally unique moment in the history of the world. And we’ve got to make it work’.”

Astrologers, however, say the stars are not auspiciously aligned for the date. While lovelorn Venus is in sunny Leo, the moon, which governs emotions, will be in the bad-tempered Aries part of the sky.