What do you do after you win the 2010 World Series? If you’re Sergio Romo, relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, you give back to the community through philanthropic efforts. Romo made a special trip out to Las Vegas to share a few hours with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas on Friday, Jan. 28.

Hosted by 9 Group and Palms Casino Resort at The Lounge, Romo and the children of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas spent the afternoon enjoying sugary and salty treats that included Simon at Palms Place Chef Kerry Simon’s signature cotton candy, dyed orange in Romo’s honor, hot dogs by N9NE Steakhouse and popcorn scooped into red and white movie cartons courtesy of Brenden Theatres. The kids were delighted as they were decked out in their signature Boys & Girls Club t-shirts, eating hot dogs loaded with ketchup and of course had sticky fingers due to the sugary fluffy treat.

Romo interacted with the kids as he let them pull on his beard, a signature feature of the 2010 World Series team where the phrase “fear the beard” was coined by all the players having facial hair. The kids talked with Romo about baseball, his beard and other interesting topics that struck their curious nature. As the food disappeared, the kids grew anxious to get Romo’s autograph and were ready to have one-on-one time with the big league player.

A line was formed as groups of 10 stepped up on stage to get a baseball personally signed and their photo taken. In honor of Romo’s beard, 9 Group supplied costume beards for the kids to wear during their group photo with him. All smiles and laughs, the kids were thrilled to look like the World Series champion that sat before them, but they were even more excited to keep the beards.

Photo credit: © Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com