Chuck Davison keeps hoping that he will be invited to share his culinary talents at the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off. But for now, he will remain the grand pubah of the poultry at the Great International Chicken Wing festival at Baldinis Sports Casino just down the street from Victorian Square on Rock Boulevard.

“We have been first four years in a row,” Davison said as he furiously slopped sauce on a bowl of chicken wings before tossing them on the grill.

The chicken wing cook-off has garnered a flavor all its own in its eight years of existence, pulling in an average of 30,000 people to the July event.

The sounds of band Red Hot Smokin’ Aces wafted out from the main outdoor stage on the event’s opening day today and soaked through the chicken wings of 10 local vendors.

Davison, owner of Havin’ an Affair Gourmet Barbecue sauce, claims he goes through more than a thousand pounds of wings per day at the event. Also, at about 5 p.m., the lines behind his booth and others start to stretch out about 80 people long.

Texas Roadhouse cookers and restaurant owners Steve and Lisa Allen said they planed on burning through about 280 pounds of wings today, with more to come on the weekend.

“We are hoping that we will get more people out here with the (Fourth of July) fireworks,” event president and planner Willie Davison said.

The 2009 event is the first time the festival has spread its wings in Sparks. The event started in 2002 at the Reno Hilton, now the Grand Sierra Resort. Eventually it strutted over to downtown Reno.

“But then they narrowed the streets,” Willie Davison said. “It was too crowded then.”

Davison said he knew the event would move away from downtown Reno and Baldinis just came up on the event space radar.

“We have 16 acres of outdoor event space and (hosting) more special events is a direction we want to move in,” said Julia Jeffers, Baldini’s night life and beverage director. “People tend to focus on Victorian Square and downtown but we intend to give them a run.”

Jeffers said that the casino will be taking a big part in the Hot August Nights classic car festival when it rolls through Sparks starting Aug. 3. She also added that the casino is looking to beef up its outdoor entertainment by providing more music.

The Great International Chicken Wing festival will continue today through Sunday and both Baldinis and festival president Davison encouraged locals to bring their lawn chairs for tonight’s Star Spangled Sparks fireworks show.

The wing orders that most vendors serve range from $2 for a taster of a couple wings to $16 for a basket of up to 20 wings.