Doctor Saves "Santa" With Steak Knife

(Las Vegas, NV) -- A Las Vegas doctor saved Santa Claus' life by cutting into his throat with a steak knife. The "Review-Journal" says last Wednesday night, 57-year-old John Adams was enjoying a dinner with his family at the Bootlegger Bistro in Las Vegas, when he began choking on his food. Employees used the Heimlich maneuver on Adams, a Barstow, California, man who likes to play Santa. The effort was unsuccessful. Enter Doctor Michael Colletti, who was also in the restaurant. Remembering what he had learned as a medical student three decades earlier, he cut into Adams' throat and inserted a drinking straw to help him breathe. The impromptu surgery was a success, and Adams was taken to a hospital for treatment. Former Nevada Lieutenant Governor Lorraine Hunt-Bono, who's an owner of the Bootlegger, called Colletti a "hero."