I like the font that you choose, but I get the impression that you"re only copying what the guy did from image #1. Can you be original and come up with something yourself?
The logo reminds me of like a sign I would see like in "cowboy" country. And like a sign that you would have seen in the Las Vegas strip in the 70's.
Hmmmm... after looking at the entries you had and your first ranked... i thought the style you were looking for was the -emblem style-. Believe me... i don't copy nor would i start with this contest. Any way... taking another shot with your logo...came up with a more feminine approach. It's a stylized letter mark, a combo of the T and the R... hope it's warmer than the last one.
I like that a lot. It's almost 3:00 AM where I'm at, and now I'm using my phone to check out my contest and through my phone, it won't allow me to rank my entries. So let me sleep on it, when I wake up, I will rank you and share with you anything I come up with.
My apologies for assuming that you were copying. I'm glad to see that you're man enough to admit that and to do your own thing.