One of my nephews is bowling on the PBA Regional Tour, and it seemed logical that I would be the one to take him to a tournament at a casino<g>.
Keith did extremely well, making the first cut in only his third pro outing. He got bounced out in the second round but was still beaming ear-to-ear since he collected his first PBA check. LOL, that's much better than Aunt Daisy did in her first ProAm<g>.
We hung around to watch the first set of elimination matches, then Aunt Daisy started doing what she does best - getting her money back from the first two days. I pulled even for the trip on DDB and joked with Keith that he could go to the next tournament (in Hawaii) if I hit a Royal to pay for it. Well ... no Royal ...BUT .. from that point on, it was obvious that the gambling gods wanted Keith in Hawaii<g>. In quick succession, I hit quad 3s, 3s+kicker, Aces and Aces+kicker on the same quarter DDB machine ... and quad 6s on a dollar Bonus Poker Deluxe machine close to the ladies restroom. I showed him my cash-out ticket and said "you're going to Hawaii!"
Maybe you should have played a little longer and taken all of us? LOL I don't think I've ever seen you play dollars! What a great time to step up size! I'm guessing this is all with out the dreaded W2-G? Wonderful, I love hearing stories such as this one, it gives me hope after my last outing! Thanks for the report!
LOL, I know you've never seen me play dollars, and I don't really like to, but the dollar machines had BPD and BDW, and the quarter machines didn't.
Aside from being entirely too "thrifty" to play dollars, I usually stay away from them because the pay tables are worse than quarters. For example, at this particular tribal casino, DDB was 9/5 on quarters and 6/5 on dollars. Why move up? Strangely enough, the BPD had the same pay table I'm used to seeing in Las Vegas.
Keith and my bro had both joked with me that the next tournaments were in Hawaii ... and my initial response was "dream on." I just finished our travel arrangements last night.
Black Oak Casino is up by Sonora - in the CA foothills that used to be part of my work route. It's also one of my favorite places to take my mom since they have a theatre group that is outstanding. Saturday night, we went to see a comedy called "The Perfect Marriage" - it was the perfect way to keep Keith relaxed and get his mind OFF bowling. This same theater will be performing both Forever Plaid and Plaid Tidings in Oct/Nov, which is why I passed on seeing the show again in Las Vegas.
LOL, now I have to find some "culture" for Keith in Hawaii - it's part of the trip requirements when the Deuces travel with Aunt Daisy<g>.
The Hawaii trip starts April 14th; they have two tournaments within a 9-day span. The first one is in Lihue, Kauai, and the second one at Hickham AFB in Honolulu. There might be some local TV coverage, but I doubt any of the tournaments make national TV.
Keith just turned 22 earlier this month. LOL, I'm not going to say he was a happy camper when we got home; I'm going to let the picture do the talking.
I think he's going to be almost as happy when he learns what Aunt Daisy lumps together as "culture" on this trip. A trip to the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor is a must, but there may also be a trip out to the world's largest maze and a ride on the "Pineapple Express" at the Dole Plantation ... and I just found out where we can catch outrigger canoe rides among the surfers on Waikiki Beach<g>. I figure he can also soak up some culture under a palm tree on the beach.
Registered: 07/12/99
Posts: 3627
Loc: Columbus, Ohio, USA
Sounds like fun.
I was a bit confused when you talked about finding someone to take him to this tournament but being in a professional tournament. I originally figured he must not be old enough to drive. But then I didn't think there were pro tournaments for people that age.
Enjoy Hawaii. I'll be anxious to see the pics of you in a grass skirt!
He's old enough to drive ... in fact, I gave him some stick shift driving time on our trip up to the foothills. I'm training my relief driver for our bowling trips down to Las Vegas in Aug/Oct although both of the Deuces should be on those, and the younger one can already drive stick since he inherited my old Suby. LOL, last time I took them to Las Vegas, they slept and I drove ... I'm planning on reversing that this time.
Right now, bro & I are basically going along as managers since Keith doesn't have a lot of travel experience .. we take care of hotels & meals & such ... and let him concentrate on the tournaments. It's not exactly hard duty, and it is a lot of fun. I'll be bowling in at least one of the ProAms in Hawaii .. that was a hoot at Black Oak!
I'm not sure about the grass skirt, but I hope to have pics of the outrigger canoes.
Registered: 05/31/00
Posts: 1887
Loc: Chicago, IL, USA
Daisy - I didn't realize you were a bowler. What do you average?
I used to bowl for YEARS in leagues - started when I was in 3rd grade - but gave it up around 3 or 4 years ago. I used to average between 160-165 - never could quite get it higher than that but always had fun!
Gee, Lee, you haven't claimed me as Aunt Daisy for quite a while<g>.
I never bowled regularly until January, when I started averaging about 105 ... I've pulled that up to about 130-135 right now. LOL, the only reason I took part in that first ProAm was to get the included new bowling ball to replace my 25-year old antique<g>, but I had such a good time that I'm looking forward to more of them, especially the one in Lihue that is followed by a luau with the pros .. they are a young fun group.
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