Recapping the inaugural Bingman Stakes tournament

The inaugural Bingman Stakes tourney was a success! Six intrepid souls gathered in Glen Haven, Colorado for a fun weekend of Scrabble and revelry. Loosely celebrating the occasion of my 50th birthday, the tourney was held at our family "cabin" in the mountains. The event would feature 20 rounds, with the top two finishers advancing to a best-of-3 finals match for an additional cash prize of $1,000 (the Bingman Stakes).

There was some trepidation as wildfires in the area were threatening some of the nearby towns, and we had to be ready for a possible evacuation. Luckily, the fire stayed safely away from our location, and the tourney could go on as planned, but we were all a bit nervous, frequently checking the fire maps for updates.

Things started out with a bang as I notched a 729 game in round 1, thanks to the 257 point LO(X)YGENS! (Sorry, Gary Smart.) My lucky streak with the tiles would continue, in a complete reversal from last week's Word Cup, and I was able to cruise into the finals.

The second finals berth was still in doubt until the last few rounds, with David Whitley eventually pulling away and clinching the spot in round 19. Three other players finished at 8-12, including Ethan Joseph (in only his second tourney!) Travis Chaney was the hard luck victim as he suffered several close defeats, including a 1-point loss to me in a game in which he got down two nines. Travis also had the beautiful INAURAt(ING) against me for 83+10.

In the finals, I held on and prevailed in two exciting games.

Congratulations to David Whitley for a strong second place performance, and to David Brown for taking the class prize. A clean sweep by the Daves!

Apart from the excitement over the boards, we had several excellent meals prepared by the indispensable Chris Wiegand (Mrs. Bing), games of So Clover, beers, hikes, and hot tubbing. A fun time was had by all!

Thanks to everyone for joining us. We hope to do it again sometime!