Neither cold, nor snow, nor ugly weather could keep the 9-Tap Tour members from HiLine Lanes on Saturday.  A SUPER turnout created a total of $6,272.00 in payouts to 93 entrants, which included a DRAMATIC shot at the infamous "7th No-Tap".  Before the Tournament we had discussed that HiLine could be the place to finally bust the Strike Pot.  During the last squad, Mike Ducay drew a crowd with his 5th and 6th No-Taps to start his first game.  That qualified him for the $500 bonus, but one more would mean $4,414.  Mike threw a nice shot that left a ringing 10 pin and for a split second, everyone thought we had a winner... but a kiss off the wall and the 10 pin goes down.  Mike picks up the $500 to go along with his 6th place finish.  Nice run Mike!  The scores overall were very moderate, with only 3 members cracking 1000.  There was a tie at 920 for the final spot, so we paid an extra (19th) position.

HiLine Lanes was the previous home of the 9-Tap Tour & Jon Schneider was the Tour's original creator.  How poetic, that HiLine is the site of Jon's 1st Tour Championship.  Jon has worked very hard this year, coming back from knee surgery and putting that same effort into improving his bowling.  He just got into that groove, shooting 4 consistent games, ending up with a fantastic 1069 in the second squad.  Jon credits his hard work, along with help from Paul Padilla, for his continued improvement this year.  It was particularly heart warming to see the enthusiasm so many people had for Jon's success.  Jon also had his 'good-luck-charm' with him... his daughter Jessica was handling the Bracket Table for the first time this year, while Linda had the day off for her birthday.  Again, we had Progressive Pot money left on the table with both 1st and 2nd place having $10 in the Pot.  That still left Jon with a $1,418.00 payday, plus he took another $250 out of the Scratch High Game and Series Pot.  Jon's hobbies these days are pretty much limited to being a Grandpa, bowling and the Tour.  CONGRATULATION JON FROM ALL OF US!

In the final squad, after three games, only one member had clear shot at Jon's 1069.  Shirley Nagasawa gave it a run and ended-up with her best finish shooting a GREAT 1032 to take 2nd and $657.00.  All of the Top 3 had their "Best Ever" finishes, with 3rd Place going to Jerry Sandschulte with a 1009, good for $457.  Jerry had a slow start, but finished-up with his 1st 9-Tap 300 game to jump all the way to 3rd.

The Progressive Pot again climbs to a huge $2,399.00, and despite getting hit for $500, the Strike Pot still remains high at $5,348.00.  Maybe the EQC Quarterly will be the week it gets hit.

Invitations will go out this week to confirm your eligibility for next weekends EQC Championship at Narrows Plaza.  Will this be the one that goes over $10,000 in payouts?  See ya there!