A GREAT weekend at the Gold Coast Casino in Las Vegas, making new friends and seeing many that we haven't seen in a while!  BIG THANKS to all who made the trek!!  The 'Action' was non-stop for 3-days, the memories will last a lot longer.  William Reyes (Hawaii) started the action Fridayrunning away with the first Sweeper worth a quick $116.00.  Mark Kight (LV) Won Sweeper #2, worth $96.  Margie Victor decided after 11 years of checking-in the Puget Sound bowlers and not participating herself, she wanted to bowl.  Of course, she immediately got 'Hot' and Cashed in the Sweeper & then followed that up by qualifying for the Finals.  21 Members qualified from the Friday/Saturday Squads and 7 more were added from the'Last Chance' squad.  The 138 Entries and 28 Finalists created a very impressive $13,468.00 in payouts.  Ejay Zafra (LV) was the Top Qualifier with an Awesome 1041 series, 3 more bowlers cracked the 1000 mark, Kenny Burnside (PS) 1011, David Cooper (London, England) 1004 & Alex Watanabe (LV) 1000, each earning a 1st Round 'Bye'.  Many of the Final Matches were very close, but none closer than the two ties that required 9th/10th Roll-Offs.  Each of those 'ties' was won by the two eventual Finalists.  Ironically, each of the Final 4 bowlers had ONE Career Tour Title to their credit.

Our 'THREE-REGION' Champion, Terry Sherman pulled out a DramaticONE pin victory, that came down to the final shot of the weekend.  Terrywasn't even planning to bowl on Sunday after not making the 'Cut' on Saturday, after staying up all night watching the Australian Open.  At the last minute, Terry decided to go for it, heading for Gold Coast and entering Sunday's 'Last Chance' squad.  After qualifying, Terry survived the first two rounds, then faced Pearl Sedeno (PS) in the 'Sweet 16' round.  Pearl was trying to become the first Member to earn Titles in ALL THREE Regions (she has 2 in Hawaii & 5 in P.S.).  That match ended in a 225 tie, with Terry ending Pearl's bid in 9th/10th Roll-Off and led to a later match-up with Pearl's husband in the Championship match.  Then came 'Shirt Gate'... Terry had left his Tour Shirt in the car.  He got away with a t-shirt for a while, but when not being allowed to continue without his Tour Shirt, a friend hurriedly retrieved what is now his 'Lucky' shirt.  The Final Match 

between Terry & Raymond Sedeno went back and forth till that last ball and the narrow ONE pin Win... but the drama didn't end there... Terry didn't put anything in the Winner's Pot, leaving $1,398.00 to be passed down.  Raymond was very disappointed with himself, until he heard about the 'Pass Down' money, making him the highest paid 2nd Place finisher in Tour history earning$2,225.00!  Terry would have earned $3,151.00, but was not the least unhappy with the $1,653.00 he took home.

Terry won his first Las Vegas Tour title back on 9/6/2016 at Wildfire.  Back then he used his Nexus by Brunswick drilled over at Sunset Station Pro Shop.  This time he used the same ball (his only ball).  Yes, that is correct, Terry has a one ball arsenal.  Same ball for strikes and spares.  Terry shared that he drank a bottle of water before every match to calm his nerves.  Congratulations Terry on winning the 9-Tap Tour's first 3-Region Tournament and keeping the win in the host city of Las Vegas.

Kenny Burnside & Guy Hirsimaki shared the 3rd Place money, though Guy also didn't enter the Winner's Pot.  The 'Pass Down' rule that's unique to the Winners Pot, also set an All-Time Tour Record, by being shared ALL-THE-WAY down to 16th Place.  Kenny recently returned to the Puget Sound Tour, originally joining back in 2004, while Guy has the honor of being Member #1 in the Las Vegas Region.  Kenny got 'nosed-out' in the Semi's in the other 9th/10th Roll-Off, while Guy was felled in a close battle with the eventual Champ.