The 9-Tap Tour had another FANTASTIC turnout at Bowlero Lanes in Lakewood, with 227 Entries and $15,407.00 in payouts.  The extra lanes & extra time for each squad helped us to stay On-Time in all squads, with nobody turned away.  BIG THANKS to Bill and his Bowlero crew for a very smooth day!!  We made a tweak to the Oil Pattern for Saturday, adding more loads of oil down the middle of the pattern, just so it would hold up longer for the last squad.  We did our best to avoid impacting the scores with the adjustment... with the 'Ideal' scoring range on the Cash List, we'd have to conclude we were very successful.  With the large bowler turnout, we would have expected more bowlers cracking 800, but the three 800's that we did have was more than we've had lately.  The 699 'Cut-Line' was slightly higher, which also indicated that we had more bowlers with slightly higher scores this week. 

The 9-Tap Jackpot got off really easy, with Jerry Smith getting the Front-4 Taps early in the first squad and nobody matching or topping it all day.  Jerry earned $100.00 for the effort... with a by-product of having the Jackpot make a BIG jump to $4,665.00.  When the Jackpot reaches $4K, it automatically triggers the return of

7-MIDDLE TAPS for next week. HOORAY!! 

1st Place - Oscar Gestoso scored a whopping 826 series, beating his best finish for 3-Game Format by 27 pins. When asked about how he discovered that famous 'Groove' Saturday, Oscar said that he's "Been looking for it for the LAST SIX YEARS", which just happens to coincide with his last Tour Title.  With his hefty $2,745.00 payday, Oscar also becomes the 48th Tour Member to join the $20,000.00 CLUB!  His FOUR Tour Titles and many big Cashes have pushed his Career Prize Money total to $20,629.00. Oscar wants to thank Nick Pagdilao and James Black for cheering him on. 

2nd Place – Tong Nguyen, a 9-Tap Tour veteran and Hall Of Fame Member (aka 'The Legend') threw a fantastic 811 series for a very nice check in the amount of $1,218.00.  Add the $220.00 he won for his High Scratch Series andhis payday total was $1,438.00.  Tong was an original 2002 Member.  He was close to his FIFTEENTH Tour Title and his Prize Money Earnings now stand at an impressive $77,645.00, which is #3 on the All-Time Money List. 

3rd Place - Earl Kleist, another 9-Tap Tour veteran and Hall Of Famer, landed the only other score in the 800's with his 803 series for a $609.00 check.  He also won $110.00 for 2nd High Scratch Series and $25.00 for his 3rd place tie for High Sctratch Game making his total for the day $744.00.  His prize money adds to his career earnings, which just happens to be #2 on the All-Time Money List, now at $82,691.00. 

Guess the Tour Vets really did show the way this week!!!