Unit 223 Reporter -- Southern IL/Paducah

Some Wild Distribution

Mother's Day Afternoon, playing in a small 4-table duplicate game with my husband, John, the following hand came up. (We were playing 2-over-1 and Forcing NT). Sitting South I held
3 QJ8432 87652 2

John (Dealer and North) opened 1S, of course, and RHO passed. With my strange hand, and in spite of having only 3 points, I bid a forcing 1NT. I expected him to rebid 2C (What else?) and planned to bid a "drop-dead" 2H over that. LHO passed and 3D was John's next bid! When I recovered from my surprise, I bid 5D, passed out.

The opening lead was the heart ace. West, who a lady fairly new to duplicate, commented on the paucity of points in my hand. She had every right to comment. She has been attending lessons I've been giving on Tuesdays which have emphasized keeping point-count requirements firmly in mind at all times when making bids and arriving at the final contract.

"Hopefully, my partner can cross-ruff to game," was my reply. John muttered under his breath, "Try seven."

John's hand was AJ1076 Void AKQ104 A97. A 13 tricks was what he took, with a combined 21 high-card points, thanks to wild distribution and Forcing 1 NT!

P. S. We got a really good result on the board, but I think at a tournament some brave soul would have bid the 21-point-slam.

Congratulations to the following Unit 223 Players who have advanced in rank:

New Junior Masters

Betty Justice, Belleville IL

Dottie Lang, Marion IL

Judith Pifer, Glen Carbon IL

Roger Pifer, Glen Carbon IL

Douglas Snow, Paducah KY

New Club Masters

Kadie Davis, Edwardsville IL

Jo Grissom, Hickman KY

Judy Harralson, Princeton KY

Toni Messinger, Alton IL

New Sectional Masters

Linda Badgley, Edwardsville IL

Dr George Halsey, O'Fallon IL

Mary Lattan, Carlinville IL

Bill McLaughlin, Centrailia IL

William Riley, Alton IL

Mariana Weber, Edwardsville IL

New Regional Masters

Ron Deluca, Gilbertsville KY

New NABC Masters

Bob Holdeman, Pocahontas IL

Chuck Wolff, Alton IL

New Silver Life Masters

Judith Shepherd, Paducah KY

Unit 223 welcomes the following new players to our Unit:

Gary Goeckner, Effingham IL

Judith Wagner, Belleville IL

Ronald Bruner, Edwardsville IL

Samuel Holdman, Pocahontas IL

Upcoming Regional

The next event of note coming up in our Unit is the Regional Tournament, to be held at Harrah's Casino Hotel Convention Center in Metropolis IL on June 20th to June 26th. I hope that you are lining up your partnerships and making plans to attend. Expect the usual great hospitality.

Tournament Contact: Dalton Darnell -- (270) 753 5992 marcia_darnell@hotmail.com

Partnerships: Maxine Wynn -- (270) 554 5719 twynn401@comcast.net

Regional Housing Update:

Harrah's Casino Hotel and Convention Center was not damaged by the recent flooding on the Ohio River. However, water did get into our other host hotel (the Metropolis Baymont), and it will not be repaired in time for the tournament. Some alternate housing suggestions (for those who do not have reservations at Harrah's) are:

In Metropolis:

Holiday Inn Express (618) 524 8899

Motel 6 (800) 466 8356 or (618) 524 7227

Super 8 (800) 800 8000 or (618) 524 8200

America's Best Value Inn (888) 315 2378 or (618) 524 9341

In Paducah, just across the river, there are many hotels:

At Exit 3:
Baymont (270) 443 4343

At Exit 4:
    Days Inn (270) 443 8401
    Drury Inn (270) 443 3313
    Motel 6 (270) 443 3313

Please note: The Tournament Committee had special rates arranged only at the Harrah's Hotel and the Baymont in Metropolis.

Edwardsville IL Sectional -- July 22-24

The next Unit 223 Sectional will be in Edwardsville IL on July 22-24 at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 7132 Marine Road.

Tournament Chair: Andrew Carver -- (618) 514-2291.

Partnerships: Glenda Piek -- (618) 656-3856 or glendapiek@charter.net

A link to a tournament flyer may be found in this issue of Advocate or on ACBL's website.