Unit 223 Reporter -- Southern IL/Paducah

The Effingham Crossroads Tournament has been held for two years now at the Thelma Keller Convention Center at the junction of I-70 and I-57, and has been a spectacularly well-run event. This super-attractive venue is attached to a host hotel, the Holiday Inn, and is surrounded by a plethora of adjacent hotels and restaurants. A bed or meal is easily available close by to fit any budget.

The hotel also offered a cash Snack Bar, open all day during play, which featured tasty and reasonably priced snacks, drinks (including various soft drinks and coffee), hot and cold sandwiches, salads, etc. I particularly liked the chicken salad sandwich, offered at $4, and fresh fruit and cookies, $1 each. Thanks to the excellent Snack Bar, players did not have to leave the venue between sessions to eat if they didn’t wish to do so.

Player after player commented to me on what a pleasant, well-run tournament they were enjoying, and wondered why the heck more people weren’t in attendance! I had to wonder that myself. If you were an “absent” Unit 223 player, where were you? See what you missed?

The Gold Rush Pairs were popular events, for those who are looking for those last few gold points, and -- if you did not realize it -- this tournament now offers full points. Due to an ACBL change in policy, points won at split regionals are no longer “reduced”. Players took home 2542 masterpoints from the Crossroads Regional. Make plans to attend in 2017, for goodness sakes! If you weren’t there, do NOT miss out again!

The host hotel (Holiday Inn) and Thelma Keller Convention Center		Tournament director John Nichols and Director-in-Charge Charley McCracken.
Sharon Sehy and Mike Sehy of Effingham worked at the Registration Desk all week, and were the first smiling faces to greet incoming players.	Also frequently seen at the Registration Desk was Donna Swick of Newton, who printed free stick-on labels with players’ names and member numbers.	Buying entries. Visible are some of the notable players who attended: Chuck Said of Nashville, Roger Lord of St Louis, and Unit 223 Diamond LM Judy Eaton
Waiting for the action to start, a table of players from Kentucky -- Tom and Maxine Wynn, Dennis Rose and Ron Brockman -- enjoy some quiet conversation.	Tournament Chair Paul Hartke confers with caddies Maysie and Bridget, who are also participants in the Effingham School Bridge Program.	Holiday Inn Snack Bar -- If players wanted lunch or just a quick drink or candy bar, it was just a short step across the hall to the Snack Bar.
Don “Cowboy” Florida from Indianapolis checks the recap sheets.	At the end of the day, players gathered in the Hospitality Suite to relive and discuss the hands and munch goodies.

2016 Crossroads Regional Report

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