Champagne Regional at Harrah’s Metropolis

The big excitement this month is our Unit’s Regional Tournament, held again this year at Harrah’s Metropolis, IL Casino. Action starts on Monday evening, June 16th at 7:00 P.M.

Just across the river from Paducah KY, the tournament is located in an attractive and spacious venue. Make plans now to attend! Host hotels are Harrah’s (800-427-7247), Amerihost (618-524-5678), and Holiday Inn Express (618-524-8899); special bridge rates are available. For a complete list of events being offered, see the ad in this issue of the Advocate. Partnership Chair is Maxine Wynn (270-554-5719). I hope to see you in Metropolis!

Edwardsville Sectional

Unit 223’s next Sectional Tournament will be held in Edwardsville IL on July 25–27. The tournament will be located at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 7132 Marine Rd. (Hwy 143), Edwardsville. Play commences on Friday with Stratified Pairs at 1:30 and 7:30. KO’s and Stratified Pairs will be offered on Saturday. Play concludes with Swiss Teams on Sunday (with a delicious hot meal offered between Swiss sessions). This Sectional is notable for it friendly ambience and fine hospitality. Tournament Chair is Ruby Nelson (618) 659-9716. Partnerships: Ray Sigler (618) 224-9606.

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

New Junior Master: James Yates, Wood River IL

New Club Masters: Ron Clark, Marion IL and Steven Wheeler, Highland IL

New Sectional Masters: Phillip Fultz, Benton KY and Bonnadean Reimer, Mt Vernon IL

New Regional Masters: Terryl Francis, Pocohontas IL and James Pirkle, Glen Carbon IL

New Life Masters: Patrick Dunkel, Mt Carmel IL and Terryl Francis, Pocahontas IL

New Bronze Master: Carolyn Koch, Edwardsville IL

New Silver Life Master: Doug McQuaid, Lebanon IL

New Gold Life Master: Sandra Lemon, Mayfield KY

Welcome to the following new members:

Ms. Ashton, Beecher City IL

Mrs. Lynn James, Centralia IL

Nick Crabill, Carlinville IL

Dutch and Joann Doelitzsch, Marion IL

Michael Goldstein, Watson IL

Logan Shade, Carlinville IL

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Tournament Play

I’m just back from a few days at the Champaign IL Regional. We had a really fine time and stayed this year in the relatively new host hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn. Tournament play is so much fun and such a nice change of pace, it puzzles me why more club-level players don’t participate. We saw friends from away that we don’t see any place other than tournaments, and made some new friends. It’s also interesting to play against relative strangers and test your game against players whose foibles you don’t know.

We had the experience of using remote scoring units that transmit scores directly from the table into the director’s computer. That was really interesting. I can remember the first time I ever saw a bidding box, and think we may all have experience with the remote scoring units in the future. We even came home with a few masterpoints!

If you have not played at a tournament in a while and have a chance, come out and play at least a session or two at our local regional coming up in Metropolis IL. If you live close enough to Harrah’s, you can enjoy all the excitement of playing at a regional without the expense of traveling and a hotel stay. A number of Unit 223 players have been working hard to put on this fine event, and would really like to have our local players support the tournament and join in the fun. See you at Metropolis (and also, I hope, at some of Unit 223’s Sectionals).