What a difference a format can make! With the July High Roller once again all single elimination match play, it had the feel of the “old Showboat” days!
Even the crowds felt more excitement watching leads go back and forth in those late frames, many outcomes not known until the final ball of the match! And even then, many matches needed a tie-breaker to determine who advanced and who didn’t.
San Diego’s Steve Smith remembers the old days as he was bowling in his 39th High Roller event going back to the 1998 July High Roller. Does experience matter? Well, consider that Smith was the last remaining undefeated player coming out of the Age 49 & Under division with 10 wins!
Experience count? How about Steve Calyore representing the 50 & Over/215 players? Calyore, the 53 year old from Naples, Florida was participating in his 72nd High Roller dating back to 1983! That’s right the 2nd year of High Roller competition.
Both players squared off with their 1st High Roller title in mind knowing that only one would get it. It was the 41 year old Smith reaping in the $30,000 top prize, Calyore settling for his 2nd runner-up finish and a $15,000 check.
Entries and the number of participants were up about 15% from last July and although the megabuck events are still fighting the economy, it was an optimistic crowd, hoping for another match play megabuck in February 2010. Stay tuned!
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