From: Joel Sherman <icenine@panix.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Jul 1997 00:26:05 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Reno Diary, Part 2: Reno Warmup #1
Message-id: <Pine.SUN.3.94.970716225512.29820C-100000@panix3.panix.com>

From the desk of G.I. JoelGERNAUT:

Okay, I get some sleep on the plane, arrive in Reno flush with my winnings from Albany, and meet Bro and Dad at the baggage claim. We split a cab to the Sands, and get our rooms. We greet the friends, grab a bite in the god-awful Palm Court restaurant next to the playing room and hit the hay, leaving wake up call for 7:30. 9 AM is a ridiculous time to start a tourney, and 8 games is too darn many to play in one day. But I'm reasonably well rested, and relaxed after my shower, so I grab a cup of java and a coupla mini-bagels to swallow my humongous vitamins with, and set up my board and tiles.

First game is against Denver Steele and he draws first blank and first bingo blood with GEsTAPO on 2nd turn. Two turns later I slap down QINTAR for 50 and ZERO for 69 and suddenly, I'm out in front by 50. I continue scoring steadily with non-bingos, then bingo out with SERIaTE, swiping a full rack from Denver, and record a 189-pt. win. Denver did play the pretty DEERLIKE thru E-R for 36, but it just set up my ZERO.

Next up is Stu, who comes back from my 80-pt. SQuIDS with an 80-pt. DIURONS, to make the score 253-251 in my favor after 9 turns, but I blitz him with ROMAINES (83) and GESNERiA on next two turns, and wind up with a 98 pt. win.

I get LOGIESt (74), DRAGGERS (63), ANNOYEd (72) and HAJ (46) against Jan Dixon, who can only get down EPINAOS (82) early and then watch the rest, and I take a +151 and still can't seem to get any bad tiles. I'm also in 1st place, by over 100 points.

Round 4 against Kent Nelson, begins to look promising as he opens with REPLIER (74), but I find RENEGADO (86) to grab the lead right back. On turn 5 I get HEJIRAS (79), and on turn 7 my BIOMETRy (72) draws a challenge. It's already a runaway, but on turn 11, I bingo out with a play soon to be immortalized in an upcoming _Scrabble News_ "Your Move" column. I'll keep those of you who weren't there to hear about it in suspense until your SN arrives. ;-) Another 210 points on the cum.

Now I play Gail Wolford in a matchup of undefeateds. I draw a blank in my first rack but can't play it until turn 6 when my ALANINs (78) still leaves me 50 points behind Gail's DISROBE (90) and other plays. I take a brief lead with UNCROSS (80) on turn 9, but Gai gets the 2nd blank just in time to play LORdING (68) and wins by 38 to take over 1st place.

I grab a French Dip from Arby's for lunch, meet and chat with Larry Rand, a former tennis pro who is on his way up thru the intermediate division and lives in Phoenix.

Round 6 I play Sam Kantimathi, who often gets wonderful tiles against me, so I am hopeful that my poorly timed racks against Wolford will turn into outright garbage against Sam. Well, it almost works, Sam does get both blanks, and when he bingos with RANChOS (82) on move 9, he pulls within 12 points of me, but I bingo right back with DOTTIEST (81), my second natural of the game, and then go out while the 2nd blank is still on Sam's rack to chalk up another 97-pt. win. Sam plays TRIPLY with 6 tiles from his rack for a big 23 points, failing to notice that the LY can extend my earlier rack cleaner VIRTUAL to the o15 tws for 45, a play which would have kept the potent STRIP on his rack. So it goes.

7th game is against the streaking Martin Weisskopf, but I figure to be a heavy favorite with a 250-point rating advantage. Martin gets the first bingo down with MONTANES (61) on turn 4 for a 55 point lead. 3 turns later, after my WEALTH (36), ALACK (35), and QOPH (47), I'm up 190-162, and ready to play H-ARRYING from the H in WEALTH o8 (107), but Martin blocks that with S-T-ARGaZE n7 (88), and when my rack won't produce a bingo anywhere else, I settle for YARN/STARGAZER for 51, leaving me only 9 points behind. But my next rack needs an unavailable A for AUTOGIRO, while Martin plays FAZE for 32 and BETIDES (76) on his next two turns, and all I can do is try a desperation 9x setup by playing QUA 1b for 13, with hopes of pulling out AQUATONE, SQUADRON or SQUAMATE, but Weisskopf had the S and blocked with SQUARE (45) sealing a big win, -162 for me.

Okay, things are starting to head in the desired direction. Granted, I wouldn't have minded if they had waited three games so I could pick up some extra cash, seeing how the tourney started out so well for me. But, now maybe I will be able to take a day of rest on Tuesday before starting the main event. Well the last game had me up against Jeff Widergren with 2nd place still up for grabs in this match. Halfway thru the game, I trail by 6, and my rack is BIIORST, with a few more I's unseen. I have a choice of playing ORIBI for 19 keeping ST, ORIBI for 24 keeping RST but giving a big opening on o8, or BRO for 27 forming RAX and ON, keeping SITI, but with some thoughts of getting a -TION 9lb down where I'm forming ON. I play BRO. Suddenly, I turn into Marlon Hill and Jeff turns into Maven. My next rack is AIIIRST. I see the OSW-only 9lb IRISATION#, but decide not to risk it. I play AIR for 12 points, and my next rack is AIIIIST! I go from 2 I's to 3 I's to 4 I's despite the fact that I played one of the I's on the second move. Finally I get to play INIA for 8 points, and then FRUITION for 24, and I'm only behind by 14! But Jeff now plays GOATHErD (98), QUAKE (36) and WiLDERED (64) and he wins by 103, to take 2nd place, while Martin Weisskopf wraps up a rare 1st place and a big rating gain. With my 5-3 record I fall to 7th place. My Dad also finishes 7th in the lower division with a 6-2 record! Alleluia, I don't have to play tomorrow! ;-)

Stay tuned for the MAIN EVENT!
G.I. JoelGERNAUT