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BGonline.org Forums
Reflections on the LA Open
Posted By: Bob Glass
Date: Tuesday, 14 June 2011, at 11:21 p.m.
There are a number of awards that were not given at the LA Open/USBGF Championships that should have been granted. Best Presidential Award should be granted to Perry Gartner who seems to be doing a much better job than that guy in the White House. I had my doubts about the effectiveness of the USBGF but those doubts have been put to sleep. That organization is here to stay and is well on its way to growing backgammon into the cherished supergame that it once was in its glory years. I can envision turning on the TV some day and viewing Backgammon After Dark.
A special shout out goes to the Tournament Director of the Century, Patrick Gibson, who managed to juggle more events into a short 4 day weekend than any presdidigitator at Barnum and Bailey's Circus could possibly accomplish. He is the recipient of the Dayenu Award. Dayenu is a Hebrew word often used in Passover seder readings meaning "it would have sufficed." He organized the following: the LA Open with 74 players, dayenu, the Advanced Event, dayenu, the Novice Event, dayenu, the Special 48, dayenu, The Paul Dingwell Amateur Event, dayenu, the USBGF National Championships, dayenu, 2 doubles events, dayenu, a couple of knockouts, dayenu, the Draft for the Tournament of Stars which included special guest players such as Lee Genud and Danny Kleinman, dayenu, The Tournament of Stars, dayenu, the Giants Quiz which included international participation, dayenu, the Giants Quiz solutions presented by Presidential Award winner Perry Gartner, dayenu, as well as the Awards Banquet, dayenu. Pat was even able to put up with me, DAYENU.
The Nicest Human Being on the Planet Award goes to Karen Davis in a landslide. If class and graciousness were commodities, Karen would be wealthier than Warren Buffett and Bill Gates combined.
The Exstream Backgammon award goes to Justin Nunez and his newlywed wife Rynell for their tireless live feeds to the internet allowing the world at large to witness the events as they unfolded. They even provided giant Dice Turners a la Vanna White so that the viewers could see each roll without straining their eyes. Rynell also did double duty recording match results thoughout the tournament.
The Hedgemony Award goes to Steve Sax with Honorable Mention to Joe Russell. When I played Steve in the quarterfinals of the National Championships, Steve asked me if I wanted to hedge something. I said sure. Out comes his notepad. "Let's see! We should hedge $200 and trade percentages. I only have 90% of myself so I have to set up what you will get if you win and win the next two matches, you win your first but lose the second, or you lose the next match. I now have to see what I will get as well. I now have to calculates all the scenarios for you and me if I should win the match." It must have been 45 minutes before he completed all his calculations. When the match became tied at 2 away 2 away, he stated, "I should revise the hedges since this has come down to a lucky 2 point match." Another 45 minutes later, we resumed play. I was fortunate to win, I think!
Steve next had to play Joe Russell in the semifinals of the Special 48. They both owned 10% of each other to start. Joe, I believe, had also farmed out a small percentage of himself to a colleague. Both of them had made percentage hedges with various players along the way and each of them were in on each others hedges. Most of the hedgees from prior matches were in on future hedges but Drew Giovannis preferred to gamble on Steve and wanted no part in future hedges. this made the calculations even more complicated. There must have been 10 sheets of notepaper strewn across the table with all the possible scenarios. The calculations must have taken an hour. Lo and behold, their match got to 2 away 2 away also. Time to revise. An hour later and another dead tree, they summoned Bob Koca to audit their calculations. The match itself did not take nearly as long to complete as their calculations. Steve won the match, but due to the duration of the calculations, the room was closing and the finals with Ed o'Laughlin had to be played at Steve's apartment.
Honorable Mention also goes to the crack staff who ran the all the events like a well oiled machine. Besides the people already mentioned (Karen Davis, Rynell, Cecilia Pedroza), they included Carla Gibson and Carol Joy Cole. If I am leaving anybody out, I humbly apologize. Honorable Mention also goes to all the USBGF Board members, committee members and consultants who helped pull this baby off. Besides Pat, Perry, Karen, Justin, and CJC, that would include Harvey Gillis, Richard Munitz, and Neil Kazaross.
See you all at the California Open later this year.
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