Still Waiting For A Jeff Lebowski Sighting At The World Series of Bowling

…Continued from the previous post.

Most casual fans of bowling know that rolling three strikes in a row is called a Turkey. It is now my pleasure to add to that body of knowledge by sharing with you that four strikes in a row is called a Hambone.

Why? I don’t know – nor did anyone sitting near me at the World Series of Bowling. But each time a bowler recorded a fourth consecutive strike, the “Hambone” signs and cheers invariably went up in the bleachers.

Your curiosity now piqued, you may ask “What is five strikes in a row called?” Simple – “Five strikes in a row.” Or in my case, “Impossible.”

My trip to Las Vegas for this event was timed to miss all of the qualifying play that had been going on for almost two weeks at the South Point Resort’s Bowling Center. In each of the five Championships that make up the WSOB, bowlers had been progressively keggling through 12 games of medal play to narrow the field to 16, and then 9 match play games to finalize seeding.

I skipped all that and went right to the dessert – the Championship Finals, which featured the five bowlers who had accumulated the most points during that 21 game grind. And I took two helpings of the good stuff, plunking down $20 each to be part of the studio audience for the taping of the Viper and the Chameleon Championships.

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I Was A Prop At The PBA World Series Of Bowling

South Point Casino, Las Vegas: Site of the PBA World Series of BowlingIt’s a funny thing about Las Vegas – the city seems to be suffering through a chronic and debilitating shortage of chairs.

If you don’t believe me, try this simple experiment on your own: Enter any Vegas casino and sit down – but not in any of the 12,594 seats at which doing so requires placing a bet or ordering food and drink. See what I mean? Spooky, huh?

So it was that I recently found myself luxuriating in the comfort of a cement bench at the taxi stand outside of South Point Resort Casino, waiting for the gates to open for the PBA World Series of Bowling. It was either that or idle away the time at the slots. Since the Demon Deacon Fantasy Football League reminds me each year that I am the world’s least talented gambler, the choice was an easy one.
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