JBT Las Vegas Main Event Update 10-29-08
Believe it or not, the 2008 JBT Las Vegas Main Event is now less than two months away! Are you getting ready? If not, the time is now to get your entry in for what's simply the best bowling tournament of the year!
If you've already entered- thank you! At our website, www.bowljbt.com, just click on the "Main Event" section, and you can view your entry, as well as all the others, and of course, everything else related to the Main Event. If you have any questions at all about your entry or anything else Main Event related, just drop us a line!
If you haven't entered, start to think about doing so. There will be fewer people per squad on our singles event than last year (so we can have more total squads and guarantee on-time re-oiling), so that likely means less room for walk-in or late entries. Typically, squads start to get full right around Thanksgiving, so don't wait too much longer to get those entries in. Please remember, we now let you pay via credit card online--- not to contribute to the national credit crisis, but you might consider that a very convenient way to pay for the Main Event or other JBT events.
Also, be sure to get your hotel rooms as soon as possible. The rooms we have reserved at Texas Station are priced on a 'tiered' system- the earlier you book, the better your rate. This system allowed us to reserve a much larger block of rooms to begin with, so fewer people who wanted to stay at Texas will be shut out- but again, it's only a 200-room hotel, so the early bird gets the room! If you don't want to or can't stay at Texas, I recommend looking at travel websites like expedia and hotwire, etc. Vegas room rates vary wildly, and the same dates often have rates that go up and down daily- so a little bit of savvy shopping can generally get you a very good deal.
Doubles and Teams bowlers- we want to encourage you to send in your entry for these portions ahead of time, as well, especially for people planning to bowl multiple doubles squads. It's nice that we allow you to bowl doubles or singles at any squad time, but since they use two different lane conditions, we need to tell the center how many lanes to oil with each pattern before every squad. This means we will take only limited walk-in entries, and only up to 1 hour before squad time in most cases. So... in order to guarantee the squad times you want, enter before you get to Vegas- or as soon as you get to Vegas, stop on by the tournament office, and we'll take care of you there as well.
And now, my annual "beg and grovel paragraph": folks, we're 100% reliant on YOU to spread the word about Main Event. We simply don't have the advertising budget to get fancy flyers out to all centers and tournaments we'd like to-- I hope you'll agree that that's money that's better used in the prize fund anyway. But as a consequence of that- we simply neeeeeeed you to tell folks that this is a tournament worth coming to in order to exist.
We know that this is not the greatest of times for some of us, financially. However, we hope you'll agree that the Main Event stands up pretty darned well compared to other options in the bowling world, if you're in a position to have to choose which big-money national tournaments to bowl this year. Here's why:
1) OUR PRIZE FUNDS OUR GUARANTEED. $5,000 for first and $100 minimum for 24th in scratch, $1500 for first and $100 for 9th in girls scratch, and $2000 for first and $100 for 18th in handicap are all GUARANTEED prizes, completely regardless of entries. Yes, this makes me nervous as heck each year. Yes, that in itself is a terrific reason to bowl. 2) The above prize fund, compared to our basic entry fees, is extremely good. $100 to win $5,000, and $80 to win $2,000, is a ratio we think is hard to match in an open-field junior tournament. 3) Our doubles, team, and junior gold events, and our optional brackets and all-events prize, give you enough to bowl in where you could bowl non-stop with us all week. Of course, the more you get in, the more you can win, and if you bowl a lot and catch a good roll, it's pretty astounding the scholarship figures you could rack up! 4) If you want to experience the Main Event, but don't have the time and/or budget to make it a long stay in Vegas (or if you enjoy opening Christmas presents on Christmas day, not January 5 like I do), you could theoretically bowl the 2 PM 12/27 squad, spend just one night in Vegas, and walk away with the title the next day! So, it DOESN'T have to be a super-long stay in Vegas, unlike the 1-2 WEEKS some events require out of you. 5) This event is for everyone! Just because you're a handicap-level bowler doesn't mean you don't want top-level, big-time competition! I still think a lot of handicap bowlers outside the normal JBT area don't realize that this event is just as much for them as anyone. 6) Our website posts full results quickly, and helps keep bowlers and families as informed as possible all the time. We're a year round tournament club, not just the Main Event. Our nearly 600+ events of JBT experience mean we run a professional atmosphere, bowler-first tournament that cares greatly about your overall experience, adjusting each year as a direct result of your feedback.
These are just some of the reasons that you can use to explain to folks why the Main Event would be a great choice to bowl- or a refresher for yourself!! So... pretty, pretty pleeeeeeease. If each one of you bring just one new bowler to the Main Event, we will continue to grow and be able to provide you the best tournament experience we possibly can.
If the Main Event itself still isn't enough bowling for you, the day after the Main Event, we have a regular season JBT event at Cerbat Lanes in Kingman, AZ on December 29, starting at 10 AM. A lot of people hit this event on their way home, or as a great wrap-up to the week. It's also a chance for folks from around the country to see what we at JBT do every single weekend all over the southwest and northwest, and is always a more relaxed event to wind down from the stress of Main Event. It's limited to 120 entries, so you can pre-sign online, at Main Event, or take your chances at walking in.
Please feel free to drop me a line with any questions, etc. In addition to everything else, we want to be the friendliest event around too. if something is unclear- ask! We'll do everything we can to make sure you're prepared and happy!
We'll talk again soon- until then, spread the word, and thank you!