TOURNAMENT NOTES
2009 USBC MASTERS
Cashman Center
Las Vegas, Nev.
February 15, 2009
SUNDAY’S MATCH UPS
Match #1: No. 4 Tommy Jones vs. No. 3 Danny Wiseman
Match #2: Winner of Match #1 vs. No. 2 Steve Harman
Title Match: Winner of Match #2 vs. No. 1 John Nolen
2009 USBC MASTERS PRIZE BREAKDOWN:
1st -- $60,000 (+ two-year exemption)
2nd -- $30,000
3rd -- $20,000
4th -- $15,000
Tournament Purse -- $350,000
Format:
- 465 bowlers bowl (2) five-game qualifying blocks
- Cut to top 115 (Top 25% of field)
- 115 bowlers bowl (1) additional five-game qualifying block
-Cut to top 63 plus defending champion Sean Rash
- 64 bowlers seeded into double-elimination brackets (3-game matches)
- 4 remaining players advance to stepladder finals
2009 USBC MASTERS – BY THE NUMBERS
Field Size – 465 entered; 451 participated
PBA Entries –221
Amateur Entries –244
Avg. to make first cut (top 25%, 115) – 207.10 (Last season: 206.40)
Avg. to make second cut (top 63) – 212.13 (Last season: 209.20)
2009 USBC MASTERS – FINALISTS BY QUALIFYING ROUND
Round 1 Round 2 Round 3
John Nolen T-69 6 1
Steve Harman 14 T-44 12
Danny Wiseman T-183 37 63
Tommy Jones T-183 T-67 30
2009 USBC MASTERS – QUALIFYING LEADERS
Round 1 – Craig Tuholski
Round 2 – Eugene McCune
Round 3 – John Nolen
2009 USBC MASTERS FINALISTS IN MATCH PLAY
John Nolen – 1st after qualifying with a 228.00 avg.
Match Play (6-0, 232.39 avg.)
def. #61 Doug Kent (672-624)
def. #29 Norm Duke (748-607)
def. #49 Isao Yamamoto (630-579)
def. #5 Tom Smallwood (701-634)
def. #63 Danny Wiseman (677-665)
*def. #12 Steve Harman (755-632) in position match for #1 seed
Steve Harman -- 12thafter Qualifying with a 221.73 avg.
Match Play (5-1, 224.39 avg.)
def. #56 Wu Siu Hong (749-699)
def. #24 Brian Kretzer (657-484)
def. #8 Mike Machuga (652-650)
def. #4 Eugene McCune (694-686)
def. #30 Tommy Jones (635-616)
*lost to #1 John Nolen (755-632) in position match for #1 seed
Danny Wiseman -- 63rd after Qualifying with a 212.20 avg.
Match Play (6-1, 220.00 avg.)
def. #3 Daniel Miyamoto (663-622)
def. #35 Charlie Bruno (690-601)
def. #51 George Lambert IV (726-714)
def. #55 Pete Weber (690-675)
lost to #1 John Nolen (677-665)
def. #29 Norm Duke (700-677)
*def. #30 Tommy Jones (245-192) in one-game position match for #3 seed
Tommy Jones -- 30th after Qualifying with a 217.53 avg.
Match Play (5-2, 228.32)
def. #34 Scott Vanderlick (706-590)
def. #62 Paul Ashby (721-596)
def. #50 Chris Barnes (643-640)
def. #10 Jason Sterner (632-581)
lost to #12 Steve Harman (635-616)
def. #48 Jesse Buss (670-650)
*lost to #63 Danny Wiseman (245-192) in one-game position match for #3 seed
QUALIFYING, MATCH PLAY AND TOURNAMENT AVERAGES
Name Qualifying (Rank) Match Play Overall
John Nolen 228.00 (1) 232.39 230.39
Steve Harman 221.73 (12) 224.39 223.18
Danny Wiseman 212.20 (63) 220.00 216.55
Tommy Jones 217.53 (30) 228.32 223.56
FINALIST TITLES
NAME Total titles (24) Majors (3)
John Nolen 0 0
Steve Harman 0 0
Danny Wiseman 12 1 (2004 USBC Masters)
Tommy Jones 12 2 (2007 T of C; 2006 U.S. Open)
2008-2009 FINISHES
John Nolen
Tournament/Finish
Denny’s Dick Weber Open/8th
H&R Block Tournament of Champions/23rd
Bayer Earl Anthony Medford Classic/67th
Don & Paula Carter Mixed Doubles Championship/70th
National Bowling Stadium Championship/85th
Lumber Liquidators Shark Championship/Did not bowl
Cheetah Championship/48th
CLR Carmen Salvino Scorpion Championship/72nd
Chameleon Championship/78th
Ultimate Scoring Championship/86th
Lake County Indiana Golden Anniversary Championship/28th
Pepsi Viper Championship/74th
PBA World Championship/54th
Steve Harman
Tournament/Finish
Denny’s Dick Weber Open/49th
H&R Block Tournament of Champions/Did not qualify
Bayer Earl Anthony Medford Classic/26th
Don & Paula Carter Mixed Doubles Championship/2nd
National Bowling Stadium Championship/51st
Lumber Liquidators Shark Championship/11th
Cheetah Championship/40th
CLR Carmen Salvino Scorpion Championship/49th
Chameleon Championship/13th
Ultimate Scoring Championship/32nd
Lake County Indiana Golden Anniversary Championship/16th
Pepsi Viper Championship/38th
PBA World Championship/11th
Danny Wiseman
Tournament/Finish
Denny’s Dick Weber Open/54th
H&R Block Tournament of Champions/7th
Bayer Earl Anthony Medford Classic/44th
Don & Paula Carter Mixed Doubles Championship/24th
National Bowling Stadium Championship/14th
Lumber Liquidators Shark Championship/21st
Cheetah Championship/19th
CLR Carmen Salvino Scorpion Championship/21st
Chameleon Championship/63rd
Ultimate Scoring Championship/19th
Lake County Indiana Golden Anniversary Championship/37th
Pepsi Viper Championship/39th
PBA World Championship/93rd
Tommy Jones
Tournament/Finish
Denny’s Dick Weber Open/25th
H&R Block Tournament of Champions/21st
Bayer Earl Anthony Medford Classic/2nd
Don & Paula Carter Mixed Doubles Championship/26th
National Bowling Stadium Championship/10th
Lumber Liquidators Shark Championship/9th
Cheetah Championship/42nd
CLR Carmen Salvino Scorpion Championship/53rd
Chameleon Championship/26th
Ultimate Scoring Championship/47th
Lake County Indiana Golden Anniversary Championship/5th
Pepsi Viper Championship/22nd
PBA World Championship/27th
FINALISTS VS. EACH OTHER ON TV
NOLEN VS.
Harman:
- Never Faced
Wiseman:
- Never Faced
Jones:
- Never Faced
HARMAN VS.
Nolen:
- Never Faced
Wiseman:
- Never Faced
Jones:
- Never Faced
WISEMAN VS.
Nolen:
- Never Faced
Harman:
- Never Faced
Jones:
- Never Faced
JONES VS.
Nolen:
- Never Faced
Harman:
- Never Faced
Wiseman:
- Never Faced
CAREER ROLL-OFF RECORDS
(One ball, sudden-death format to break ties)
Nolen 0-0
Harman 1-0
Wiseman 1-4
Jones 5-5
PBA PERFECTION- 300 GAMES
2009 USBC MASTERS (5)
Eugene McCune (Qualifying Round 2)
Pete Weber (Match Play)
Wu Siu Hong (Match Play)
Brad Angelo (Match Play)
Norm Duke (Match Play)
So far during the 2008-09 season, there have been 63 perfect games in 14 tournaments for an average of 4.50 per tournament.
During the 2007-08 season, there were 101 perfect games in 21 tournaments for an average of 4.81 per tournament.
Season 300 Games # of Tournaments Avg. per Tournament
2008-09 63 14 4.50
2007-08 101 21 4.81
2006-07 119 21 5.67
2005-06 86 22 3.91
ALL-TIME PBA 300 GAMES ON TV (LUMBER LIQUIDATORS PBA TOUR) – 19
Name Opponent (score) Date Tournament City
1. *Jack Biondolillo Les Schissler (216) April 1, 1967 Akron OH
2. John Guenther Don Johnson (189) Feb. 1, 1969 San Jose, CA
3. Jim Stefanich Glenn Carlson (243) Jan. 5, 1974 Alameda, CA
4. Pete McCordic Wayne Webb (249) Jan. 31, 1987 Torrance, CA
5. @# Bob Benoit Mark Roth (255) Jan. 23, 1988 Grand Prairie, TX
6. # Michael Aulby David Ozio (279) July 31, 1993 Wichita, KS
7. Johnny Petraglia W.R. Williams Jr. (194) March 5, 1994 Toledo, OH
8. Butch Soper Bob Benoit (236) July 12, 1994 Reno, NV
9. @C.K. Moore Parker Bohn III (192) Feb. 2, 1996 Austin, TX
10. Bob Learn Jr. Johnny Petraglia (279) April 6, 1996 Erie, PA
11. Jason Queen Ron Papp (225) May 3, 1997 Huntsville, AL
12. Steve Hoskins W.R. Williams Jr. (234) Oct. 15, 1997 Rochester, NY
13. Parker Bohn III Chris Sand (246) May 9, 1998 Reno, NV
Michael Mullin (191)
14. Steve Jaros Ricky Ward (200) Feb. 13, 1999 Chattanooga, TN
15. Mike Miller Danny Wiseman (266) June 20, 1999 Reno, NV
Tim Criss (224)
16. Norm Duke W.R. Williams Jr. (213) Jan. 5, 2003 Tacoma, WA
17. Mika Koivuniemi Jason Couch (248) Dec. 7, 2003 Windsor Locks, CT
18. @Tony Reyes Parker Bohn III (215) Nov. 5, 2006 Taylor, MI
19. Ryan Shafer Jeff Carter (228) March 18, 2007 Indianapolis, IN
# - Title match @ - Won first title same show
**TELEVISED 300 GAME BONUS**
- Any finalist rolling a 300 game this week in the championship round will earn a $10,000 bonus, compliments of the PBA.
300 GAMES IN MAJOR FINALS
With just 19 televised 300 games ever bowled in PBA Tour history, it’s well documented how difficult the feat is. What’s even more rare is a televised 300 game in a Major final. It’s only happened four times in the history of the PBA:
No. Name Opponent Event
1. Jack Biondolillo Les Schissler 1967 T of C*, Fairlawn, OH
2. Johnny Petraglia Walter Ray Williams Jr. 1994 National Championship, Toledo, OH
3. Jason Queen Ron Papp 1997 USBC Masters, Huntsville, AL
4. Parker Bohn III Chris Sands 1998 USBC Masters, Reno, NV
*First televised 300 game in Tour history
ALL-TIME LUMBER LIQUIDATORS PBA TOUR “7-10 SPLIT” CONVERSIONS ON TV – 3
1. Mark Roth (1980, Alameda, CA)
2. John Mazza (1991, Sunrise, FL)
3. Jess Stayrook (1991, Tucson, AZ)
2008-09 STATISTICS
2008-09 PBA Points Leaders
1. Wes Malott 165,545.5
2. Bill O’Neill 164,241
3. Norm Duke 158,447
4. Walter Ray Williams Jr. 142,927
5. Brad Angelo 140,964
6. Sean Rash 133,582.5
7. Chris Barnes 132,662
8. Patrick Allen 129,730
9. Mike Scroggins 127,946.5
10. Parker Bohn III 121,576
-------
11. ►Tommy Jones 118,983.5
14. ►Steve Harman 110,136
25. ►Danny Wiseman 79,132.5
36. ►John Nolen 65,717.5
Minimum points for today included
2008-09 PBA Money Leaders
1. Norm Duke $141,830
2. Patrick Allen $111,050
3. Wes Malott $102,730
4. Walter Ray Williams Jr. $ 74,000
5. Rhino Page $ 70,550
6. Brad Angelo $ 66,800
7. Bill O’Neill $ 65,950
8. Chris Barnes $ 65,490
9. Parker Bohn III $ 63,825
10. Mike Scroggins $ 62,960
-------
11. ►Steve Harman $ 58,640
12. ►Tommy Jones $ 56,470
20. ►John Nolen $ 41,435
23. ►Danny Wiseman $ 39,930
Minimum money for today included
2008-09 PBA Average Leaders
1. Wes Malott 225.46
2. Patrick Allen 224.80
3. Bill O’Neill 223.04
4. Parker Bohn III 222.80
5. Walter Ray Williams Jr. 222.45
6. Mike Scroggins 221.58
7. Chris Barnes 221.09
8. Pete Weber 220.83
9. Ryan Shafer 220.25
10. Mika Koivuniemi 220.23
-------
18. ►Danny Wiseman 218.13
20. ►Tommy Jones 217.54
36. ►John Nolen 213.96
38. ►Steve Harman 213.90
2008-09 PBA Player of the Year Points
1. Wes Malott 58
Norm Duke 58
3. Patrick Allen 48
4. Walter Ray Williams Jr. 28
Rhino Page 28
6. Bill O’Neill 25
7. Mike Scroggins 24
8. Brad Angelo 22
9. Parker Bohn III 20
10. Chris Barnes 16
►Steve Harman 16
-------
14. ►Tommy Jones 12
►John Nolen 12
21. ►Danny Wiseman 4
*Minimum points for today included
*Point Distribution
1st Place – 24
2nd Place – 12
3rd Place – 8
4th Place – 4
5th Place – 2
ALL-TIME LUMBER LIQUIDATORS PBA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Pos. Name Titles
1. Walter Ray Williams Jr. 45
2. Earl Anthony 43
3. Mark Roth 34
Pete Weber 34
5. Parker Bohn III 32
Norm Duke 32
ALL-TIME PBA MONEY LEADERS
Pos. Name Earnings
1. Walter Ray Williams Jr. $4,070,616
2. Pete Weber $3,283,769
3. Parker Bohn III $2,761,242
4. Norm Duke $2,744,244
5. Brian Voss $2,379,278
6. Amleto Monacelli $2,100,484
7. Mike Aulby $2,097,520
8. Tom Baker $1,795,649
9. Marshall Holman $1,707,790
10. Mark Roth $1,639,796
---
18. ►Danny Wiseman $1,468,434
34. ►Tommy Jones $1,084,658
Includes minimum money for today’s telecast
ALL-TIME MAJOR TITLES (through 2009 H&R Block Tournament of Champions-Las Vegas, NV)
No. Name Number Majors Won
1. Earl Anthony 10 73 NC, 74 NC, 74 TOC, 75 NC, 77
Masters, 78 TOC, 81 NC, 82 NC, 83
NC, 84 Masters
2. Mike Aulby 8 79 NC, 85 NC, 89 US, 89 Masters,
95 TOC, 95 Masters, 96 TPC, 98
Masters
Pete Weber 8 87 TOC, 88 US, 89 NC, 91 US, 92
TPC, 98 NC, 04 US, 07 US
4. Walter Ray Williams Jr. 7 94 TPC, 98 US, 01 NC, 03 WC, 03
US, 04 Masters, 06 WC
5. Norm Duke 6 93 Masters, 94 TOC, 00 NC, 08 WC,
08 US, 08 WC
Don Carter 6 52 All-Star, 54 All-Star, 56 All-Star,
58 All-Star, 60 NC, 61 Masters
7. Del Ballard Jr. 4 87 US, 88 Masters, 89 TOC, 93 US
Jason Couch 4 93 TPC, 99 TOC, 00 TOC, 02 TOC
Dave Davis 4 65 NC, 67 NC, 68 TOC, 75 TOC
Marshall Holman 4 76 TOC, 81 US, 85 US, 86 TOC
Dave Husted 4 82 US, 85 TPC, 95 US, 96 US
Doug Kent 4 91 Masters, 02 WC, 06 Masters, 07 WC
Dick Weber 4 62 All-Star, 63 All-Star, 65 All-Star, 66 All-Star
MOST CAREER EVENTS BOWLED WITHOUT A TITLE (CURRENT EXEMPT PLAYERS ONLY)
Name No. of events
1. Brian LeClair 387
2. Joe Ciccone 170
3. Brian Kretzer 147
4. Jeff Carter 122
5. Randy Weiss 113
6. Nathan Bohr 93
7. Chris Loschetter 90
8. Ken Simard 83
9. Bill O’Neill 74
10. Dino Castillo 70
11. Mitch Beasley 56
OIL PATTERN NOTES
Length: 39 ft.
Description: The USBC Masters oil pattern played from multiple angles again this year. Players started out on the fresh between first and second arrows while many were left of that; between boards 10 and 15 and some even deeper. Left handed players also played different angles; some straight up the outside and some swinging the ball from as deep as the third arrow. The lane condition appeared to hold up well as the players moved left with transition. This is the only time this season this oil pattern will be used.
THIS WEEK IN THE LUMBER LIQUIDATORS PBA TOUR NOTES
USBC MASTERS NOTES
-This is the 59th Masters event. The first Masters was contested in 1951 in St. Paul, Minn., Lee Jouglard from Detroit won the event.
-This is just the second time the Masters has been held in Las Vegas. In 1986, the Cashman Center also hosted the event as Mark Fahy defeated Del Ballard to win the title.
-34 of the 64 bowlers who made match play this week were Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour exempt bowlers. Last season, 31 exempt bowlers made the match play cut.
- Defending champion Sean Rash finished tied for 17th. No bowler has repeated as Masters champion since Billy Welu in 1964 and ’65 and just two bowlers have ever successfully defended a Masters title (Dick Hoover, ‘56 and ’57).
- The last time a bowler made the championship round in defense of a Masters title was 1996 when Mike Aulby finished second to Ernie Schlegel after winning in 1995.
RECORD OF SEEDS IN USBC MASTERS STEPLADDER FINALS:
Historically, the No. 1 seed in this event has about a 50-50 chance of winning the title. The USBC Masters converted to a stepladder finals format to decide its champion in 1980. Since that time, the tournament leader is 14-15 in title matches. This is John Nolen’s first TV appearance and, as such, his first time as a No. 1 seed. Sean Rash won last season’s USBC Masters as the No. 1 seed.
As the No. 3 seed in the 2006 USBC Masters, Doug Kent became the first bowler other than the No. 1 or No. 2 seed to win a Masters since the Masters went to the stepladder finals format for TV in 1980. Here’s a look at how the different seeds have done in the title match:
Seed Record Average
No. 1 14-15 226.07
No. 2 14-5 220.64
No. 3 1-6 205.00
No. 4 0-3 210.33
MAJOR POSSIBILITIES
Should either John Nolen or Steve Harman win today, it would give them a major title as their first Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour victory. Below is the list of the 17 players who have accomplished this feat:
WON MAJOR AS FIRST LUMBER LIQUIDATORS PBA TOUR TITLE (17)
1. Dave Soutar 1961 National Championship
2. Bob Strampe 1964 National Championship
3. Paul Moser 1976 U.S. Open
4. Warren Nelson 1978 National Championship
5. Mike Aulby 1979 National Championship
6. Joe Berardi 1979 U.S. Open
7. Bob Chamberlain 1984 National Championship
8. Tom Crites 1986 National Championship
9. Del Ballard Jr. 1987 U.S. Open
10. Duane Fisher 1990 TPC
11. Mike Miller 1991 National Championship
12. David Traber 1994 National Championship
13. Scott Alexander 1995 National Championship
14. Rick Steelsmith 1997 National Championship
15. *Mika Koivuniemi 2000 Masters
16. Robert Smith 2000 U.S. Open
17. *Bryon Smith 2003 Masters
*Only players to win Masters as first title
MULTIPLE MASTER OF HIS DOMAIN
A win today would give Wiseman his second career Masters victory, which would make him the seventh bowler with multiple Masters wins. Below is a look at multiple Masters winners:
No. Name Years
3 Mike Aulby 89, 95, 98
2 Dick Hoover 56, 57
Billy Golembiewski 60, 62
Billy Welu 64, 65
Earl Anthony 77, 84
Doug Kent 91, 06
TV MASTERY
Tommy Jones is the PBA’s all-time leader in TV winning percentage. Jones is 34-9 on TV for a winning percentage of .790. Here are the Top 5 all-time (minimium 10 appearances, singles only):
Pos. Name Apps. W-L Pct. (%)
1. Tommy Jones 21 34-9 .790
2. Jim Pencak 12 22-8 .733
3. Dick Ritger 33 40-18 .690
4. Gary Skidmore 17 23-11 .676
5. Paul Colwell 12 16-8 .667
Steve Neff 10 14-7 .667
TV APPEARANCES IN MAJORS
John Nolen and Steve Harman are making their first TV appearances (singles events) of their career. Below are the TV appearances in majors for Danny Wiseman and Tommy Jones:
Wiseman – 1992 – Tournament of Champions (finished 3rd)
1996 – Tournament of Champions (finished 3rd)
1997 – Touring Players Championship (finished 2nd)
1999 – PBA National (World) Championship (finished 4th)
2000 – Touring Players Championship (finished 6th)
2004 – USBC Masters (finished 1st)
2007 – World Championship (finished 3rd)
Jones – 2006 – 63rd U.S. Open (finished 1st)
2006 – Tournament of Champions (finished 2nd)
2006 – USBC Masters (finished 4th)
2007 – Tournament of Champions (finished 1st)
NICE COMEBACKS
After the first round of qualifying (5 games), Tommy Jones and Danny Wiseman were tied for 183rd place (200.60 avg.). Both players made big moves in round two as Jones improved to a tie for 67th (213.30 avg.) and Wiseman improved to 37th place (217.90 avg.). Wiseman fell back in the last round of qualifying and just barely made the cut to 64 for match play . . . qualifying 63rd and making the cut by a mere three pins.
SLUMPING OF LATE
Since winning the 2004 USBC Masters, Danny Wiseman has not won a singles match on TV. He was gone 0-5 in his last five singles TV appearances. He has averaged just 203.60 in those five matches. He did, however, combine with Michael Fagan to win last season’s PBA Exempt Doubles Classic in Las Vegas, NV.
MOVING ON UP
With a win today, Danny Wiseman would move past Ryan Shafer and PBA Hall of Famers Wayne Webb and David Ozio into 15th place on the all-time PBA earnings list with $1,513,434.
OUT OF THE BLUE
Although neither John Nolen nor Steve Harman are amateurs, should either of them win today, they would join other players who were relative “unknowns” when they captured their Masters title. They include PBA members Bryon Smith (2003) and Mike Lestowski (1983) and this list of amateurs who won a Masters title:
AMATEUR MASTERS CHAMPIONS (6)
Year Name Location
2002 Brett Wolfe Reno, NV
1999 Brian Boghosian Syracuse, NY
1997 Jason Queen Huntsville, AL
1994 Steve Fehr Mobile, AL
1992 Ken Johnson Corpus Christi, TX
1987 Rick Steelsmith Niagara Falls, NY
FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS . . .
Steve Harman originally earned his exemption by finishing third in the 2007 Tour Trials. He kept it for this season by finishing 34th on the point list last season. Should Harman win today, he would become just the second player (Michael Haugen, 2008 H&R Block Tournament of Champions) to win a major after coming through Tour Trials at some point in his career to earn an exemption.
T OF C EXPERIENCE
By virtue of winning the Regional Player Invitational in December, John Nolen earned a spot into this season’s H&R Block Tournament of Champions where he made match play and finished 23rd.
THE PBA IN LAS VEGAS
The PBA returns to its most frequented city in the 50-year history of the Tour, returning to Las Vegas for the third consecutive season after the city had not hosted an event since 2003. The first Tour event held in the area was the 1960 Showboat Invitational won by Tom Hennessey and since then the Las Vegas area has hosted a total of 76 PBA Tour events, including singles and doubles events. The area had played host to at least one Tour event in 45 consecutive seasons before taking a two-season hiatus in 2004-05 and 2005-06.
Many of the Tour’s biggest stars have won titles in Las Vegas including current exempt bowlers and PBA Hall of Famers Tom Baker, Parker Bohn III, Pete Weber and Walter Ray Williams Jr. The list of past winners in Vegas reads like a Who’s Who in bowling: Mike Aulby, Nelson Burton Jr., Marshall Holman, Don Johnson, Mark Roth, Carmen Salvino, Wayne Webb and Dick Weber all won titles in the area. Surprisingly, Earl Anthony did not capture one of his 43 career titles in the Sin City.
LAS VEGAS FACTS
Established in 1905, Las Vegas officially became a city in 1911. With the growth that followed, at the close of the century Las Vegas was the most populous American city founded in the 20th century (a distinction held by
Chicago in the 19th century). The city's tolerance for various forms of
adult entertainment earned it the title of
Sin City, and this image has made Las Vegas a popular setting for
films and
television programs. Outdoor lighting displays are everywhere on the
Las Vegas Strip and are seen elsewhere in the city as well. As seen from space, the Las Vegas metropolitan area is the brightest on Earth.
The name Las Vegas is often applied to
unincorporated suburbs that surround the city, especially the resort areas on and near the Las Vegas Strip. This 4 mile (6.5-km) stretch of
Las Vegas Boulevard is partly in the Las Vegas
city limits, but mainly in the unincorporated communities of
Paradise and
Winchester, and continues partly into unincorporated
Enterprise. The valley is named Las Vegas, Spanish for
The Meadows.
Las Vegas started as a stopover on the pioneer trails to the west, and became a popular
railroad town in the early 1900s. It was a staging point for all the mines in the surrounding area, especially those around the town of Bullfrog, that shipped their goods out to the rest of the country. With the proliferation of the railroads, Las Vegas became less important, but the completion of the nearby
Hoover Dam in 1935 resulted in the growth of residents and tourism. The dam, located 30 miles southeast of the city, also formed
Lake Mead, the world's largest man-made lake and
reservoir. Today, tours are offered into lesser known parts of the dam.
The legalization of gambling in 1931 led to the advent of the casino-hotels, for which Las Vegas is famous. The city's initial casino businesses was owed to American organized crime. Most of the original large casinos were managed or at least funded under mob figures
Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel,
Meyer Lansky or other mob figures at this time.
With the arrival of billionaire
Howard Hughes in the late 1960s, who purchased many casino-hotels and television stations in the city, legitimate corporations began to purchase casino-hotels as well, and the mob was run out by the federal government over the next several years. The constant stream of tourist dollars from the hotels and casinos were also augmented by a new source of federal money. This money came from the establishment of what is now
Nellis Air Force Base. The influx of
military personnel and casino job-hunters helped start a land building boom which still goes on today.
Although the city's gambling economy continues to expand, in 2006 gambling revenues in the
Macau Special Administrative Region in the
People's Republic of China surpassed those in Las Vegas, making
Macau the largest gambling center in the world. With revenues in excess of $10 billion for 2007, Macau is poised to surpass the entire state of
Nevada in gambling revenues. Due to the gambling boom in Macau, many traditional Las Vegas casino developers, such as
Steve Wynn, are pursuing multi-billion dollar projects in its expanding market. There is no evidence as of yet to suggest that gambling growth in Macau is shifting growth away from Las Vegas.
2008-09 COMMISSIONERS EXEMPTIONS:
Event/City: Recipient:
CLR/Carmen Salvino Scorpion Championship, Vernon Hills, IL Jason Belmonte (finished 29th)
Cheetah Championship, Cheektowaga, NY Jason Belmonte (finished 60th)
Lumber Liquidators Shark Championship, Baltimore, MD Mark Roth (finished 60th)
National Bowling Stadium Championship Wayne Webb (WD-injury)
Brian LeClair (finished 29th)
Earl Anthony Medford Classic, Medford, OR Marshall Holman (finished 63rd)
GEICO Plastic Ball Championship, Wheat Ridge, CO Brian Voss
Bowling Foundation Long Island Classic, West Babylon, NY Johnny Petraglia
TOP SEED IN STEPLADDER FINALS
This season, the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour features 13 events with a stepladder finals format, the most on Tour since the 2001-02 season when there were 11 stepladder finals. Top seeds are 5-4 thus far this season in stepladder finals. Results for the top seed in stepladder finals from this season and the previous three seasons are below.
2008-09 5-4
* No. 1 Norm Duke Allen def. No. 5 Michael Fagan to win the Denny’s Dick Weber Open
* No. 1 Patrick Allen def. No. 2 Rhino Page to win the H&R Block Tournament of Champions
* No. 3 Wes Malott def. No. 1 Tommy Jones to win the Bayer Earl Anthony Medford Classic
* No. 4 Patrick Allen def. No. 1 Walter Ray Williams Jr. to win the National Bowling Stadium Championship
* No. 1 Rhino Page def. No. 2 Wes Malott to win the Lumber Liquidators Shark Championship
* No. 1 Parker Bohn III def. No. 3 Mike Scroggins to win the Cheetah Championship
* No. 1 Wes Malott def. No. 2 Ken Simard to win the CLR Carmen Salvino Scorpion Championship
* No. 5 Mike Machuga def. No. 1 Bill O’Neill to win the Chameleon Championship
* No. 3 Brad Angelo def. No. 1 Chris Loschetter to win the Pepsi Viper Championship
2007-08 5-4
* No. 3 Norm Duke def. No. 1 Mika Koivuniemi to win the 65th Denny’s U.S. Open
* No. 3 Tommy Jones def. No. 1 Pete Weber to win the GEICO Classic
* No. 1 Mike Scroggins def. No. 2 Walter Ray Williams Jr. to win the Pepsi Championship
* No. 1 Michael Haugen Jr. def. No. 2 Chris Barnes to win the H&R Block Tournament of Champions
* No. 5 Mike Scroggins def. No. 1 Chris Barnes to win the 2008 Motel 6 Dick Weber Open
* No. 3 Parker Bohn III def. No. 1 Rhino Page to win the 2007 Spartanburg Classic
* No. 1 Sean Rash def. Steve Jaros to win the 2007 USBC Masters
* No. 1 Robert Smith def. No. 5 Brad Angelo to win the 2007 CLR Windy City Classic
* No. 1 Patrick Allen def. No. 2 Wes Malott to win the 2007 Lumber Liquidators Championship
2006-07 3-6
* No. 1 Norm Duke def. Ryan Shafer in the 2007 Pepsi Championship
*Pete Weber def. No. 1 Wes Malott to win the 64th U.S. Open
* No. 1 Patrick Allen def. Parker Bohn III to win the 2007 Go RVing Classic
* No. 1 Jason Couch def. Patrick Allen to win the 2007 Dick Weber Open
* Norm Duke def. No. 1 Ryan Shafer to win the 2006 Columbia 300 Classic
* Wes Malott def. No. 1 Chris Barnes to win the 2006 Discover® Card Windy City Classic
* Tony Reyes def. No. 1 Wes Malott to win the 2006 Motor City Classic
* Doug Kent def. No. 1 Jack Jurek to win the 2006 USBC Masters
* Walter Ray Williams Jr. def. No. 1 Pete Weber to win the Dydo Japan Cup 2006
2005-06 0-4
* Tommy Jones def. No. 1 Norm Duke to win the Dydo Japan Cup 2005
* Mike Scroggins def. No. 1 Norm Duke to win the 2005 USBC Masters
* Jason Couch def. No. 1 Parker Bohn III to win the 2006 Dick Weber Open
* Tommy Jones def. No. 1 Ryan Shafer to win the 63rd U. S. Open
VICTORIES FOR VARIOUS SEEDS STEPLADDER FINALS
Here is a per season breakdown for titles won by seed in the stepladder format since 2000:
2000 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09
1st 8 7 2 2 2 0 3 5 5
2nd 3 4 1 1 1 3 3 0 0
3rd 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 2
4th 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
5th 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1
6th 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7th 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8th 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0