MAIN EVENT THINGS TO KNOW (FAQ)

Here's some details about the Main Event that may answer some of your questions about how it all works, as well as some helpful travel information.  If you can think of anything else that might be helpful to be on this page, let us know and we'll add it on!

Some things to take note of:

1)   As in previous years, we will not pre-announce the exact lane conditions for the event.  We will tell you, however, that the goal is to have a very challenging and fair, but not impossible, lane condition for the Singles event, and a typically much easier ‘house’ condition for the Doubles and Team event.   Also, by overwhelming demand, we'll use an even tougher, sport-compliant lane condition for the Open Scratch and Girls Scratch singles events.  Singles will of course have fresh oil at the start of every squad, but new this year, doubles will as well, so you don't have to worry about last year's problem of way-too-dry lanes for doubles.  The bottom line is that lane conditions are an inexact science, as most of you know, and we’ll strive for a fair, fun, and challenging condition for all—so bowl on what’s out there, heh heh!!!

2)   Texas Station is offering great lodging rates, but it's only a 200-room hotel, so we encourage you to book these rooms as soon as possible.  They are giving us a "tiered" rate, so the earlier you book, the better the rate you get.  Call Texas Station at 1-800-654-8888 to book these rooms by Dec. 4 at the latest.  They’re under the group name “Junior Bowlers Tour Southwest” or "JBT".  Last year these rooms sold out very far in advance, so if you want to stay at Texas Station, book early!  If you don't get in there or don't want to stay there, Fiesta Rancho, in walking distance on the same side of the street, usually has slightly cheaper rooms.  If you wanna go on a room hunt, try the local casino's websites first, then try the Strip casinos if you want to spend a little more, then try websites like hotels.com, hotwire.com, or expedia.com, which I almost always use myself for my travel (but remember, they're not so helpful if you have to change plans, so make sure you're sure of your dates).  

3)   Probably the most polarizing question when we started this tournament a few years ago was the issue of re-entries.  Some of you love the fact that you could re-enter as much as you wanted in 2005 (which generates a lot of extra prize fund), and some of you hated that fact. Our compromise was that you may re-enter ONCE ONLY in the Singles tournament.  Moreover, you can PREPAY for your re-entry when you sign up for the Main Event (goodbye, lottery!!).  In the Doubles, however, you can re-enter as much as you want (or switch partners), space permitting. 

4)   That ‘space permitting’ thing I just wrote is a pretty big deal.  With the 7 squads, that allows for approximately 1,000 singles entries, and 400 doubles team entries.  If entries continue to increase at the rate they have been (we’re cautiously optimistic they will), we should be able to sell this event out.  So, what I’m telling you is, the only way to guarantee your second singles squad is to prepay for it when you sign up.  You can always withdraw from the re-entry on-site if you want (as long as you give us at least one hour notice- more is better).  Secondly, for the Doubles, while unlimited re-entries will be allowed, if everyone who enters singles also enters doubles, there won’t be room for ANY re-entries, so bowl with the partner you really want to bowl with first!  The Doubles is still a bit of an experiment, but we think it might be really popular- we’ll see!

5)    After the 2 PM singles squad on the 27^th, we’ll know our complete singles semifinalist field.  It will take us a while to crunch the numbers, however.  The 2 PM squad should finish around 6 PM, which will give us final cut numbers around 9 PM.  You'll also be able to call the bowling center to get the "cut scores".   Of course, instead of sitting around and getting nervous, get a team together and enter the 7 PM 4-person Team event!

6)   The Open Scratch Division first place scholarship remains guaranteed at a minimum $5,000!  Not bad, huh?  Part of the raised scholarships come from a projected increase in total entries, and part of it comes from the increase in the scratch entry fee to $100 in 2006.  This came from feedback from the scratch bowlers themselves, who overwhelmingly said they’d be willing to pay a little bit more to play for a lot more.  We think you’ll agree $5,000 for first (not to mention $100 for 24^th) is a pretty amazing prize fund, and let’s face it, you’re spending quite a bit just to be in Vegas for the week, so an extra $20 on the entry fee to play for that much more is a pretty fair trade, we think.

7)   There are still the other side tournaments going on at Sam’s Town and The Orleans, and between our Singles and Doubles, Team, and their events, there should be plenty of time to do everything, but it does take some coordinating.    You can bowl doubles first or singles first as well- we want to be as flexible as possible for you!  Please allow two hours to bowl your Doubles event, and 4 hours for your Singles event    The Orleans is about 10-15 minutes from Texas Station in good traffic, and Sam's Town is 15-20 minutes away, again in good traffic.  Stoplights can be infuriating in Vegas, so please allow enough travel time- we cannot delay squad times or entry deadlines, unfortunately.