Richard and I played in the District 10 (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, most of Arkansas and most of Tennessee) finals of the North American Pairs at the Tunica Regional, held at Sam's Town Casino. Unfortunately, we didn't qualify to advance to the national level (Reno NV, next March). Even though we were disappointed, it wasn't all bad. For example, Richard found a double squeeze (with a little help from his opponents) on this deal:
♠ 9 7 3
♥ A 2
♦ 10 7 6 3
♣ A Q 7 3
♠ ? ? ? ♠ ? ? ? ?
♥ K 8 ♥ J 9 6 4 3
♦ A J 4 ♦ K 9
♣ J 9 6 5 4 ♣ 10 2
♠ A K 2
♥ Q 10 7 5
♦ Q 8 5 2
♣ K 8
Against 2NT, West led the ♣6. Richard won the ♣K and advanced a low diamond. West pondered this and played low. The ♦10 from dummy forced the king. East shifted to a low heart, and Richard played the ♥7, East the 8 and the ace won the trick.
South led another diamond, and West won the ♦J, cashed the ♦A, the ♥K, and exited with the ♣J.
Did you notice that I put question marks for the East-West spade cards? The reason why is that it didn't matter what they held. Declarer led a spade to his ace, cashed his ♥Q (on which West discarded a low club), then led a diamond to the 7 in dummy to cash the high club.
West had to protect the club suit, East the heart suit, and nobody could guard spades -- making nine tricks and a score of 70% on the board.
I took this shot of Sam's Casino from the road, just before the game started. It's a big place, and you can only see here a fraction of how large it is.
All images by MOJO using my point-and-shoot.
I've always loved the landscaping at Sam's Town..best by far in Tunica. It may not be the swankiest casino on the inside, but the outside is lovely. Great shots, as usual :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jusdealem.
ReplyDeleteI took two photos just inside the front entrance. There is a big open area with skylights, as you know, and it looks nice. I plan to post another deal or two from the tournament, so may include one of those shots. Thanks for reminding me.
Yes, the atrium is nice, but I felt they could've done more with it. And those ugly, fake flowers that line the wall outside the buffet...oh, I just want to pull them out myself and throw them in the garbage! LOL Hopefully, they didn't make it into your shots. They're rather hidden, as they should be!
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