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And they say WBC is all about winning?
Where else would you find your two top players willing to dress
the part? Talk about good sports! The reigning Consul Latto
and Caesar Bove get a thumbs up from the crowd to start Liar's
Dice. |
What do you do for an encore after
an entrance like that? Why, you bracket former-Caesar Arthur Field.
Hey Arthur ... where's your toga? You owe us one. Some high priced
talent and lotsa laurels have gravitated to that end of the table,
but to no avail.
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Wood
is thicker than blood
Liar's Dice remained a great draw in it's seventh year
at WBC. 188 crazed liars gathered with hopes of becoming the
ultimate prevaricator. The festivities started with the traditional
massed cup shake and resounding smash to the tables. This year
there was an added bonus of a toga party as both the Caesar and
Consul arrived in costume to toga chants as a special Animal
House copy of the game was provided for the tournament winner.
From the crowd of 188 hopefuls, 32 accomplished liars (or
bluffers if you prefer the more pc version) emerged for the semi-final
round. This year your happy GM was among them only to lose to
Peter Staab in a two-man showdown to reach the Final. !#*~! This
marked the fifth time in seven years that your GM lost in the
semi-finals. Some day ...
The Final consisted of Bernard Beckerman, Peter Staab, Stephanie
Kilroy, Stephanie's mother Kathy and a former runner-up, Adam
Nolan, and former champion Josh Githens. An esteemed gathering
of liars to be sure. Only three people have managed to laurel
twice in seven years of WBC Liar's Dice and two of them
were now at the table. Bernard started the bidding and the smiles
changed to poker bluff mode. Bernard made a mistake when he didn't
realize that the set being used had no 6's and originally bid
ten 6's without even looking at his dice. This foreshadowed an
event of more consequence later.
In the first round the bid went up to seven stars by Kathy
because she insisted she would not challenge her daughter. When
Adam called, she paid a high price for family loyalty - three
dice. Next, the bid was 12 2's by Kathy as she again wouldn't
challenge her daughter, but this time Adam's call revealed 12
deuces causing the first exactor and everyone but Kathy lost
a die.
Josh then bid seven stars and Bernard 's call revealed only
five so Josh lost two more dice. Stephanie's family tree again
became an issue when she bid 10-1's. Kathy hesitated but with
taunts from the rest of the table, the instinct for self preservation
won out. She decided to challenge her daughter after all to save
herself. She should have stuck with her mother's instinct. The
resulting second exactor cost everyone but Stephanie a die and
left both Kathy and Josh with but one left.
Now Kathy threw her maternal instincts to the wind. Stephanie's
next bid of five stars was called, costing her two dice. Kathy
had momentarily saved herself by sacrificing her daughter. Adam
was the next casualty when his bid of four stars was called by
Josh, costing him a pair and reducing him also to a single die.
Pete was the next person to hit skid row when Bernard's bid of
five 3's was met by seven actual treys, reducing him also to
a final die.
At this point Bernard with three dice and Stephanie with two
were the only ones with more than a single die. The ability to
survive a bad challenge was now all but gone and the casualties
would soon mount. Peter's bid of three stars brought the first
ouster when Stephanie's call revealed five, so she lost her last
two dice and had to settle for 6th place laurels. She was soon
joined on the sidelines by Josh whose try for a second title
came to an end when he called Adam's bid of three 3's only to
discover the third exactor. Bernard was down to two dice, while
everyone else had one. Adam's relief was short-lived as his bid
of one star was called by Bernard who alone knew he could survive
a one-die loss and called before the bid could reach two and
potentially knock him out. Adam had to settle for 4th place laurels.
Now the three survivors were guaranteed wood, but only one would
get the shield and the title.
In the penultimate three-cornered duel Peter bid three 4's
and Kathy called. It was the fourth exactor and everyone but
Peter lost a die. Kathy was eliminated and Bernard was reduced
to his last die, which set up the final showdown with one die
apiece. The next challenge would be the last.
Peter started the bidding with one 5 and Bernard followed
by bidding one 6. At that moment Peter told Bernard he had made
another mistaken bid. Once again Bernard bid 6's when the dice
only went up to 5 with a star replacing the 6. Bernard re-bid
as one star. Peter thought there was no way that Bernard had
a star under his cup as he tried to bid a "false 6"
with his first bid. Peter had a 4 under his cup so he called
Bernard only to reveal Bernard's star. Slip of the tongue or
smart double think ploy? Only Bernard knows for sure, and like
any good poker player, he's not saying.
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Doug Galullo, Roderick Lee and Winton
Lemoine vie in the semis as the ballroom clears out. |
Nicholas Henning, Angela Collinson
and Rebecca Hebner fabricate their bluffs as the night wears
on. |
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