|
|
You can almost hear the slots ringing
in the background ... |
Umm ... young man - are you old enough
to be in a casino? |
The Streak is Over ...
In Vegas Showdown players are challenged to bid for
and place basic and specialty rooms in an effort to build the
best Hotel/Casino on the Vegas strip. In the preliminary rounds,
4-player games were the preference; with 5-player games employed
only if necessary.
In the three preliminary heats there were a total of 27 games
played. This year only Kate Fractal managed more than one win
in the heats. In one of her wins, she managed to do so with
only one slot room and was the only game winner to pull off that
feat this year. Kate also managed to win the closest overall
preliminary game this year (which wasn't particularly close compared
to previous years) with 69 points over 65, 64, and 61 from Redie
Smith, Kyle Smith, and Nels Thompson, respectively.
The
highlights of the preliminary rounds included:
~ The GM, Eric Freeman, racked up an impressive 90 total points
in a game which included purchases of three high end rooms (Theater,
Five Star Steakhouse, and Dragon Room) in his final display.
~ Kyle Smith won a game that included two former finalists
(Mike Kaltman and Redie Smith) without purchasing any of the
"Fancy" rooms. His victory was fueled by a rare two
Nightclub builds.
~ The GMs son, 10 year old Alex Freeman, became the youngest
player to play in the tournament and managed a respectable third
place to former finalists Cary Morris and Rob Flowers. The GM
thanks the two of them for helping guide Alex through his first
game.
~ The title of "Diamond King" this year went to
John Corrado with a tournament record 15 diamond points - blasting
past Rod Spade's previous record of 13 set in 2012.
~ The "lounge king" this year with a tournament
record five lounges on his winning board was former champion
and 2013 finalist Randy Buehler. His winning casino in this
5-player game was also noteworthy in that it contained a total
of ten of the basic tiles and only three advanced rooms (Fancy
Lounge, Fancy Restaurant, and a Buffet).
There were 26 different winners, but three opted not to advance,
admitting alternates Andrew Drummond and Matt Calkins to the
semifinals. Andrew injected a bit of flavor into the tournament
this year, by dressing in a leisure suit and sunglasses for every
one of his games. 2013 finalist Max Jamelli would have returned
to the semis if a conflicting event had finished on time. Alas,
the perils of multiple attractions at WBC.
In the semifinals, Doug Faust won his table by six points
to advance in his quest to defend his 2013 title. The grouping
(Eric Freeman, Kate Fractal, Scott Saccenti, and Jim Fry) behind
Doug was all within two points of each other. Eric was caught
at the game end with $47 waiting for a Theater drop that never
came.
Mike Kaltman cruised to an easy 10-point win over Craig Trader,
with John Corrado, Kyle Smith, and Joel Lytle further behind.
"Leisure Suit" alternate Andrew Drummond punched
his golden ticket to the Final with a 5-point win over 2013 finalist
Cary Morris while also prevailing over Loc Nguyen, Luke Koleszar,
and James Denam.
Doug Faust wasn't the only player looking to "defend
his title." Steve LeWinter returned back to the WBC for
the first time since winning the Vegas title in 2011. His "title
defense" would extend to the Final after a 2-point victory
over Greg Thatcher with Paul Guy, Dana Champion, and Matt
Calkins taking the third-fifth spots, respectively.
Matt Craig took the last spot in the Final with a 2-point
margin over Greg Crowe, with Randy Buehler, Winton Lemoine, and
Don Tatum finishing third-fifth respectively.
The Final included three folks who wrote about their WBC experience
(while including Vegas Showdown) on Boardgamegeek.
You can find their accounts as follows
Doug Faust - http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/177437/wbc-2014-jump-starting-just-short-or-not-fancying
Andrew Drummond - http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/178046/newbies-wbc-game-recaps
Mike Kaltman - http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/177348/wbc-2014-or-how-i-learned-stop-worrying-and-love-c
Some of the highlights of the Final include:
~ Turn 12 - The Theater flops out early and no one has a Fancy
Lounge yet. Andrew buys the first Fancy Lounge this turn for
$21
~ Turn 13 - The second Ad campaign comes out and only Mike and
Steve have the capital to trade $10 for five points.
~ Turn 15 - Andrew get the Theater for a bargain $29
~ Turn 16 - Mike gets the Dragon Room for $33
~ Turn 19 - Mike buys a second Restaurant that allows him to
complete his Hotel section
~ Turn 20 - Game ends
Final Fame on the board at the end of the game: Mike 46, Andrew
48, Matt 27, Steve 49, Doug 40
Andrew finished with the highest Population (19) for five
points, Doug 2nd (18) for three points, and Mike 3rd (16) for
one point. Matt and Steve finished with 13 and 9 population,
respectively.
Steve and Mike tied for the highest revenue (16) for four
points each. Matt finished 3rd (14) for one point. Andrew and
Doug finished with 13 and 12 revenue, respectively.
Matt and Steve filled both sides and connected for 13 points.
Doug filled both sides for ten points. Mike and Andrew completed
only one side and connected for eight points total.
Mike scored a tidy sum of nine in diamond points, with Andrew
at six points and Doug with one.
Doug, Matt, and Andrew scored 2, 2, and 1 point respectively
for leftover cash.
Final scores
Mike 68 (with nine leftover cash), Andrew 68 (with no leftover
cash), Steve 66, Doug 56, and Matt with 43
Mike's tableau at the end contained a Lounge, two Fancy Lounges,
four Slots, two Fancy Slots, a Dragon Room, two Restaurants,
and a Fancy Restaurant.
This was Mike Kaltman's 20th appearance at a WBC Final. In
none of the previous 19 attempts did Mike manage a win. The
string of near misses was approaching infinity - or so it seemed.
After a double check of the scores confirmed that the Vegas
Showdown title would finally break his streak, Mike broke
down in tears of joy and relief. It was an emotional moment,
and I, for one, am glad to have been one of the people present
to witness it.
|
|
GM Eric Freeman with a little too
much oversight of finalist Mattew Craig. |
GM Freeman and his five finalists
- including the lounge lizard - Andrew Drummond. |
|