Pool teams converging on McCook

More than 360 pool players -- along with dozens of their family members -- will descend upon McCook in upcoming weekends for Western Nebraska championship tournaments.

The regional events -- starting this weekend and wrapping up June 10-12 -- have a big prize for winning teams: they will earn a trip to national tournaments at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev.

"The tournaments will give the McCook area an economic boost," said Joe Bond, a McCook resident who coordinates activities for the American Pool players Association. "It's not only the pool players who come to town for these events. Many of them also are accompanied by their husbands, wives and families," Bond pointed out.

Tournament action gets under way Saturday and Sunday when Ladies 8-Ball teams and skilled Triple Play Master players compete at Charley's Hideaway Lounge at 510 W. Fifth. In this, the opening weekend, 43 players from McCook, Trenton, Palisade and Ogallala will be competing, with one 8-ball team and one Triple Play Master team advancing to the Las Vegas tournament.

After skipping Memorial Weekend, pool tournament play will resume June 4-5 at Charley's, with 85 players competing in the 9-ball team championships. Teams for the 9-ball event will come from Cozad, Gothenburg, Lexington, North Platte, Ogallala and McCook. Two eight-member teams will qualify to go to Las Vegas.

Then, on June 10-11-12, the biggest regional event of all will take place. That will be the 8-ball team championship. Two hundred forty players from throughout Western Nebraska will compete in that event. "Players are coming all the way from Grand Island on the east to Alliance and Sidney on the west," Bond said. After the spirited competition at Charley's, three 8-ball teams from this region will advance to nationals.

Pool leagues have shown dramatic growth in this region since Joe Bond and his wife, Carmen, took over the APA program in 1997. "People knew I had run a dart league before, so they asked me if I could put a pool league together," he said. After checking out the possibilities, the Bonds affiliated with the American Poolplayers Association (better known by the initials APA). "We're getting ready to start our ninth league season," Joe said. "We now have 158 teams and 1,055 players in Western Nebraska."

Pool playing has been a favored pastime since McCook's founding as a railroad town in the 1880s. Thanks to Joe and Carmen Bond, the sport is enjoying a resurgence. Welcome, pool players, and good luck in your efforts to qualify for the national tournaments in Las Vegas.