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Aaron Bader's Fast Start Shows No Signs of Slowing Down

1st Aaron Bader averaged an impressive 478 points per game, going a perfect 3-0 +432 in his second visit to our club.  All of his games featured margins over a hundred points, so none of them could be considered "close", but the closest one was a 464-342 victory over Dave Gilligan.  Dave got down MESSILY; Aaron played ANODIZES and TESTING.  The 500-point theshhold proved elusive as Aaron scored 499 (to Lynda Finn's 328) for his most dominating win of the evening.  Aaron pulled out a trio of high-scoring bingos (NEIGHBOR, LACQUER, and REBODIES), easily overwhelming Lynda's lone bingo of EINKORNS.  As some consolation to Lynda, she did get $4 for the high K word.

2nd Thomas Reinke continued the slow slog to close the winning-percentage gap against his brother, finishing 3-1 +177.  This quest was aided by beating that same brother by a thin margin of 404-398.  His only bingo was CONGEST, countered by Charles' UNLEARNT and DIELDRIN (n. an insecticide).  The bingo faucet flowed more freely against Dave Gilligan, who bore witness to four bingos from his opponent: WRITERS, TOREADOR, OVERBOIL, and BEADING.  This bingo onslaught resulted in a 548-327 final score.  However, Thomas' most noteworthy bingo accomplishment came in his 432-384 win versus Richard Lauder: the ten letter REEXPELLED, played to the already-on-the-board LED! 

3rd Peter Schmiedicke also went 3-1, with his spread of +167 leaving him only ten points out of second place.  His highest-scoring game came against Jordan Parker, 467-282.  Peter monopolized the bingo situation on that board, holding Jordan bingoless while playing three of his own: LUCERNE (another term for alfalfa), RATLINS, and STONIER.  Peter then presented Thomas Reinke with his only loss, winning that one by almost a hundred, 443-345.  Sadly, a perfect record was not to be, as Aaron Bader proved to be too much to handle, prevailing 472-333 in a game where Peter was held to just one bingo of OUTRIDES.

Sue Goldstein Shows No Hospitality

1st Sue Goldstein's 2-1 record was good enough to secure first place despite her spread of -17.  She defeated visiting out-of-towner Gail Gibson 358-343 to set her high-water mark.  June Scott brought her back down to earth with a 306-272 victory in which June played the bingo SORTIES (v. SORTIE, to attack suddenly from a defensive position).

2nd Connie Pearson went 2-2 -125, a strong performance for her first-ever outing at our club.  Along the way she defeated expert Mary Becker 377-351 despite Mary's bingo of INDITERS.  Things were looking great until the final game, when Michael David taught her a lesson in Scrabblenomics, the final score a lopsided 497-292.

Peter leads the HyVee mini-crowd with a 4-1 +460. Peter averaged 2.8 bingos per game and had the high average with 438. Bryan had the high game with a 536. A good time was had by most.

Thomas Reinke Crushes Opponents Like So Many Bugs

1st Thomas Reinke romped over the unfortunate few who were decreed to play him, ending the night 4-0 +642 and averaging 490 points per game.  Following up Chris Veregeront's 612-point game last week, Thomas Reinke unleashed a 600-point game of his own, scoring 606 to Dave Gilligan's 245.  DRAYMEN, AUTODYNE (n. a type of electrical circuit), and FRAULEIN were Thomas' valid bingos; however, the prestige of the 606-point game was tarnished by a phony of UTRICATE (URTICATE and UTRICLE are good).  Another rare feat was attained when Thomas played the nine-letter INSWATHED (as well as the more pedestrian WIRINESS) en route to a a 455-335 win over Peter Schmiedicke, who played NAILERS and AIGRETTE in his losing effort.

2nd Charles Reinke finished 3-1 +282 for second place in the expert group.  Most of his spread accumulated as a result of his 525-301 drubbing of Andy Bohnsack.  Andy, who averages well over two bingos per game, played none of his usual rack-clearing plays as he watched Charles play CLAMORER, OFTENEST, and REDDING (v. red, to put in order).  Charles' quest for an undefeated record came to a sad end as he lost to his brother, Thomas, 418-460 in the final game of the night.  Charles actually outbingoed his brother, playing SOAPIER, URETERAL, and BAMBINO (n. a baby) to Thomas' DIRECTOR and MUTATED, but a late-game misplay cost him the victory.

3rd Aaron Bader started off strong in his first visit to our club, going 3-1 +87.  Aaron is still shaking off the rust after a few-year hiatus, but as he was an expert-level player in the latter part of the last decade, we don't expect that rust to stick around for long.  An aspiring Collins (British dictionary) player, Aaron played a two-game series against veteran Collinser Mark Kenas and won both by scores of 488-362 and 405-400.  No Collins bingos were played (good thing too - they would have to be marked as phony!), but Aaron did get the odd-looking ORRERIES (in addition to the high-probably ALEURON) in his second game against Mark.  Only Gail Salm was able to best the newcomer, prevailing 454-381.  Aaron played SEMIRAW and OUTSETS, but was overcome by Gail's trifecta of DROPSIED, CLINGERS, and RENAILS.

Richard Lauder and Andy Bohnsack also had 3-1 records, but couldn't improve on the low bar set by Aaron's +87 cumulative.  Spread matters!  Never let up!  In bingo-of-the-week news, Peter Schmiedicke played JAROVIZE (v. to hasten the flowering of a plant) against a shell-shocked Lynda Finn.  Of eight-letter words containing a J and a Z, JAROVIZE is the most likely to appear, followed by AZULEJOS. 

Sue Goldstein Reels Off Perfect Night

1st Sue Goldstein went 4-0 +192, easily taking first place in the intermediate group, and has now won twelve of her last fifteen games.  In the category of "low-scoring wins", she defeated June Scott 269-265, and in the category of "ridiculous phonies" she played RETOOTED in the same game.  It's not any more ridiculous than OUTBLEAT, but still.  Sue also notched a 400-point game as she emerged victorious from a bout with expert Barb Besadny, 402-309.  This time, she only played valid bingos, getting down MANNERS and a nice find of SEXTONS.