This was our 26th session of the season. We were joined by 9 players who played a total of 22 games in which we scored a total of 15,421 points for a 700.9 points-per-game average. We played 39 bingos this session. Of those bingos, only 1 was a phony that went unchallenged. As of this session, we have paid out $686.83 in prizes during the 2003-2004 season; click here for the list of winners! 

Ed Saunders was the top player of the session with 83% of his games won. He was also the King of the Bingo by turning in 13 bingos in 6 games. The Prince of the Bingo title, however, goes to Daniel Forrest, who played 8 bingos in 7 games, a new all-time best. Dan is proving himself to be a formidable opponent and an up and coming player. 

The "Scrabble Tragedy" of the session comes to us from Robert Whitcomb, who is still licking his wounds from a trouncing by Ed Saunders. Bob notes that after 11 turns, he had scored only 76 points. Ed, on the other hand, had a score of 431 at the same point. Adding insult to injury, during those 11 disastrous turns, Bob notes he had 6 racks with nongos (unplayable bingos). Of those 6 nongos, only one of them was able to be anahooked to make an 8-letter nongo. The final score? Bob at 239; Ed at 542... ouch!

Naurlene Canterman picked up the first of the two contests for this session: the "Close Call" contest for the game lost by the smallest margin. She turned in a final score of 327 points against Josh Kassel's 333, a mere 6 point difference. Robert Whitcomb picked up the "Play the J" contest for the highest-scoring play that used the J tile by putting down an 80-pointer of JUICIEST. Naurlene and Robert each take home $5.75 prizes.

This was the last session that featured the "AB to YZ Bingo Contest." This game was played over the last 13 sessions, with players scoring points for bingos beginning with certain letters. The final outcome was:
Nathan Benedict - 1st Place with 17 points
Ed Saunders - 2nd Place with 12 points
Judith Whitcomb - 3rd Place with 7 points
For complete results, click here.

Two of the four progressive jackpot prizes were scooped up this session. The $1.68 100+ Jackpot for a play of 100 or more points goes home with both Joshua Kassel for a 106-point play of REQUEST and Ed Saunders for a 100-point play of AQUAVIT. Daniel Forrest picked up the Triple-Triple Jackpot with a 63-point play of STEERAGE, played through TEE and using a blank as the G. Those two jackpots will revert to zero, and the other two progressive jackpots will each have $1.68 added to them. 

The next Session (20 May) will feature the following contests:
- High Win - A prize will be awarded to the person with the highest winning score of the session (~a quarter of dues collected)
- "High 4" Contest - A prize will be awarded to the player who makes the highest-scoring play by using only four tiles.  (~a quarter of dues collected)
- Triple-Triple Jackpot - An eighth of the evening's dues will be awarded to any player(s) who scores a  Triple-Triple Play. Note this cannot be combined with the 100+ Play Jackpot.
100+ Play Jackpot - An eighth of the evening's dues will be awarded to any player(s) who scores 100 or more points in a single play. Note this cannot be combined with the Triple-Triple Jackpot.
- 600 Jackpot - $7.68 plus an eighth of the evening's dues will be awarded to the player to any player(s) who score 600 or more points in a game.
- 9+ Bingo Jackpot - $12.93 plus an eighth of the evening's dues will be awarded to any player(s) who scores a bingo containing nine or more letters.