Hawaiian Invitational at Gold Coast Las Vegas

2019 Hawaiian Invitational
Gold Coast, Las Vegas

Last weekend, I headed to Las Vegas to bowl in my fourth Hawaiian Invitational, the second year at Gold Coast. My previous two Hawaiians were at the Orleans (see October 30, 2016 entry).

I went into this tournament with little expectations. I have yet to bowl a series at my average. This year wasn't any different. My overall 8-game average was about 10 pins below my entry average.

What was different this year was a couple of minor, but notable inconveniences.

Upon arriving in Las Vegas, I got my luggage from baggage claim. Grabbed my suitcase and my bowling bag. Found the retractable handle on my bowling bag was stuck. After a few tries of moving the handle back and forth, I got the handle to lock. When I got to the cab, the release wouldn't retract the handle. The cab driver was very accommodating and put the bowling bag in the trunk as is.

Now at the hotel, it took me less than 10 minutes to check-in. Got my room keys (see photo) with the tournament's logo. Entered my room and immediately noticed the room is stuffy. I tried to turn on the air conditioning from the wall thermostat and nothing came on. Thermometer reads 79F. I called the front desk, woman on phone said Engineering will be in about 45 minutes to look at the air conditioning unit. They're currently working on another issue.

Almost an hour later and no one's come. I called the front desk again and told them I want to be put in another room if this can't be fixed. As soon as I'm off the phone, 2 men from Engineering knocked on the door. They got the fan turned on, tell me to wait about 15 minutes for the room to cool.

I left the room for about 20 minutes to give it time to cool down. Thermometer has gone down to 75F but won't get any cooler. There's barely any air coming from the unit. I really didn't notice until I saw the bedside clock radio read 2 am. I was too occupied trying to fix the bowling bag handle.

Damn. Suck it up, Lani. The handle is broken. Go to sleep. Go to the pro shop before the 2 pm squad. Buy a new bag. It's the second accessory I have to replace in less than 2 years (replaced my shoes 3 weeks earlier - see September 22 entry).

i woke up around 8:30. Texted my Bel Mateo teammate Ronnie to confirm he made it in from his drive from Redwood Shores to Vegas. Grabbed breakfast at TGIF's. Come back to the room. Thermometer now reads 78F.  Called the front desk again.

Within 15 minutes, a different person from Engineering knocked on the door. Walked over to the unit, puts his hand above the vent. Told me right away he has to take the unit apart to fix it. Perfect time to head to the pro shop.

At the pro shop, I immediately eyed the bag in the new color I found online. It's the same price as the lowest priced one listed online. I played with the retractable handle to make sure it worked, then bring it to the register to buy it. I casually mentioned to the pro shop guy I'm here for the Hawaiian Tournament. Gave me a 10% discount.

Storm Rolling Thunder 2

Bag is the same size and dimensions as the current bag. It'll be an easy transfer to move everything from the not-so-old bag to the new bag.

Mini woo-hoo.

After the Saturday afternoon squad, I met my Bel Mateo Monday night league mates Ronnie, Will and Julina for a fun Cantonese dinner.

When our 2nd and final squad ended late Sunday morning, I tagged along with  teammates Jason and Darrick to the airport. We were on the same incoming and outgoing flights. Killed for our first time before our flight at The Centurion Lounge, thanks to a recent upgrade to an American Express Platinum Card. Buffet style menu and wide selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. For FREE.

Nice way to end the weekend trip.

Orleans in Vegas - Hawaiian Invitational

2016 Hawaiian Invitational
1st squad scores

After a 2-week absence, I have returned. I missed October 16 due to a 7+ hour storm related power outage in my neighborhood. On October 23, I was in Las Vegas bowling my first Hawaiian Invitational.

The Hawaiian Invitational is an annual bowling tournament held at the Orleans Hotel. This is the same place where Liz Johnson won this summer's PWBA Las Vegas Open.

Like the Asian American Bowling Association (AABA) tournaments I bowl at 4th Street Bowl in San Jose and National Bowling Stadium in Reno, a participating bowler must be of Chinese or Japanese ancestry, or bowl in a Chinese or Japanese league.

In my long gone softball days, the big Asian tournament invitational hard core players attended was Sumitomo in Sacramento. I had informal invitations to come watch, but never got invited to play.

Of the Asian tournaments I bowl, the Hawaiian Invitational has the most participants (all 70 lanes at the Orleans are taken). Roster submissions begin early in the year, and payment (room, optional meal plan and tournament costs) must be paid in April, 6 months before the tournament date in October.

Above is a photo of my team's 1st squad scores. If you've ever bowled in leagues and tournaments, you'll notice scores are 4 games, rather than the usual 3. Overall, we didn't do badly, but total pins with handicap, was at least 500 pins from the top team scores.

For most bowlers, the best perk of the tournament is the doubles jackpot. You can choose anyone bowling the same squad time as a partner. The fee is only $3 per bowler with no limits on partners. Bowl well enough and a $6 team investment can result in over $1K prize money. Not to worry, the usual bracket and side pot bets are available too.

I had loads of fun. I consider these tournaments as reunions. It's great to see people you once bowled with in league or in other tournaments. Between squads, there's plenty of time to hit the casinos and slot machines, catch a movie in the hotel's multiplex cinema, or eat yourself silly at the buffet or any of the hundreds of nearby restaurants.

In the words of T-800 Model 101, "I'll be back."

South Point Bowling Center and Stadium - Las Vegas

2016 USBC Women's Championship Scores

Due to my trip to Las Vegas last weekend for the USBC Women's Championships, I wasn't able to write a blog posting. Shown above are my scores from the Bowl.com site. As the tournament is ongoing until July, my rankings will lower once additional scores are posted.

Despite the wide range of scores (my highest and lowest games were the last 2 games I bowled), I was very pleased with my results. Total pins in 9 games was 1440, which put me at a 160 average per game. I finished 5 pins above my 2015-16 season average at 155.

Bowling at South Point was a phenomenal experience. They have 2 very large bowling venues: the center for open bowling, and the stadium, where I bowled. Up until South Point, my favorite place was the National Bowling Stadium in Reno. ESPN has televised many PBA tournaments from South Point's stadium, so knowing I've bowled where elite bowlers have is very cool.

It was also nice to see the same teams we paired with over the past 2 years in the hotel or on lanes not too far from where we bowled.

Because of distance, travel logistics and budget constraints, I will be skipping 2017 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I plan on returning in 2018, when the tournament comes back to Reno.