We won a cruise from one of the Las Vegas casinos, so I'll be gone for about ten days, in case you miss me.

We live in Las Vegas part of the year so Mr. Troutbend can bowl in tournaments, and he had a couple of them last week.

A couple of weeks ago he bowled an 834 series (277, 279, 278) in his regular league, so is going to receive a ring (looks like a high school or college class ring) for that and $300 from the bowling lanes. Also, they are making a plaque with his photo to hang on the wall in the lanes at the Gold Coast Casino and will add other good scores to it.

He was hoping to have the highest 800 series that week in the area, but someone topped him with an 845.

It is harder to bowl an 800 series than a perfect 300 game, because usually the bowler gets so flustered by nearly bowling the 300 (a 278 is a lot of strikes in a row and then a spare somewhere) that the other games aren't as good.

Mr. T's first 800 series was in 2001 or so, and it was 800 on the nose. He had bowled a 290 and was so busy filling out the paperwork for that, he didn't realize he kept right on bowling good. Imagine his heartbreak if he had missed it by one pin!

Speaking of 300 games, Mr. T has only bowled one official one (practice doesn't count). I have seen him come close a couple of times, but he gets nervous and messes up the last ball. He says he was a little nervous this time when he realized he had a chance at the 834 series, but managed not to choke.

One thing that helps is that he is a very consistent bowler, so once he gets on a good streak, he stays there. It also works against him because if he is in a pattern of leaving ten pins, then he does that for the entire game.

This is from the first 800 series, bowled in Colorado - Read the white letters on the red part.