The Air May Be Cold, but Richard Lauder Is RED HOT!

1st Richard Lauder ran off four straight wins, going 4-0 +198 and extending his winning streak to seven.  On his way, he beat both Reinke twins, marking the second straight week that somebody has achieved this feat.  He made easy work of Thomas Reinke, winning 439-346, playing TIPSTER and GUESTED to counteract Thomas' ANEROIDS.  His game against Charles was a bit closer, 385-345 being the final in that one.  Richard's find of PODZOLS not only netted him 119 points, but word of the week as well!  PODZOL is a type of soil, also spelled PODSOL, and has nothing to do with POZOLE, which is a soup.  PODZOLS also indirectly netted Richard five dollars, as Charles had just reached his tenth win in a row the previous round.

2nd Charles Reinke went 4-1 +619, averaging 465 points per game and playing fourteen bingos in the process.  He was also responsible for the three highest game scores of the night.  Against Lynda Finn, he dominated 550-314, outdoing Lynda's TANNERS with three bingos: WEIRDEST, ANTICKED, and ACTINGS.  This high score was apparently not high enough for Charles, as he walloped Mary Becker 559-344.  Four bingos were on the menu for that one: DITHERED, PERSONA, RELIEVER, and TENURIAL.  Mary got down DESIRES for some much-needed points.

3rd Bryan Benwitz, going 2-2 +130, beat out four other players with an identical record to snatch third place.  He dismantled Helen Flores with cold, surgical precision, 457-326, unleashing bingos such as ELUDERS and RERAISED with not even a smile.  Helen's response of INFUSES proved to be not enough.  His other win was 449-405 against Mary Becker, playing YEARLING and SLUTTIER for some much sought-after 50 point bonuses.

Condolences to Lynda Finn, who lost to Chris Vergeront 416-427 despite playing the triple-triple UNLEARNT.  New rule proposal: triple-triples automatically win the game.