1st Charles Reinke was an unstoppable force encountering no immovable objects, going 5-0 +369. High-probability bingo knowledge once again proved useful as a set of two-on-one games against Helen Flores (462-396) and Ron Malzer (478-349) saw the following bingos played: NASTIER, LOMENTA, ORGANDIE, ANEROID, and SEPTORIA. The club's neverending quest to play every bingo in the dictionary was not futhered by this selection of bingos, as all of them are common enough to have been played before. Charles went on to defeat Mark Kenas in round two, 527-361, thanks to TARRING, PODIATRY, and ENTAILER (Mark had the useful SERIATE). In the third round, Charles pulled out NEEDIEST and TALMUDIC (note that TALMUD* is not valid, only TALMUDIC) to snag a tight five-point win over Bryan Benwitz, who had CRAALING, SHEETER (note, no SEETHER*), and WEASONS. The final score was 436-431. Charles decided that a five point win hadn't raised his blood pressure enough, so he proceeded to go undefeated by way of a three-point win against Mark Kenas, 442-439. RIGORIST and CREATES were his bingos in that crowning victory.

2nd Thomas Reinke unleashed a tsunami of bingos which overwhelmed most (but not all) of his opponents, making eighteen bonus plays across five games while finishing 4-1 +445 and averaging 508 per game. A round-one match against Mark Kenas saw the two Collins players burst through the 1000-points-combined barrier, the final being 558-463 in Thomas' favor. Mark supplied ODOGRAPH, AMITIES, and TSARDOM, while Thomas had ANTIGAY, ERUPTION, JAVELINS, and the nine-letter MOTELIERS#. In round two, despite being mildly handicapped by a two-on-one game, Thomas pulled out his 7th 600-point game of the club season with a 610-353 win against Richard Lauder. Thomas served up five bingos in his monstrous scoring showcase: SYNCOPE, TACKERS, MERGERS, ROBINIA, and PETTING. Richard had AUDILES and RETOTAL, meaning every bingo on the board was a seven-letter word. At the same time, Thomas escaped with a win against Bryan Benwitz, 396-382, getting down TOLUENES, FARINAS, and GOTHITES. Thomas received a taste of his own medicine when Mark beat him in a round-three rematch, 501-481, a game which Thomas lost despite his four bingos: TENENDA#, INFLATER, MEATLOAF, and ELOQUENT (Mark had POUNCETS# and MASHLIMS#). The volcanic bingo eruptions from Thomas' rack were marginally reduced by the final game, as Thomas "only" had two such plays (HELICES, PETIOLES) in a 495-396 win over Andy Bohnsack.

3rd Bryan Benwitz snuck into third place with a 2-2 +238 record. Things started off nicely as Bryan found SEEDING and HEROICS to beat Andy Bohnsack 449-332. But that success was short lived as the pairings conspired to have Bryan face off against both Reinkes in sequence, and the results were unfavorable for Bryan: 382-396 against Thomas, then 431-436 against Charles. But Bryan was able to make up some ground in the last game, playing bingos of RERACKED, SENARII, and TONGERS to defeat Sara McLaughlin 489-349. Bryan still maintains a comfortable lead in the club standings with a month and a half to go.

Experts
Charles Reinke5-0 +369
Thomas Reinke4-1 +445
Bryan Benwitz2-2 +238
Ron Malzer2-2 -141
Andy Bohnsack2-3 +66
Richard Lauder2-3 -413
Helen Flores1-3 -140
Sara McLaughlin1-3 -180
Mark Kenas1-3 -244
Intermediates

 
NameWin% W   L  T  Avg  Opp Avg Bingos  Avg Phonies % v2
Experts
Bryan Benwitz75.31504914433714272.14102.31
Charles Reinke69.71556714533934932.21489.733
Mary Becker66.721038435541.331250
Thomas Reinke66.41457314504025202.375610.828
Beth Amos57.1860402381181.29000
Andy Bohnsack54.2322704133971171.9832.67
Lynda Finn54.1857203903782241.43135.813
James Rollins5022031634551.251200
Mike Johnson50440446401182.25000
Renato Umali5022041738682000
Ron Malzer47.234380363391690.9657.20
Dennis Lloyd43.6516603753881621.38148.66
Karl Armstrong42.311150361379190.7315.30
Wendy Bialek41.71014033934370.29000
John Bialek41.710140355388200.83150
Sara McLaughlin41.68211503563901780.942.21
Richard Lauder41.47911203694023031.59134.34
Mark Kenas39.4578814264562962.035919.90
David Kinzer38.627430355373620.8934.80
Francesca Lazio34.114270345378340.8338.80
Helen Flores25.9361030339405870.6344.60
Sue Goldstein22.2828029536140.11000
Aaron Bader004039250161.5000
Melody Brown002029935300000
Mathias Chen003028239220.67000
Cooper 0010020337300000
Nalina 004019637000000
Intermediates

Bingos
Thomas Reinke18ANTIGAY ERUPTION JAVELINS SYNCOPE TACKERS MERGERS ROBINIA PETTING TOLUENES FARINAS
GOTHITES INFLATER MEATLOAF ELOQUENT HELICES PETIOLES moteliers tenenda
Charles Reinke12NASTIER LOMENTA ORGANDIE ANEROID SEPTORIA TARRING PODIATRY ENTAILER NEEDIEST TALMUDIC
RIGORIST CREATES
Andy Bohnsack11ENDITES MODESTER PORTALS ERASION FINAGLED UPLINKED PASTIME TWINIER COLLIDER RESTOKED
NATIONAL
Bryan Benwitz9SEEDING HEROICS POSTCARD CRAALING SHEETER WEASONS RERACKED SENARII TONGERS
Richard Lauder7DOLLIES ACEROSE AUDILES RETOTAL SOOTIER FROSTED CRESTED
Mark Kenas7ODOGRAPH AMITIES TSARDOM SERIATE PLACATE pouncets mashlims
Sara McLaughlin6DIESELS FILLINGS TACKIEST DIRTIER CARTELS ENABLING
Helen Flores5HOMAGES STAINER DANDIEST RECEIVE TAWNIES
Ron Malzer4INCLUDE DARNEST MISHEARD OUTEARNS
8-Jan: Scrabble at Covenant Church15-Jan: Scrabble at Misty Mountain Games22-Jan: Scrabble at Covenant Church29-Jan: Scrabble at Covenant Church