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The coin flips and the play has begun. Teams from as far away as New York and VA along with players as young as 10 vied for several divisions inside The River Center's Mississippi Hall convention room in Davenport Iowa. Over 30 Valley tables chattered with balls banging from dusk till dawn.
This 95 year old hotel is connected to the convention center. This Historic landmark has seen the likes of John Wayne, Dwight Eisenhower, Bobby Kennedy, Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe. Some say that you can still feel the presence of Al Capone, who made this one of his stops in the early turn of the century.
Jacqui Herrera from Bartlett, IL overcame Vickie Martin from Kansas City, MO with a 7-6 defeat and a $1,200 Prize Fund First Place in the Women's Open Singles. Jacqui had to overcome a women's field consisting of Kristine Joiner, Simone Husky, Mary Costello, Stacey Livermore, Jessie James and Kerry Morrison.
In The Master Women's Singles Jessica Frideres from Ft. Dodge, IA overcame world class player Debra Williams, (Jamie Baraks Mother) in a huge upset of 9-2. Jessica takes home a whopping $1,200 prize fund. Amy Latzko took 3rd while Megan Blair finished in the 4th position.
Jessie Bowman had to really focus to beat rival player and one of his best friends, Josh Johnson in an 11-9 ping pong match. Jessie from Moline, IL brought home the dough of $2,000 while Josh from Bettondorf, IA settled for a sweet second of $1000. This was an extremely great match to watch as these boys have been playing since they were youngsters and know each others game inside and out. Runners up consist of Chad Vilmont 3rd, Tommy Hernandez 4th, Frank DeCastecker and Dan Voeller both came in 5/6th Place.
