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First off, having a “day off” here at the championships was awesome. Wednesday was all sleeping in, brunchies, 9-ball with a pro (Robin Dodson) — buying some of her handmade cues as well — a late-evening dip in the pool and hot tub, winning a few bucks at roulette, buffet dinner, and playing the midway games at Circus Circus. I may have won a stuffed animal I’ll be bringing home for someone special.

Today, though, was once again a rough one. Up at 6am for 7am practice, and our second-chance round started at 8am. Our opponents, the Knights of the Pool Table, were from Jersey, and they were actually ranked properly (except the girl at the end, but more on that later).

First up: Misako (3)! She absolutely destroyed her opponent (a 4) in her Championship debut, cutting apart the first game, letting him take the second to lull him a bit, and just brutalizing him on the final game. The match was over quickly, and we were ecstatic. The morning was off to a good start.

They put up a 5 next, and since Jamal (5) was raring to go, he got the nod. It was a fairly even match and Jamal won a few of the games, but was unable to prevail in the end.

We put up Mits (5) next, in anticipation of their many 6s left to play, and they did indeed put one up. It was a guy named Joe who used to play with Captain Jim. Joe won the first two games with his weirdly precise strutting and shooting, then Mits took one … then two for Joe and one for Mits … and we had hope that Mits could turn it around, but he lost the match 5-2. Bummer.

In a surprise move that reeked to me of an under-ranked player, they put up their 2. Who does that, when they have a 6 available to put th enail in the coffin, unless their 2 is more of a 4? We played Jean, and he was shooting well until that 2 shot her last three balls with far too much skill (including carom and very long, complex shots) and sank the 8. Geez. Jean rallied and won the next game, but Ms “Yeah, Sure I’m a 2″ played like a 4 or 5 again and took the third game to win the match … and end our championship hopes.

We were a bit crushed.

But then we entered the Team Shirt contest — we’re a shoo-in to win — and then there was beer and Asian food (the restaurant actually called their food “Asian food”, don’t blame me). Much beer. Beer games, in fact. This was followed by the pool, which is a godsend in the 108-degree heat.

This led us into the night, where we tried to see the Treasure Island Sirens show (which was canceled 30 times in a row due to high winds, sigh), and ended up getting merry on sangria in a restaurant called Isla. Mmmm.

Thursday was another fun day, all pressure was off us … breakfast with half the team, blackjack and roulette at the Hard Rock (they have a yummy bloody mary), more pool time, and a final team dinner at the buffet. We couldn’t let the evening go to waste, so we went up to the Adventuredome at Circus Circus and played all of the midway games and video games (including a stirring Dance Dance Revolution contest) and I rode the rollercoaster, Inverter, Chaos, and other rides until I got queasy.