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 Every wonder how this all happened?...Who would of thunk it! 11 years ago we started this thing cuz we were bored (which is how we start most of things we do) and you've all helped make this the biggest punk rock party of the year, each and every year! Over 1000 people from the independent music world converging in Vegas each January to celebrate our unique little niche in this ever changing "industry" (if you will). No matter where the music takes us, no matter what obstacles we all face each day, when we come here it's all about... bowling... gambling.... music... drinking.... and everything else that goes hand in hand with those glorious pastimes!  In 1998, we came up with this crazy idea that we could bring a bunch of punk bands and labels together in Las Vegas to have a party. But we needed more of a reason than just gambling and drinking, so we decided that bowling would be the perfect accompaniment. We figured everyone bowls, and it doesn't even matter if you're any good at it. And if you were good, we would provide lots of cocktails, scantily clad women and blast all your favorite old punk classics to really throw off your game so we could even the playing field for the rest of us. So we convinced the Gold Coast Casino to let us throw this "party" with just 27 teams. Everyone who came had a great time, the hotel thought we were a bunch of freaks, but they agreed to let us come back a 2nd year. Well we came back that next year, but this time selling out the entire bowling alley with 72 teams!
 Each year, more and more people in the punk scene started showing up and we pretty much took over the casino. After practically drinking the bar dry, we decided to move the tournament to a place with a bigger bar and more bartenders. We settled on an old casino off the beaten path called the Castaways (which used to be the Showboat back "in the day"). This dump had 106 lanes, the largest bowling alley in the state (if not the country), and had a one man band in the lounge, so that pretty much decided everything right then and there! We could expand the amount of teams to include all these other bands that had been showing up each year hoping someone would die so they could take their team spot. Adhereing to the high standards of our clientel however, we decided not to host the rooms at that place since they weren't really up to par with what we are all accustomed to. So we blocked out rooms at the infamous Binions Horseshoe, and we drank that bar dry as well.
 Heading back to Castaways for a second year (Our 6th tournament), the hotel agreed to let us have the run of the place if we also had everyone stay there. We agreed, and the tournament was sold out way in advance. One week before the event however, the bank decides to shut the entire place down. They came in, stopped a national bowling tournament, went door to door in the hotel, kicked everyone out of the building and padlocked the whole place down! Needless to say, we were stressed! Everyone had already paid for teams and rooms, plus made travel arrangements. Knowing the type of people you are, we had to find a solution and we had 5 days to do it. Well my friends, this is where Sams Town comes into the picture. It just so happened that a few days earlier, a big tournament that was scheduled for our weekend had cancelled, and we convinced
 the nice people at Sams Town that although this crowd might look a little different than the blue haired people that they normally catered to, we were more fun! They took a chance, and they agree! We now sell out 168 teams each year, and almost all of those teams are returning teams from past years. On top of that, we also started a Texas Hold 'em Punk Rock Poker Tournament a few years back as an excuse to go out to Vegas a day early, and that has turned into quite a success. We are now filling 8 tables and the pot is getting higher each year!
All in all, we are looking forward to another great weekend and want to thank you once again for all your support. We love putting this event together every year, and hope you keep on coming back. Enjoy yourself, get a drink . . . . . . . . . . . and LET'S BOWL!!!!!! 
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