NTBA offers year-end rewards for Las Vegas bowlers

Thursday, Oct. 16, 1997 | 9:28 a.m.

THE PAST year brought a new and exciting program to the Las Vegas bowling industry. The Nevada Tournament Bowlers Alliance (NTBA) was established in January 1997 by a group of bowlers, five bowling center managers and two independent tournament organizers.

The organizing and steering committee now includes managers of the Gold Coast, Mahoney's, Mountain View (Pahrump), The Orleans, Renata's Sunset, and Terrible's Town bowling centers and organizers of the Nadeau's, Wally's and WildDOG tournaments. A players' advisory group provides important input on all aspects of NTBA activities.

The ingenious program was the idea of one of Las Vegas' premier promoters and an accomplished bowler, Bart di Bartolo. di Bartolo, of WildDOG's fame, always is looking to formulate a plan to make bowling interesting and fair. His WildDOG leagues and tournaments are a tribute to his ingenuity and dedication to bowling. Never before in any part of the country has the local bowling industry worked so well together for its bowlers.

Di Bartolo may have hit a home run with his latest idea. The Nevada Tournament Bowling Alliance will influence Las Vegas tournament bowlers for years to come.

The alliance is open to any in-house or independent scratch tournament organizer with events in the greater Las Vegas area. The rules are simple. To become a member of the alliance, at least 80 percent of the entry fee must be paid out in the prize fund, Five percent of the entry fee for each bowler in each tournament is set aside in a year-end tournament prize fund.

To be eligible to compete at the end of year championship, a player must compete in 10 alliance tournaments. The end-of-the-year championship will be a two-day event with qualifying at most centers.

The purpose of the NTBA is to help local tournament promoters coordinate schedules and conduct a year-end, high-paying event for active local tournament players. While each of the 65 NTBA-affiliated tournaments is independently run, every event organizer has agreed to provide 5 percent of each tournament's gross proceeds (minus lineage fees) to the NTBA championship prize fund.

Excitement is growing among NTBA bowlers and affiliated tournament directors as more players are qualifying for the NTBA Grand Championship event in December. Any bowler who competes in at least 10 NTBA-affiliated tournaments during 1997 is eligible to enter the 32-game championship event that will take place in five centers.

With 49 tournaments completed and 13 remaining, it still is possible for any scratch-level bowler, amateur or pro, to qualify for the championship that will pay at least $4,000 to the winner.

Look for an NTBA schedule at your nearest bowling center or pro shop. For further information or to see what it's all about, come to one of the affiliated tournaments or call NTBA information at 451-7474.

JOHN McCARRON is a former pro bowler, international coach and a member of the Massachusetts Bowling Hall of Fame. He can reached via the internet at J300SUN@AOL.COM or by fax at 254-7330.