North American Darts Championship and Coming Events

I signed up for the North American Darts Championship yesterday and I am looking forward to heading up to Connecticut next month to try for my share of the $50,000 prize money. The event starts on Friday May 16 and culminates on that Saturday night with staged semi-final and final events. I am currently scouting out some good places to stay around the Mohegan Sun Casino, where the event is held.

Margaret and I like to explore when we travel. We usually make it a family trip, as there are some great nearby attractions for the kids. We found Dinosaur Crossing which is a big hit with my six year old, and nearby Mystic Seaport has a lot of activities. On one trip, Margaret and I discovered an interesting guy, Ken Oaks, who designs and makes furniture. We wandered into his store in Niantic, CT on the way home from the tournament one year (click here to see his store, En Casa). Ken used to be an engineer, but decided he likes designing and making furniture better. He also plays guitar. We now have a tradition of stopping at his store on the way home and buying one of his pieces every year.

I was set to sign up for the PDC U.S. Open as well, which takes place on the same weekend. Unfortunately, I had an unavoidable family conflict come up for that Sunday. I am still debating whether to sign up anyway. Only the quarter finals, semis and finals of the U.S. Open are on Sunday, and I would have to play out of my skin to get there. I generally don't like to enter an event that I know I wouldn't be able to finish though.

There is a lot of good local dart action to build up to those events. Next week George's qualifiers will be held for his GHS Tournament (mentioned in earlier posts). I plan to be there. Until next time, good darts!