Atwell Wrestles the Field at Cadillac Ranch Casino

By Bill Rosenberger

Glenn Atwell dominated the 49-player field in Longview, WA, in a three-day tournament for the J. Pechauer West Coast Tour.  The event, held from October 8-10 at the Cadillac Ranch Casino, was the first stop of the year but not the last at this well-organized venue.

Tournament director Steve Lingelbach praised the owners for their tireless work in getting the room ready for the weekend.  "They had six tables for us, all set up o­n the main dance floor," he explained.  "And they added fifteen hundred dollars to the pot."  Players came from as far away as Utah, San Francisco, and Los Angeles to compete.

But it was Atwell who had his eye o­n the prize, as he ran undefeated to reach the finals.  Raul Abenojar also battled hard to get to the finals, especially in his last two matches. 

The two undefeated players met first in the hot seat, but Abenojar never had a chance against Atwell, who pulled away with the match.  Abenojar then moved to the semifinals against Kenny Dodd.  The match started out close, but Abenojar outlasted Dodd for the 9-5 win. 

The rematch was set in the finals, and both players were ready for the single race-to-13.  They exchanged games back and forth until it was 6-6.  Atwell simply ran away with the match by winning seven of the final eight games.  "I started to rack, and all of sudden Atwell just ran away with the tournament," said Lingelbach.  Altwell finished his opponent off 13-7 to take home $900 for first place. 

Results:

1st Glenn Atwell $900

2nd Raul Abenojar $625

3rd Kenny Dodd $430

4th Damian Alishan $275

5th Tony Balzar, Al Perez $150

7th Pat Schumacher, Mike Stevens $100