A reports from the World Domino Open Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada:

More than 100 of the best Domino players from across the Americas are in Las Vegas this weekend to battle it out at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Between 120 and 150 participants are expected to compete for $50,000 in prizes.

Domino players of all ages have traveled from across the Americas – including Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Panama – to vie for the title.

“We have around six or seven world champions of Dominos here in Vegas,” tournament organizer, Ricardo Arias, said.

The group of accomplished players includes the 2008 world championship winner, Julio Tronconi, and the 2007 World Domino Open victor, Thomas Ortiz.

Tronconi, who won his designation in May at the World Domino Championship in Orlando, came from Caracas, Venezuela, hoping to claim a second championship title. Meantime, Ortiz traveled from his home in Tijuana, Mexico to defend his title.

First place in both the Open’s individual and team divisions fetches $10,000. The prize purses shrink the further down from the finish you go, but a ninth place result is still given a cool $1000.

Not too bad for two days of playing Dominoes.

Read more from the Las Vegas Sun.

Arias believes Dominoes is the most popular game in the world – even more so than baseball, soccer or even football – because it is a game anyone can enjoy, regardless of age or physical ability. “It’s a table game that permits people to socialize and anyone in the world could play it,” he said.

Domino players in Haiti have a unique way of punishing the loser of a game of dominoes — clothespins:

There was pain in Jean Francois’ eyes, real suffering, an awful look of woe.

It might have been that he had had little to eat that day, or his lack of a job or any real hope of securing one. Perhaps it stemmed from the squalor in his neighborhood, a sprawling and rather depressing slum of tin-roofed houses.

But it turns out that Francois’ life was not the immediate source of his desperation. It was his losing streak — and the dozens of clothespins clipped onto his face, arms and belly.

In marked contrast to Francois’ glum look, the other men crowding around a raucous domino game under way in Port-au-Prince’s Cite Soleil neighborhood on a recent afternoon were smiling with glee. They doubled over in laughter every time they looked at Francois. A chorus of roars rang out each time he lost another game and more of the clips were attached to his ears, cheeks, chin, forearms and midriff.

The ears, everyone agreed, are particularly painful when clipped. Eventually, after losing and then losing some more, Francois could take no more. “It hurts so bad,” he said, rising from the rickety table and pulling off the clips one by one. Another player quickly moved in, nudging Francois aside and taking a turn.

The story, Dominoes ‘helps you forget’, from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, says that “the beauty of dominoes is that it requires not even a single gourde, Haiti’s currency, to compete. That is not to say, however, that there is no price to pay. Clothespins are merely one of many techniques Haitians employ to punish those who lose four games in a row.”

In a story from the Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg, Virginia:

Tom Faulk can’t keep track of the details anymore. He doesn’t remember how long he was in the Air Force, when he got married or if he’s taken his morning medicine.

But put a game of dominoes in front of the 83-year-old, and his focus becomes clear. He shuts out everything but counting “pips,” or points on the domino tiles.

The Stafford County man will play for eight to 10 hours at a stretch.

He doesn’t stop to eat, and he’s not interested in television, reading or going to gatherings for seniors.

If he’s not playing, he’s sleeping.

Faulk’s family speculates that the mental stimulation provided by his domino playing may have helped to keep him and his wife, Mary, who both suffer from dementia, out of nursing homes. Tom’s favorite game is All Fives (AKA “Five Up” or “Muggins”).

An interesting story … (read full article)

The First Hollywood Domino Tournament, a benefit for The Art of Elysium, a non-profit organization that runs arts workshops for seriously ill children, was held at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills in February.

Celebrities taking part in the tournament included Rumer Willis, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Kate Hudson, Salma Hayek, Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend, Penélope Cruz, Debbie Matenopoulos, James Van Der Beek, Kate Beckinsale, and many more.

Charlize Thereon was the big winner of the night, walking away with a $25,000 blank check for the charity of her choice. In addition, she was awarded a customized Instrumento NoUno watch by de Grisogono president Fawaz Gruosi.

According to Sky Showbiz: “dominoes – yup, that game where you line up dotted tabs – has got the Celebville X factor. More than cool, it’s inherent (yet hidden) showbiz potential for fun and frolics apparently rivals that of a big-time Hollywood casino. As the event got started, stars flocked to the first De Grisogono’s Hollywood Domino Tournament like sharks to a tasty bait, to do their bit for charity.”

GQ Magazine reports that “Traditionally beloved of stout-sipping pub-goers, it seems that the humble game of dominoes is in danger of becoming the new poker.”

GQ also reports that “The glitzy tournament, inspired by A Night In Havana, is also the official launch of Hollywood Domino, a variation on the classic game in which players build “Blockbusters”, “Sequels” and “Trilogies” as they battle it out for the “Oscar” domino. Hollywood Domino will be available to buy in autumn this year, in time, no doubt, to be a Christmas bestseller.”

According to Vanity Fair, “Hollywood has always been a gaming town,” and “Now there’s a new game in town: Mexican Train dominoes. Best friends Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz are fanatics” and “they’ve converted pals such as Demi and Ashton, Donna Karan, Bruce Willis, and Lucy Liu.”

For more details, as well as photos of the stars attending the tournament, see Just Jarad, PopSugar, Chic Today, omg!, Pacific Coast News, ConnieTalk.

Dominoes will take center stage in the Big Apple, when over 400 of the best players will meet to celebrate their passion for the game of Dominoes. Players from as far away as Mexico, Jamaica, Colombia and Spain will travel to New York to compete with players from the U.S. to determine who is “El # Uno” in the sport.

The NYC Domino Tournament, Sun April 29, 2007 12-7pm at Latin Quarter is the first of a Series of events that will be hosted in the New York area by worlddominotournaments.com, a site published by R. Paniagua Inc., a company based in New York that has focused on multi-cultural programming for the past 25 years.

The format of the Tournament will be Double Six with no elimination. Instead each two-man team will play five 200-point games with a 40-minute time limit per game, and then the top teams will vie in the sixth game for the title. The Final eight teams will be filmed to broadcast in the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean and other key markets of interest.

Upcoming events include the Puerto Rican Parade Tournaments on June 9th and the Dominican Day Parade Tournament on August 5th, two huge weekend events in New York. These will culminate with a multi-city event that concludes in Las Vegas in the Fall of 2007.

For more information, visit worlddominotournaments.com.

Although some may find it hard to believe, there comes a day when playing dominoes becomes more entertaining than having sex.

Playboy king Hugh Hefner says he knows he’s not getting any younger and doesn’t have the stamina and drive for the bedroom that he once did in his early years. He admits that he now prefers playing the classic family game rather than getting naughty under the covers.

“I’m bored of the hanky-panky. I’m still active, but it’s different – I like to play dominoes with my girlfriends,” he tells the London Sun.

When asked about his infamous wild nights at the Playboy mansion, the 80-year-old publisher who turned his men’s magazines business into a worldwide entertainment and fashion empire said, “I haven’t been to as many parties because I’m doing other things that are taking up my energy”.

ESPN2 has recently broadcast the 2005 World Domino Tournament from the Las Vegas Hilton. The Tournament originally took place on November 18-20, 2005. The ESPN telecast features the quarterfinals, semifinals and the finals of the competition. Produced in a reality show format, the telecast includes seven one-hour shows. ESPN’s veteran announcer Alvaro Martin is joined by actor/comedian Casper Martinez for commentary of the tournament, which was originally broadcast on ESPN Deportes in March, and on ESPN2 in June.

The 2005 World Domino Tournament featured more than 40 teams from the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean competing in a tournament that featured the most skilled professional players, competing for a cash prize.

The tournament rules do not describe what specific domino game variation is being played, although from the pictures and rules, I infer that they’re playing Latin Partnership Dominoes, as described in the books How to Play Latin Partnership Dominoes and How to Play Better Dominoes.

This appears to be a 4-handed variation of Block Dominoes, as described on Jose’s Page on Domino Games in Puerto Rico and Latin American Match Dominoes at Puremco.

ESPN Deportes, ESPN’s Spanish-language network, and the International Domino Federation have reached an exclusive agreement for the network to televise the World Domino Championships through 2011.

“Our commitment in bringing the widely popular game of dominoes to our viewers remains intact,” said Lino Garcia, general manager, ESPN Deportes. “This agreement with the International Domino Federation, one of the game’s most respected organizations, reinforces our pledge to bring to our viewers the best and most competitive domino tournaments in the world.”

“The International Domino Federation is extremely pleased with the agreement it has reached with ESPN Deportes,” said Eduard Petrenas, president, International Domino Federation. “Both parties have shown a strong commitment to make dominoes the next mainstream sport on television.”

The World Domino Championship is an annual international tournament. The 2005 tournament, which took place in Las Vegas, will be televised in English on ESPN2 beginning June 12; it has already been shown on ESPN Deportes. The 2005 tournament featured a field of more than 40 teams from the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean competing in a two-day tournament that featured the most skilled professional players.

The 2006 tournament will be held in October in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic is home of the 2007 tournament, and Orlando, Florida will host the 2008 event.

See also: ESPN Deportes, Federación Internacional de Domino.

Reference: Business Wire.

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In an article in the Richmond, Va Times-Dispatch (Central Virginians Are Already Hip To Dominoes), Daniel Neman discusses some of the background of dominoes, some of the many domino variations, and how it’s played in his area of the world. The articles includes quotes from a retired couple, as well as a 21-year-old immigrant from Mexico, both of which enjoy playing the game with their friends and families.

Read the full article.