Last out of the cup again ... Joanna Melton and Pat Mirk survey the damage.	An end game situation takes shape ... It must be almost time for Fare Wars.

"Flexibility" was the theme of this year's tournament. With a new schedule, and shifting room assignments for the heats, Air Baron players had to be flexible to keep their flights in the air in more ways than one.

One of the objectives for this year's event was to finish earlier, so semi-finalists and finalists didn't have to choose between ABN and "plaque rounds" of other events. Holding the first round on Tuesday night instead of the traditional Wednesday start was one way to help that happen.

In the course of the four Heats played over four days, the winners in each game started their "empires" in LAX five times, Denver three times, two each for JFK, Miami, ORD, SFO, and Phoenix, and once each for Atlanta, Washington, and Houston. The winners played with Blue most often (seven times) and Yellow only once.

By the time the semi-final round began Friday evening, 21 players had won games over four Heats. For the 25-seat Semi, we had twenty of the Heat winners, three players with copies of the game, and the two players with the highest non-winning finishes of those present for the start of the Semi event. All five of the Semi winners showed for the Saturday morning Final, so no alternates were needed.

In the Final, a banker's roll of 3 started everyone off with a fair amount of cash ($4 to $8). Orange won the one-dollar Contract with a $3 bid, only to lose it to Blue on Round 2 (also for $3) before showing a profit. The Bid for Contract then went to the bottom of the draw cup where it stayed for seven rounds, until Orange won the $3 Contract with a $9 bid on Round 9. Alas, he barely broke even before the Bid reemerged in Round 12 and went back to Blue for $16.

In the early rounds, everyone seemed to be employing a "butterfly"strategy -- buying one spoke in several hubs in an effort to maximize profit opportunities. Red was the first player to declare Fare Wars, taking the plunge in Round 5. Round 7 saw Yellow take out the first loan and immediately draw $31 in profits, just before Recession struck in Round 8.

By Round 10, Blue had three Jumbo Jets in Chicago with all four domestic and both foreign spokes, a single spoke each in Atlanta and DCA, and a good stack of cash. That stack was greatly improved when another player drew Frankfurt, giving Blue a $40 payout. In Round 11, the only Jumbo Profit marker of the game was drawn, benefitting four of the five players. On Round 12, Blue won the $4 Contract, successfully defended Chicago from a Fare Wars encroachment, and collected another $40 for Frankfurt. On Round 13, Blue drew no calamities and declared victory with $170 market share and $161 cash.

Debbie actually gets to play games between taking photos!	High rent capitalists at work in the Final.