liar's dice

Updated 11/30/2009

2009 WBC Report     

 2010 Status: pending 2010 GM commitment

Benard Beckerman, NY

2009 Champion

Offsite Links

  

Event History
2003    Josh Githens     140
2004    Lucimara Martins     145
2005     Legend Dan Hoffman     132
2006    Dan Hoffman     145 
2007     Thomas Browne     195
2008     Josh Lanham     212
2009     Bernard Beckerman     183

 

 Laurels

Rank  Name              From  Last  Total
  1.  Josh Githens       SC    09     36
  2.  Daniel Hoffman     NC    06     36
  3.  Bernard Beckerman  NY    09     30
  4.  Kathy Kilroy       PA    09     30
  5.  Josh Lanham        MD    08     30
  6.  Thomas Browne      PA    07     30
  7.  Legend Dan Hoffman MD    05     30
  8.  Lucimara Martins   MD    04     30
  9.  Peter Staab        PA    09     18
 10.  Scott Buckwalter   MD    08     18
 11.  Matt Calkins       VA    07     18
 12.  Doug Galullo       FL    05     18
 13.  Richard Curtin     NY    04     18
 14.  Fabio Tola         MD    03     18
 15.  Haim Hochboim      is    08     12
 16.  Vasili Kyrkos      NY    07     12
 17.  Patrick Shea       VA    06     12
 18.  John Kilbride      PA    05     12
 19.  Craig Reece        FL    04     12
 20.  Gordon Rodgers     PA    03     12
 21.  Adam Nolan         VA    09      9
 22.  Jeff Meyer         MA    08      9
 23.  Danielle Zack      MD    07      9
 24.  Greg Thatcher      FL    06      9
 25.  Ken Gutermuth      TX    05      9
 26.  Robert Drozd       IL    04      9
 27.  Bill Place         PA    03      9
 28.  Chester Lanham     MD    08      6
 29.  Bruce Reiff        MD    07      6
 30.  Erik Arneson       PA    06      6
 31.  Larry Lingle       PA    05      6
 32.  Abigail Cocke      MD    03      6
 33.  Stephanie Kilroy   PA    09      3
 34.  Harry Flawd        PA    08      3
 35.  Patrick Havert     CA    07      3
 36.  Devin Flawd        PA    06      3
 37.  Ashley Collinson   MD    05      3
 38.  Jeff Mullet        OH    04      3
 39.  Peter Stein        OH    03      3

2009 Laurelists                                               Repeating Laurelists: 0

Peter Staab, PA
2nd

Kathy Kilroy, PA
3rd

Adam Nolan, VA
4th

Josh Githens, SC
5th

Stephanie Kilroy, PA
6th


Past Winners

Josh Githens, SC
2003

Lucimara Martins, MD
2004

L. Dan Hoffman, MD
2005

Dan Hoffman, NC
2006

Thomas Browne, PA
2007

Josh Lanham, MD
2008

Bernard Beckerman, NY
2009
     

And they say WBC is all about winning? Where else would you find your two top players willing to dress the part? Talk about good sports! The reigning Consul Latto and Caesar Bove get a thumbs up from the crowd to start Liar's Dice.

What do you do for an encore after an entrance like that? Why, you bracket former-Caesar Arthur Field. Hey Arthur ... where's your toga? You owe us one. Some high priced talent and lotsa laurels have gravitated to that end of the table, but to no avail.

Wood is thicker than blood

Liar's Dice remained a great draw in it's seventh year at WBC. 188 crazed liars gathered with hopes of becoming the ultimate prevaricator. The festivities started with the traditional massed cup shake and resounding smash to the tables. This year there was an added bonus of a toga party as both the Caesar and Consul arrived in costume to toga chants as a special Animal House copy of the game was provided for the tournament winner.

From the crowd of 188 hopefuls, 32 accomplished liars (or bluffers if you prefer the more pc version) emerged for the semi-final round. This year your happy GM was among them only to lose to Peter Staab in a two-man showdown to reach the Final. !#*~! This marked the fifth time in seven years that your GM lost in the semi-finals. Some day ...

The Final consisted of Bernard Beckerman, Peter Staab, Stephanie Kilroy, Stephanie's mother Kathy and a former runner-up, Adam Nolan, and former champion Josh Githens. An esteemed gathering of liars to be sure. Only three people have managed to laurel twice in seven years of WBC Liar's Dice and two of them were now at the table. Bernard started the bidding and the smiles changed to poker bluff mode. Bernard made a mistake when he didn't realize that the set being used had no 6's and originally bid ten 6's without even looking at his dice. This foreshadowed an event of more consequence later.

In the first round the bid went up to seven stars by Kathy because she insisted she would not challenge her daughter. When Adam called, she paid a high price for family loyalty - three dice. Next, the bid was 12 2's by Kathy as she again wouldn't challenge her daughter, but this time Adam's call revealed 12 deuces causing the first exactor and everyone but Kathy lost a die.

Josh then bid seven stars and Bernard 's call revealed only five so Josh lost two more dice. Stephanie's family tree again became an issue when she bid 10-1's. Kathy hesitated but with taunts from the rest of the table, the instinct for self preservation won out. She decided to challenge her daughter after all to save herself. She should have stuck with her mother's instinct. The resulting second exactor cost everyone but Stephanie a die and left both Kathy and Josh with but one left.

Now Kathy threw her maternal instincts to the wind. Stephanie's next bid of five stars was called, costing her two dice. Kathy had momentarily saved herself by sacrificing her daughter. Adam was the next casualty when his bid of four stars was called by Josh, costing him a pair and reducing him also to a single die. Pete was the next person to hit skid row when Bernard's bid of five 3's was met by seven actual treys, reducing him also to a final die.

At this point Bernard with three dice and Stephanie with two were the only ones with more than a single die. The ability to survive a bad challenge was now all but gone and the casualties would soon mount. Peter's bid of three stars brought the first ouster when Stephanie's call revealed five, so she lost her last two dice and had to settle for 6th place laurels. She was soon joined on the sidelines by Josh whose try for a second title came to an end when he called Adam's bid of three 3's only to discover the third exactor. Bernard was down to two dice, while everyone else had one. Adam's relief was short-lived as his bid of one star was called by Bernard who alone knew he could survive a one-die loss and called before the bid could reach two and potentially knock him out. Adam had to settle for 4th place laurels. Now the three survivors were guaranteed wood, but only one would get the shield and the title.

In the penultimate three-cornered duel Peter bid three 4's and Kathy called. It was the fourth exactor and everyone but Peter lost a die. Kathy was eliminated and Bernard was reduced to his last die, which set up the final showdown with one die apiece. The next challenge would be the last.

Peter started the bidding with one 5 and Bernard followed by bidding one 6. At that moment Peter told Bernard he had made another mistaken bid. Once again Bernard bid 6's when the dice only went up to 5 with a star replacing the 6. Bernard re-bid as one star. Peter thought there was no way that Bernard had a star under his cup as he tried to bid a "false 6" with his first bid. Peter had a 4 under his cup so he called Bernard only to reveal Bernard's star. Slip of the tongue or smart double think ploy? Only Bernard knows for sure, and like any good poker player, he's not saying.

Doug Galullo, Roderick Lee and Winton Lemoine vie in the semis as the ballroom clears out.

Nicholas Henning, Angela Collinson and Rebecca Hebner fabricate their bluffs as the night wears on.
 GM      Jason Levine  [5th Year]   NA
   NA   NA

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