rail baron   

Updated Nov. 23 2012

2012 WBC Report  

 2013 Status: pending 2013 GM commitment

Donna Balkan, on

2012 Champion

Event History
1991    Chuck Foster        28
1992    Kevin Quirk        29
1993    Kevin Quirk        38
1994    Bill Fellin        37
1995    Heikki Thoen        63
1996    Heikki Thoen        46
1997    Kim Lemmons        94
1998    Eyal Mozes      100
1999    Heikki Thoen       58
2000    Steve Okonski       69
2001    Steve Okonski       56
2002    Ed Wrobel       75
2003    Mike Zorrer       59
2004     Doug Galullo       66
2005     William Duke       53
2006    Inger Henning       46
2007    Tom Dunning       40
2008    Eve Secunda       49
2009    Mark McCandless       35
2010    John Henry       34
2011    Sue Lanham       36
2012    Donna Balkan       40

 Laurels

Rank  Name               From  Last  Total
  1.  Mark McCandless     LA    09    122
  2.  Steve Okonski       MD    01    120
  3.  Donna Balkan        on    12    104
  4.  Ron Secunda         MD    08    101
  5.  Mark Kennel         DE    11     80
  6.  Doug Galullo        FL    05     80
  7.  Brian Conlon        OK    04     74
  8.  Inger Henning       CT    10     66
  9.  John Henry          on    12     60
 10.  Angus McDonald      on    11     60
 11.  William Duke        MD    09     60
 12.  Chuck Foster        TX    08     60
 13.  Ed Wrobel           VA    02     60
 14.  Stan Buck           MD    02     60
 15.  Heikki Thoen        qc    99     60
 16.  Mike Zorrer         DE    12     55
 17.  Eve Secunda         MD    11     55
 18.  Charles Davis       WV    02     54
 19.  Sue Lanham          MD    11     50
 20.  Tom Dunning         NY    07     50
 21.  Paul van Bloem      MD    12     47
 22.  Harald Henning      CT    10     45
 23.  Chester Lanham      MD    09     35
 24.  Bill Crenshaw       VA    03     30
 25.  Larry Kratz         ID    04     24
 26.  David Weinstein     NY    02     24
 27.  Ed Rothenheber      MD    00     24
 28.  Sam Packwood        MN    12     20
 29.  Roderick Lee        CA    12     20
 30.  Norm Newton         on    07     20
 31.  TJ Halberstadt      IN    06     20
 32.  Phil White          MD    04     18
 33.  James Wicht         NC    00     18
 34.  John Karr           PA    11     15
 35.  Sue Lanham          MD    10     15
 36.  Tony Newton         on    09     15
 37.  Gary Chamblee       GA    08     15
 38.  Mike Mullins        MD    05     15
 39.  Mike Brophy         NC    04     12
 40.  Mark Oldfield       CA    02     12
 41.  Eyal Mozes          NY    01     12
 42.  Dee Gehring         IN    99     12
 43.  Brian Smith         NY    11     10
 44.  Dave Steiner        DE    06     10
 45.  Stephane Dorais     qc    05     10
 46.  Carl Walling Jr     PA    03     10
 47.  Malcolm Robinson    NY    00      6
 48.  Charles Ellsworth   NY    03      5

2012 Laurelists                                                  Repeating Laurelists: 0

Paul Van Bloem, MD
2nd

Sam Packwood, MN
3rd

Roderick Lee, CA
4th

John Henry, on
5th

Mike Zorrer, DE
6th

Past Winners

Chuck Foster, TX
1991

Bill Fellin, CT
1994

Heiki Thoen, qc
1995-1996, 1999

Kimberly Lemmons, TX
1997

Eyal Mozes, NY
1998

Steve Okonski, MD
2000-2001

Ed Wrobel, VA
2002

Mike Zorrer, DE
2003

Doug Galullo, FL
2004

William Duke, MD
2005

Inger Henning, CT
2006

Tom Dunning, NY
2007

Eve Secunda, MD
2008

Mark McCandless, LA
2009

John Henry, on
2010

Sue Lanham, MD
2011

Donna Balkan, on
2012
     

Roderick Lee, Sam Packwood, Eyal Mozes and Mike Mullins

2008 champ Eve Secunda, Bill Borys, and Stan Buck

Canadian Perseverance ...

Yet again, a dedicated group of players turned out to play a game that has not been in print for many years. And, once again, one of our Canadian neighbors went home with the "Gold." My personal congratulations go to Donna Balkan. I won't mention how long she has been pursuing this prize; I'll just say that persistence has earned its reward.

I constantly remind players to check the kiosk to see if they may have qualified as an alternate to play in the elimination rounds. This year, three qualifiers did not appear for the semifinals and were replaced by alternates, and one finalist also declined to advance. The first alternate was Assistant GM Paul Van Bloem due to winning two heats, the only player to do so. However, none of the next three alternates that had been listed were present for the Final. I understand that our five semifinal winners usually follow through -- but not this year. It reminds me of my very first semifinal game. I didn't bother doing the one-hour drive up to Hunt Valley the following day, thinking it would be a waste of time. Unfortunately, it cost me a chance to play in the Final (a word to the wise).

Donna's final RR holdings were: NYC, UP, CB&Q, WP,GM&O, and B&M. All were her own purchases, except for the WP, which she bought at auction when John Henry ran out of money coming out of a hostile Cleveland. John, who brought the "Gold" home to Ontario in 2010, just didn't fare as well this time. He was initially plagued with short runs (between the NE, NC, and SE), eventually reaching a total of 24 destinations (six more than anyone else), 14 of which were hostile. John ended up auctioning off practically all of his purchases (WP, C&O, T&P, IC, and SAL), and at the end of a long day, held only the IC.
Paul began his runner-up glory by purchasing the PA, followed by the NP, SP, MP, N&W, and RF&P. Paul was able to secure John's SAL at auction, just barely out-bidding Sam Packwood for it. Sam, who finished third, started his purchases with the D&RGW, B&O, GN, C&NW, CRI&P, ACL, and SOU. Sam added to his RR holdings by buying John's T&P at auction.

Roderick Lee started his collection with the NYNH&H, followed by the AT&SF, CMSTP&P, L&N, and the SLSF. Roderick initially seemed to have a good start, but, by game's end, he had traveled to ten hostile destinations out of 18. After purchasing the SLSF, he was forced to auction his NYNH&H, which Paul happily added to his collection. However, Roderick later secured John's C&O at auction.

By comparison, Donna traveled to only three hostile destinations, Sam four, and Paul five. Toward the end of the game, Donna completed runs from Philadelphia to Portland, OR, to Los Angeles, to New York City, to San Francisco, and then back across the country to Boston, where she declared for her Home city of Pittsburgh. Her winning totals of RRs and cash were: $331.5 compared to Paul's $363.5, Sam's $298, Roderick's 223.5, and John's $31.5.

SEE YOU ALL NEXT YEAR!

Empire Builder GM Bob Stribula and Norm Newton

The finalists display their swag.

 GM      Ron Secunda  [10th Year]   NA
    ron@secundaland.com   NA

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