78th Annual World Championship Domino Tournament this Saturday

If you fancy yourself one of the best domino players in the country then Carnegie is the place for you to be this weekend. Mainly because that is where the country's best domino players will be.

The 78th Annual World Championship Domino Tournament is scheduled to get under way this Saturday in the Vernon Crose Memorial Building at Carnegie City Park. The event, which is being sponsored by the Carnegie Chamber of Commerce, will begin at 10 a.m. Registration for two-man teams will begin at 8 a.m.

The tournament is once again being held in February. Last year's tournament was pushed back to April due to safety concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Players interested in participating in the event may bring their own teammate, or pair up with other individual players that have signed up.

According to Chamber officials, there is no entry fee for players or teams entering the event. Trophies will be presented to the winning team, as well as the runner-ups.

In 2021, there were 42 teams - or 84 individuals - that participated in the tournament. Winners of the 2021 tournament was the team of Jim Hulsey of Weatherford and Markus Garrett of Calera. The runner-up team consisted of Dennis Byrd of Lookeba and Daniel McCullar of Binger.

The first team out of the tournament, or those "taking the Cake," were Robert Holman of Childress, Texas, and John Flannery of New Boston, Texas. The first team out in this year's event will also receive a cake.

Teams that lose during the tournament will be able to enter into a Consolation Tournament, where a $20 entry fee will be charged. The 2021 winners of the Consolation tournament was Wayland Denney of Cache and Ken Davis of Marlow. Jimmy Garrett of Durant and Nathan Garrett of Calera were the runners-up.

Free coffee will be available all day to players courtesy of Southwest Coffee Service. A concession stand will also be provided, thanks to the Carnegie Church of the Nazarene.

The World Championship Domino Tournament has been held in Carnegie since 1945. Former resident ‘Doc’ Jolly started the tournament in the local VFW Hall. He timed the contest to coincide with local farmers’ winter quiet time.

The event even gained national notoriety in 1965 when it was mentioned as part of an article on the game in Sports Illustrated. In the article, former Carnegie Herald editor Roy McCurley disputed a tournament in San Francisco's claim to the be "world championship," noting Carnegie's tournament actually predated California's contest by more than two decades.