CARD SHARKS

I met Dennis Barmore on a card game cruise in the Summer of 2000. He was hosting Bid Whist, and I was hosting Spades tournaments on board. I was very impressed with his outgoing and congenial personality. We started talking about my Grand Prix "live" events, and its formats / rules for Spades, Hearts and Euchre, and the multiple round qualifiers. Soon thereafter, he decided to organize and launch a National Series for the game of Bid Whist. I had the opportunity to attend several of his regular tournaments, as well as two special events - one in Las Vegas (with Darryl Mobley & Family Digest Magazine,) and one in Los Angeles (with Steve Harvey). The latter was held at the Palladium and featured Bid Whist, Spades, Dominoes, and Chess! Bicycle cards (US Playing Card Company) agreed to sponsor Sharks Inc. when this series started to grow.

As the years went by, we maintained our friendship, and I also had the opportunity to meet several of his tournament players and hosts. The Atlanta event were legendary for their huge tournouts. And I will never forget his first Las Vegas Tournament of Champions at the Plaza Hotel ! We shared the same ballroom for Spades and Bid Whist events. And, it was at the Plaza that I won $10,000 in a slot machine on the same weekend!

Here is a brief history of National Card Sharks by Dennis Barmore:

"We May Not Be The NFL or NBA, We May Not Make Millions Of Dollars A Year Like Pro Basketball Players, But We Do Compete For Thousands Of Dollars A Month On --
**The Bid Whist Across America Tour**"

Attention All Bid Whist Players:

The National Card Sharks was formed on September 12, 1980 at the Gatsby Nightclub in Baltimore Maryland. That night and the following night we held tournaments in Bid Whist, Single Deck Pinochle, and Double Deck Pinochle.We then began to run one night tournaments and 16 week leagues in a multitude of night clubs and some malls in the Baltimore area. We were running leagues at least 3 nights a week. In 1983 we began to venture up and down the east coast challenging cities to meet and compete against us. We accomplished this by placing newspaper ads in cities such as Philadelphia, New York, and Richmond. In the ads we would say that The National Card Sharks were coming to their city, and we will be playing at a certain location, and we invite all interested local players to participate.With the invention of the Internet in the late 1980's, we were able to issue that challenge across the USA at practically no cost. We also encouraged players from cities across the USA to form Bid Whist and Pinochle clubs in their area.In 2001 we launched what would become 'The Bid Whist Across America Tour". It started with tournaments in Atlanta and Las Vegas. In 2002 we traveled to eight cities, and since 2003 we have expanded the tour to Ten Cities.

The Game Of Bid Whist Is One Of The Truly Original African American Pastimes. It Is Much Too Important To African American Culture To Let Die. Please Tell All Of Your Friends And Relatives About Us, And Help Us Keep Bid Whist Alive."

  Rest In Peace, my friend......