$3,000 guaranteed first-place prize money!

Transportation from Dallas area airports: Visit Super Shuttle or call (817)329-2000 or (800)BLUEVAN

Live coverage begins Friday March 13, 2009.

Tournament:

• Officially sanctioned and rated by the National SCRABBLE® Association
• One open division, Modified Swiss format
• 19 rounds (7 Friday, 7 Saturday, 5 Sunday; starting at 9 A.M. each day)
• Main Prize Fund (first place guaranteed, rest may change due to last-minute cancellations):
  1st place: $3,000
  2nd place: $1,000
  3rd place: $800 (and of course, an Uncle Wiggily game)
  4th place: $600
  5th place: $500
  6th place: $400
  
• Class prizes. For (approximately equal-sized) groups of players rated below 1750:
  1st place, Group A: $350
  1st place, Group B: $300
  1st place, Group C: $250
  1st place, Group D: $200
  1st place, Group E: $150
  High word in each of six classes: $25
• High “DO” word prize: $100
• Prize for each of two highest ratings upsets by rated players: SamBoard
• Directed by Bryan Pepper; assisted by Mary Rhoades, John Chew III, and Sherrie Saint John.
  All Board 1 games annotated by Dee Segrest and Kate Watson.

Lodging:

You can book rooms at our special event rate of $95/night (valid until February 10th, 2009) in one of three ways.

• Call the hotel directly at 972-233-7600 extension 2, reference group code “DST”.
• Call Crowne Plaza Reservations Worldwide at 1-800-227-6963, refer to Crowne Plaza Suites Dallas Park Central at 7800 Alpha Road, and again use the group booking code “DST”.
• Go to the hotel web site, click on “Reservations”, enter arrival and departure information, click on “Corporate/Group”, enter “DST” and click “Check Availability”.

Registration:

• Entry fee: $100
• Entries limited to the first 175 entrants (must be a current NSA member)
• Current list of entrants
• Entry fee must be received by Monday, March 9, 2009
• Discounted $25 entry fee for students 18 years and under
• Please register online whether you pay online using PayPal, Visa or MasterCard, or offline by mailing a check or money order; and check the Player Information page before you leave for the tournament.

Schedule:

• Friday: 7 games starting at 9:00 A.M., lunch after the fourth game.
• Saturday: 7 games starting at 9:00 A.M., lunch after the fourth game.
• Sunday: 5 games starting at 9:00 A.M., fourth game at 12:15, fifth game at 1:30, prize ceremony at 2:30

Rules:

• The Dallas Open is a NSA/NASPA-sanctioned event, played according to official tournament rules.
• Players must bring all required game equipment, set it up as necessary at the beginning of each session, not move it during a session, and play at assigned tables. Players with special needs may ask to be assigned the same table for the duration of the tournament. Players assigned to Table 1 must comply with the requirements of live game annotation, or forfeit their game with a -200 point spread penalty.