This wasn’t going to stop a group of hard-core bridge players. One of us went to a nearby store to buy cards while the rest tried to find a place to play. The Dairy Queen would let us but they expected a noisy crowd around 9 p.m. and they would want tables. Buffalo Wild Wings would let us play outside, but there were no lights. No luck at a local pizza place, either.

Someone went to the Hunan Cafe, a carry-out Chinese restaurant, which had enough tables. We assured them we would eat, not gamble, and they would get a big tip, we had a place to play. They wanted us to sit at two tables of six instead of three tables of four. Guess they’re not bridge players.

We decided on a round-robin Swiss teams and played three rounds. It was a lot of fun and proves bridge players will play wherever there are cards and tables.
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Conveniently, Warren resides steps from the Midwest’s finest tournament; (arguably, best in the nation!) The Nebraska Regional offers daily free lunches and late night ice cream treats, a chance to win Omaha Steaks, expert lectures, competitors from around the planet, a super schedule – and the opportunity to play bridge against Warren and Bill.

Warren and Bill have a passion for the game. “It’s got to be the best intellectual stimulation out there,” asserts Warren. “I spend twelve hours a week - a little over 10% of my waking hours - playing the game. Now I am trying to figure out how to get by on less sleep in order to fit in a few more hands.”

At the Regional, along with David Smith, Bridge Base Online principal and Bob “Mr. Bridge” Hamman, Bill and Warren competed in a variety of team and pair events. In one event, Bill and Bob racked up an impressive 67+% game.

Although Warren is always looking to “fit in a few more hands,” he and Bill find the time to give back to bridge – and society at large. During the Regional, in their “free time,” (ahem) – Bill and Warren’s latest project to “give back” was announced: The Giving Pledge. (www.givingpledge.org) Our bridge buddies are encouraging fellow billionaires to commit a majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes.

In-between matches, Bill and Warren assumed another role: model! Many of the players wanted to be able to go home with a “Bill, Warren and Me” photo. Smiling, the duo readily complied.

The Nebraska Regional is on Warren and Bill’s “must attend” list. Perhaps it should be on yours, too!
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Mom is a Silver Life Master and I am a Bronze. I started playing bridge with her when I was 16. She was my teacher, along with my dad (who is deceased). Both of us have other partners who we play with, but she is my favorite by far, and, I hope, I am hers.
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This is a knock out competition on the internet between countries where the schedule is determined by draw. A country can enter an unlimited number of teams. Your teams must be composed of between four to six university or school players and a captain must be indicated. For each player, you must enter: name, surname, date of birth, nationality, university or high school and country.

Your teams can participate under the following conditions:
-being at a university or high school (or one year after or before studies)
-being between 17 and 28 years old
-having the nationality of the country you represent

Both captains have one month to schedule and play a match of 32 boards. The result must be sent directly after the match to Kuba Kasprzak at kubakasprzak@o2.pl with a copy to geert.magerman@telenet.be.

Results will be published on www.unibridge.org and the new Facebook account "Uni Bridge."

How to Enter

You can enter university bridge teams from now until October 31, 2010 by sending an e-mail to Kuba: kubakasprzak@o2.pl (with copy to geert.magerman@telenet.be). After receiving all entries and after the draw, each captain will be informed by the next match. This will start in November 2010.

We rely on your fair play and friendship, important values for FISU and WBF. Any violation against fair play will not be accepted and have severe consequences. If the Captains request it, Kuba will act as Tournament Director during the match.

You are invited to participate in this online teams Championships!
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The Opening Ceremony will be on 15th October, and the official awards ceremony will be on 29th October 2011.

General Information:

The Netherlands
The Netherlandsis a relatively small country in West-Europe with an area of 35,000 square kilometers. The distance from north to south is no more than 400 kilometers, and from the (west) coast to the German border less than 150 kilometers. The Netherlands has a population of more than 16 million.

The Venue
The venue NH Conference Centre Koningshof (www.nh-hotels.com) is situated in Veldhoven, two miles south of Eindhoven. The Koningshof is the largest convention centre in the Benelux countries, with more than 6000 m² of modern meeting-room capacity and 507 hotel rooms.
Room rates NH Conference Center Koningshof:
Standard Single: € 95,00(including breakfast)
Standard Double Room: € 109,00(including breakfast)
Prices excluding Tourist tax (Tax 2010: € 0,60 per person per night)
Hotel bookings inNH Conference Centre Koningshof and the other hotels in Eindhoven can be made one year in advance. At the beginning of the World Championships in Philadelphia we expect to be able to send you details of how reservations may be made.

Shuttle services will be provided between the hotels in Eindhoven and the venue.

Eindhoven
As the largest city in the south of the Netherlands and the 5th largest in the country. The Eindhoven region has over 725,000 inhabitants. Eindhoven offers a wide spectrum of facilities in the areas of shopping, nightlife and performing arts. For visitors there is more than enough choice of hotel accommodation. In brief, Eindhoven is a city where plenty of things are happening.
The closest big cities are Antwerp and Bruxelles (Belgium) and Düsseldorf (Germany). The Dutch capital Amsterdam is 125 km away. Its location on major transport routes and the presence of an airport make the region an important crossroads. Eindhoven is a city of sports: besides PSV's football team the area also excels in swimming and horse riding.
Top technology region Brainport Eindhoven is a breeding ground for innovation and the home base for companies, and world-class knowledge and research institutes. Among the numerous innovative and renowned knowledge and research institutes are: Philips, DAF, ASML, TomTom, Eindhoven University of Technology, TNO Industrie en Techniek.
More information about Eindhoven can be found at: www.vvveindhoven.nl/en
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The NAP event has been a major ACBL pair championship since 1979 and was originally known as the Grand National Pairs. This grassroots event is staged in qualifying rounds at the club, unit and district levels. It culminates in a final held in conjunction with the Spring NABC, which will be held in Louisville KY in 2011. The contest is run as a flighted event: Flight A (open), Flight B (fewer than 2000 masterpoints as of the June 2010 masterpoint cycle) and Flight C (non-Life Master with fewer than 500 masterpoints as of June 2010). Please check your June 2010 Bridge Bulletin for your masterpoint total.

Click here for the 2010-2011 NAP Conditions of Contest and more information.

For WBSC schedules, housing, and additional information please click on the following links:

WBF- www.worldbridge.org/tourn/Philadelphia.10/Philadelphia.htm

USBF - http://www.usbf.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=627&Itemid=282

Brochure - http://www.usbf.org/docs/2010wc/Philadelphia2010.pdf

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