THE World Series of Dominoes was born from a series of incidents on what started out as a dreary day last April.

Kerry Newman, managing director and founder of the World Series of Dominoes, vividly recalls the occassion.

“I got some very disappointing news that day and was therefore in a bad mood so to take off the edge, I decided to hang out with some good friends, a few drinks and a good game of dominoes,” he said.

“So, I drove out to one of my favourite spots. A small bar in Portmore where I know I can always find a few friends that are always ready for a good domino game,” Newman added.

He said the competition is usually keen at the spot and a number of rivalries developed as the desire to prove the better player is always strong.

“Among the friends that are always there, two are always in some form of competition with each other. This time, it was about who was the better domino player… we decided to play a few rounds of cut-throat for $500 a game. After a

few hours of well-needed relaxation, dominoes, drinks, a few good laughs and a few thousands lost, I decided it was time to call it a night, and headed home,” notes Newman.

When he got home and turned on his television “the final table of the World Series of Poker was showing on the TV, and I thought, ‘why not dominoes?'”

Newman began to develop the idea, so he sought out Dragon Stout, which is always a drink favoured by domino players.

“We sent our proposal to Mr Joseph Oates (brand manager), like we did everyone else. But we felt so strongly about Dragon Stout involvement that we made extra efforts to meet with Mr Oates to convince him,” said Newman.

But both men were lovers of the sport and it wasn’t long before a marriage was made and the rest is history.

The Dragon Stout Domino Tournament is the largest domino competition that has ever been held in Jamaica with over $4.35 million dollars in cash prizes. It is also the first cut-throat domino tournament at any level, the more common format is “partners” or “paired”.