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The Luck of the Draw

A Farmington man and a Durango woman could win $500,000 since they just recently received their seats at the World Series of Blackjack that is to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, later this month.
The Farmington man says that he does not think this will change his life. His name is Charlie Montoya, and he is 50 years old.
Montoya won a blackjack tournament at Ute Mountain Casino in Towaoc, Colo thus winning his seat at the World Series. This occurred last January. It was at an earlier tournament that Patricia Nicholas, 62, from Durango, Colo., won her seat.
The blackjack tournament, which will be held at the Las Vegas Hilton, begins on Feb. 27 and will run for a week. It is to be videotaped by GSN, The Network For Games, according to GSN spokesperson Dennis Johnson.
Montoya is reported as saying that he is an avid blackjack player having begun playing the game over 20 years ago. He also reports having won local tournaments before, but he never counts on his luck to provide his next meal.
According to Montoya, his winning the tournament at Ute Mountain Casino gives him his first chance to win a half a million dollars.
Montoya says that playing for half a million dollars is really exciting.
Montoya first got interested in the Las Vegas tournament when his friends told him about the qualifying tournament at the Ute Mountain Casino. He went there by himself but came back a winner. He won not only a place at the World Series of Blackjack, but also $3,150.
Nicholas also brought home her winnings and his hoping for the opportunity to practice the game.
Because her tax service business is keeping her so busy in Ignacio, Colo., Nicholas says that she has not been able to find their opportunity to improve her blackjack skills, and it is only three more weeks until she is to compete at the World Series of Blackjack.
She probably wouldn't practice though if she had the opportunity since the 17-year Durango resident says she plays about once every four months and keeps her limit at $25. She views it as a treat, much like dinner and a movie. When her money is gone, she quits playing.
After all, as she puts it, she’s too conservative to allow herself to lose any money.
It was just a year and a half ago that she played at her first tournament. It was then that she quickly learned that in order to win, she needed to carefully manage her chips. She found that if she placed too high bets up front, her money would quickly disappear. When you are playing a tournament, the winner is the one who holds the most money after all of the hands have been dealt.
While Nicholas admits to be excited, she says that she is not nervous about competing in Las Vegas since at this point she already has the feeling of a winner. The worst that could happen is that she might place 40th and end up with $1,000 for appearing — along with receiving an all-expense paid week’s vacation in Vegas.
At the other end, the best that could happen is that she would win a half million dollars, which she says she would probably use to visit China along with her husband.
The way she sees it is she is only one in 40 who is trying for the $500,000 grand prize. She says that this is better than lottery odds.
Compared with other blackjack tournaments, one of the differences with the World Series is that contenders will have to live with cameras documenting their every move.
After winning his tournament Montoya said that he was asked by one of the GSN people how his winning the World Series of Blackjack might change his life.
He pointed to the Square B Ranch, where he works as a cattle foreman and laughing saying that he wouldn't trade any of it.
Viewers should tune in to GSN in June to watch the players compete. That is when the World Series of Blackjack is expected to air. If they do, they will experience a format much like the “World Poker Tour,” said Nate Whitman, who is the GSN vice president of business development.
This will be the third year that the network is hosting the event. They plan to air it in 13 episodes, starting with the preliminary rounds and going through to the finals, according to GSN spokesperson Dennis Johnson.
It is the hope of both local players that they will be playing in the final episode, and Montoya plans to use the strategy he developed in Towaoc, it's to be more concerned about cutting his loses than worrying about how much he is winning.