The deadline for signing up for this tournament is July 9. The entry fee of $10 is waived if you haven’t won a Rated Ace Card in the last three years.

Sign up on SFBOL here: http://www.sfbonline.com/tourn_signup.jsp

Depending on the number of players signed up, there will be a limited number of re-entries, so a loss may not mean an automatic out, assuming you get busy and play your first game early!

Win prizes! Gain bragging rights! Get an ace pin. Support your favorite game!

This is a single-elimination tournament using a standard tree 32-person. This tournament will be conducted through SFBOL and you will need to be a member of that service to participate. Peter Bakija, who won last year’s event, will be the chief judge.

The entry fee ($10 per person) will be added to the prize fund which ADB, Inc., has always provided, anddistributed down to the top eight players. ADB, Inc., makes nothing from these tournaments (and never has made anything from any tournament). That prize fund starts with $100 cash for the winner, $50 cashfor the runner up, and gift certificates for the top eight players. The top two players will win the coveted ace pins, and the winner will get the Platinum Hat itself, a special Captain’s Victory Medal on the Wall ofHonor, and will be recorded on the winner’s plaque on the website;.

The winner must send in his Platinum Victory article for Captain’s Log (which must meet the standardsof previous articles) within 90 days of the end of the event or be disqualified (in which case he will get no prize and there will be no winner named).

As we did in Platinum Hat 2011, Tournament Marshal Steven P. Petrick and Chief Judge Peter Bakija will “ride herd” on the tournament to ensure that games are played on schedule and the event does not drag. There will, inevitably, be some delays near the end when re-entries have to “catch up” to the initial entries. A firm hand on the helm will ensure that these are as minor as possible. Two or three seniorplayers will be appointed as “honorary sheepdogs” and empowered to encourage people to get their games done. People who do not get their next game completed in a set number of days will be disqualified and the player they beat (or a wildcard selected by the judge) will replace them.