LAST EDITED ON 05-07-13 AT 08:32 PM (EST)

A Capital Finish

As someone who has visited Washington DC many, many times (my dad is from the area), it was pretty neat seeing them do the final leg there. Especially after I had just seen a Nationals game last year. Despite that, I was a little disappointed by the design of the final leg, with the luckfest Roadblock and all. There really didn't seem like that many big opportunities for a team like Max/Katie to catch up after that.

Still, Bates/Anthony are definitely good winners and well-deserved ones at that. Congrats to them!

Finale Results
1st place - Bates/Anthony (2x)
2nd place - Max/Katie (1.3x)
3rd place - Mona/Beth (.7x)
4th place - Caroline/Jennifer (0x))

Mindgames.

The finale week is always an interesting one, just because you start seeing the betting strategies diverge a little. Sure, there were plenty of Max/Katie and Bates/Anthony bets, but a few Mona/Beth ones got toss in there too. Caroline/Jennifer still didn't manage to garner any votes, however.

Max/Katie were the answer to the bonus game, by the way, saying it at the beginning of the final leg.

The Greatest Gainer Award was a bit of a wash, with a whole bunch of players gaining a similar number or ranks. And that would spoil the results anyway, so let's just say we all win the final GGA.

The Perfect Bet Award goes to FFantasyFX, who scored a sweet 4x payout on his All-In bonus wager. Nice little score at the end of a season, eh?

So here be the final results. Normally, I would write the Top 10 in invisible ink, but heck! There's only 12 players left! Invisible ink for all!

(highlight to read)

Leaderboard
1. IanQuentin - 2600
2. KwietOne - 2529
3. Jims02 - 2248
4. flipxcyd - 2000
5. Molaholic - 1937
6. Ontheroadagain - 1860
7. vennui - 1024
8. alemattos - 900
9. FFantasyFX - 740
10. louislam - 458
11. sarah1234 - 326
12. taffnic - 92

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In the end, it was IanQuentin who managed to outlast the rest of the pack, becoming the TAR22 Casino Game Champion, with KwietOne snagging the Silver Medal and some guy named Jims02 skulking away with Bronze.

So, uh, let's get this out of the way first. Not only did IanQuentin manage to win for the 2nd time, but just like during his first win two seasons ago... He won, despite not making an entry in Week 1. He actually was one of the Bottom 5 or 10 point totals for the first few weeks up until the TAR Credit Card was introduced.

KwietOne dominated the earlier weeks, finishing 1st or 2nd during the first 4 legs. The Week 6 shake-out was the first turning point of the game, however. Max/Katie was the overwhelmingly popular pick during the Botswana leg, so their non-elimination shook up the ranks significantly, dropping KwietOne into the teens. While Bates/Anthony bettors like myself and IanQuentin soared into the Top 10.

Things stayed pretty steady until the second shake-out week, Week 9 in Germany. The consensus was Bates/Anthony this time, but their mishaps with the electric letters gave them a bad payout, and the Max/Katie bettors scored this time. This was where KwietOne had his comeback, and IanQuentin secured the top spot.

Then, in the final week, IanQuentin went for Max/Katie and barely managed to outlast KwietOne's Bates/Anthony bet (with a Bates/Anthony bonus pick). The less said about my Mona/Beth reach, the better.

I will admit that after seeing KwietOne and flipxcyd's Bates/Anthony secret wagers, I didn't have the heart to lock them out by changing my bet. I guess they could've changed after me, but I thought going for the 3rd option would be more "interesting."

Congratulations, IanQuentin, you are once again in the TAR Casino Game Hall of Fame!

Previous Casino Game Champions
TAR5 Casino Game - zombiebaby
TAR6 Casino Game - VA Slim
TAR7 Casino Game - esquire
TAR8 Casino Game - Neobie
TAR9 Casino Game - Neobie
TARX Casino Game - bighair
TAR All Stars Casino Game - Higgs
TAR12 Casino Game - KwietOne
TAR13 Casino Game - CTgirl
TAR14 Casino Game - 5cats
TAR15 Casino Game - taffnic
TAR16 Casino Game - Yogi
TAR17 Casino Game - Yogi
TAR18 Casino Game - ARNutz
TAR19 Casino Game - Max Headroom
TAR20 Casino Game - IanQuentin
TAR21 Casino Game - louislam
TAR22 Casino Game - IanQuentin

Special shout-outs to mikey, who won the first two weeks, pepperz (won Week 6), and alemattos (won Week 8). Although, considering we finished with only 12 players, congratulations to everyone!

That's a Wrap!

I always go through a lengthy recap of how the game went, and I'm never able to fit everyone into the narrative. But it's everyone who makes this game so fun to play, season after season. Even those who play for one week and then drop out! The more the merrier.

So a big thanks to all of you for participating. It truly is an honor to host this game every year.

I'm always looking for new ideas and new gimmicks for future seasons, so if you have any thoughts for ways to improve the game, let me know! And let me know what you thought of the loans this year! I actually had the idea in the back of my head for 2-3 seasons now, but never had the balls to implement it... Was worried about it breaking the game. So let me know if you have any ideas for next season!

And that's it! See ya in the fall!

I would've finished with 4800 points if I would've just followed through on my Bates/Anthony wager. This is what I get for getting too cute.