Vegas hosts Monopoly World Championship

Once every five years, play money becomes real as five competitors wheel and deal their way to becoming the last shoe standing in the MONOPOLY World Championships.  The prize, as always, is the $20,580 in money included in each Monopoly set, something every Monopoly-playing kid has fantasized about becoming real.  This year’s event, held in Vegas over the course of two days, brings together the international winners of Monopoly competitions from 41 countries to compete for the grand prize of the Monopoly bank and world-class bragging rights.

The game is one of the most popular children’s games in the world, having been translated into 40 languages and sold in 106 countries since first introduced in 1935.  Based on the streets of Atlantic City, the board game came out in the midst of the Great Depression.  Its history is as compelling as the game itself, including theft, trickery and greed.  Sold by Charles B. Darrow, an unemployed heating engineer, to Parker Brothers, Darrow slightly modified a homemade game called The Landlord’s Game that was showed to him by a friend.  The Landlord’s game was designed to illustrated what happens when capitalism is allowed to run amuck: one person wins and everyone else goes bankrupt.

I can personally attest to the allure of the rapacious game that combines the dream of great wealth with the despair of being forced to sell your houses and give the proceeds to the money-grubbing victor.  My family is addicted to the cut-throat game, despite the inevitable end signaled by temper tantrums, tears and giddy chortling.   We have at least 10 of the 200 versions that have sold 275 million copies of MONOPOLY in 106 countries and 40 languages. First conceived as a banking game, then modified to illustrate how a landlord sucks up all the wealth, the sometimes controversial game continues to gather fans.  “The thing about Monopoly is you do have to take risks,” says Donetta Allen, Monopoly spokeswoman for Hasbro.  “But it is mostly about negotiation and making deals with the majority of the games ending in bankruptcy.”

The 13th MONOPOLY World Championship tournament limits play to 75 minutes.  Reigning World Champion Antonio Zafra Fernandez is a 41-year-old laboratory technician from Spain who will compete with two national champions from the 2004 MONOPOLY World Championships in Tokyo, Leon Hechtman, a 26-year-old construction project manager from Australia, and Hans-Georg Schellinger, a 45-year-old refrigeration service technician from Germany.  This year’s U.S. Champion, Richard Marinaccio, a 26-year old attorney from Buffalo, N.Y., won his spot in an intense match that lasted just under 75 minutes. Marinaccio decided early to purchase Pacific Avenue  and dedicate his resources to acquiring the green property group. The last play of the game was when his lone opponent landed on Pacific Avenue.

The tournament play consists of three preliminary rounds with 16 players earning the highest point totals moving to the semi-final round. The four players who win their respective games by bankrupting all of their opponents will move on to the final game. Fans who can’t make it to Las Vegas can watch the semi-finals and final game live exclusively on ESPN360.com.

Monopoly Tips according to Allen

• “A lot of people put taxes in free parking, but the problem is, it prolongs the game, making it go longer and longer.”
• “Anyone can buy houses at any time, not just their turn.”
• “Hasbro says a standard game can be wound up in 90 minutes, if you play by the rules.”
• “Most tournament player say orange and red are the “best” properties.”
• “Illinois is the most landed on property.”
• “Tournament players like the railroads.”
• “If you roll doubles to get out of jail, that gets you out of jail and into ‘just visiting’. On your next turn, you roll to move.”
• “Boardwalk and Park Place are the least favorite properties for tournament players because they are expensive to build and expensive to maintain.”

Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 21 – 22

Forum Ballroom at Caesars Palace

Complete Schedule

Wednesday, October 21, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Opening ceremony begins at 8:30 a.m. The field of 41 competitors will then play three rounds of MONOPOLY in groups of four, beginning at 9 a.m. and concluding at 6:30 p.m. 16 semi-finalists will be announced at the end of Round Three.

Thursday, October 22, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. PDT.

Semi-final game play begins at 10:00 a.m. and The MONOPOLY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS FINAL GAME begins at approximately 12:30 p.m., ending when one player has bankrupted the other three players.

The festivities are free and open to the public. Spectators are invited to walk around the MONOPOLY Competition Arena for an up-close view of the action, or play their own game of MONOPOLY at one of the side tables and participate in game give-aways. Please note: Guests under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult. There will also be frequent updates on Twitter @MonopolyWorlds, Facebook, and on the Monopoly YouTube Channel.

Images courtesy of Hasbro.