Photos by Jacob Kepler/viewTop, a player examines his hand during a game of euchre. Bottom, Jerome Thunder plays a game of euchre during a tournament at MVP?s. The group meets once or twice monthly to play the popular card game.
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Las Vegas Hilton dealer Harvey Lapp doesn't consider himself an addict.
Lapp grew up like any other kid in the northeast, finding ways to occupy himself during snowy winters, a preoccupation that usually led to inventive play.
"I began playing the game in grade school," Lapp said. "In New York, where I grew up, and in a lot of Midwestern states, it's really popular."
Lapp is referring to a game known as euchre, a trick-taking card game where each player is dealt five cards and players must follow suit or trump to keep playing.
"I spent many, many hours playing this game growing up," Lapp said. "It can be very addictive because it's so quick and the rules are easy to learn. It's still one of my favorite pastimes."
It was his love for the game that drove Lapp, a transplant to southwest Las Vegas of four years, to create a euchre meetup.com group, in hopes of finding other euchre enthusiasts.
"This is a game that is played all over the world, and differently in different parts of the world," Lapp said. "So, I hoped that I would find a lot of interest, especially in a city like this where so many people are from outside the state."
Lapp was surprised by the minimal response to his group posting, but was happy to be contacted by fellow enthusiast and New Yorker Thomas Midzinski.
"Tommy got in touch with me and we started talking about possibly forming a league," Lapp said. "A lot of the people who favor Bridge and Spades get into euchre, so even if there were people who had never played but were fans of the other two games, we knew that we would have new euchre fans."
Midzinski, who learned about the game in a junior high French class, was on board with Lapp's idea from the very beginning.
"The idea of holding monthly or weekly tournaments seemed like a good one," Midzinski said. "Anyone who ever plays this game gets hooked. It's easy to learn but tough to master and can keep you engaged for hours. Also, it doesn't stall. Someone wins every hand."
Lapp and Midzinski started the Las Vegas Euchre Association in February 2006 and have been holding monthly tournaments at MVP's, a sports bar located at 6120 W. Tropicana Ave., for the past nine months.
The game is open to anyone over 21 years old who wants to play and begins at 7:30 p.m. The schedule changes, so interested players should check ou the group's Web site at www.vegaseuchre.com for the next tournament.
"All you need is $15 to put in the pot and a few hours," Lapp said. "These games are about relaxing and having fun, and that's what we hope you get out of it."
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