Inside The 33rd Annual Pool And Dart Tournament In St. Cloud

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- It is a celebration of a long season at an annual tournament this weekend. Midwest Coin Concepts is holding its 33^rd Annual Pool and Dart Tournament at the River’s Edge Convention Center. The tournament sees players from all over the Upper Midwest come to town to compete.

Tournament Director Ryan Schleicher says the tourney is like a big party to end their season, and they couldn’t do it without all the great relationships they have formed with establishments in setting up leagues:

“And the relationship is A we need to have places that are willing to work with us in order to justify the expense on our end of the company to be able to go out and purchase that equipment and put it into those locations. And then B, it’s kind of like our way of supporting the work of the locations to drive the people into the building by running the organized league networks that we do.”

Maria McStott is the Operations Director at HR Pesty’s in Waite Park. She says the relationship with Midwest Coin is a huge benefit for them:

“Midwest Coin is amazing! They bring life to a bar! I don’t think there is any bar that doesn’t have a service, game, equipment from them, and it’s a big impact on our business.”

McStott says having the leagues is a good draw to bring people in.

Schleicher says the tourney is a way to put a bow on the season and show support for all those involved:

“And it all kind of comes back to the origination of us working with Pesty’s, or any location for that matter, to develop this robust league environment and then let it kind of, we just by maintaining our relationship with them and then also with the players, if you will, that’s the miracle grow that we just kind of let it blossom into whatever it will.”

McStott has been with HR Pesty’s for over 30 years and says leagues are so much more than they used to be:

“People need to realize that you don’t have to have a team of four to participate or a team of two. A lot of people come to us and say, hey you know, is there a league we can get on or one of the employees will introduce them to the self-play where you’re playing against somebody else.”

Dart leagues are now interactive, and players can take on someone across the country or around the world. The tournament wraps up today, and people are encouraged to come check out all the action.

Get our free mobile app

Paul Habstritt, WJON

These Photos of '80s Office Life Will Take You Back

Miss it or not, life in the ’80s office was buzzing with machines, shoulder pads, and face-to-face drama long before email and smartphones — do these photos take you back?

Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz

20 Photos That Perfectly Capture Small-Town Life in the 1970s

Take a trip down memory lane — and down Main Street — with these photos from the 1970s that capture small-town life before social media and smartphones, when things were simpler, slower, and full of real-world experiences.

Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz