Wheeler-dealers enjoy Monopoly tournament
BY TOYNETT HALL Staff Writer

HOWELL - On a recent day 36 young people packed the small meeting room at the Howell library, Old Tavern Road. They were all there trying to win a tournament that featured one of America's most renowned board games, Monopoly.

The library has been holding a Monopoly tournament for four years as a way to boost teenagers' involvement at the library.

Youth coordinator Veronica Stevens said that several years ago she inquired about holding a tournament, followed the directions on the Hasbro Internet Web site (manufacturers) and acquired a handful of Monopoly games. She said the tournament was such a hit the first time around that library officials decided to keep it going.

The latest installment of the tournament was held at the end of the library's 2007 summer reading program "You Never Know."

Stevens said the Monopoly event was a way to end the library's summer activities on a high note and said the youngsters get excited about participating.

The tournament lasts for almost three hours and teams are arranged by age and grade. Contestants who win receive Monopoly games and Monopoly towels.

Ryan Barnes, 16, said he won three years ago and came back to win again, and to gain credit for the National Honor Society.

Steve Bauernfeind, 15, and Pat Callahan, 15, were participating for a second time. They said they came back because playing Monopoly is fun.

According to Hasbro.com, an estimated 500 million people have played Monopoly and more than 200 million Monopoly games have been sold worldwide. The youths at the library were not concerned with those statistics. They were just playing to win.

For the first time since the tournament's inception, the first-place prize was awarded to the youngest champion ever, John Paul Prioli, 7.

Ryan Barnes and Lauren Saal, 13, tied for second place.

On the same day, library officials presented four young people with prizes for their summer reading achievements.

The winners of the 2007 summer reading program are Thomas Prioli, who read 6,573 pages; Matthew Schanck, who read 5,417 pages; Patricia Prioli, who read 4,371 pages; and Catie Clayton, who read 2,359 pages.

The "You Never Know" series will come to a close with a high school required reading book discussion scheduled for Aug. 22, 3-4 p.m.

Library staffers are already making plans for the summer of 2008, when the theme will be "Metamorphosis."