The Fourth Annual
PNDEJOS
Invitational
Red Rock Lanes · Las Vegas, NV
00 spots left · USBC certified · Handicap, so anybody wins
Running
Field Cap
Tournament
1 in 5 Cash
01 / The Tournament
A serious championship
with an unserious name.
One weekend every March, a field of bowlers flies into Las Vegas, checks into a resort in the shadow of the Red Rock escarpment, and spends three days settling something that does not need settling.
Pindejos is a USBC certified full handicap championship — team, doubles, singles, and an all-events title that combines all nine games. Sanctioned means your average is verified rather than declared, disputes are settled against a national rulebook, and anything you shoot here counts for a USBC award. Every event is handicapped, which means the format rests on one promise: your average is your business, and it will not keep you out of the money. A 260 scratch bowler and a 140 league regular chase the same trophy on the same terms.
The field is capped at thirty-two — eight teams of four, sixteen doubles pairs. That is deliberate. Thirty-two is small enough that the whole field bowls at the same time on the same block of lanes, so you will have bowled alongside most of it by Sunday. No divisions, no flights, no squads to miss. One leaderboard.
On the name — yes, we know. It began as an insult traded between friends who bowled badly and took it personally. The name stuck. The scores, eventually, improved. Slightly.
02 / The Format
Every bowler gets a handicap.
Nobody gets an excuse.
Nine games across three days, in the structure used by every major championship in the sport. Four titles, one entry fee, and a Sunday double-elimination bracket seeded by everything you bowled before it.
Team
Eight teams of four, three games, handicap applied to every game. Bring a squad or let us build you one — solo entrants are placed on a team at no cost.
Doubles
Sixteen pairs, three games, combined handicap pinfall. No partner? Enter alone and we'll pair you before the tournament, or take a random draw.
Singles
Bowled immediately after doubles, on the same pair, without a break. Six games back to back — the hardest block of the weekend and the one that separates the field.
All-Events
Your nine-game handicap total across all three events. It's a title in its own right, and it seeds Sunday's bracket — the top 8 advance to bowl for the championship.
The Handicap
Seventy-five percent of the gap.
Handicap is 75% of the difference between your average and a 220 basis, capped at 80 pins per game, applied to every game you bowl from Friday morning through the final.
If you average 220 or above you bowl scratch. Below that, the lower your average, the more pins you start with — which is the entire point.
Illustrative only. Final handicap is set from your verified average at check-in.
Establishing Your Average
Pindejos is a USBC certified tournament, so your handicap comes from your book average.
Bring your average printout. There is no public database we can search on your behalf — sign in at bowl.com, print your average page, and bring it with your membership card to check-in.
How we set your average
We take the first of these that applies, in order:
- Your highest USBC certified league average from the current or previous season, 21 games minimum
- Your highest USBC average from the season before that
- Your average from any prior Pindejos
- No book average? Bowl three average-setting games Friday afternoon and we'll set one
Entrants declare tournament winnings and any prior average adjustment at registration. The committee may raise an average before the tournament begins; anyone re-rated is told before they bowl a frame.
Lanes & Pace
No squads. Thirty-two bowlers fit on one reserved block of 16 lanes, so the entire field bowls every event at the same time — nobody sits out a session, and the standings are complete the moment the last ball drops.
| Day | Event | Games | On the lanes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri | Team — 8 teams of four | 3 | One team per pair |
| Sat | Doubles, then Singles | 3 + 3 | Same pair, no break |
| Sun | Bracket & consolation flight | varies | Bracket on a dedicated pair |
March-out is 15 minutes before the posted start. Team is budgeted at 2 hours 30 minutes; the Saturday six-game block at 3 hours 40 minutes, practice included. Lanes are freshly conditioned before each event.
03 / The Bracket
Double elimination.
One loss is not the end.
The top 8 by all-events advance. From there you have to be beaten twice to be out — and that includes whoever is leading.
15 with a reset
for everyone
clean 8 bracket
per match
How it plays out
Eight qualifiers, eight slots — a clean bracket with no byes, so everyone who makes it bowls round one. Seeding runs 1 versus 8, 2 versus 7, and so on down, which is the reward for qualifying well over nine games.
Lose once and you drop into the losers bracket rather than going home. Win your way back through it and you can still reach the final. Lose a second time and you're out. Every match is one game, handicap applied.
Because the bracket is seeded off all-events, Friday and Saturday are not a warm-up. Every frame you throw across those nine games decides who you draw on Sunday, and how hard the road is.
That last rule is what makes it a true double elimination. A single game to decide everything would mean the leader goes out on one loss — which is the exact thing this format exists to prevent.
Everyone outside the top 8 bowls the consolation flight Sunday, which runs alongside the bracket with its own prize list and its own side pots.
Coming Alone
You do not need
a team to enter.
Enter solo and check one box. We place you on a team and pair you for doubles before you arrive, and you compete for all four titles exactly like everyone else.
Partial entries are welcome too — if you have two bowlers and need two more, we'll fill the seats. A meaningful share of the field flies in alone every year and leaves with a group. That is most of the point of the weekend.
04 / The Weekend
Three days.
Nine games. One trophy.
All times Pacific, and the same for everybody — the whole field bowls together. Final times are confirmed to entrants two weeks before the tournament.
Registration & check-in
USBC card and average printout verified. Credentials, schedule cards and handicap sheets issued.
Average-setting games
For entrants without a verified league average
Team event — 3 games
All eight teams, one per pair of lanes
Welcome reception
Open to entrants and guests. Brackets and side pots on sale.
Doubles, then singles — 6 games
Straight through on the same pair, no break between events
All-events standings posted, bracket seeded
Top 8 advance. Qualifier list and seedings posted at the desk and online.
Evening open — cosmic bowling, side pots and the casino floor
Bracket check-in closes
Miss it and your alternate bowls. No exceptions.
Winners bracket, round one
All 8 seeds bowl. 1v8, 2v7, and so on.
Winners round two
Losers bracket opens on the adjacent pairs
Consolation flight
Everyone outside the top 8. Own prize list, side pots open.
Quarterfinals & semifinals, both brackets
Winners final & losers final
The Grand Final
Dedicated pair. Second game bowled immediately if the bracket resets.
Awards brunch & presentation
All four titles awarded. Guest tickets available at registration.
Before You Leave The House
What to bring.
Don't turn up without
- Your USBC membership card. Checked at Friday registration. No card, no bowl.
- A printout of your book average. Sign in at bowl.com and print the page — we cannot look it up for you.
- Bowling shoes. Rentals are available at the desk if you don't own a pair.
- Photo ID. It's a casino. You will be asked.
Worth packing
- Two balls if you have them — the house plays fresh oil Friday and carries down by Sunday.
- Tape, a towel and whatever else lives in your bag. There's a pro shop on the concourse if you forget something.
- Something to wear to the awards brunch that isn't a bowling shirt. Nothing formal — just not the shirt.
- Cash for side action. Brackets and pots pay out in cash the same day.
- A jacket. March in Las Vegas is warm by day and genuinely cold after dark.
Add to calendar Adds 5–7 March 2027 with a reminder a week out.
05 / The Venue
Red Rock Lanes
Seventy-two lanes with a resort attached to them. Twenty minutes west of the Strip in Summerlin, with the sandstone escarpment out the window.
The largest luxury bowling centre in Las Vegas. It is not a bowling alley with a hotel near it — the lanes, your room, dinner and the sportsbook are the same building.
Conditions are consistent lane to lane, which is what you want across nine scored games. Cosmic bowling runs nightly, and the deli is open until 2am on Friday and Saturday — which matters more than it sounds like it does on the second night of a tournament.
- Centre72 luxury lanes
- HoursSun–Thu 9am–12am
Fri–Sat 9am–2am - Cosmic BowlingNightly, featuring Spark
Sat from 12pm · Sun from 12pm - On the concourseLounge · Game room · Pro shop
The Ideal Bowling Bar · Deli & Snacks - Lanes phone702.797.PINS (7467)
- Address11011 W Charleston Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89135
Our Lanes
A reserved block,
right off the bar.
Pindejos runs on a reserved block of 16 lanes. Thirty-two bowlers, one team to a pair, the whole field on at once — no squads, no waiting your turn, no arriving to find the standings half-finished.
The Ideal Bowling Bar is on the concourse behind you and the sportsbook is a two-minute walk. Forty-two-inch screens sit between every pair, so the running standings stay in front of the field all weekend.
Red Rock also rents private VIP suites — 4, 8 or 12 lanes behind soundproof walls — if the committee ever decides the finals deserve their own room. Suite packages ↗
Where You Stay
Sleep upstairs from
the lanes.
Every room faces either the Strip or the sandstone cliffs of Red Rock Canyon. There is no commute to a morning start — there is a lift.
Room detail, views and the block
- In every room65″ ultra HD · marble bath · soaking tub
Lounge area · executive desk - BeddingPlush down · Egyptian cotton
320 thread count - AlsoDual-sink vanity · laptop safe
Wireless charging · embroidered robe
- ViewsLas Vegas Strip or
Red Rock Canyon sandstone - LargerSignature, One- and Two-Bedroom
Luxury suites, villas, penthouses - Room blockCode & rate TBA
- Sunday nightHeld in the block — drive back Monday
and miss the I-15 crush
The Resort
Reasons to arrive early
and leave late.
Dining, casino, spa, and the canyon
Eat
T-Bones Chophouse. Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill. Osteria Fiorella. Lotus of Siam — the Thai restaurant that made Las Vegas a serious food town. Hearthstone, Oyster Bar, Naxos Taverna, 8 Noodle Bar, Yard House, Lucille’s Smokehouse BBQ.
Drink
Rocks Lounge, Lucky Bar, Onyx Bar, the Rouge Room, the Sports Book Bar, and the Ideal Bowling Bar on the lanes concourse. The Bake Shop for the morning after.
Play
A full casino floor — poker room, table games, high-limit rooms, and a race and sports book that will be extremely busy in March. Bingo, keno, a 16-screen cinema.
Recover
The spa and salon, and a three-acre pool deck with cabanas. Useful on Sunday morning if Saturday night went the way Saturday nights go.
Outside
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is fifteen minutes from the front door — a 13-mile scenic drive, hiking and climbing. The resort runs guided adventures if you would rather not organise it yourself.
Driving in
Most of the field drives. Red Rock is on the west side of town — come in on I-15 and take the 215 beltway around, and you never touch the Strip. Roughly four hours from Los Angeles, five from San Diego. Self-parking and valet are free, which is no longer true of most of this city. Harry Reid International is 25 minutes east if you would rather fly.
Resort: 11011 W Charleston Blvd, Las Vegas NV 89135 · 702.797.7777. Facility details from Red Rock Resort, correct at time of writing; confirm rates and inclusions with the resort when you book.
06 / Side Action
Optional, cheap,
and where the weekend lives.
None of it affects the main standings and none of it is required. All of it is bought at registration or at the desk before the first ball, and all of it pays in cash the same day.
Brackets
Eight bowlers drawn at random from the field, three rounds of one-game matches, single elimination. Win three and take the bracket. Enter as many as you like.
Reverse Brackets
Identical to the above, except your games are used in reverse order. A bad first game stops being fatal. Most bowlers buy both.
The Eliminator
Runs across all nine games. Finish in the bottom half of the surviving field and take a strike; three strikes and you're out. Reach game nine alive and you cash, guaranteed.
Mystery Doubles
Drawn at random from the whole field after the tournament ends, using scores you already bowled. No partner, no extra games, no way to prepare.
Mystery Score
A score is drawn live during the last game of each event. Bowl it in any game and the pot is yours. If nobody hits, we draw again until someone does.
High Game & Series
Two separate pots, handicap or scratch. Highest single game and highest nine-game series across the tournament. The simplest money on the board.
Side action carries one third of your per-game handicap. Cut-off to buy any option is the posted start time. Anything you pay for and don't bowl is refunded in full.
07 / The Calendar
Key dates.
Invitations go out in October. The field has historically filled before it closes, so the useful thing to know is the early deadline, not the late one.
2026
Invitations go out
Every past entrant, plus anyone who asked to be told. Entry opens the same day.
2026
Early entry closes
Last day for the $00 discount, and first pick of team and doubles placement.
2027
Entries close
Or sooner, if the field fills. A waitlist opens the moment it does.
2027
Schedule confirmed
Final times, lane assignments and handicaps issued to every entrant.
2027
The tournament
Three days at Red Rock Lanes. Team Friday, doubles and singles Saturday, bracket Sunday.
08 / The Record
Hall of Champions
Three names so far. The fourth is available.
09 / The Committee
Who to blame.
Three of them started it. Five more agreed to help and have not yet found a way out. Between them they have run this weekend three times without losing anybody.
Founders
- Kamo
- GMoney
- Frankilla
Board & Committee
- Carlos Rodriguez
- Richie Perez
- Tony Luna
- Michael Donaldson
- Santos Ruiz
Disputes go to the commissioner. The commissioner is whoever is holding the clipboard. The clipboard does not change hands mid-argument. — commissioner@pindejos.com
10 / Entry
Enter the 2027 field
Per bowler, all four events · Entries close Month 00, 2027
- All nine games — team, doubles and singles — plus lineage and shoe rental
- A reserved block of lanes for three days — the whole field bowls together
- All-events entry, and the Sunday bracket or consolation flight
- Team and doubles placement if you're entering alone
- Friday welcome reception and Sunday awards brunch
- Tournament shirt, credential and personal schedule card
- Prize pool eligibility in all four events — at least 1 in 5 entrants cash
- Resort room block rate at Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa
Where your entry goes
| Lineage & shoe rental, nine games | $00 |
| Prize fund — 100% returned | $00 |
| Welcome reception & awards brunch | $00 |
| Trophies & awards | $00 |
| Administration | $00 |
| Total per bowler | $000 |
$00 off per bowler if paid in full by Month 00. Bring a bowler who has never entered and we'll take $00 off yours.
One Requirement
Current USBC membership. Pindejos is a USBC certified tournament, so every entrant must hold a 2026–27 membership and present the card at Friday check-in.
Already bowl in a league? You almost certainly have one. If not, join through your local association or any certified center for roughly $27 a year — it takes a few minutes and it covers you everywhere, not just here. Join USBC ↗
Open entry — no invitation required, no team to join.
Field is capped at 32 bowlers; entries close when it fills and a waitlist opens.
Confirmed by email within 48 hours. Questions: commissioner@pindejos.com
11 / Questions
Before you
book the flight.
Anything not covered here, write to us. Somebody actually reads it.
Do I need to be any good?
No. That is the entire point of a handicap tournament. Every event is handicapped, so a lower average earns more pins per game in team, doubles, singles and all-events alike. There are no divisions to sort you into — one field, one leaderboard, and the pins even it out.
Do I need a team or a partner?
No. Check the box on the entry form and we'll place you on a team and pair you for doubles before you arrive. Partial entries work the same way — if you have two bowlers and need two more, we'll fill the seats. Nobody is turned away for showing up alone.
What if I don't have a league average?
Come Friday afternoon and bowl three average-setting games before the tournament begins. We'll establish a handicap from those. It's a scheduled part of the weekend, not an inconvenience.
What exactly is all-events?
Your handicap totals from team, doubles and singles added together — nine games in one number. You're entered automatically at no extra cost, it's scored as its own championship, and it decides who makes Sunday's bracket. It costs no extra bowling; it's arithmetic on games you already threw.
What happens if I don't make the top 8?
You bowl the consolation flight Sunday, which runs alongside the bracket with its own prize list and its own side pots. Nobody's weekend ends Saturday night, and nobody spends Sunday watching.
How does double elimination work?
You have to lose twice to be out. Lose once and you drop into the losers bracket instead of going home; win your way through it and you can still reach the final. Every match is a single game with handicap applied, and everyone in the bracket is guaranteed at least two.
Eight qualifiers into eight slots, so there are no byes and everyone bowls round one. Seeding runs 1 versus 8 straight down the list, which is what qualifying well across nine games buys you.
What's a bracket reset?
Whoever reaches the grand final from the winners side has not lost a match. Their opponent has lost one. So for the title to change hands the unbeaten bowler has to be beaten twice — if they lose the first game, the bracket resets and one more game decides it. Without that rule the leader could go out on a single loss, which is the exact thing double elimination exists to prevent.
How much of my entry is prize money?
The full breakdown is published in the entry section above. 100% of the prize fund is returned to bowlers — we take nothing out of it. At least one in five entrants cashes in each event, and prize checks are issued within 30 days of the tournament closing.
Are the brackets and side pots required?
Not at all. Every one of them is optional and separate from the main standings. Most entrants buy a few brackets and a mystery score; some buy nothing. You can enter the tournament, bowl all nine games and compete for every title without spending another dollar.
Can I bring guests who aren't bowling?
Yes. Spectators are free and welcome on the concourse all weekend. Guest tickets for the welcome reception and awards brunch are $00 each, available at registration.
Where should I stay?
At the venue. Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa is the same building as the lanes, so there is no commute to a 9 a.m. start. We hold a room block at a reduced rate; booking details go out with your entry confirmation.
What's the refund policy?
Full refund up to 30 days before the tournament; 50% up to 14 days; none thereafter. Entries are transferable to another bowler at any time — just tell us who. Any prepaid side action you don't bowl is refunded in full regardless.
Do I need to be a USBC member?
Yes. Pindejos is a USBC certified tournament, which means every entrant must hold a current membership and show the card at Friday check-in. If you bowl in a sanctioned league you already have one.
If you don't, join through your local association or any certified center — roughly $27 a year, a few minutes to do, and it's good at every certified tournament and league in the country, not just this one. Join USBC ↗
How do I prove my average?
You bring it to us. There is no database we can search on your behalf — USBC's records sit behind a member login, so the printout has to come from your side.
Sign in at bowl.com, find your average page, print it, and bring it with your membership card. If you're short of 21 games, bring a current league standing sheet instead and we'll work from that.
Why is it sanctioned at all?
Three reasons. Averages come from one verified source instead of an honour system, which is what makes a handicap tournament fair. Disputes get settled against a published national rulebook rather than a committee's memory. And anything you shoot here — a 300 game, an 800 series — counts for a national award. Scoring, lane conditions, handicap calculation and average verification all follow USBC practice.