Area resident organizing 42 tournament in Clovis

File photo Faye Keener of Portales grabs the dominoes to shuffle with a smile after she and her teammate Beverly Winn won a game of 42 during a warm up for last year's New Mexico State 42 Tournament at the Texico Senior Center. Saturday's 42 tournament is rock ‘n' roll themed and will take place at the Clovis and Curry County Chamber of Commerce.

Jerry Whitney played 42 for 15-and-a-half hours when he won the title of 2009 Texas State 42 Champion.

He knew right then and there that none of his tournaments would ever last that long.

“I love to play 42 but that’s too long,” he said.

Whitney is organizing the first Rock ‘n’ Roll 42 Domino Tournament in Clovis at the Clovis and Curry County Chamber of Commerce this weekend. The game 42 is a variation of dominoes in which teams of two play hands as a team, aiming for seven points first to win.

The $40 entrance fee pays for a team of two to play 42 in the tournament, tours of both the Norman and Vi Petty Rock ‘n’ Roll Museum and the Norman Petty Recording Studios and lunch at Foxy’s Drive-In.

Whitney said the theme of the tournament, rock ‘n’ roll, fits in with the theme of Clovis. He’s planning for the tournament to become an annual event sanctioned by the National 42 Players Association. Whitney said members of the National 42 Players Association from Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Colorado and other states will be participating in the tournament.

Whitney said players will sign in from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. Saturday at the chamber, play will begin at 8:30 a.m. and go until noon. At noon, players will be transported to Foxy’s for lunch and the Norman Petty Recording Studios for a tour. Play will resume at 2 p.m. and end around 3:30 p.m.

Whitney hosts the New Mexico State 42 Championship each year on the first weekend in August in Texico.

“It’s a plus (having this tournament in Clovis,)” he said. “42 is not new to Clovis, just having the tournament here is new. It’s something we can look forward to every year.”

Information: Jerry Whitney at 575-218-2321 or [email protected]