It’d been a while since Ellen Cooksley had been down to Sin City.
Thirty three years had passed since the last time the nearly life-long Bellevue resident had traveled to Las Vegas to see Elvis Presley perform in what would be the final year of his life.
So when she finally made the trek again earlier this month, things were a bit different.
“Just a few things had changed,” Cooksley said with a laugh.
Instead of pining to see the King of Rock and Roll, this time she was aiming to be the queen of the lanes.
Cooksley, 51, was one of 108 national finalists to make it to Las Vegas for a four-division bowling tournament sponsored by AMF with a grand prize of $50,000.
Although she came up a bit short, finishing 9th out of 16 and failing to make the cut out of round two, she did accomplish what many others don’t: return home from from Vegas with cash in her pocket.
“Everybody had dreams of winning that $50,000,” said Cooksley, who pocketed $500 for her finish. “But I’m definitely not complaining. It was a lot of fun.”
Cooksley, an Interlake graduate, only began bowling again in September after her brother’s needed a woman to fill a spot on their co-ed team at AMF Sun Villa Lanes in Bellevue. She hadn’t bowled since college at Brigham Young University, she said, but she gave it a shot anyway.
“I felt like I was starting all over again,” Cooksley said. “But it was so much fun playing with my brothers. That’s what I enjoyed.”
Not long after she started bowling again did she notice advertisements for a points over average tournament AMF was holding. Determining the winner in the tournament would be done by the score each bowler turned in over their normal series average. Cooksley, with a beginning low average, began to enter the qualifying period for the tournament during her normal league play. Eventually, she qualified for the Sun Villa tournament and won her division, which sent her on to Portland in March for the district tournament.
“I was very nervous and had lots of reservations there,” Cooksley said. “But everybody cheered each other on, even though they personally wanted to win. It was great.”
Cooksley’s performance at the district tournament qualified her for the national tournament in Las Vegas. Her daughter joined her for the tournament, held at the Orleans Casino and Hotel last weekend.
Out of the field of 27 bowlers in her division, Cooksley was one of just four women competing for the $50,000 prize. She bowled a series score of 532 in the first round, a points over average of 92 that sent her into round two. Ten bowlers were eliminated in the first round.
Her second round points over average score of 57 was just below the qualifying for round three, and she was one of seven bowlers cut.
“You always wish you could have done better,” she said. “I was very nervous and could have done better. But the pressure was on.”
The eventual champion was Tim Brancato of Webster, N.Y.
After she was eliminated, she spent the rest of the time watching the competition and sharing time with her daughter. Before leaving, they bowled one final game for fun. Cooksley bowled a 180, one of her best scores.
“My daughter said ‘why couldn’t you do that in the tournament?'” Cooksley said with a laugh. “You just have to learn how to bowl under pressure I guess.”
Cooksley said she plans on trying to return to the tournament next year.
“I would absolutely love to go back,” she said. “It was just a great experience.”
