Telluride’s KOTO radio: winter fundraising continues with cribbage tournament

06 Feb Telluride’s KOTO radio: winter fundraising continues with cribbage tournament

Telluride's KOTO  Community radio continues its winter fundraising campaign with the 5th annual KOTO Cribbage Tournament. The event takes place at The Cornerhouse Grille, 131 Fir Street, February 10,  starting at 6:30 p.m.

The invention of Cribbage is attributed to the poet Sir John Suckling (1609 – 1642) by his biographer, John Aubrey. According to one online source, Suckling was an equal opportunity scoundrel, an expert at cards, dice and bowls and a womanizer. His most notorious scam involved distributing marked cards to English aristos and then traveling the country challenging the local gentry to Cribbage. In the end, Suckling sucked the suckers dry, earning around £20,000  or about £4 million in today's money. Suckling's wayward lifestyle, however, led to his untimely demise. In 1642, the guy allegedly became involved in a plot to free the Earl of Stafford from the Tower of London. In an effort to escape the consequences of his actions, Suckling fled to Paris, where he committed suicide by poisoning at the age of 32, his only legacy: a card game.

In the 17th century, Cribbage or Cribbidge, as it was spelled back when, referred to what we would now call "Five card cribbage" : five cards were dealt to each player, two of which were discarded into the crib. Those who know Cribbage know that the subtle strategy that separates experts from amateurs centers around the decision about which two cards to discard into the crib with each hand. 

KOTO invites local Cribbge hounds to join in the fun of loosening up their pegging fingers for great prizes and a trophy for the winners.

For other ways to support KOTO, go to Maribeth Clemente's blog: Great Deals for Public Radio: Winter 2010.

KOTO winter fundraising 2010: Just For The Fun Of It.