KANSAS CITY (AP) - A Kansas City man who has dominated world dominoes competition for the last five years says he's concerned that young people are losing interest in the game and missing out on important life lessons it teaches.
Jerome Wooten, 36, recently won his third consecutive world championship - and fourth in five years - at a tournament in Andalusia, Ala. He's so devoted to the game he gave up his real estate appraisal job to play dominoes for a living.
"He's feared," said Travis Newsome, a veteran player and two-time singles world champion. "At no time do you want to see Jerome sitting across from you at a tournament."
Newsome and Wooten say when they aren't competing, they want to spread their love of the game to young people, particularly in Kansas City's black community, where the game has a long tradition, The Kansas City Star reported.
In the fall, they'll start visiting elementary and middle schools, and Newsome has put together a website at dominoedkc.com about the program. He hopes a few young people will compete next year in youth divisions in Alabama.
"We know there are video games, but we don't want this to die out," he said. "We think dominoes has more to offer. The kids get excited when they see the connections and the strategy. Their eyes light up."
The game is fun, and it teaches life lessons like patience, discipline, calm under pressure, Wooten said. Played wrong, dominoes is about matching and chance. But to veteran players it's math, probability analysis, memory and strategy.
Wooten honed his skills in monthly neighborhood dominoes tournaments in his neighborhood, particularly watching Newsome and his brothers, who were a Kansas City dominoes force at the time.
"He just absorbed all of it and swept right by us. Left us in the dust. Everybody liked to watch him play," Newsome said.
In 1999, Wooten attended his first World Championship Domino Tournament hosted by the Rotary Club in Andalusia. He won his bracket and placed fifth against hundreds of competitors. For years, he got to that level but couldn't go higher.
"I was learning the game," he said, "and I'm still learning."
In 2006, a league on the West Coast held a 12-city tournament with prizes in the tens of thousands of dollars. Wooten and members of the Kansas City Show-Me Domino Dominators team went to Los Angeles, Sacramento, Las Vegas, Dallas and Chicago. By the end of the year, he won several first-place spots and $120,000, more than half of the total team earnings.
"A dream come true," he said.
He won his first world championship in 2008, worth $3,000. He did it again in 2010, 2011 and this year.
"If I win next year, that will be the milestone," Wooten said. "Nobody has ever won four years in a row. After that I might back off and take it easy on the guys."