Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Las Vegas brings ‘Disneyland for adults’ vibe to table tennis’ U.S. Open

2015 US Open table tennis

Mikayla Whitmore

Yuqin Yang of China serves to Crystal Wang of Maryland at the 2015 U.S. Open. The largest international table tennis event in the United States started July 6 and ends Saturday night with the men’s and women’s finals at Omnia Nightclub at Caesars Palace.

2015 U.S. Table Tennis Open

David Sakai of Las Vegas competes in a doubles game at the 2015 U.S. Open, an international table tennis event hosted by U.S.A. Table Tennis on July 6-11, 2015. Launch slideshow »

Finals set for Saturday night

The U.S. Open finals will be Saturday night at Omnia Nightclub at Caesars Palace. Doors will open at 6:15 p.m. with the women's singles finals scheduled to begin at 6:45 p.m. followed by the men's singles finals at 7:45 p.m. Seating is limited. To buy tickets, call 719-888-0499.

One minute, 68-year-old David Sakai is calmly hunched over a tennis table with his paddle in hand. The next, he is on his tip-toes celebrating a win with a Michael Jackson inspired spin move.

Sakai, a table tennis Hall of Famer and Las Vegas transplant, may be amongst the oldest competitors in the field at this year’s U.S. Open of Table Tennis. He just doesn’t show it.

Sakai has now won a title in nearly every age group in table tennis — over 30, 40, 50, 60, and 65 — in both singles and doubles. Wednesday at the Las Vegas Convention Center, he and doubles partner Dell Sweeris added another title to his resume.

The sounds of bouncing pingpong balls echoed throughout the convention center all week, as more than 1,000 competitors from 33 countries showed up for the most-participated-in tournament in USA Table Tennis history.

The diversity of the field was staggering, with no better example than Tuesday afternoon when reigning U.S. champion Jimmy Butler, 44, who stands 6-foot-8, faced off with 8-year-old Matthew Lu.

The competitors ranged in age from 6 to 91 and included Houston Rockets General Manager Daryle Morey and comedian Frank Caliendo. The U.S. Open had so many competitors this year that on Monday at 1 p.m. all of the 127 tables at the convention center were occupied with matches, said Gordon Kaye, the CEO of USA Table Tennis.

“When you think of big events you think of Las Vegas,” said Kaye. “It’s a natural fit.”

Kaye compared table tennis’ growth to that of the World Series of Poker, which takes place each summer at the Rio and draws thousands of players after the poker boom more than a decade ago.

“There’s only one place in the world that can turn eight people sitting around a table playing cards into a multibillion-dollar business, and that’s the city of Las Vegas,” Kaye said. “The glitz and glam, and the spotlight of a city like Las Vegas helped poker get to where it is now. I think the opportunities are limitless for table tennis.”

That spotlight will burn bright on Saturday night, when the men’s and women’s singles championships are played inside Omnia Nightclub at Caesars Palace.

“That is so over the top, and I love it,” Sakai said.

But to get there, competitors have to navigate through the 127-table, 102-event jungle that is the Las Vegas Convention center this week.

It’s all like a giant playground for Sakai, who moved to Las Vegas permanently 11 years ago after falling in love with the city when visiting for tournaments.

“I love the city,” Sakai said. “The table tennis is great here, and with all of the tournaments here, where else would I want to be? It’s like Disneyland for adults.”

Kaye calls Sakai, “the Godfather of table tennis in Las Vegas” and credits his influence for helping Las Vegas land the winning bid last month to host 2018 World Veteran Table Tennis Championships, the largest table tennis tournament in the world, expected to host 5,000 players ages 40 and over representing 70 countries.

“I don’t think we would have won the bid in any other city,” Kaye said. “The selection committee wanted what Las Vegas has to offer, which is hot nightlife, hospitality, entertainment and world-class food.”

The event, which is expected to draw participants from 70 different countries, would be the single largest table tennis tournament in the world.

“Since I moved here the sport’s popularity has grown tenfold,” Sakai said. “Las Vegas is the perfect city for it with all of the ethnic groups and diversity here. And even when you lose you can still go out and have a good time.”

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