'Home lanes' may give Durbin his first senior title

PBA Showboat Senior Invitational

* WHERE: Showboat Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center, 2800 Fremont St.

* WHEN: Sunday thru Saturday.

* FINALS: Saturday, July 17, noon-1:30 p.m.

Shortly after tonight's final in the Northern California Professional Bowlers Association Classic in Brentwood, Calif., Mike Durbin and his wife, Debbie, will jump into their 1996 motor home and begin the 570-mile drive back to their house in Boulder City.

"It kind of suits of my personality," Durbin, inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1984, says of the motor home. "I don't like motels much and I don't mind the driving."

Durbin won't have to worry about either on the next stop on the PBA Seniors Tour.

That's because next up is the 14th annual Showboat Senior Invitational beginning Sunday at the Showboat Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center.

"I can make it there in about 25 minutes," Durbin said of the drive from his home, which overlooks Lake Mead. "That's definitely a lot easier drive than, say, Connecticut, where I drove to earlier this year for a tournament."

Durbin and his wife managed to stop by the homes of their children in Michigan and Ohio, which helped break up the long trip to the East Coast.

Until last August, the Durbins had called Cleveland home. But with their kids grown up and out of the house, Durbin, a Burbank, Calif., native and his wife, who is from Colorado, decided to head out West.

"I decided I had shoveled enough snow," Durbin, 58, said. "Our kids were all raised. So we decided to give Boulder City a try. They call it the 'Mayberry of the Desert.' That sounded good to us."

In his 33rd year as a professional bowler, Durbin has won 14 titles on the national tour. He is the only three-time winner of the Brunswick World Tournament of Champions.

This is Durbin's second year on the PBA's Senior Tour and, barring a win tonight at Brentwood, he is still searching for his first senior victory. However, he has three top-five finishes in nine events this year and took second last year at the Showboat Senior Invitational, the longest-running event on the senior tour.

"I've been bowling at the Showboat for a long time," Durbin said. "Since the early 1960s when it was just 24 lanes. And I've actually done quite a few lessons down there."

So will having something of a "home lane" advantage translate into Durbin breaking through for his first senior tour victory?

"You never know," Durbin said. "I really don't try and focus on that."

Tournament week begins with practice and pro-ams on Sunday, including a Special Olympics squad at 1:30 p.m. Qualifying in eight-game blocks begins Monday at 8 a.m. with the top quarter of the 200-plus field advancing to Thursday morning's competition beginning at 10 a.m.

Match play featuring the top 48 bowlers begins next Thursday night at 6:45 p.m. with the top 32 moving on to Friday morning's 11 a.m. round. The top 24 will then play on Friday night at 6:45 p.m.

The top five bowlers will complete in a stepladder final on Saturday, July 17, from noon to 1:30 p.m.

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