Randy Dickinson of Baltimore rolled a 300 game at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships on Monday with a bowling ball that has been reliable over the years, but almost didn't make the trip to the Albuquerque Convention Center this year.

The 44-year-old right-hander decided at the last minute to include the ball in his tournament arsenal, and the choice paid off with the 29th perfect game of the 2008 USBC Open Championships. Dickinson, who got the ball from a friend a few years ago and has had regular success on the lanes, rolled games of 217, 205 and 300 for a 722 singles effort.

"When I was planning my trip out here, I wasn't even going to ship that ball, but I'm glad I did," said Dickinson, an engineering technician for the Maryland Aviation Administration. "I got that ball from a buddy a few years ago. Our hands are the same size, so we can throw the same equipment. It's always in my bag and always reliable. This was definitely unexpected and a lot of fun."

Dickinson started his trip to Albuquerque with a confidence-boosting win at the Roto Grip Sport Bowling Challenge on Saturday using the same ball and rounded out his third Open Championships appearance with 588 in doubles and 564 in team for a 1,874 all-events total.

After putting the finishing touches on his perfect game, Dickinson admitted that he wasn't as nervous as he thought he'd be.

"I guess I was figuring that something would happen to keep me from shooting 300, so I wasn't too worried about it," Dickinson said. "My expectations each year are to cash in all four events and shoot 1,800, and to shoot 300 also is great."

For Dickinson, the annual trip to the Open Championships is as much about golf and spending time with friends and family as it is about bowling. In fact, his 300 came just hours before his tee time at a nearby golf course, and is all part of a two-week vacation.

"We bowl a lot of tournaments, but it's still mainly about having fun, which we've been doing together for years," Dickinson said. "This is a vacation for me, and I'm looking forward to playing some golf now. My sister from Colorado Springs came down, and now I'm headed to her house for the rest of my vacation. So far, it's been an exciting start."

Presenting sponsors for the 2008 USBC Open Championships are Eldorado Hotel Casino, Silver Legacy Resort Casino and Circus Circus Reno in Reno, Nev. Other participating sponsors are Kegel, official lane maintenance provider; Brunswick, capital equipment supplier; Storm Products, Inc.; Roto Grip, official sponsor of the Roto Grip Sport Bowling Challenge; Isleta Casino & Resort; Santa Ana Star Casino, the official brackets sponsor; Rainbow Ryders, the exclusive hot air balloon company of the 2008 Open Championships; and Sandia Resort & Casino.

Albuquerque Convention Center, Albuquerque, N.M.

Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfalls

Team
1, Team Tilt (Thomas Ault Jr., Russ Wilson, Chris Greene, Joe Keltner, Jay Futrell), Lawrence, Kan., 3,374. 2, Turbo Grips 1, Chesterfield, Mich., 3,308. 3, Fox Bowl 2, Wheaton, Ill., 3,303. 4, Rhino for President, Pleasant View, Utah, 3,298. 5, Bowlingfordumdums.com, Pritchett, Colo., 3,284. 6, Bluemound Bowl, Milwaukee, Wis., 3,268. 7, Ballard's Bowling Solution 1, North Richland Hills, Texas, 3,258. 8, Play 2 Win, Lakewood, Ohio, 3,254. 9, Bowlers Universe 1, Rockford, Ill., 3,249. 10, Bluegrass Bowling & Golf, Lexington, Ky., 3,244.

Doubles
1, John Socha, Oak Creek, Wis./Dennis Rakauskas, Apopka, Fla., 1,467. 2, Skip Wolfe, Dixon, Ill./Tom Carter, Rockford, Ill., 1,462. 3, Robert Slayton, Apple Valley, Minn./Jason Lutgen, Brooklyn Park, Minn., 1,445. 4, Todd Koehler, Appleton, Minn./Doug Blood, Montevideo, Minn., 1,444. 5, Erik Mattingly, Puyallup, Wash./Robert Hanson, Tacoma, Wash., 1,441. 6, Ted Baer/Josh Edenburn, Omaha, Neb., 1,439. 7, Steven Levering, Landisville, Pa./Jim Rutherford, Coatesville, Pa., 1,428. 8, Ron Case, Oakley, Calif./Sam Carter, Ben Lomond, Calif., 1,422. 9, Mike Granberg, Batavia, Ill./Dave Rodak, Naperville, Ill., 1,419. 10, Ward Mocaby/Steve Elson, Wichita, Kan., 1,416.

Singles
1, Bryan Young, Everett, Wash., 832. 2, Jason Price, Grand Island, Neb., 817. 3, Wilbert Moorer, Dover, Del., 784. 4, Warren Crawford, McKinleyville, Calif., 779. 5, Eric Lukins, Fort Myers, Fla., 778. 6, William Uthoff, O'Fallon, Mo., 775. 7 (tie), Larry Aldridge, Aurora, Colo., and Alexander Shand, Myrtle Beach, S.C., 774. 9, Alan Pecora, Drums, Pa., 773. 10, Ryan Shepherd, Collinsville, Va., 769.

All-Events
1, Jay Futrell, Derby, Kan., 2,183. 2, Bryan Young, Everett, Wash., 2,165. 3, Mike Rose Jr., Rochester, N.Y., 2,161. 4, Randy Weiss, Columbia, S.C., 2,160. 5, Warren Crawford, McKinleyville, Calif., 2,159. 6, Brian Kjergaard, Fulton, Ill., 2,147. 7, Edward Gallagher, Clarksville, Tenn., 2,141. 8, Todd Fenske, Weston, Wis., 2,132. 9, Gregg Zicha, Schaumburg, Ill., 2,124. 10, Chris Gibbons, Madison, Wis., 2,122.

Team All-Events
1, Fox Bowl 2 (Anthony Jordan, Pete Spreadbury, Walter Schaub, Gregg Zicha, Mike Nape), Wheaton, Ill., 10,025. 2, Team Tilt, Lawrence, Kan., 9,986. 3, Team Pabst, Madison, Wis., 9,977. 4, MoRich Enterprises, West Bend, Wis., 9,901. 5, Rhino for President, Pleasant View, Utah, 9,801. 6, Bowlingfordumdums.com, Pritchett, Colo., 9,794. 7 (tie), S & B Pro Shop 2, Sterling Heights, Mich., and Pam's Boys 1, Salem, Ore., 9,736. 9, Sack Toe, Sacramento, Calif., 9,717. 10, Pollard's Bowl, Versailles, Ind., 9,708.

Albuquerque Convention Center, Albuquerque, N.M.

Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfalls

Team
1, Cardinal Lanes (Edward Hitschmann, Mike Steinert, Reuben Flagor, Tim Higgins, Gary Boxberger), 2,804. 2, Lake Country Rollers 1, Clarissa, Minn., 2,799. 3, T-Rays, Jamestown, N.D., 2,795. 4, Garden Center Lanes 2, Alexandria, Minn., 2,789. 5, D&H Glass, Harrison, Ark., 2,787. 6, Plattsburgh Bowl, Plattsburgh, Mo., 2,773. 7, Sego Electric, Clarion, Iowa, 2,759. 8, Pla-Mor Lanes 5, New Weston, Ohio, 2,750. 9, Lady Pros, Albuquerque, N.M., 2,748. 10, Firenab 2, Lincoln, Neb., 2,745.

Doubles
1, Jacqueline Snyder/Bill Calhoon, Cooksville, Ill., 1,282. 2, Janet Vaccari/Joe Vaccari, Gillette, Wyo., 1,255. 3, Frank Smyle Jr., Reeder, N.D./Jesse Smyle, Bowman, N.D., 1,240. 4, James Whisenhant, Robertsdale, Ala./Dean Swindle, Foley, Ala., 1,237. 5, William Palmer, Sussex, Wis./Henry Dotson, McCool, Miss., 1,220. 6, Daryl Peake, Mount Holly, N.C./Bob Butts, Charlotte, N.C., 1,207. 7, Ron Schara, Big Timber, Mont./Tom Schara, Rio Rancho, N.M., 1,205. 8, Arthur King, Grass Valley, Calif./Sandy Wagner, Loomis, Calif., 1,203. 9, Jim Kohlman, St. Paul, Minn./Michael Roscoe, White Bear Lake, Minn., 1,196. 10, Judy Waliczek, Pflugerville, Texas/Christopher Brown, Jonesboro, Ark, 1,192.

Singles
1, Jeremy Noland, Chelsea, Okla., 696. 2, Daniel Dabkowski, Columbia, S.C., 688. 3 (tie), Brian Washington, Hopewell, Va., and Tim Hoffpauir, New Iberia, La., 676. 5, Donald D. Mueller Jr., Fremont, Neb., 672. 6, Tim Wagner, Hardin, Mont., 669. 7, Brion Estis, St. Davids, Bermuda, 666. 8, John Zapalac, Bishop, Texas, 662. 9, Randy Gaines, Austin, Minn., 658. 10, Ed Wethington, Poplar Grove, Ill., 657.

All-Events
1, Daniel Dabkowski, Columbia, S.C., 1,857. 2, Bill Calhoon, Cooksville, Ill., 1,852. 3, Daryl Peake, Mount Holly, N.C., 1,849. 4, John Millet Jr., Greenland, N.H., 1,821. 5, Troy Schultz, Clarion, Iowa, 1,820. 6, Dave Lisson, Browerville, Minn., 1,815. 7, Kenny DeYoung, Valley Springs, Ark., 1,805. 8, Kenny Halsted, Harrison, Ark., 1,805. 9, John Victor, Rockford, Ill., 1,794. 10, Glenn Shields, Bowling Green, Ohio, 1,791.