Alonso, who plays most of his blackjack in Las Vegas, emerged from a field of 21 members of the Royal Caribbean Casino Club who had been invited to participate in the tournament and spend the week cruising the Caribbean aboard Navigator of the Seas as expense-paid guests of Royal Caribbean.

Participants in the tournament were selected by Royal Caribbean from among the VIP players who have gambled during the past year aboard the line's ships.

The tournament featured a guaranteed first prize of $10,000, and all of the invitees received a complimentary $500 entry ticket. But after the first round September 4th, when a tough table enabled one participant to claim a tenuous hold on the seventh and last spot with a score of only $1,300, a number of the invitees decided to buy tickets for a second or third try to qualify, thereby driving the tournament prize money up to $12,730 for 1st place, $4,370 for 2nd place and $1,900 for 3rd.