United Senior Center holds 12th annual dominoes tournament

The 12th annual iteration of a dominoes tournament hosted by Cardona Tax and Business Services was held on Monday, Nov. 17 at the United Senior Center on 53rd St.

The tournament, a much-anticipated event by the seniors at the center, was almost cancelled during the time when the center was at risk of permanent closure. With the signing of a 10-year extension of the lease for the center, the tournament was able to take place and was a smash success. Twenty players participated — 10 teams of two — while many other seniors stood by, watching the action, cheering at the gameplay until one team was crowned victorious.

The tournament began at 10 a.m. and was overseen by George Cardona, the proprietor of Cardona Tax and Business Services, who hosts dominoes tournaments all over South Brooklyn, including at Raices, the senior center on Atlantic Avenue, Industry City, and the 24th Street Festival.

During Mr. Cardona’s explanation of the day’s rules, he included an extra rule that stipulated that if a player touched a domino without playing it, that was an automatic 25 points for the opposite team.

“I have to give them these rules. They’re all so excited to win that they come up with these crazy ways of cheating,” Mr. Cardona explained. “They’ll signal to their partner across the table by holding up fingers on their face to signal what number they want their partner to play, or pretend to stretch and hold out their fingers, or touch a certain number of dominoes on their rack to indicate the number they’re looking for.”

In addition to laying out the rules, Mr. Cardona assigned referees to each table to watch the games to make sure no one was cheating. In the second round, one game became so heated that it was assigned a second referee, a no-nonsense woman by the name of Magie Gallego who watched over the game. Multiple times she called out signaling and had to settle disputes. Ms. Gallego, a regular player at the center and at Mr. Cardona’s tournaments, did not have time for an interview because she was so focused on the games she was monitoring.

“They don’t mess with her,” Mr. Cardona shared with a laugh.

The final two teams of the tournament — playing for first and second place — were Ana Cruz (one of only two women in the tournament) and Victor Almonte, against Rafael Cristobal González and Juan Pérez.

“We usually try to be done by noon,” Tamavis Santiago, who helped organize the event, shared. “That’s usually when they eat.”

The final game was near silent, all players concentrated while a large group of seniors stood around, leaning in to see the game play out, occasionally gasping when a domino was set down. In the end, Ms. Cruz and Mr. Almonte won. The victors erupted in cheers and Ms. Cruz immediately made a video call to her daughter to share the news.

“I had to call her because I told her she wasn’t allowed to call me all morning because I was playing the tournament and I needed to concentrate,” Ms. Cruz said.

All four finalists received trophies. The two winners will have their names inscribed on a plaque that permanently hangs on the wall in the dominoes corner of the center.

On the wall beside the winners’ plaque hangs a clock whose numbers are made from domino pieces, a bit of handiwork by longtime player José Fernandez, who has played in eight of Cardona’s tournaments and won twice.

“They need this,” added Tamavis Santiago, who helped organize the event. “They come here, they play, they talk, they yell at each other. It’s what keeps them alive. If they didn’t have the senior center to come to every day, where would they go, what would they do? Most of them would be sitting at home, watching television.”

While the tournament was played, hundreds of other seniors moved about the center, playing billiards, playing Mahjong, eating meals, and socializing. The center was loud, full, and overwhelmingly joyous.

“It was very sad that the center almost closed. All these people look forward to coming here. They have a good time. It’s good for them, it’s good for the neighborhood,” Mr. Cardona said.

After the tournament concluded, Mr. Cardona, Ms. Santiago, and employees of the center began to pack up. The tournament domino pieces had scarcely been collected when other seniors commandeered the tables and began playing new domino games.

“I come here every day to play dominoes. I have for twenty years,” Mr. Fernandez shared. “I’ll be back tomorrow to play more.”