WEDNESDAY - June 13, 2007

Arizona State ICS Cookoff 2007

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The 38^th Annual Arizona State ICS Cookoff was held on Sunday, June 10, 2007 at Mazatzal Casino in Payson, AZ. It was a picture perfect day with bright sunshine, gentle breezes and temperatures in the mid-80s.

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Linda Mathiesen along with Linell and Steve and the rest of the staff from Mazatzal Casino had everything in order when we arrived at 6 AM. Dick and I set up the judging and scoring area and soon after, the cooks began to arrive and set up their cooking areas.

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The local radio station, KCMA-LP, FM 98.5, arrived with 'Big Red', their mobile broadcast booth. They did on-site broadcasting all day long including interviews with some of the cooks and spectators. There was also an outdoor bar and some arts and crafts vendors. People's Choice chili was served from 11 AM to 4 PM. Tasting kits were sold by the casino with proceeds of over $900 going to benefit local Payson charities.

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Cooks from Texas, Idaho, Colorado, California, Nebraska, Nevada and Arizona competed for over $3500 in prizes and the chance to qualify to cook in the 2007 ICS World's Championships in Omaha, October 5-7.

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Competition was fierce and with a wide variety of both local and out-of-town judges represented, the chili was ably scrutinized.

The results were:

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People's Choice:

Doug Wolfe - Payson, AZ

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Best Booth:

Mark and Cindy Haught - Pahrump, NV

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Salsa (10 Entries):

3^rd Place - Bill Kost - Pine, AZ

2^nd Place - Paul Whitney - Flagstaff, AZ

1^st Place - Kevin Foley - Galveston, TX

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Chili Verde (10 Entries):

3^rd Place - Bonnie Ford - La Mirada, CA

2^nd Place - Charlie Ward - Mountain Home, ID

1^st Place - Mark Haught - Pahrump, NV

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ICS Red Chili (16 Entries):

3^rd Place - Skip Cooley - Reno, NV

2^nd Place - Charlie Ward - Mountain Home, ID

1^st Place - Donna Foley - Galveston, TX

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Submitted by Nancy Swenberger

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New Mexico State

The 2007 New Mexico State Championship Chili Cookoff is just around the corner. This years event will be held at the Sky City Casino in Acoma, NM, about 50 miles west of Albuquerque. The cooks will be entertained by the music of Pablo Cruise from 11 to 4 and if interested, there will be amateur boxing at the casino in the evening. The prize money is great at this event, so we hope to see you on June 30 at the Sky City Casino, exit 102 on I-40 in New Mexico.

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