LAS VEGAS—In bowling, a 300 game is perfection: 12 balls, all strikes. It’s quite an achievement for even the most accomplished bowler. Steven Deutsch, U-Haul Company of Nevada marketing company president, has done it twice.
“The first three or four strikes aren’t really a big deal,” Deutsch noted. “After the fifth or sixth frame is when things really start to heat up. When you get to the 10th frame, your knees start to get weak, your heart is pounding and you start to wonder if you can finish it off or not. On the 12th ball, after 11 strikes in a row, the ball feels like it weighs 50 pounds.”
Before his first 300 game a couple years ago, Deutsch’s high score was 299.
“I rolled 11 strikes in a row and got a nine on the last ball. I rolled a good ball, hit the pocket, crashed the pins and left the 7 pin standing,” Deutsch not-so-fondly reminisced. “That’s the worst feeling; I wanted to cry.
“When you have a perfect game going,” he continued, “you just hope no one talks to you about it. I’ll never forget during my 299 game, no one had said a word to me, and right before my 12th ball a guy came up and asked if I was going for a 300 game. I’ll never forget that.”
Competition
Deutsch has been bowling in leagues for about 20 years. When asked what he loves about bowling, Deutsch didn’t hesitate.
“The competition,” he stressed. “I enjoy the competition aspect of my team versus your team. There are no individuals; you accomplish everything together as a team. That goes for bowling, as well as U-Haul.”
Speaking of U-Haul, it’s obviously never far from Deutsch’s mind, as evidenced by his answer to how he explains his bowling success.
“A lot of practice and repetition, and the right equipment,” he proclaimed. “Having the right equipment is the key. Just like U-Haul.”
On to the next goal
Despite achieving perfection at the bowling alley—twice—Deutsch isn’t content. He’s already set his sights on the next goal: an 800 series. That’s a three-game stretch in which the total number of pins is 800. Much like when he rolled a 299, Deutsch has come agonizingly close to an 800 series, reaching 796 once. But Deutsch is confident he’ll reach his goal. And in a town known for gambling, it would be unwise to bet against him.
