Natalie Gulbis ‘deals’ mix of golf and blackjack — PHOTOS
Ladies Professional Golf Association's Natalie Gulbis takes a shot while playing "Golf Blackjack" during a grand opening event featuring a new flight deck and custom-fitting lab at TaylorMade Golf Experience Thursday, May 14, 2015, in Las Vegas. Contestants were allowed four shots to hit sectioned-off greens containing large playing cards with the goal of totaling card values to 21. The exclusive event took place on the new west-end flight deck. (Ronda Churchill/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Ladies Professional Golf Association's Natalie Gulbis lines up a shot while playing "Golf Blackjack" during a grand opening event featuring a new flight deck and custom-fitting lab at TaylorMade Golf Experience Thursday, May 14, 2015, in Las Vegas. Contestants were allowed four shots to hit sectioned-off greens containing large playing cards with the goal of totaling card values to 21. The exclusive event took place on the new west-end flight deck. (Ronda Churchill/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Ladies Professional Golf Association's Natalie Gulbis watches her competitor take his turn at "Golf Blackjack" during a grand opening event featuring a new flight deck and custom-fitting lab at TaylorMade Golf Experience Thursday, May 14, 2015, in Las Vegas. Contestants were allowed four shots to hit sectioned-off greens containing large playing cards with the goal of totaling card values to 21. The exclusive event took place on the new west-end flight deck. (Ronda Churchill/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Ladies Professional Golf Association's Natalie Gulbis, left, congratulates opponent Jalen Hodges, of the Coronado High School golf team, after Hodges scores 21 in a game of "Golf Blackjack" during a grand opening event featuring a new flight deck and custom-fitting lab at TaylorMade Golf Experience Thursday, May 14, 2015, in Las Vegas. Contestants were allowed four shots to hit sectioned-off greens containing large playing cards with the goal of totaling card values to 21. The exclusive event took place on the new west-end flight deck. (Ronda Churchill/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Ladies Professional Golf Association's Natalie Gulbis smiles in between playing "Golf Blackjack" during a grand opening event featuring a new flight deck and custom-fitting lab at TaylorMade Golf Experience Thursday, May 14, 2015, in Las Vegas. Contestants were allowed four shots to hit sectioned-off greens containing large playing cards with the goal of totaling card values to 21. The exclusive event took place on the new west-end flight deck. (Ronda Churchill/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Large playing cards are set up for "Golf Blackjack" on the driving range during a grand opening event featuring a new flight deck and custom-fitting lab at TaylorMade Golf Experience Thursday, May 14, 2015, in Las Vegas. Contestants were allowed four shots to hit sectioned-off greens containing large playing cards with the goal of totaling card values to 21. The exclusive event took place on the new west-end flight deck. (Ronda Churchill/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Marcelo Araujo, right, grabs a club near Ladies Professional Golf Association's Natalie Gulbis while playing "Golf Blackjack" during a grand opening event featuring a new flight deck and custom-fitting lab at TaylorMade Golf Experience Thursday, May 14, 2015, in Las Vegas. Contestants were allowed four shots to hit sectioned-off greens containing large playing cards with the goal of totaling card values to 21. The exclusive event took place on the new west-end flight deck. (Ronda Churchill/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Golf and cards make a great combination for a Las Vegas outing. But put the two together, and add LPGA star Natalie Gulbis as the “dealer” and you’ve got something on a different level.
Contestants at “Golf Blackjack” on Thursday night at TaylorMade Golf Experience had four shots to hit 5-foot-tall playing cards positioned 50 to 100 yards away to make their hands.
Gulbis, ranked No. 251 in the world, went head-to-head with about 25 golfers, and beat all but four, according to Kenneth Stauffer, operations manager at TaylorMade Golf Experience.
The big winner of the night was Coronado High School’s Jalen Hodges, who was the only player to score 21, Stauffer said.
Other players to win at blackjack against Gulbis were Gordon Digby, general manager of Las Vegas Country Club, Randy Howe and Brian Blessing.
