It's a big weekend for dart players in Portage la Prairie. The Darts and Stuff tournament is at the Canad Inns Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and five lucky teams will win a trip to Las Vegas Sunday night.

The soft-tip dart tournament starts tonight and is open to the public.

"It starts at 7:30 with the draw doubles," says Darts and Stuff League coordinator Liz Hogan. "That's where you put your name in for $10 and all the boards are on free play, so you don't need any coins. I draw a partner for you and then we do a double elimination playoff. It's really more of a meet-and-greet where everyone comes out and has fun. People come from all over like Melita, Boissevain, Brandon, Winnipeg, Portage, Selkirk, Garson, Arborg, they really come from everywhere."

Saturday starts with singles at 11 a.m. and players are separated into competitive levels. "We do that so people play against their own calibre," outlines Hogan. "Men's and women's singles is at 11, doubles combo and ladies doubles is at 3 p.m. Saturday evening it's mixed doubles at 7:30. That's open to anyone who wants to play, it just costs a bit more if you aren't a regular player. I charged $20 for league players, everyone else plays $30, and everything is on free play all night."

Sunday is the big official competition where the five Vegas trips will be awarded to the winners.

"The winners get a plaque with their picture in it when they win," says Hogan. "The prize money is about $3,200 per team. They play all day from nine in the morning until about nine at night, it can go pretty late Sunday. The round robin is first, then we do a double elimination playoff after that."

Hogan adds they always like to host this event in Portage because there's a strong dart league that struggles to attend when it's held in Winnipeg. "We play to attend a big international tournament in Las Vegas, and a lot of the people don't want to go to Vegas, or can't, so this is like a mini-Vegas for them. It's a lot of fun"

Head down to the Canad Inns in Portage la Prairie for some dart action this weekend.