BARGE 1996 was held at the Horseshoe. The NL tournament was won by organizer Mike "KidZee" Zimmers. Steve Jacobs won the blackjack tournament, Andy Latto finished second, and Frank Irwin finished third. This is the first year in which a video poker tournament was held, although we have no record of who won the event. The banquet was held at Yollie's, a Brazilian steakhouse on Paradise Blvd.. The speaker was poker author Mike Caro. Because he couldn't be heard in the dining room, the restaurant kindly allowed us to hold our seminar on the roof of the restaurant. Caro gave his talk while quite literally pacing back and forth along the ledge of the roof. This was the first time the BARGE speaker spoke at the banquet. This was the first BARGE for eventual organizer Peter Secor.