The 1997 BARGE was also held at the Horseshoe. Steve Brecher won the NL tournament, which had 166 entries. John Reeves finished second, and Steve Russel finished third. 18 places were paid. Barry Tanenbaum won the blackjack event. The first BARGE wedding (Kfish and Ratly) was held at BARGE 1997. It was officiated by Arnold "The Bishop" Snyder, reverend of the First Church of Blackjack. Snyder was also the speaker at the banquet, held for the first time at the Golden Nugget. This year was also the first year that Chowaha was played in a licensed casino. 1997 was also the year of the David Sklansky BARGE Charity Freeze Out.