BULLSEYE: Fifth annual dart tournament hits the mark in the eyes of area’s top players

On Saturday, the Smokehouse Saloon and Silver Spur Salooon hosted the fifth annual Saloon Shootout, a darts tournament started by Pamela and Michael Gorski. The contest has become well-regarded in the run up to the state tournament, not just for good times and healthy competition, but also the community behind it.
The Smokehouse first hosted the Shootout in 2019, drawing several dozen local and regional dart players to the area for a day’s worth of competition. It was conceived as a way to have fun and practice ahead of the Wyoming state competition, set this year for Valentine’s Day weekend in Casper. In the years since, the Gorskis have watched their brain child grow ever-larger with both quiet amazement and pride: along with their family, they still manage all of the organization, promotion, registration, and physical operations on the day of the competition itself. Oh, and somehow, they find time to compete (and win), too.
“Everyone says it’s a really nice tournament,” Pamela Gorski said. “People will tell me how polite and friendly everyone is; [they’ll] put our tournament in their calendars a year in advance. I think that says something about what we’re doing.”
If it doesn’t, then let the numbers do the talking: in 2023, 108 competitors poured into Greybull from across the region, coming from as far away as Casper, Gillette, and Buffalo, up from the year before by almost a dozen. In 2024, that number grew again: 118 darts players competed on Jan. 20, making this year the largest tournament to date, which called for new structures to keep things running like a well-oiled machine: a gold and silver bracket for the men, based on rankings, as well as a women’s division spread across the two bars with competition starting at high noon. The top four winning teams in each division took home cash prizes with $1,000 having been fronted to the pot.
“Ryan Julson [of JulBox Amusement] donated all of the extra boards to us,” Gorski explained, acknowledging that the growth of the tournament has gradually outstripped the number of dart boards ordinarily available at the two locations. “He didn’t even hesitate when we asked; he just wanted to know what we needed and brought it, and we’re very grateful. He was an amazing sponsor and we were so happy to have his support.”
JulBox is just one of several local businesses pitching in a helping hand: Barbie Waits, a darts player who owns the Silver Spur, has been involved since 2021, lending floorspace in her bar’s backroom area to accommodate several teams annually. “It keeps growing every year,” she said. “We saw what tournaments were doing for other areas and went, ‘We need to get on this bandwagon.’
“We had a great turnout [in 2024]. It was really successful and we’re excited to continue the tournament in the future.”
“It gets a little bigger every year,” said Laura Norris, manager of the Yellowstone Motel and a fellow competitor. “This year, [I walked into the Smokehouse and] was like, ‘This is insane.’”
The tournament brought not just crowds, but a welcome wave of business to downtown Greybull during what might ordinarily be a quiet mid-winter weekend: competitors dined at local restaurants, shopped at local stores, and stayed in local hotels. In-between games or following elimination, they went out. “Lisa’s was packed,” Gorski said. “Several of the girls came down in the afternoon and told us they were thankful: they were busy all day Saturday.”
Norris, whose hotel offers discounted rates to travelers coming into town for the tournament, agreed. “It does give us a boost,” she said. “We had around seven or eight people stay with us this year. [January] is normally our downtime and this really helps.”
Jason Rodriguez, of Casper, Wyo., said he returned to Greybull for the second year running because, “It’s fun to play in a little town I normally don’t get to: I try restaurants I normally wouldn’t, see places and things I normally don’t, and people I normally wouldn’t see. I think it’s good for the local economy.
“I help with the state tournament, I do it for a living, and appreciate what they’re doing with this event to draw players to a town like this.”
To Denny Freier, who owns the Smokehouse and is Gorski’s mother, giving back to the community she loves is second nature. “I think it does help the community a lot… it brings people into town. Whether it’s here or the stores, if someone needs to get gas or run to the Co-op, I think it helps. You know, we do a lot here to donate to charities and just like to give back to the community in general. You always gotta give back.”
Freier and her husband, Doug, will be hosting a pool tournament on Feb. 3 at the Smokehouse, Spur, and Los Gabanes Events Center in downtown Greybull, which they expect will bring more business to the community.
It’s this sentiment that runs through the local darts community like a current: commonality, support, and giving back to those around you. From stepping in to offer additional floor space to discounted rooms for competitors to charity pots and donated equipment, it’s a tight-knit group of people with a lot of determination who are making a bit of magic happen on the third weekend of January each year.
“People think darts is just throwing sharp objects at a board,” Gorski said, “but it’s really so much more than that. We stick together. We care about each other. We’re a darts family.”

MEN’S GOLD DIVISION — 1st Place: Michael Gorski and Damon Uleberg; 2nd Place: Byron Gilbert and Donny Ellsworth; 3rd Place: TJ Wilkinson and Joe Espinoza; 4th Place: TJ Blevins and Jason Rodriguez.
MEN’S SILVER DIVISION — 1st Place: Thomas Skovgard and Mike Saldana; 2nd Place: Deanna McGrady and Tom Tysver; 3rd Place: Dino De La Cruz & Carlos De La Cruz; 4th Place: Joe Nichols and Josh Winkler.
WOMEN’S DIVISION — 1st Place: Kayla Parazoo and Megan Murdock; 2nd place: Yvonne Bargeron and Delta Ankeny; 3rd Place: Ana Miller and Whisper Layher; 4th Place: Steffanie Salcido and Pamela Gorski.