More Than a Card Game

How Stephanie Pegues and the 702 Bid Whist Club are keeping a beloved tradition alive while turning cards, connection and community into opportunities for the next generation.

Walk into a gathering of the 702 Bid Whist Club and you’ll find plenty of cards on the tables. But spend a little time with Stephanie Pegues and it quickly becomes apparent that the game is only part of the story.

There is laughter. Competition. Friendship. People checking in on one another. Players who have traveled from other cities and states. There are longtime friendships and new ones being formed. And behind it all is a growing effort to turn a shared love of Bid Whist into something that reaches far beyond the card table.

“We’re just a big family,” Pegues says. For Pegues and the 702 Bid Whist Club, that word, family, comes up again and again.

The Las Vegas group plays regularly throughout the year and hosts its major tournament each October, welcoming players from around the country to Las Vegas. But the organization has also become connected to a larger mission involving scholarships, community support and the nonprofit Divas on the Move. It’s an example of wellness that has nothing to do with supplements, workouts or diets. Sometimes wellness looks like simply having somewhere to belong.

A Game With Generations Behind It

To someone seeing Bid Whist for the first time, it may look like four people simply playing cards. But for generations of players, the table represents something much bigger: family, competition, community and tradition.

Bid Whist is a four-player partnership game built around bidding and winning tricks, traditionally called “books.” Its roots trace back to classic Whist, a centuries-old card game that eventually inspired numerous bidding and trick-taking games. Over time, Bid Whist developed its own identity and became especially popular within African American communities.

Played by two teams of two, the game requires much more than knowing the rules. Skilled players remember which cards have been played, recognize patterns, calculate risk and read the signals of their partner. Strategy, memory, instinct and teamwork all come into play.

But Bid Whist’s significance extends beyond competition. In many Black families and communities, it has long been part of cookouts, family reunions, social clubs and late-night kitchen-table games. Learning to play was often passed from one generation to the next. The game’s history in Black America is also connected through community traditions and oral histories to African American railroad workers, including Pullman porters, who traveled across the country carrying news, stories and cultural traditions between communities.

Whether played around a kitchen table or at a modern tournament, Bid Whist has endured because people continued to pass it down. It is more than a card game, it is a tradition built around strategy, partnership and knowing how to play the hand you are dealt.

Bringing Bid Whist to Las Vegas

Pegues' own connection to cards goes back years. Like many people, she remembers card games simply being part of growing up, whether it was Tonk, Spades or another game being played around the table.

Eventually, that tradition became something much bigger. The 702 Bid Whist Club was established about 10 years ago, here in Las Vegas by Pegues and her late husband, Herman. Today, the local club includes roughly 25 players who gather to play every Thursday, except around holidays. While Las Vegas has its own club, Bid Whist's reach is national.

Players travel from city to city and state to state to participate in tournaments, creating a network of friendships that extends far beyond Nevada. “We adore each other across the nation,” Pegues says. It is one of the things that surprised me most when learning about the Bid Whist community. These aren't simply people meeting occasionally to play cards. They travel together, compete together and show up for one another when life gets difficult.

When Herman passed away in September 2022, Pegues saw exactly how deep those relationships had become. “Everybody showed up,” she recalls. Club members celebrate milestones together. They support one another through loss. And when someone needs them, they are there.

Turning Loss Into Opportunity

Herman's passing also inspired another important chapter in the club's story. Education had been especially important to him, and following his passing, the HPJ Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in his honor. The scholarship supports graduating seniors entering college as first-time freshmen, and Pegues and her team are now working to grow the fund so they can provide even more meaningful financial support to students.

The effort connects with Divas on the Move, which began in 2016, focused on serving women and children through health and wellness. Interestingly, Divas on the Move began much more simply. About a decade ago, Pegues started a private group for women to share their weight loss journeys and various walking challenges.  That simple wellness challenge evolved. “It was just a bunch of women in a group that posted how many steps we got in a day,” Pegues recalls. From there, she says, “that evolved into a sisterhood, and then into a family.”  And in 2022, Peques established the group as a nonprofit, Divas on the Move Community Development Corporation with the purpose of providing educational and charitable projects, programs and services while providing avenues for economic empowerment to underserved women, youth and families. 

Today, proceeds connected with the Bid Whist tournament, raffles and other fundraising efforts help support the nonprofit and scholarship initiative. The organization continues to enhance their fundraising techniques by soliciting sponsorships, continuing raffle sales and hosting their first Fun Run, 5k/10k race next year. 

The Wellness of Being Together

Perhaps one of the most interesting things about the 702 Bid Whist Club is something that isn't measured by a scorecard. It's the social connection. At a time when so much of life happens through screens, Pegues believes there is tremendous value in giving people a reason to leave the house and spend time together in person.

“I'm into the actual social gatherings,” she says. That sense of connection is especially meaningful for people who may live alone or don't otherwise have a strong social network.

The club is looking toward the future as well. Pegues knows that preserving Bid Whist means teaching another generation how to play. “As we age out, we need our kids, and grandkids to step in,” she says. To help make that happen, the group is beginning monthly training sessions designed to introduce new players to the game. Pegues also sees those sessions as an opportunity for people who may simply need somewhere to go and people to connect with.

“We have a lot of people that are here alone,” she says. “They need an outing.” That may be one of the most compelling arguments for keeping traditions like Bid Whist alive. Yes, players are learning a card game. But they're also sitting across a table from another human being. They're talking, laughing, thinking, competing, and most importantly, belonging.

A Las Vegas Home for the Game

The 702 Bid Whist Club's regular games are held at Mariposa Cocina & Cocktails on South Decatur Boulevard, which provides space for the group. In return, club members make a point of supporting the establishment by ordering food and drinks when they gather. 

It's another small example of the philosophy Pegues brings to the organization: community supporting community. “It works,” she says. “It's beneficial.”

Las Vegas Takes the Table This October

The club's biggest gathering of the year happens during the fourth weekend of October, when the 702 Bid Whist Club hosts its annual Las Vegas tournament.

This year's tournament will be held at the Rio Hotel & Casino, bringing players from around the country to Las Vegas for several days of cards, competition and camaraderie. Pegues describes the larger gathering as essentially a four-day affair. Unlike a casual neighborhood card game, players compete for prizes and medals, and the event has developed into a destination for members of the wider Bid Whist community.

The 2026 player roster is already set and preregistration has closed, so readers discovering the tournament through this article won't be able to enter this year's competition. But Pegues hopes increased awareness will encourage people to get involved with the club, support its scholarship efforts, become sponsors and, perhaps most importantly, put next year's tournament on their calendars.

Because the tournament returns on the same weekend each October, the organization sees an opportunity to continue building Las Vegas into an annual gathering place for Bid Whist players nationwide. And really, what better city for it?

Keeping the Tradition Moving Forward

For Pegues, growth isn't simply about creating a larger tournament. It's about protecting something worth keeping. The cards provide the reason to gather, but the relationships are what keep people coming back.

That's why the 702 Bid Whist Club is looking for new players. It's why Pegues wants younger generations to learn the game. It's why the organization is pursuing sponsors and expanding its scholarship fund. And it's why a Facebook walking group that began with women posting their daily steps could eventually become part of something touching students, families, businesses and card players from across the country.

About Divas on the Move – Pretty Girls Rock

Founded by Stephanie Pegues, Divas on the Move – Pretty Girls Rock began as a way to challenge women to walk more and has grown into a supportive sisterhood of women from across the country.

Members encourage one another to live healthier, more active lives while providing accountability, friendship and support through both life’s successes and challenges. The group works toward a goal of 125 miles of exercise each month, through walking, biking, swimming or other activities, while staying connected through regular posts and encouragement.

More than a fitness group, Divas on the Move has become a community where women can be themselves, celebrate progress, share struggles and motivate one another to keep going. In addition to Divas on the Move, Pegues facilitates a second social group at the pool. They meet twice a week for water aerobics and then take to the streets for cardio 2-3 times a week. This group has also evolved into much more than just exercise. They have become a family that meets for birthdays, anniversaries, and special occasions.

Teamwork makes the dream work, and these Divas keep moving together.