Rackem Magazine July Issue 2012

Kelly Fisher World 9-Ball Champion

VNEA Vegas Team Results

A ll is o n Fi s h er B a c k -2 -B a c k W PB A U .S . O pe n

Lu cky’ s Vegas Vacati on

Ask the Viper Atlas Billiard Supply BCAPL/CSI/USAPL Behind the Rock Tour Billiard Education Foundation C R Sports Bar CueStix Int’l Farmington Billiards Hawley’s.com McDermott Cue Mike Massey Monk, The Mueller OTBnTV Live ProPool.com Q-Spot Red Shoes Billiards Bar & Grill Sharky’s TAP Tiger Products Varsity Club

6

5

13

9 WPBA U.S. Open 14 VNEA Juniors 10 U.S. Open 10-Ball

18 Men’s World 9-Ball 19 Women’s World 9-Ball 20 VNEA Nationals

FEATURES

Sep 7-8-9 from Fargo, ND

Big Sky Challenge Watch on www.OTBnTV.com ustream.tv/channel/otbntv-live www.facebook.com/otbntv

Sponsored by: www.tigerproducts.com

PLACES PEOPLE PLAY

$10,000 Winner Take All Team Montana vs. Team North Dakota 10-Ball Scotch Doubles 8-Ball Doubles 8 & 9-Ball Singles

16 23 27 22 13 18 28 18 18 2 17 12 3 3,26 25 12 22 18 8 4,26 25

POOL ON TV All times are Central time.

07/14/2012 11:00 AM-3:00 PM

WPBA US Open

(Quarterfinals)

07/15/2012 12:00 PM-3:00 PM

WPBA US Open

(Semifinals & Finals) These schedules have been provided by ESPN. These are tentative dates and are subject to change

Contact us at:

Rackem P.O. Box 100 Three Forks, MT 59752 Phone 1-406-285-3099 Fax 1-406-285-3098 pool@onthebreaknews.com www.RackemMag.com

Fi sh er Al li so n k ac Ba ck -2 -B Op en W PB A U. S.

r F is h e K e ll y 9 -B a ll W o r ld io n p Cham

NEA Ve

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ults CoverVT ePhoto Courtesy of: am Res Teresa Steinhaus

RACKEM STAFF PUBLISHER/EDITOR Don “Cheese” Akerlow

MARKETING DIRECTOR Mary Akerlow

LAYOUTS & DESIGN Erica Senf

Mary Akerlow Don Akerlow

DEADLINE:

25th of each Month - CALL IF LATE

Don “Cheese” Akerlow

Contents

ABOUT US

Rackem is a monthly publication, dedicated to the advancement of the sport of pool and to promoting enthusiasm and encouragement among the Publisher players at all levels, regardless of their league affiliation, in addition to recognizing those businesses who support them all. Covering the midwest. Look for Rackem by the 10th of each month.

The opinions expressed are those of the author or advertiser and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rackem or its staff. We reserve the right to edit or reject any material submitted for publication. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher. © 2012 Rackem

July 2012 - Rackem Magazine 3

4 Rackem Magazine - April 2012

Elmer “Junior” Jueco 1st Place

Sonny “The Boss” Bossham 2nd Place

JUECO Wins First Poison Tour Title

The Poison by Predator tour held its third stop of the year The Poison by Predator Tour would like to thank its exclusive venue host, Bogies Billiards and Games. Referee services were provided on June 2, 2012 at Bogies Billiards in Houston, Texas. Bogies added a

by BCA’s own Derrell Montgomery. Racks were provided by Delta-13 generous $1,000 to the players’ purse for the one-day, 9-ball event that paid out in excess of $3,500. The field consisted of 38 “b” players which and measle cue balls compliments of Gulf Coast Billiards. Also, congratulations to Brittany McCombs who won the Poison Strychnine included tour regulars Brent Thomas, Victor Rojas, Brian Rosenbaum, Valian Charles, Mark Fusina, Danny Lee, Anthony Demetro, and many cue raffle.

The next Poison by Predator Tour 9-ball event is November 3rd and more! will be open to ANY and ALL amateurs who wish to participate! No Match play began at approximately 2pm following the player qualification necessary! auction. The swift races to 6, winner break format, produced numerous Want to take your game to the next level? Visit www.poisonbilliards. upsets throughout the day and into the evening. Brent Thomas took an com or www.predatorcues.com then call 713.825.1411 to place your early 6-5 hit from newcomer David Mendiola while Chris Penry upset order with Kim White, Authorized Predator/Poison Dealer. tour regular Sonny Demetro. Mickey Woinicki ousted former champ Sonny “The Boss” Bosshamer 6-1 and Junior Jueco slid by Victor Rojas 6-4 to meet one another for the hot seat match.

FINISHES Rojas and Chauncey were defeated on the one1st Junior Jueco $600/$575 loss side by Demetro and Bosshamer respectively 2nd Sonny Bosshamer $390/$390 while Jueco secured the hot seat 6-1. Bosshamer 3rd Mickey Woinicki $250/$225 punished Demetro and Woinicki to meet Jueco in 4th Sonny Demetro $200/$125 the true double elimination final. Bosshamer took 5th-6th Victor Rojas, Jeff Chauncey $125/$67.50 the first set 6-2 but lost his focus in overtime.

7th-8th Chris Penry, David Mendiola $100 ea.

Jueco ended the battle, 6-4, securing his first Poison Tour victory!

9th-12th Anthony Demetro,Val Charles, Noel Morin, Danny Lee $62.50

July 2012 - Rackem Magazine 5

Missing Photos Found!

Teams Wrap Up

(reprinted from the June 2012 issue) - Photos courtesy of Fred Stoll-FilmlessArt.com

Las Vegas, NV. - May 25, 2012 – The 36th BCAPL National Championships concluded with the team competitions. The 11 day event which has been called “the Greatest Pool Tournament in the World” was held May 9-20 at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. There were 930 teams competing across eight team divisions.

The largest team division was the Mixed Open Team. With $12,500 awarded to the top finisher, play was highly competitive, and with 680 teams this group was also about endurance. Team McDermott from Wisconsin, after a first round bye, won their next eight matches to be relegated to the one loss side by Dick’s Picks

1ST - TEAM MCDERMOTT (WI)

1ST - HOW’S MY RACK (TX)

6 Rackem Magazine - July 2012

from Nevada. However, they heaped their revenge two matches later when they came back to double dip Dick’s Picks in the finals 13-9 and 13-11. In an emotion filled Women’s Open Team final late in the last night of the competition, Texas team How’s My Rack screamed for joy as they outlasted 123 other women’s open teams to take the $3,600 first place prize.

The Mixed Advanced Team division, which is comprised of more advanced to master level players, had 22 teams and was a race to 11. After an early loss in the third round, the Taiwan Typhoon from Taiwan won their next five matches on the one loss side to face Night Magic from Alberta, Canada. The typhoon blew the magic out of the Canadians double dipping them in the final 11-4 then 11-9 to take the $4,000 first place check. The Women’s Advanced / Master team had some well known teams and some new faces in the group. In this division another women’s team from Texas was in the finals as was the case with the Women’s Open Team division. The Nothin’ But Trouble ladies from Texas took on Smokin’ Eights from Las Vegas, a team new to this division. Again Texas women were the victors.

Two divisions which is always popular is the Mixed Trophy Team. This year saw 90 teams compete in this popular division. The West Coast Pirates from British Columbia, Canada, lived up to their name and pillaged their opponents throughout the competition. Only the Crown Unchampions, who came from the one loss side to the finals showed signs of pelting the pirate crew. But in set two, the Canadian team fought back to win. The Women’s Trophy Team was decisively won by the Queen B’s from Kentucky although Crown Ball Busters from California worked hard to de-thrown the “Queens” they fell short with the team from the blue grass state taking home 1st place.

On the last day of the event, 55 teams regrouped to compete in the one day 9-Ball Team compitition. 2011 Men’s Mixed Master 8-Ball 2nd place finishers, Who Needs a Billiards Coach? from Minnesota won this year’s Mixed 9-Ball Team division. Once in a Mil from Iowa defeated Short ‘n Surly from California to win the Women’s 9-Ball division.

As this year’s event wound down and the approximate 300 Diamond tables were loaded back onto the trucks to return another day, talk of the 2013 was on

1ST - WHO NEEDS A BILLIARD COACH (MN)

many player’s lips about getting ready for the 37th BCAPL National Championships at its new home, the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino.

To view online all of the brackets for the 36th BCAPL National Championships, the 2nd USAPL National Championships, the 13th US Open One Pocket Championship and the 4th US Open 10-Ball Championship, visit the CueSports Tournament System at www.ctsondemand.com. You may search by player or team name or can view by division or tournament.

For more information about the BCAPL visit www.playbca.com.

CueSports International (CSI) is dedicated to creating more choices for all players. In the past seven years CSI has directly paid out approximately Seven Million Dollars to players. CSI is the parent company of the BCA Pool League and the USA Pool League.

CSI also produces independent events such as the US Bar Table Championships, the Jay Swanson Memorial, the US Open One Pocket Championship and the US Open 10-Ball Championship. Visit www.playcsipool. com, www.playbca.com and www.playusapool.com for more information about CSI and its divisions.

CSI leads the billiard industry in the development of technology. For more information on the state-ofthe-art software systems for league and tournament management visit www.leaguesys.net and www.

ctsondemand.com.

Quotes from the HOW’S MY RACK? team: From Monica Anderson: “The team, that I had the pleasure of playing with to win the 2012 BCAPL Women’s Open Team National Championship, was strong in spirit, heart, fun and playing abilities---bar none. The team was a stellar Texas roundup of women that all have proven to be champions on and off the table and it was an experience I will never forget!”

From Connie Svoboda: “This was the most awesome win I’ve ever experienced and it was with the most awesome team of ladies!!!”

From Jennifer Pavlovick: “Achieving a national title is a very sweet feeling and I’m extremely proud 2ND - DICKS PICKS (NV) to have been a part of this team. Anyone who’s ever played at nationals knows that the team event can be quite grueling but that wasn’t the case playing with my teammates. For 4 straight days we were focused, supportive, and playing some pretty sporty pool. It was a tournament dream that ended with a real trophy and great memories. “ From Lisa Dawson: “Winning was great but the friends I made are forever going to change my life.”

From Melinda Bailey: “To win a National Championship is truly a dream come true! Truly. I almost can’t put into words how much this means to me. And to win the event with an amazing group of friends, was icing on the cake! “

2ND - MONSTERS INC (IL)

3RD - LITTLE ROCK CONNECTION (AR)

2ND - SMOKIN EIGHTS (NV)

2ND - SHORTN SURLY (CA)

3RD - SHOTZ FOR 5 (TX)

3RD - PF CHANGS WARRIORS (AZ)

2ND - TEXAS SHOOTERS (TX)

July May2012 2012- -Rackem RackemMagazine Magazine 77

8 Rackem Magazine - June 2012

Fisher REPEATS WPBA U.S. OPEN CHAMPION

TULSA, OK - Gerda Hofstatter won the opening lag and break, pocketing the six and playing safe. Fisher missed the kick and with ball in hand, Gerda ran the rack to lead 1-0, but lost the safety battle in the next rack to give Allison her first game. Gerda got back to the table in game three, but Gerda missed a tough 8, leaving Allison a bank on the eight and an easy nine to pull ahead 2-1.

In rack four, Gerda made a classic two ball shot, only to be called a foul. She protested the call and officials reviewed on the ESPN cameras and the call was reversed! She then proceeded to make a brilliant run-out to tie the match 2-2.

The match tied again at 3-3, but then Allison took advantage of a foul and a 3-9 combo to lead 4-3, followed by a break and run to take the first two game lead in the match 5-3. In the ninth rack she won an early safety battle and ran out from the two ball to get to the hill 6-3.

In the final rack, Allison had a dry break but Gerda missed a long cut on the 2. Allison was hooked, kicked to safe. Gerda left a shot though and Allison ran out to win her record 6th US Open title!

The quarter final, semi final and final matches of the WPBA US Open 9-Ball Championships will be broadcast by ESPN in seven one-hour national shows, airing Saturday, July 14, (Quarterfinals 12-4pm on ESPN2) and Sunday, July 15, (Semifinals/Final 1-4pm on ESPN2).

Fans and media view all final results at http://www.wpba.com/images/stories/ brackets/2012_us_open.pdf.

Thanks for a great week at the River Spirit Event Center, adjacent to the River Spirit Casino at 81st and Riverside in Tulsa!

Champ

ion - A

About the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA) The WPBA was established in 1976 as the Women's Professional Billiard Alliance, and celebrates its 35th anniversary in 2011 as the oldest pro player organization in the sport. The WPBA sanctions and produces the Women's Pro Billiard Tour, which features ESPN-televised events with the world's greatest women players.

Visit www.wpba.com for more. The WPBA Classic Tour is sponsored by Diamond Billiards, Iwan Simonis cloth, Delta 13, Pooldawg and Aramith balls.

About River Spirit Casino and Event Center River Spirit Casino, Tulsa's $195 million casino project at 81st & Riverside, showcases 300,000 square feet of gaming space and is one of the largest gaming floors in Oklahoma. With over 2,600 high-tech electronic machines, 23 table games and 15 poker tables, River Spirit Casino offers the most current technology and latest games available. The facility features four dining and beverage venues including the largest casino buffet in Oklahoma, a steakhouse, a 24-hour cafĂŠ, a lounge and a sports bar. The newly renovated River Spirit Event Center is located at the site of the former Creek Nation Casino - Tulsa at 81st and Riverside Drive. The venue has nearly 20,000 sq. ft of useable space for sporting events, entertainment, conventions and meetings and all amenities.

For more information on River Spirit Casino visit www.riverspirittulsa.com.

llison F

isher

1st 2nd 3/4 5/8 9/12 13/16

Runner-U

photo by:

p - Gerda

Hofstatter

$10,000 $5,500 $3,000 $1,800 $1,300 $1,000

Allison Fisher Gerda Hofstatter Jeanette Lee, Monica Webb Helena Thornfeldt, Brittany Bryant, Line Kjorsvik, Mary Rakin Melissa Herndon, Kim Shaw, Jennifer Barretta, Jennifer Chen Jana Montour, Teruko Cucculelli, Angelina Paglia, Vivian Villarreal

Lee e t t e n a e J lace -

Third P

e Smith

Suzann photo by:

ith

m Suzanne S

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Fourth P

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July 2012 - Rackem Magazine 9

ROCK BEHIND THE

TOUR

Lee “Lightning” Brett and Jing Gicoso set new tour records last month. Lee Brett posted a new tour record for Behind the Rock Tour for high score previously set by Tommy Najar back in September of 2011.

Najar’s record was a solid 139 with 5 Snap games, 2 consecutive Snap games, 1 COE and 1 Cut game. Brett crushed Najar’s match statistics with 7 Snap games LEE “LIGHTNING” BRETT and 1 COE for a score of 154. If you’ve never played the game 211 before let me tell you these scores are a feat to be reckoned with.

Lee Brett comes to us from Liverpool. He was an outstanding snooker player in Europe and is now making his name in the USA playing pool. The name “Lightning” was given to him for his rapid and deadly accurate play. Lee is also a coach and trainer with a published DVD and instructional book. BTRT is now selling his DVD and book on the website at www.behindtherocktour.com on the Store/merchandise page if you want to learn more about his unique technique that enabled him to set this world record playing 211.

Jing Gicoso set a new record for highest points scored in one game of 21 points. This is Jing’s second time in the tour title page. He also has tied the tour record for 3 consecutive Cut games. You can view all the tour records on the website www.behindtherocktour.com. What does all this mean?

In “211” player’s play 11 games of 10 ball vs. The Ghost which means players break, take ball-in-hand and run balls in rotation until they foul, miss or run-out.

Every ball pocketed scores one point. A Snap, Cut and COE defines they type of run-out a player had. A Snap simply means at least one ball was made on the break and the player ran out. A Cut means the player did not make a ball on the break, took ball-in-hand and ran out, and a COE means in the game following the Cut game he/she did not take ball-in-hand after the break. Brett had a total of 8 break and run games out of 12 games (if you break and run in your 11th game you shoot a 12th game to finish scoring the 11th game). This extraordinary performance by Lee Brett should inspire all players, pro’s and amateurs alike.

Behind The Rock Tour (BTRT) is designed to inspire players to improve their games. The format forces players to take a real look at their skill level. It helps to identify problem skills, highlight personal great performances and it teaches everyone how important the break shot is regardless of the game.

BTRT is designed for all skill levels using a 90% true handicapping system.

What this handicapping system does is it let’s not the best player win, but players that have a personal high performance. This system starts all players at the same level each week at their individual average and it’s the player that plays above their average that is rewarded. BTRT just opened the Advanced and Advanced Scratch division which makes 5 divisions for players to play from: 2 scratch divisions for players just getting started and establishing their averages, Intermediate - 0-30 points (less than three balls per game), the Open division is 30-70 points (players will run an average of 3-7 balls per game or maybe slip in a Snap or Cut game along the way), the Advanced division are players who shoot a 70 and above for players who can consistently break and run 2-5 racks out of 11 games. All players start in a scratch division for 6 matches to establish an average and then are 10 Rackem Magazine - July 2012

JING GICOSO

moved to a division according to skill level and assigned a handicap.

This is a weekly combined national tournament that can be played out of any participating pool room. This is a tournament so players are not required to play every week, however players can play multiple matches a week if they choose.

A new tournament starts every Sunday and closes every Saturday night. Every division pays a third of the field and is paid out every week. Tri-annual events are every 4 months with the next event scheduled for Aug. 4-5. All rooms will play simultaneously starting at 10:00am PDST from their local room. Two rounds are played and matches are uploaded to the website www.behindtherocktour.com, winners of round 1 are calculated and the top 75% of the field move to the Sudden death round. Sudden death is one match, it’s uploaded and the top one third of the field goes to the finals on Sunday for 2 matches. This is a very exciting event. As matches are completed they are uploaded to the website so players can see on the west coast what scores are coming in on the east coast (and vice/versa). To qualify for the tri-annual events, players need to have played 11 matches during the previous 4 months.

If you’d like to play, talk to your local pool room owner and contact us at 253-226-3594 or info@behindtherocktour.com and let’s get you playing.

Congratulations Lee Brett and Jing Gicoso on your new World Records in the Behind the Rock Tour’s 211 Tournament! - See ad page 22

COLUMNIST

San Francisco Billiard Academy www.sfbilliards.com

Bob Jewett

San Francisco Billiard Academy is a BCA Certified Master Academy.

The academy offers: Private Instruction Basics Clinic Eight Ball Clinic Nine Ball Clinic Introduction to Billiard Instruction BCA Recognized Instructor Course BCA Certified Instructor Course

Bob Jewett T h e 1-2-3 I’m a firm believer that trying new games can quickly improve your pool skills. The new techniques and strategies involved in a new set of rules will broaden the situations and shots that you are comfortable with. There are few things sadder than an “eight ball player” who doesn’t want to try nine ball or 14.1 for fear that it will take away from his perfection at eight ball. Just the opposite is true -- nine ball will sharpen tough shot skills and 14.1 will improve pattern play.

Carl Sandstrom is pool fanatic who seems to spend all his spare time thinking up new games to play. His “1-2-3” game is particularly designed to help with your pattern play. It is intended as a single-player practice game but you can compete for high score.

The game starts as shown with the 1, 2 and 3 in front and the 7 stripes behind in the same shape as for 10 ball. Smash the balls open. Anything made on the break spots up, and you take ball in hand.

The goal is to make the 1, 2 and 3 in order, but you have to make some stripes before you can pocket the low balls. You must make three stripes before the 1 and two before each of the 2 and 3. (This is similar to snooker, where you have to pocket red balls before you can go for higher-valued “colours”.)

Scoring is by the number on each low ball, so a total of 6 points (1+2+3) is available per rack. The stripes are not worth anything. Any foul or miss ends the rack.

You are not required to hit balls in order, so it is OK to play a stripe-1 combination when it is time to play the 1 ball.

Balls spot when needed so that you can always complete a proper stripes/low ball sequence. That means that any ball made on the break spots up. To keep the table more open when spotting multiple balls, use the foot spot for the first ball, the center spot (between the side pockets) for the second ball and the head spot for the last ball. Also, if you make, for example, a low ball when playing a stripe, the low ball spots up immediately.

Similarly, if you make a stripe when pocketing a low ball in its proper turn, the stripe spots up so you will have 2 stripes available before the next low ball.

This game will teach you how to get through a run out. Since you are playing alone for score, there is no safety play. Figure out from the very first shot how you are going to solve any problems on the table. If there is a cluster of balls, get to it while there are still plenty of options. Try to have everything open by the time you shoot the 1 ball.

Game

For pattern situations, I like the way pool writer Larry Schwartz puts it. Think of the stripes as your “soldiers” who need to help you with the tasks at hand. Don’t just kill them without purpose. Too many eight ball players go through the early part of the rack pocketing their loose soldiers and then wonder why there is no one to help break up clusters or get position on the eight ball.

For several other new games, visit Carl’s web site at sites. google.com/site/poolandbilliard/.

July 2012 - Rackem Magazine 11

COLUMNIST

The Monk

ARE YOU ONE OF THOSE PLATEAU PLAYERS? Tim Miller

This is not a feel good program. This is the real deal. You will be working with the monk for over four months. You will be working step by step to build the skills at nine ball that your opponent does not have. You will master the important moves this game calls for.

You will become a master nine ball player and play better nine ball than you have every played this game before.

May all the rolls go your way, The Monk

CALL THE MONK TODAY 1-603-566-6229

There are players who maintain the same winning percentage year after year and wonder what they need to do to break through to the next level. The problem with these players is that they keep trying to solve tomorrow’s problems with today’s line of thinking. If you have reached the Plateau experience you need to make some inner game changes. In other words, you have to change the way you think for it is this thinking that has you stuck in the plateau experience.

The plateau type of player comes to me more often than any other pool player. They are sick of the same old thing year after year. Many of them have tried other instructors with no real progress.

We often have breakfast before we start our two day session and it is at this time I talk about building a mind set. You must have a specific set of values before you can realize progress in this game. A value is what drives us. Without a purpose we are floating around like a man who is treading water. I go over his purpose to make sure it is measurable and easy to understand.

Our minds always move towards our values so we must establish a strong set of values. Have you ever heard a pool player say, “If that was for money I would not have missed that shot”? Or you hear the player say he cannot play well unless it is for money. There are players who cannot play for money and must play this game socially. Our values drive us so we need a clear understanding of what they are. Have you ever complained that you can’t play well when you are competing against a lesser player? But if you play that same person for a hundred dollars you would play much better. It is the same lesser player, different

performance. The money in the second example was your value. You did not care about the guy you were playing. You only cared about winning.

I spent the last year working on a new book. In this book I teach how to develop a strong value and how to design your training to reach that goal. This is a book about the golfer. I teach a principle that we advance the ball in accordance to the club we have in our hand which means we do not over swing a club to get ten more yards. The same applies to pool. We shoot the shot as it presents itself on the table. I don’t want to lean over the table for a shot I think I am going to miss. If it is a tough low percentage shot I will always tell myself I have a chance to succeed if I try real hard. In other words, give one hundred per cent and let the results be whatever they are. This technique of recognizing the value of the shot in front of you is taught in my Road Players Nine Ball training series. I have run so many tables with this thought.

If you fall out of the boat and stay afloat so you can breathe you will be happy for a little while. Then it dawns on you that you will have to swim to shore. You will need to know which direction to swim. Then you need to get started with the idea that you will reach shore soon.

This is the plateau experience. You are treading water.

In order to reach the shore you will have to make an effort. And that effort is found within your values.

Define your values and design your training to bring you to the goals. I will look for you in the winner’s circle.

6149 E 31st St Tulsa, OK

918-779-6204

Hours: Sun 2-10 pm Mon-Thurs 12-2am Fri-Sat 12-1am

FAMILY BILLIARDS ROOM PRO SHOP - CUE REPAIR CUES - CASES - SUPPLIES http://www.monkbilliardacademy.net/9-balltrainongprogram.html

12 Rackem Magazine - July 2012

JUNIOR PLAYER PROFILE

CHAD BEHNKE

NAME: Chad Behnke DATE: 2/1/12 HOME TOWN: Farley, Ia BIRTH DATE: 6/5/95 NICKNAME: Cheddar SCHOOL YOU CURRENTLY ATTEND: Western Dubuque High School GRADE: 11 FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: History AT WHAT AGE DID YOU START PLAYING POOL? 5 TITLES/HIGH FINISHES: 2012 Acs Midwest 8-Ball Masters Champion 2011 Acs Midwest 8-Ball Masters Champion 2009 Iowa State Champion 2007 Iowa State Champion 2006 Super Billiards Expo 8-Ball Champion, 14 & Under Division WHAT KIND OF CUE(S) DO YOU USE? Schon, Predator Air LEFT OR RIGHT HANDED: Right SPONSORS: Cuesports International (Csi) FAVORITE BAND/MUSIC: Wiz Khalifa HOBBIES: Snowboarding

FAVORITE FOOD: Tacos REAL-WORLD HERO: My Dad GOALS (PERSONAL AND/OR CAREER): Attend A 4 Year University

JUNIOR BILLIARDS...

PLAY. SPONSOR. GET INVOLVED WWW.BILLIARDEDUCATION.ORG

July 2012 - Rackem Magazine 13

VNEA’s 22nd Annual

International Junior Pool Championships!

If you weren’t there... here’s a taste of what you missed.

• 300 excited junior pool league players from 10 States & Ontario, Canada • Matches on 80 Valley Pool Tables • Competition in 15 unique divisions • Players representing 23 VNEA Charter Holder Members • A fabulous Team Opening Ceremonies which featured a colorful Parade of Flags, Singles Awards Presentation and many dignitaries.

• Artistic Pool Competition featuring “Dr. Popper” Mark Dimick.

• Personal Professional Instruction by Jerry Briesath.

• Jerry Briesath “Sportsmanship Award” • Dick Hawkins “All-Star Teams” • Every team had matching uniforms.

• A Fun-filled Players Reception including free Pizza & Pop. • Tournament Sponsors...

- Valley - VVS - Pechauer - Charter Holders - Mueller Sporting Goods - GW Cue Collection - Tom’s Q-Stix • 200 juniors participated in 3 divisions of Scotch Doubles competition.

• Team Hardluck Competition.

• 29 separate Mini-Tournaments were held with the winners receiving GW Cues (donated by Valley) and runner-ups receiving Cue Cases.

• Thousands of dollars in Savings Bonds were awarded to the winners along with beautiful cues and cases And this is surely just a taste of everything that took place!

Stay tuned to VNEA.com for the complete press release.

22nd Annual SPONSORS VALLEY mini-tournament cuesticks and other numerous contributions

PECHAUER TOM’S Q-STIX scotch dbls./mini-tr. cuesticks

VVS set-up/tear down event staff

MUELLER SPORTING GOODS team packet giveaways

GW CUE COLLECTION winners cuesticks

CHARTER HOLDERS & PARENTS weekly league involvement

14 Rackem Magazine - July 2012

MAJORS TEAM CHAMPION

Shooters - North

MINORS TEAM CHAMPION

VVS Wolf Pack

YOUTH TEAM CHAMPION

American Amusement Arcade

VVS

Triple Trouble C & N Sales

1

2

4

5

6

8

3

7

9

10

1. Youth Teams 1st - 3rd

5. 2012 Youth Male Singles

8. Youth Doubles 1st & 2nd

Triple Trouble, Break N Run, Fantom Cue Kids

Spencer Medel, Brandon Vanoverbeke, Colben Christensen, Nicolas Ridley

Brandon Vanoverbeke, Tristan Hansen, Nick Ridley, Spencer Medel

1st place Minor Division Singles

3. Youth Speed Pool

Austen Warner, Tyler Steihaus, Scott Jaycox, Zach Baker

7. 2012 Majors Males Singles

Chandra Campion, Emily Skrutsky, Deanne Keim, Ashton Rowley

1st place Tristan Hansen

Larry Simmons Jr, Cale Coffey, Nathan Mindham, Taylor Anderson

Taylor Hansen, April Larson, Hailey Fullerton, Selena Aranda

2. Tyler Steinhaus

4. 2012 Minor Males Singles

6. Minor Scotch Doubles

9. 2012 Major Females Singles

10. 2012 Youth Females Singles

Tyler Steinhaus, David Moyer, Austen Warner

July 2012 - Rackem Magazine 15

“The“The Viper” Viper” More Facebook Questions to

Questions

Shane/New Iberia, LA In 8-ball what is better, to break from the rail or in the box??

Viper: Shane, I play so much 9-ball using the Magic rack that I am very used to breaking the balls from the rail. So, naturally I start off from there but if I find that I am not making balls on the break then I start moving my cue ball towards the center of the table to try and find the tables sweet-spot.

Although, in 8-ball I break using the “Second-ball cut break”, in which I use a little inside-draw striking the second ball of the rack with medium speed. Be careful not to scratch. No matter what though, before your match its important to not just practice running balls but to also include practicing the break to find the best spot to break from during your match.

Melissa Little

Melissa “The Viper” Little has been a WPBA Touring Professional for over 10-years, she has represented the USA in Four WPA World Championships and has over 20 top-10 WPBA career finishes.

Melissa is currently the housepro at the Wynkoop Brewing Company located in Downtown Denver. She teaches monthly clinics, gives private lessons, and has created a juniors program that promotes billiards education to the local youth.

For more information about Melissa please visit: www.melissalittle.com Read more articles

by Melissa Little at www.onthebreaknews.com

Hector Otani/San Antonio, TX Does working out, as in weights or biking affect your stroke?

Viper: Hector, I can’t answer for all pros but when I was younger I hired a personal trainer that did not know that I played professional pool for a living. He had me working out with weights three-times a week and after a while I noticed that I was muscling the ball around the table like I was the incredible Hulk! It was funny at the time but I had to learn the hard way and immediately stopped!

Later in the my career, I met a personal trainer at the Denver Athletic Club, while being the house pro there, who really helped me develop a workout routine built just for me as a pool player. He had me doing a lot of cardio and most of all he got me into Yoga/Palate classes. These classes really helped with me with the mental part of the game as well, so I defiantly suggest going to your local gym and trying one of these classes out!

Morne Du Toit/Lichtenburg, North-West, South Africa Is there a way to break 'properly' @ if there, is how is it done?

Viper: Morne, what’s important about the break is pocketing a ball and controlling the cue ball. Your cue ball never lies it always tells the truth! So if you have a powerfully strong break and pocket three balls but lose

16 Rackem Magazine - July 2012

control of your cue ball by scratching then you obviously need to work on better control.

If you control your cue ball and never pocket a ball then you need to move your cue ball around until you do pocket a ball on the break. And most of all, what helped me with my break was by reading/watching a books/DVD called “Racking Secrets” by pro player Joe Tucker. Go to his website: www.joetucker.net for more details and he even has some free videos that might help out.

Jimneezy Johnson/Vallejo, CA How can one master the use of inside English?

Viper: Jimneezy, when I teach my classes I explain to my students that any English is like the dark side of pool…lol! It’s very difficult to apply, use, and master.

Let me share a little secret about position, the only reason why you should apply English is to create something that does not exist and that is a natural angle! In the fantasy world of playing perfect pool, it’s best to always leave yourself a natural angle for your next shot!

But in the real world of pool that doesn’t always happen…If your straight in on a shot and need to get position on a ball that is on the opposite side of the table then you would need to use right-hand English to get the ball to travel to the right.

Just an FYI, to me by using topspin, center or draw is not really using English because you’re on a straightline access. I imagine using a clock system for applying English. For example, looking at the cue ball 1 PM-5 PM is used as right-hand English and 7 PM-11 PM is used for applying left-hand English. And just a rule of thumb, most of the time your only using the circumference size of a nickel to apply English on the cue ball.

On top of this basic information there are tons of free videos on YOUTUBE and multiple books out there that can help explain English in more depth.

Keep the questions coming… email them to me at Melissa@melissalittle.com or join my Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/wpbaviper

Till nex

r e p i V , h t mont

COLUMNIST

Mike Massey

Rapid Fire Wing Shots

When preparing for this shot, place six additional object balls where shown. You must roll the object ball into the target zone by hand and shoot it into Pocket F while it is rolling down the table. The cue ball must be shot from behind Line X. I prefer to place the cue ball after letting go of the object ball because I feel this improves my rhythm. You can, however, have the cue ball in place prior to rolling the object ball or you can place it after letting go of the object ball.

Mike Massey

Nine time World Champion, Mike Massey is considered pool’s best trick shot artist. He was voted the “Best in History” and is a member of the BCA Hall of Fame.

Mike’s most amazing accomplishments were in two 24 hour poolathons. In one he pocketed 8,090 balls playing with one arm. In the other poolathon he ran 330 racks of 9-ball in Austria on live TV. Mike has consulted or appeared in the movies, “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia”, “The Baron and the Kid”, “Justice”, “Chalk”, and “Pool Hall Junkies” Mike is available for exhibitions and clinics. Please contact Mike or Francine Massey at 435.640.5787 or francine.massey@gmail.com

These so called Wing Shots are mostly timing and instinct.

What makes the Artistic Pool version more difficult than the “normal” version is the cube of chalk in the foot spot. It can throw off your rhythm, which is crucial on a shot that requires such precision.

I hold the cue ball and object ball in my left hand. I roll the object ball and place the cue ball in a smooth and continuous motion. Most good wing shot shooters shoot medium hard because they don’t have much time before the object ball reaches the zone. In competition we have to shoot seven shots in succession. The key is to stay cool and acquire a good rhythm.

Plan on spending a lot of time practicing these shots if you intend to master them.

Tom Rossman and Earl Strickland are excellent at wing shots.

Minnesota Fats was also pretty good. Dan Willis was great at wing shots. In fact, I heard that he once made 30 in succession.

In exhibitions I shoot one handed jacked up, while rolling the cue ball and object ball at the same time. I also shoot them one handed jacked up under my leg!

EXPLANATION OF ABBREVIATIONS: SUR: Set up Ratings EXR: Execution Ratings MSR: Mike’s Success Ratio

SUR: N/A EXR: 4.0 (1) 5.0 (all seven) MSR: 60% (for 1)

MIKE MASSEY

Nine Time World Champion

EXHIBITIONS & CLINICS Contact Mike or Francine Massey 435.640.5787 francine.massey@gmail.com

To order Mike’s book call 888.295.7665 or 714.894.1157 Visit us on the web at www.billiardspress.com

July 2012 - Rackem Magazine 17

IT’S DYANMITE IN DOHA! IN A LEGENDARY EPIC THRILLER, DARREN “DYNAMITE” APPLETON WINS THE WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP WITH A 13-12 VICTORY OVER LEE HE WEN

Darren Appleton

By Ted Lerner Photos courtesy Vinod DivaKaran, Doha Stadium Sports Weekly June 22-29, 2012 (Doha, Qatar)--In one of the most thrilling and surreal finals ever witnessed in pool history, England’s Darren Appleton won the 2012 World 9-ball Championship, barely beating China’s Lee He Wen, 13-12 in front of hundreds of stunned fans inside Doha’s Al Sadd Sports Club.

It was a match that had everything that the sport of pool could possibly offer; fantastic, clutch shot making, an unbelievably impossible comeback, edge of your seat drama that was downright unbearable, and a finish that blew the roof off the house.

For Appleton, the win is his first World 9-ball Championship and is the culmination of a dream he has held since turning to pool from English 8-ball in the mid-2000’s. With his World 10-ball crown in 2009, his double US Opens in 2010 and 2011, and now the World 9-ball Championship, Appleton can certainly lay claim to be one of the greats of all time.

For Lee, he came within a whisker of nearly pulling off a comeback for the ages, and at the same time, earned for himself the admiration of legions of pool fans around the world who were in awe at the 31 year old’s tenacity and never-say-die spirit.

What’s more striking for Lee is that midway through the match he was nothing more than an afterthought to a sure coronation for Appleton. Lee, who had beaten Ralf Souquet in the semis, was absolutely and thoroughly written off by every single person who was watching in person or following the match online streamed over the Al Kass Sports channel.

That’s because after handily taking down Japan’s Naoyuki Ohi in the semi-final, Appleton raced out of the starting gates in the race to 13, alternate break final

and was streaking towards a total rout on the way to the title.

After splitting the first four racks, Appleton caught the type of gear every single pro player dreams about when they wonder how they would hope to play in a championship final. He had several break and run outs, he punished every mistake Lee made, and as he piled up the racks and his lead grew ever wider, he literally oozed confidence.

Clearly in that rarefied zone that’s only reserved for the great champions, Appleton soon found himself out in front 9-2. Lee got one rack back to make it 9-3, but that didn’t deter the Englishman as a break and run and a clear off a scratch by the Chinese pushed the score to 11-3.

At this point, the score line and the body language of both players told the whole story; the match was surely over and it was just a formality of going through the last few motions before Appleton would be lifting the trophy. It was such a sure thing that Appleton’s fans on Facebook took to congratulating “Darren Appleton, the new World 9-ball Champion.”

When Lee grabbed the next rack to make the score 11-4, nobody even thought anything of it. When Appleton failed to convert off a foul by Lee in the next rack, and even scratched to help get Lee to 11-6, it still didn’t mean anything to anyone. Indeed Appleton, for all intents and purposes, put the match away in the next rack when he cleared the colors after Lee left a safety open, and moved to within one of the world title.

But then, with Appleton leading 12-6, that moment came, that mysterious (Doha continued on page 25) Toll Free 800-938-3000

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Kelly Fisher Wins The 2012 Women’s World 9-Ball Championship With A 9-6 Victory Over China’s Fu Xiaofang

Kelly Fisher

BY TED LERNER Photos Courtesy of Zhao Yue June 14-21, 2012

(Shenyang, China)--Capping an all around solid week of pool with yet another air tight performance, Britain’s Kelly Fisher won the 2012 WPA Women’s World 9-ball Championship with an emphatic 9-6 victory over Chinese superstar Fu Xiaofang, in front of a packed house inside the Richgate Shopping Center in this northeastern Chinese city.

With the victory Fisher now holds the distinction of being the only woman to ever hold the World 9 ball and World 10-ball Championships all at the same time.

But perhaps more importantly, the win cemented Fisher’s status as the hottest player in the women’s game right now, and is a lasting testament to years of toil, long travel and plenty of near misses to go along with a lot of W’s. With the victory she will now claim the mantle of WPA World Number 1.

It was an all-around brilliant Thursday for the 34 year old from Yorkshire, as she took down two huge names in Chinese pool on their own turf. The opening salvo came with a dramatic match against 2009 World 9-ball Champion Liu Shasha in the semi-finals. Fisher had to slog it out for over two hours and the contest went down to the last ball, with Fisher claiming a heart stopping 9-8 win by a whisker.

The final started well for both players. Fisher won the lag and broke and ran for the early lead. Fu stepped up and did the same to tie the match at 1-1.

Fu then stepped on the gas for the next twenty minutes, performing perfectly, winning two safety battles sandwiched around a break and run, to go up 4-1.

Fu had clearly caught a gear and was well on her way to clearing the next rack for a massive 5-1 lead. But as she stretched far over the table to line up a shot, the referee called a foul, saying she had touched a ball with her shooting hand.

As so happens in pool, one small incident mysteriously sends the momentum, and the roll of the balls, over to the other side. Fisher cleared the table to cut the lead to 4-2. She then caught a break in the subsequent rack when an over-hit cue happened to land on a 6-9 combination, which she nailed.

Fu then missed a long one ball and Fisher cleared to tie at 4-4. In rack 9, Fisher grabbed her first lead at 5-4 when Fu left a safety open.

After the pair traded break and runs, Fisher started tightening the screws. She won the next rack after she buried Fu in a lockdown safety, forcing Fu to scratch. With Fisher up 7-5, Fu lost another when she inexplicably failed to hit a rail after trying to hide the balls.

Fu cut the score to 8-6 but Fisher went out in style with a break and run to reach the holy grail. But as the last 9 ball fell, Fisher didn’t realize that she had won, as she thought match was a race to 11. Only when she looked up and saw Fu shaking her hand and the photographers furiously snapping photos did she realize she was the new World 9-ball Champion.

After receiving the golden trophy and drinking in the accolades from the throng of fans, an ecstatic Fisher said she was not only happy with her accomplishment, but also with the way she did it.

“I’m absolutely thrilled,” a beaming Fisher said. “I can’t explain what I’m feeling.

I just can’t believe it. I played really solid tonight. I played solid all week. Overall I’m really happy with my performance.”

As usual with all the Chinese pool stars, Fu was the model of graciousness in defeat. She admitted, however, that the foul in rack six affected her frame of mind.

“After I fouled, the match seemed to change,” she said. “And my emotions changed. I wasn’t the same after that.”

Fu also confessed that playing in a world championship final in China with millions of fans expecting her to win brought on almost unbearable pressure.

“The finals were stressful,” Fu said. “I’m Chinese and everyone in China wants me to win.”

Fisher, who pocketed $40,000 for her win, pointed to Fu’s foul in rack six as the point where the match turned. But after a week where she played brilliantly and won two 9-8 thrillers in the knockout stage, the new world champion figured there must be a much bigger picture involved.

“She was playing well until that foul,” Fisher said. “That was the turning point.

But you know this week somebody has been by my side.”

July 2012 - Rackem Magazine 19

hat

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20 Rackem Magazine - July 2012

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The Blues Brothers and Comedian David Gee! And this is surely just a taste of everything that took place! See the complete results on VNEA.com.

July 2012 - Rackem Magazine 21

&

Bryant Porter Make Marks

SYLVER OCHOA AND CHARLIE BRYANT

Porter, stormed the Amateur division escaping 3 hill-hill matches to reach the hot seat.

Surprise player Bill Fain reached his bid for the final four winners’ side with wins over Steve Williams, Carlos Martinez, and Henry Rocha. Fain lost to Bosshamer, 7-4, and was then eliminated by Brent Thomas, 5-3. Demetro depleted Thomas in the first round, but after 6 rounds of wins, Thomas exacted revenge on Demetro in the quarter finals. After a 7-4 loss to Porter for the hot seat, Bosshamer faced off with Thomas’, ending his 7 match winning streak. Victory was short-lived for Bosshamer as the indomitable Porter swiftly secured the final set to win his first Lone Star Amateur division event.

Congratulations to Tiffany Boysen who finished “top lady” in the Amateur division.

There were 2 juniors who participated in the Amateurs, Mike Calderaro and Michael Fain. Junior Nick Calderaro competed in the Open, drawing Sylver Ochoa his first round and losing by a score of only 9-6. Many Lone Star tour players continue to reach for, and accomplish their goals, with each and every event in which they compete. Keep your momentum going!

The Lone Star Billiards Tour would like to thank its exclusive cue sponsor, Poison by Predator cues, www.poisonbilliards.com, its exclusive rack Delta-13, www.delta-13rack. com, www.PoolWebsites.com, APA of North Harris County, and Gulf Coast Billiards. The tour would also like to acknowledge and give special thanks to Carlos Ledson Miller, who generates the tour standings. Many thanks to BCA referee, Derrell Montgomery, and Jerald “Topwater” Jackson for their tournament assistance.

Paul Holleman from Baytown, Texas won a Poison VX Jump Cue and Cleveland, Texas’ Mike Terry won a VX2.9 Break/Jump in the Poison by Predator cue raffles. Enjoy your new cues gentlemen!

The Tour would like to thank Houston’s owner Eric Hill and his wonderful staff for making this a first rate event. The Olhausen SONNY BOSSHAMER, RAY PORTER tournament tables were recovered in brand new

On June 16th-17th, Houston’s Sports Bar held its first $1,000 added Lone Star event of 2012, drawing 57 entries over Open and Amateur divisions. Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant, Manny Chau, David Gutierrez, Al Mason, and Sylver Ochoa helped make up the 25 player, star-studded Open division. New faces in the 32 player Amateur division included Bobby Pacheco, Ray Porter, Derrick Ray, Henry Rocha, Robert Garcia, Isai Rodriguez, and David Rodriguez.

Saturday’s Open play narrowed the field to 12 finalists for Sunday. Grady Cooper and Henry Rocha were two unusual suspects who played their way into the final four winners’ side for Sunday. Cooper defeated Al Mason 9-5 and Henry Rocha bested Sonny Bosshamer 9-6 to get there, but were both defeated in their hot seat bids by Sylver Ochoa and Charlie Bryant respectively. Cooper and Rocha secured 7th-8th place finishes. David Gutierrez suffered a first round loss to Mason and won 5 consecutive matches until he was upset by Bosshamer, 7-2. It seemed like old times as Ochoa and Bryant hammered it out for the cat bird’s seat. They traded racks, executing dead-lock safes and kicking in balls, until Ochoa pulled ahead and closed it out, 9-7. The “Hillbilly” made quick work of Bosshamer then exacted dual-set revenge on Ochoa to win his first Lone Star Open division title in 2 years!

There were several big stories on the “B” side. Pasadena, Texas newcomer, Ray

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July 2012 - Rackem Magazine 23

STORY

Lucky

Cont…..Oh Vegas…. I had been hanging around a week in tournament area and my room. A day left for the singles tournament. I watched some people playing especially a women player Shelby Locoti. She was tearing up the competition in the BCAPL nationals. She exhibited of some pretty excellent shooting skills. Shot with much poise.

Wished Lucky was here to see this girl play. Maybe he will get back to Vegas in time to check her out!.

I thought by now Lucky would have called me. I thought I should call him to see how things are going.

I called his cell no answer I did leave a message…. “In Vegas hope to see you soon”. I know when Lucky was available he would call. I won’t worry yet. I’ll wait another day to start worrying. ……..I’ll come down find some small action. I noticed a few new faces looking for action, many of the old faces were not there. Many of those were young players. That was a good sign that pool was not dead and the new breed was maintaining the tradition of pool. It is what makes pool have so much excitement. Rumor was that there was a 10 thousand dollar match at Best Billiards pool hall across town. Harry Platis was in action. Harry is a well known player with the ability to gamble. It dawned on me that could be Lucky in action at the pool hall. I went to my room to change cloths to go to the pool hall and turned on the TV to catch a few minutes of the free streaming 10ball championships and in the background I saw a figure sitting there I said to myself that looked like Lucky…..

I looked at my cell phone and I had a missed call.

Scrolled through calls, It was Lucky, he left a message on my cell, “I am at the tournament, what room do we have?’

Says he was watching the 10 ball and Earl Strickland just got told to shut the F&%# k up by the player on the next table. I guess Earl was whining again….“Earl’s mouth always gets him in trouble”. Lucky says he would like to play Earl some time, and he might be in the mood after this loss. Earl’s a little dense and has to be told, “Never under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night”. Might not figure it out on his own.

Well I knew Lucky was here and could rest easy now.

He wasn’t at the pool hall. But I did want to know what happen especially after that strange dream he had…..

I ran into Lucky walking down the hall way and we took his small bag to the room…. ”That DAMN Spirit airlines. NEVER Again”…..”They gave me the biggest run around or I would have been here days ago”.

Curious I asked him. As Lucky told the story about Spirit I had heard several people at event who took Spirit to Vegas complain about cancellations and delays. It was if everyone who booked flights with Spirit had horror stories.

“Our flight was a fully booked flight. About an hour before scheduled departure, the notice board was suddenly changed from 8:50 to 10:00. Shortly thereafter, an employee said departure would be at 9:57; upon inquiry, she said it was because the plane was delayed somewhere else. Perhaps 30-40 minutes after that, it was announced that departure would be at 10:12 PM. Shortly thereafter, that

was changed to 10:32 PM; not long after that, to 10:42

24 Rackem Magazine - July 2012

BY: ANDREW MONSTIS

Vegas Vacation PM. By this time, it was around 9:35 or perhaps 9:45. All of a sudden we witnessed another plane’s passengers boarding our plane. We were asked to move over to their gate. These passengers were telling us as we were passing in the concourse they had been sitting on their plane for an hour and they were putting them on another plane. It was obvious Spirit was giving our plane to another group. As the time lengthens there was widespread panic and anger. A number of passengers had connections to other cities and weren't getting satisfactory responses. Spirit continued to blame everything on the weather so that they could evade any responsibility. Lucky said “We all started to look for other flights when they told us they were cancelling our flight” Spirit made us go to ticket counter to arrange other flights after two hours in line we at the middle to the end of the line were finding out that all flights were full and booked.

It would be days before they could get us on flights. Lucky said that he spent the night and asked the next day when he could leave. “Four days” he was told. Lucky said he got mad. He rented a car and drove to Las Vegas 4 days, he found out he beat the flight by a day. Spirit airline is so stupid. Never again!!!

“Well, glad you are here” I said

I asked Lucky “how everything went in Ashville”

He said that is old girl friend’s husband was sick and died. He was there for support and the funeral. Says he lifted her spirits the best he could. Her husband was smoking the past 20 years and it caught up with him. He wouldn’t quit.

Lucky “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. There is no wealth but life.” “Don’t squander it away by smoking or drinking it does shorten your life.”

“Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be. Do what you can, with what you have, where you are at”.

We were walking down to the action room conversation started on oil companies again. I asked the question to Lucky: Last year one company made 640 Million. Oil companies say they don’t make anything money.

The high prices are all due to taxes? Which is it?… Lucky says Taxes are part of it, federal taxes are about .18 cents a gallon that’s all, state taxes are about .28 on average.

About $1.60 per gallon goes for the rest, to buy the crude, refining it and distribution and marketing it. Lucky that still doesn’t add up to $4.00 a gallon? That is about $2.10 a gallon. 1.90 plus is left over, most of which goes to stock holders. A dollar of that goes to stock holders the rest to oil company to reinvest…..

Lucky says you have to ask yourself a few things …..Rhetorically buying Oil stock costs about $76 dollars a share. Who can buy it ?? What is the percentage of population that owns oil stock ?? Lucky says only about 1.5% owns oil stock. How many people own tens of thousands of shares?. But most of the country thinks it’s our government that is causing the high gas prices… Lucky, ha ha ha That’s what some people think!!! Lucky said “Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often.”

There is not that many slow people out there they usually figure it out. I hope it’s not too late. But it is a tragedy people

will deny the truth even when it right in front of us.

I guess Lucky was bitching about stuff, a lot to think about driving to Vegas….

We walked into the action room to see what was going on. The Riviera had built a wall to the old action room.

Walked in and there was, Glenn Atwell was hanging out.

I told Lucky I knew him. Lucky says he reads ON THE BREAK and Glenn has been on the front page more than once.

“Glenn’s a Bar Table champion”.

Glenn was trolling for action a rare occurrence. He had a backer with him. Lucky started a conversation with Glenn and Glenn politely asked Lucky to play. Glenn had sized up Lucky, race 5 for $200, Lucky said “why not” Lucky knew if he gave Glenn a shot that he was more than capable of running out the short set. Glenn played very good after even did run out a set to 5, and was ahead $600 when Glenn wanted to bump the bet the whole time knowing he had the nuts. Some complaining that it wasn’t enough. So Lucky said same race to a thousand, Glenn check with backer and it was a GO!. They flipped Glenn won the first break. He ran 3 and 4th game hooked Lucky… Lucky just kicked it in and won that game. Lucky made two nine ball breaks to tie score. Lucky broke and made 6 balls with hangers to win and then ran out. Lucky won the $1000.

Glenn said “the race is too short”

Lucky agreed and said $2000 race to 11. Nods of the heads and they were starting. Lucky had 1st break didn’t make a ball. Glenn stated running balls when he dogged one, like the six.. It didn’t take long before Glenn was starring at people in crowd. Some sweater was eating a bag of potato chips. I know the crunch bothered Glenn. Trying to be polite Glenn was asking people to be quiet or not to move around so much. It was over at that point for Glenn.

He was indirectly admitting he wasn’t focused. Lucky said “hey potato chips sound good”, could someone get some for me”…The little snack bar was right outside the room and before long Lucky was munching and crunching chips.

Lucky fully aware of that milked the score to 9-9 and than just went ahead and won. As tough of a player as Glenn is, Glenn made it easier. Another $2000 It wasn’t fancy or it didn’t need to be. Glenn didn’t know what just happened.

Glenn figured he just was not with it today. They played one more for $2000. Glenn won some games and Lucky won some games the score kept pretty even until the end of the set. Lucky just made some unorthodox balls. Shot some too hard into the rails, lost the rock and still balls went in. It looked like he slopped balls in, but I knew they were calculated. Lucky got paid, they were done.

Glenn said it best. “The tragedy of life is not that you lose, but that you almost wins”.

Even if Glenn was playing his best pool he would have never won and never know why. Ahead $5000 and the old man just looks lucky.

It was almost time to leave Vegas and the Riviera.

Dread leaving saying good bye to it all. We went up to pack.

Lucky basically missed Vegas this year. Next year the event is in a new place the Rio. There will be new people to play I would bet on it.

IT’S DYANMITE IN DOHA! turning point where the balls, seemingly impregnated with a mind of their own, had had enough of catering to the Englishman’s every whim, and abandoned him like the plague.

It happened when after breaking in rack 19, Appleton had a wide open layout to the finish line and the world championship. But with just four easy balls left, he inexplicably snookered himself. Appleton was forced to play safe but a counter safe led to a foul and another rack for Lee. From there on, everything went Lee’s way, while Appleton couldn’t buy a piece of fortune. Appleton blew a push out and Lee cleared to make it 12-8. Appleton left a safety open and Lee cleared again. Then Lee broke and ran to make the score 12-10.

Having come back from sure defeat, Lee was suddenly in freewheeling mode, playing without a care in the world. Appleton, on the other hand, looked like he was bearing the weight of several worlds squarely on his shoulders. And it would only get worse.

Lee moved to within one at 12-11 when Appleton tried to jump but missed and left the shot on, allowing Lee to run out. With the drama building to a massive crescendo, Lee then coolly stepped up in the next game and broke and ran. After 24 racks, the World Championship was to be decided by one single frame.

With the crowd in a state of disbelief, and the tension in the arena at the boiling point, a shell shocked Appleton, who had only moments prior been waltzing his way to the world title, gamely stood up to give it one last go.

He got the one ball down on the break. But the 2-ball was unavailable and he played a safety. Lee then played a counter safety. Appleton then pulled out his jump stick and proceeded to make history; he jumped the cue ball over the blocking ball and potted the 2-ball at a fairly sharp angle straight into the side pocket.

The crowd erupted as a suddenly rejuvenated Appleton grabbed his cue and then picked off the remaining colors. As the 8-ball fell and left the Englishman with an elementary shot on the championship ball, Appleton let out a shout and pumped his fist. Then as the 9-ball fell Appleton roared like a proud lion. He then threw down his stick and impulsively jumped up on the pool table with his arms held high, shouting in joy and relief, pumping his fists as the crowd lustily cheered him on.

After taking in the cheers, the hugs and congratulations from well wishers, Appleton tried to figure out what had just happened.

“At 11-3 down I lost my focus,” Appleton said. “That’s because I had played so good up to that point. I was anxious to get it over with. And I’m thinking, I can’t lose, he needs a miracle. At 12-6 I was sure it was over because I had the easiest clearance you could ever have. But I snookered myself because I had too much

(continued from page 18)

adrenalin. Then after that, nothing happened for me. Around 12-10 I started feeling the heat.”

For Lee he had figured the match was over when he was down 11-3 and he never considered he could come back until a few racks later, when he started to notice Appleton getting concerned.

“At first I didn’t think I could catch up,” Lee said through an interpreter. “Then at 12-6 I started to play well because it was like I had already lost the match so I was relaxed.

When I started to get close to him I could feel that he was nervous and then I started to get excited, thinking I can win.”

But while Lee nearly made a miracle comeback, it was Appleton who pulled off the miracle win, at the very last chance.

“If I’d have lost that match I would have jumped off a bridge,” Appleton said. “But I played the best rack of my life that last rack.

Incredible. I can’t believe what just happened.”

LEE HE WEN

1st $40,000 Darren Appleton 2nd $20,000 Lee He Wen Total Prize Fund: $300,000

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