Search results

As a side note, John at Red Shoes would be another great resource for what works and what doesn’t. Another note BTW, Chris’ Billiards in Chicago is Mecca for pool players. At some point everyone needs to go.

Having owned and managed a room back in Michigan for many years (closed end of 2001), I can tell you it’s a real tough gig for all the reasons already listed here. The space requirement pushes you to a low rent district, and you need to have a lot of other complimentary revenue streams. A couple...

Take the foul and freeze him up. Let him make the mistakes.

Great observations. I have a few thoughts in no particular order... 1. Lower entry fees and the "David vs. Goliath" format works to draw players in when the entry is $250 or less and the tournament is fast enough that players don't have to spend too much time away and in a location where...

I’m glad to hear Eddie is still selling a few books. I lost his number many phones ago but used to spend quite a bit of time reminiscing about the old days with him. He used to bring case of books or ship them to the US Open every year. Cost back then was about $21 a book, $42 retail and we sold...

I just posted this in the cafe. Cole Dickson, George Middleditch, and Jimmy Mataya after a fishing charter on Lake Michigan.

Efren's Payday. This was the final tournament held in Kalamazoo at the Radisson Plaza.

Sad to see that the tournament we started in 1994 doesn’t have the same flavor it did in Kalamazoo. I think we had a distinct advantage in our location exactly between Detroit and Chicago. We always wanted to keep the entry fee low enough for anyone to enter so it was truly an “open”...

One of the great things about our tournament was the laid back nature of the players. Sometimes they'd show up several days early and hang out several days after the tournament. Here are two snapshots from after the first tournament. Top picture is (L to R) Jeff Carter, Steve Cook, Howard...

Thank you. That’s perfect. At least from my profile I don’t look like a newb. My game on the other hand is a dead giveaway.

If you can combine them that works for me, as long as my current username and login can stay the same. Just make any changes to clean things up and let me know if I need to do anything.

Thanks John! I miss those old days. I still can’t believe all the legends we got to see and know during those events. I hope everything is going well at RS and you’ve weathered the storm without too much damage. I played for the first time yesterday in about 20 years. After a few racks of...

Yes, the logic was that if the handicap was correct then you had a 50/50 chance against anyone else. So once it was accurate you shouldn’t have a winning streak. And each step was a small increment. We also ran a straight pool league that used a balls per inning average. I don’t remember the...

Yes, in league play you need to keep things moving along, so shorter ball counts are better. I think we limited match times to two hours and the players had the option of calling the winner with whoever was ahead at the moment or continuing on the clock (paying time).

For a while, I ran a one-pocket league and needed a good handicapping system. We worked out this chart with the help of Grady Mathews and Eddie Robin. Establishing the initial rating is a bit arbitrary and takes some guess work, but after everyone has a rating, this chart really seemed to level...

I remember one summer before the tournament, the phone in the pool room rang and voice on the other end said, “Hi Matt, this is Steve Mizerak. I’d like to come play in your tournament but I need you to make it worth my while.” He not only wanted me to cover all of his expenses and entry fee...

I can give you a little history about how this tournament came about: In 1993, Ed Hall was still the owner of Billiards Playground in Kalamazoo Mi. I was his manager and best friend, and we drove out to the BCA Expo in Kansas City that year. In addition to some other goals for the show, we...

I played at Starchers and you’re right about it being a classic and well run room. We used to go out there after the student union pool room at U of A would close at about 10pm. I see that the university remodeled the room and it looks fantastic from the pictures. That area had a few very strong...

Great story Lou. That was a hell of a match.

I remember that match. At the time, I was the manager of Billiards Playground and helped form the tournament the first few years. I bought the room and tourney in ‘97 and ran them both until we closed up in 2002. That first year we didn’t know who to expect for players or spectators. There...