Stardust results

[NH Steve]

Makes me wonder whether Evelyn Del Porto who came in 4th in the 1972 Johnston City Spring event was his wife ? Was she into pool ?

Yes and that is her photo above...

 

[Tobermory]

In the spring of 1973, I was a freshman at CU in Boulder. One day, I got a phone call in my dorm room from a marketing company hawking portrait photography for a local studio, and they were running a contest. If I could answer three trivia questions, I'd "win" a trip to Vegas. I can remember the third question: which state had the first woman governor? I guessed Wyoming, was right, and "won" the trip. The trip turned out to be two nights in a slightly scuzzy motel just off the strip within walking distance of the Stardust, along with a bunch of coupons for free buffets, drinks and a night on the town. Although I was playing a lot of pool that year (9 ball and 14.1, hadn't learned one pocket yet), I didn't know much about the pro pool scene yet. I had been to the 1972 BCA 14.1 Open at the Chicago Sheraton and seen Crane, Mizerak, Balsis, Wimpy, and more, but I didn't know anything about other tournaments or the action scene. Most of my action was hustling poker games with college students in the dorms and co-ops, and I was doing pretty well at it. So I invited my poker buddy Jim to come with to Vegas so we could test our skills in the city of lost wages. We travelled with three girls I knew from school who needed a ride to the west coast so they could spring break in the Bay Area and then on to LA. I wanted to see my sister in Berkeley, so we piled into my 1966 Toronado and headed up to I80 in Wyoming and then turned left...next stop San Francisco. We drove all night, through a blizzard that stayed with us most of the way until SLC, and made up some lost time at 135 mph across the salt flats, and somehow survived. We dropped off the girls in Marin County, hung out in the Bay for a few days, and then headed south to Vegas with a plan to meet up with the girls in Vegas on their way back from LA. In Vegas, after checking into the fleabag motel, we hit the casinos...and they hit back...hard. We thought we knew how to play poker, but those boys took pretty much every penny we had during our first night out. If I can remember, between us we had brought about $300, as we grinded it out in a $4-8 game at Caesars. Luckily, we had all those free coupons for breakfast buffets and all you can eat dinners, so we didn't starve. We also had tickets to a show at the Desert Inn, I think: Joan Rivers opened for Trini Lopez, with unlimited cocktails. Somehow, and luckily, we had enough dimes to call the girls in LA and make the plan to meet them at the airport the next night so we could all drive back to Boulder. We had no money for gas, so we were entirely dependent on this plan working out. And it did. They arrived, they wanted to see a casino, so we headed over to the Stardust to check out the scene. Sweet Sue spotted me $20 and I promptly ran it up to $120 on a craps table. Heady with success, we were ready to hit the road home.

As we started to leave the casino, and the reason I'm telling this story, we walked by a grand staircase leading up stairs, and there was a big sign at the bottom of the stairs promoting the Stardust Open, happening that very day! If I had only know what I was missing. I convinced my friends to give me an hour and went upstairs (or was it downstairs) and checked out the tournament room. I couldn't get in to see any matches (or maybe there weren't any on at the moment), but there were a lot of players around to watch in the hallway, so I hung out and tried to take it all in. And I picked up the attached flyer, which I just found this afternoon going through some old college papers, and I thought you all might enjoy seeing this. I don't remember that Dr. Bill was known as "Mustache Charlie" but there it is. According to Bob's stats, Johnny Ervolino took it down that year.

 

[Tobermory]

 

[Tobermory]

 

[lll]

Great story tobermorey
Steve cook looks like its his high school graduation picture

 

[Tobermory]

or middle school graduation ...

Great story tobermorey
Steve cook looks like its his high school graduation picture

 

[catkins]

thanks for the story sounds like a fun trip

 

[beatle]

gtsssssssssssssss

 

[HowardK]

Sax DalPorto is a great sounding name; almost as if it were a name in a Raymond Chandler novel. Wonder how he got the name "Sax"? Probably short for a longer Latin name.

I knew Sax when he played at California Billiards in San Jose. He told me that they called him "Sax" was because his real name was Angelo John DalPorto. At the time, they called him "Anglo-Saxon". It was shortened to "Sax".

 

[Dennis "Whitey" Young]

A fortunate experience, thanks for the story.
I just know noticed that our own Keith Thompson in '72 placed 3rd. in One Pocket. We have PM back and forth a little and he related to me that his game of OP was at a high level by the time he was not playing anymore in '73.
Kudos to him for 3rd., for many thought his winning of Johnston City in '70 was a fluke.
3rd. Place at 20 years old playing the hardest game, well I only know him as possessing a magnificent stroke and being a deadly sharp shooter/ like very few others. I never seen a better stroke!
No fluke here. Congratulations Squirrel!
Also,
another 20 year old Cole Dickson in '71 place 4th in One Pocket. He was the straightest shooter at the Bellflower Palace. I also witnessed him beating up on Ronnie Allen in OP at the Bellflower Palace front table. I never realized at that time that Cole was that young, for he had such a presence about him. When I turned 21, I went into a bar in Lakewood it had dancers and ran into to Cole there, we played some, but I never realized that he too was barely 21.
I love it, these two youngster's beating up on the old guard, and I mean old, when you are that young. Talk about a difference in experience. Night and day, I'd say!
Keith McCready was obviously such a straight shooter at a young age, but he also had cue ball control, and banked oh so well! A good combination for a OP player.
Whitey

 

[lll]

Whitey
i am sure you know our own jeff sparks “tall jeff” was also a feared young player

 

[Mary Kenniston]

One of my long time pool buds had that tendency to pick up the rack and approach the table before I shot in the game ball. Yes it bothered me sometimes lol. But then I figured out how to deal with it, and it ceased to be a problem. If he approached the table with the rack then I didn't say anything, but I treated it like a concession, and started reaching in the pockets to roll the balls down for him -- but I made sure not to disturb either the cue ball or the 9 (or the game ball in One Pocket, etc.). That puts a quick stop to that problem

On topic -- his wife (Evelyn?) was the first women to enter with the men at Johnston City. I think this photo is her:

View attachment 431186View attachment 431187

When I lived in Alameda, CA in the early '80s, I used to drive over to Dee Hulse's Executive Billiards in Redwood City on Monday nights & play Evelyn straight pool. After she & Sax left for the night, Dee would match me up for some cheap 9 ball. Good memories...