June 19-20-Planet Pool 9-Ball Tour-$2,500 added-Richmond, VA
JAM
The Playing Field in Richmond, Virginia, Saturday and Sunday, June 19-20, 2004.
Newly renovated, this is Richmond's premier billiards establishment with 27
Gold Crown IV's, a full-size snooker table, and great food. Planet Pool is
proud to be back at The Playing Field, and the owner is a strong player
himself, a regular on the pool circuit of yesteryear, none other than the
wonderful Billy Stephens.
The Playing Field
7801 W Broad St
Richmond,VA 23294
Phone: (804) 755-7700
Open Event: Saturday & Sunday
Entry Fee
$60 for men 21 years of age & over
$45 for women & juniors entering the Open Event
Room opens Saturday at 10:00 for practice & registration
Player meeting held at noon - play begins immediatly following
Women's Event: Sunday only for Women's Event
Entry Fee
$50 for women over 21 years of age
$35 for female juniors under 21 years of age
Room opens Sunday at 10:00 for practice & registration
Player meeting held at 11:00 am - play begins immediatly following.
Those planning on making their way down there should look into reserving a
hotel room soon. A tournament rate has been secured at the brand new Econo
Lodge (formerly the Fairfield Inn) for $49 a night (instead of $69). It is just
down the road, so this is ideal place for those of you who will be spending the
night either on Friday or Saturday.
Call (804) 672-8621 and quote "The Playing Field tournament rate."
Any member who brings a friend, a new player that has not played in a
Planet-Pool event in the past two years, receives a $15 discount on their entry
fee!
For directions to this event, or further information on Planet-Pool Events,
Schedules, Sponsorship & Franchising information, visit their WONDERFUL website
at:
JAM
JoeyA
JoeyA
P.S. Also tell him we have a Pechauer tournament in Gulfport, MS in August.
He played in one previously.
The Pechauer Tour has a stop at New Orleans on June 26 too.
"JAM" <jama...@aol.comnojunk> wrote in message
news:20040614192328...@mb-m05.aol.com...
JAM
have a Pechauer tournament in Gulfport, MS in August."
Will do for sure! He's a stand-up kind of guy, a great pool player who, after
a lot of hard work and monies, figured out a way to make a decent living in the
sport.
His pool room was just remodeled or renovated. I had accidentally stopped by
his room one time a few years ago with KM on our way back from the Brady
Behrman's Spring Open in Virginia Beach.
I had remembered that there used to be this place on Broad Street that was THE
place to play pool. I had attended a couple of tournaments there and figured
this was the action spot.
We pulled off I-95 and went into this place on Broad Street in Richmond,
Virginia, and it wasn't a pool room anymore, but had turned into kind of a
bar-type scene. The bartender directed us to another room, and off we went.
We entered the next pool room, and the counter guy didn't know who KM was, but
he knew we were there for action and proceeded to call up a local action
player. We waited and waited, and finally this very tall fellow comes in.
Everybody in the joint knew this local champion was going to play the stranger,
KM. I hadn't seen this tall guy before. Then the tall player says to KM, "I'll
meet you over at this other pool room and play you some. Just follow me in my
car," which turned out to be Billy Stephens' place.
We drive over to the spot, parked the car, walked in and the tall fellow was
standing there with a couple of regulars. He then says to Keith, "I think I
need a spot from you. I now know who you are, and you're a great one-pocket
player, Tom-Tom."
Well, I cracked up silently because Tom-Tom Wirth, a really good friend of
mine, and Keith McCready only have one thing in common!
Joey A., is there a tournament website or any way to find out what is happening
on the Pechauer Tour? When I'm searching the Net for pool tournaments, I go to
about six or seven different websites. I wish somebody would come up with a
central tournament registry. Something like this is needed.
Players could log-on and find a tournament every week of the year with a
website such as this. As it stands now, tournaments are being scheduled at the
same time as other tournaments, and some players have no way of finding out
WHEN and WHERE an event is happening. And when they do, it's usually after the
fact and too late.
JAM
Frank Glenn
jama...@aol.comnojunk says...
:|:
:|:I had remembered that there used to be this place on Broad Street that was THE
:|:place to play pool. I had attended a couple of tournaments there and figured
:|:this was the action spot.
Tripple Triangle
:|:
:|:We pulled off I-95 and went into this place on Broad Street in Richmond,
:|:Virginia, and it wasn't a pool room anymore, but had turned into kind of a
:|:bar-type scene. The bartender directed us to another room, and off we went.
Probably the Side Pocket (behind the Holiday Inn), an action room.
:|:We entered the next pool room, and the counter guy didn't know who KM was, but
:|:he knew we were there for action and proceeded to call up a local action
:|:player. We waited and waited, and finally this very tall fellow comes in.
Was he named John?
:|:Everybody in the joint knew this local champion was going to play the stranger,
:|:KM. I hadn't seen this tall guy before. Then the tall player says to KM, "I'll
:|:meet you over at this other pool room and play you some. Just follow me in my
:|:car," which turned out to be Billy Stephens' place.
This would be the Playing Field, Billy also owns the Tripple.
See you this weekend.
Frank
www.frankglenn.com
JAM
Yep, that's him. Real tall fellow. I believe he played at last year's Open,
too.
Looking forward to this weekend, Frank. I'll try to remember to bring those
Champion tips with me.
BTW, what is the closest NICE hotel to Billy's pool room? There is a player's
rate for the Econo-Lodge, but I'd just like to know my options. I like
Marriott.
JAM
Frank Glenn
jama...@aol.comnojunk says...
:|:BTW, what is the closest NICE hotel to Billy's pool room? There is a player's
:|:rate for the Econo-Lodge, but I'd just like to know my options. I like
:|:Marriott.
Marriott is about 3 miles west of the Playing Field on the left off
of Broad. There is also Amerisuites and a Comfortsuites on the right
just past the Marriott (less than a mile past).
frank
JoeyA
http://www.onthecheese.com/tommykennedy/index.html
and
http://www.azbilliards.com/2000tourmain.cfm?tournum=8
The Viking Tour
http://www.vikingcue.com/9balltour.htm
Florida Men's Pro Tour
http://www.azbilliards.com/2000tourmain.cfm?tournum=26
Joss Northeast 9 Ball Tour
http://www.azbilliards.com/2000showschedule.cfm?tournum=1
FWIW, most of the TOURS are listed at azbilliards.com
See you at one of them for sure:
Pechauer S.E. Open 9 Ball-
New Orleans: Corner Pocket
Kenner, LA
504-469-2003
June 26 - 27, 2004
$1000 added
JoeyA
"JAM" <jama...@aol.comnojunk> wrote in message
news:20040615100638...@mb-m14.aol.com...
JAM
Slivka came in second place.
The pool room was just great. The friendly staff were very accommodating, and
I heard no complaints from the players about the equipment. The Planet Pool
9-Ball staff ran a very smooth tournament.
The ladies tournament, which always is a one-day Sunday event, seems to be
growing on this tour with a lot of new faces as well as the "oldies but
goodies." Gals came up from as far away as North and South Carolina.
We arrived in Richmond a little after midnight on Friday night and went
straight to The Playing Field to check out the place. There was a player from
California. Shane, I believe, is his name. Lots of local champions in
Richmond. Don Steele, who owns a pool room in Pittsburgh, won the last Planet
Pool 9-Ball event, and he was there as well.
I was disappointed that Billy Stephens didn't attend, but I understand that he
had prior commitments preventing him from doing so. How GREAT it is to have
Billy hosting a tournament at his pool room on the Planet Pool 9-Ball Tour.
Thanks again, Billy. Looking forward to SEEING YOU at the Virginia State
9-Ball Championship next month.
My friend Brandon, a 20-year-old regular Planet Pool 9-Ball player from
Virginia, was not allowed in the pool room after 8:00 p.m. Each night, an
announcement was made that everybody under 21 must leave by 8:00 p.m. There
were a few lady players who had to leave as well because they were under 21
years of age.
On Friday night at closing time, we drove on over to the Econo-Lodge where we
had reserved our room at the player's rate. I was a little worried when we
pulled up to the front desk and they had a bullet-proof glass separating us
from the clerk. He told us they were booked up for the evening, and that our
room was in the second building, way in the back.
We drove to the back of the facility and walked into our room. The carpet was
wet from a rain flood, I guess, and the smell was absolutely horrid, like mold
and mildew. There were a few flys who seemed upset when we entered the room
and began to attack us, and then came the ugly black water bugs. If it wasn't
2:00 a.m. in the morning, I would have immediately left and gotten another
room, but we were stuck with this awful place to sleep. The beds were
comfortable, though, and the bathroom was clean, but NEVER AGAIN.
On Saturday evening, at the conclusion of the first day of the tournament, some
of the players wanted to engage in a game of stakes. Some were playing gin on
the side tables, and then came the big show, Pookie versus the side-armed
player on the huge snooker table playing a real game snooker. Everybody
surrounded this table, front and center stage to see the show, and Pookie and
KM looked like rookies on this mammoth-sized table.
The red balls, black balls, colored balls, and "going to six" was quite
confusing to me. One minute, the score is 21 to zip, and the next shot, the
score is 8 to zip. Jerry Slivka kept score and knew what he was doing.
At one point during the match, Pookie left KM a tough shot, a lot-of-green
shot. KM looked for the extra-long bridge and even that wasn't long enough for
him to reach. He then went to look for the extra long cue, and it was
tip-less. Pookie tried to buy a snooker cue from the pool room while he was
there to play KM, but the snooker cue that was for sale, with a strange-looking
small tip, had a rough shaft, making one wonder if they would get splinters
stroking the cue-stick.
Finally, Pookie says to KM, go ahead, just crawl right up on the table on all
fours, reminding me of the good old days down South, and KM did so, but missed.
After a couple of back-and-forths, Pookie ended up coming out ahead by two
sets, but both of them looked like rookies on that snooker table. Neither of
them ran racks. As a matter of fact, I don't remember seeing either of them
run more than three balls. A straight-in shot, 10 inches from the pocket,
seemed too difficult for these two veteran 9-ball players.
Then Jerry Slivka decided he wanted a piece of Pookie's action, to the tune of
2 dimes, race to 9, with Jerry spotting Pookie the last two. Jerry came up a
ilttle short as well. The side-armed player knocked Pookie out of the
tournament, but Pookie made his own tournament and came away with pockets full
of jellybeans.
There was no cue mechanic on site to repair the cue-sticks. Many players were
disappointed. Some regular tour players wait until the Planet Pool 9-Ball Tour
to get their sticks tuned up. KM just received a brand-new Champion tip (the
good one) from Frank and can't wait to get it on the end of his shaft.
I believe it was 73 players, subject to check, who showed up for this event,
and the pool room was a hit! Mike Davis moves forward to be the points leader
with his first-place win, with Ryan McCreesh in second place in the points.
JAM
lfigueroa
chance to play with a John Parris snooker cue http://www.parris-cues.co.uk/
a few years ago -- it is unbelievable the difference that itty-bitty tip
and brass ferule makes with the smaller balls. Within minutes, he'll be
running *lots* of balls on the 12-footers.
Lou Figueroa
"JAM" <jama...@aol.comnojunk> wrote in message
news:20040621080506...@mb-m15.aol.com...
JAM
>chance to play with a John Parris snooker cue http://www.parris-cues.co.uk/
>a few years ago
To tell you the truth, I hope the side-armed player sticks to the 9-foot
tables. He didn't perform very well IMO on that snooker table, but as you
state, it is important to have the right equipment, i.e., a John Parris snooker
cue.
I did notice how small the tip was on the snooker cue that The Playing Field
had for sale. The shaft was rough, though, unlike the smooth-as-silk shafts
most players enjoy.
NOBODY could make a ball down the rail. KM and Pookie looked like Newbies on a
field of green on that snooker table. Karen Corr would have had a field day
spanking these veteran players.
JAM
lfigueroa
just a momentary distraction, and are actually pretty smooth to the touch,
though admittedly rough in appearance. For a couple of hundred, you can add
one to his arsenal and it will pay for itself in no time. It really is
unbelievable the difference this switch in equipment can make when it comes
to pocketing (potting) accuracy. Having tried the Parris, I would never
play on a snooker table without a snooker cue.
Lou Figueroa
"JAM" <jama...@aol.comnojunk> wrote in message
news:20040621083427...@mb-m15.aol.com...
JAM
>play on a snooker table without a snooker cue.
>
Does one need an extra long pool case to hold such a cue stick in their
arsenal? The bullet-pointed tip on the rough-shaft snooker pool cue for sale
at The Playing Field in Richmond, Virginia, was an average-sized cue-stick.
However, the tipless house snooker cue and extended-length bridge on the
underside of the snooker table were very, very long. KM and Pookie seemed
comical when attempting to use the bridge, looking like midgets holding a long
fishing pole.
Seems like snooker tables are popping up more and more in pool rooms as of
late, at least that is the trend I am noticing.
The side-armed player attempted to initiate a pay-ball game on the snooker
table, with no takers. That is when Pookie stepped up to the plate and
challenged him in a game of snooker. It was an interesting game to watch, but
NOBODY ran more than three balls.
JAM
William Lee
"lfigueroa" <lfig...@att.net> wrote
> Though not as smooth as pool cues. the ash shafts common to snooker cues
are
> just a momentary distraction, and are actually pretty smooth to the touch,
> though admittedly rough in appearance.
oddly enough, I just finished an all Ash pool cue and the shaft is as smooth
as any Maple shaft.
Smooth as a babies bum as they might say.
The shaft grain is amazingly straight and the wood itself shows good warp
resistant characteristics.
Ash is lighter as this shaft weighs about 3.5oz but it is a bit more rigid
than Maple.
This allows a smaller diameter shaft to play like a larger one in terms of
stiffness.
The grain lines are darker than Maple and this could be distracting to some
players.
I can post some photos of it if anyone wants to see an all Ash Willeecue.
>For a couple of hundred, you can add
> one to his arsenal and it will pay for itself in no time.
You can have a custom Ash Willee shaft made for $95.
(shameless self promotion)
>It really is
> unbelievable the difference this switch in equipment can make when it
comes
> to pocketing (potting) accuracy. Having tried the Parris, I would never
> play on a snooker table without a snooker cue.
>
> Lou Figueroa
William Lee
lfigueroa
cue, by just a bit, so you should have no trouble transporting it. I think
the joint is usually placed a little further back (long shaft/short butt),
though you can get them with a centered joint like a pool cue.
Lou Figueroa
"JAM" <jama...@aol.comnojunk> wrote in message
news:20040621095008...@mb-m29.aol.com...
Donald Tees
I play at home on a snooker table, and have both a snooker shaft and a
pool shaft for my cue. I think most cue makers could probably make a
snooker shaft for your/km's favourite cue, and it should fit into the
case just fine.
I know Pat uses the snooker tip for both games ... I do to, in fact, but
tend to bounce back and forth, using both shafts with both types of
equipment ... being use to both, I find the switch will often get me out
of a "no joy" slump.
IMO, the pool cue is much more forgiving than the snooker cue, but when
you are on, the snooker cue is more accurate. 'Course I am not that very
good. <G> Oh, BTW, you can get snooker cues in maple too ... they are
not all ash.
Roy Mason up here in Canada makes lots of cues with both types of
shafts, as does Thiery, if you're favourite cue-maker does not want to
tackle a snooker shaft. Snooker is a more common game up here in
Canada, so I expect most up here do the same.
Donald
Donald Tees
> I believe the average snooker cue is actually shorter than the average pool
> cue, by just a bit, so you should have no trouble transporting it. I think
> the joint is usually placed a little further back (long shaft/short butt),
> though you can get them with a centered joint like a pool cue.
>
> Lou Figueroa
>
About 1/2 an inch seems typical for the cues I have here, though there
is enough variation that a couple of my pool cues are slightly shorter
that a couple of my snooker cues.
The butt is ussually smaller ... if you get a cue extender for the
snooker cue, it probably will not fit the pool cue. The norm on a
snooker cue is to have a flat champher(?) at the end of the butt (not a
clue how to spell that).
I actually have pool a pool shaft for my snooker cue, rather than the
other way about, as I find the butt diameter on pool cues does not "feel
right" to me.
Donald
Smorgass Bored
You and KM certainly have more than your share of bad luck as far as
rooms and food are concerned (btw, those little black bugs are
delicious)..
I have just two words for you..
MOTOR HOME (maybe it's one word)
NEXT,
Doug
~>*(((>< Big fish eat Little fish ><)))*<~
JAM
luck as far as rooms and food are concerned (btw, those little black bugs are
You know, I was thinking about getting a different room before we left, like a
Marriott, a name I have always trusted in lodging, but I figured since the
Econo-Lodge was selected by the Planet Pool 9-Ball Tour and receiving a
"player's rate," I'd do the right thing and stay there.
Many times, though not in this instance, the tournament folks receive a benefit
if they book a large number of rooms.
I can recall recently when one independent tournament promoter literally
smashed the other independent promoter's head through a wall because of players
not staying at the designated hotel.
Suitable lodging is a problem when on the road, especially on the tournament
trail. If one of those there Hummer vehicles only gets 8 miles to a gallon,
I'd hate to think of the gasoline bill on a motor home.
I'm sick and tired of hotels, and believe me, there is no place like home, but
actually, Smorg, on a more serious note, I heard those little black bugs are
only delicious when they are deep-fried in grease. I do try to stay away from
those fried foods! Flies, on the other hand, are ambrosial, only if you can
catch 'em! ;>)
JAM