Fire at Frank's Place in Morgantown, WV—Burned to the Ground

JAM

JAM

I am the storm
Silver Member
Frank's Place in Morgantown, WV suffered a fire that not only burned the pool room down, but it also burned the apartments behind it.

Frank's was owned by Joe, who loved action. We had visited Joe several times to engage in games of stake. One time, we saw Mark Gregory there updating his tables with new felt and leveling them, providing maintenance. It was a great spot to play pool.

Read about it here --> HERE.
 

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Shame, hope everyone is safe. Is this the place where the owner wanted to retire and move out of state and has been for sale for like two years but didn't sell because buyers wee having trouble getting approved for license because of the slot machines?
 
BmoreMoney said:
Shame, hope everyone is safe. Is this the place where the owner wanted to retire and move out of state and has been for sale for like two years but didn't sell because buyers wee having trouble getting approved for license because of the slot machines?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure. The owner (Joe) used to like games of stake for big money. Every road player en route to Maryland would stop by Frank's and get played. It was a good place for action. If memory serves me right, he only had three tables, which were well maintained for serious-minded players.

There was a little bit of everything in that place. People were really cool.

I did have one uncomfortable experience there, though. Because of my D.C. car license plates, one of the locals thought I was a Federal agent, and I began to fear for my safety, the way this guy was talking. He was kind of a militia-type kind of guy. :o

Keith played the owner a few times. He had to spot him to get played. When I first met Keith, he and Cliff Joyner and Jose Parica had just finished playing the owner en route to Maryland and made a nice score.
 
jam
will you start telling some stories about you and keith

i hear that you get out and among them now and again

word i hear is that the pair is more productive than the individual was

i hear it would make a good book

thank you
dean
 
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BmoreMoney said:
Shame, hope everyone is safe. Is this the place where the owner wanted to retire and move out of state and has been for sale for like two years but didn't sell because buyers wee having trouble getting approved for license because of the slot machines?
Click to expand...

I don't think it's the same place
Jason<-----looked into buying that place
 
Arson will be suspected as this is the end of the month and the end of the year.

Jeff Livingston
 
Reading the link, one of the comments stated the fire started in a couch. Not that that is definitely anything...
 
a1712 said:
Think it was Wheeling. Brian.
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Yes, now that you mention it that is correct sir. I knew it was on the WV " sliver " and after I thought about it..... but ues, thanks! I remember it wasn't far from college, was thinking WV but guess it was OS.
 
I thought the one they we selling was John schmidfs, at one time and in wheeling, wv.

I've ridden a bike around there and don't really see how a pool room there would get a man rich...but I guess livin is cheap there.
 
chefjeff said:
Arson will be suspected as this is the end of the month and the end of the year.

Jeff Livingston
Click to expand...

Two guys talking at Miami Beach:

First guy: How did you retire?

Second guy: Had a fire at my business. How did you retire?

First guy: I had a flood at my business.

Second guy: How do you arrange a flood?
 
Here's a copy-and-past about Frank's Place in Morgantown:

We were en route back home from the IPT in Las Vegas, the last leg of the road trip. Having said I'm not a gambling sort of person, I do enjoy POOL-RELATED gambling. So yesterday when we were passing through Morgantown, West Virginia, we decided to check out a local watering hole which we had gambled in 4 years ago. Most road players know this spot, BTW. The guy we were hoping to play couldn't get out of the house last night, but that if we hung around, he'd play us tomorrow. There was no way I wasn't going home last night to see my Sammy dog, sleep in my own bed, and put on some CLEAN clothes. So we didn't take him up on his kind offer.

However, we did end up staying there for 5 hours. West Virginia folk are down to earth and very friendly. In Morgantown, we met one family which really touched our hearts. Keith spent several hours playing with a local guy's children on the pool table. He brought in his stick and let the older girl hit with it. She and her 9-year-old sister and 11-year-old brother were enjoying Keith's company as much as Keith was enjoying theirs. Keith played a game with them, would set up a straight shot, and if they made it, they'd win a dollar. If they'd miss it, they didn't have to pay a dollar, as he set it up as a win-win for the kids. You should have seen the expression in their eyes. I really enjoyed this family from Morgantown, MUCH more than I would have if Keith had got that game we were looking for. When we departed, the older 16-year-old started crying. We're invited back there for an upcoming birthday party which will include a feast of homemade delicacies and good cheer.
 :cool:

And another cut-and-paste, a funny memory, traveling through Morgantown:

I gotta tell you a funny story. Keith and I were "on the road" traveling through Morgantown, West Virginia. We were en route to an off-track-betting facility, but got lost. So we stopped in a little coffee shop on the side of a mountain in the boondocks. They had a small gift shop in the back filled with candies, souvenirs, CD's, tapes, and knickknacks for sale.

The owner, a friendly sort of fellow, was the chief, cook, and bottle-washer. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him. Then he asked Keith the same question, and he responded, "I'm a pool player." Trying to be nice, I guess, the owner said, "Hey, do you guys like movies? I've got a pool movie you may be interested in." He rushes towards his gift shop, searches through his selection of videotapes, and as you may have already guessed, he presented us with a used, but in very good condition, "The Color of Money" tape.

I said to the kind fellow, "Sir, you're not going to believe this, but...." Keith ended up autographing the videotape for the owner, and we went about our merry way. :D
 
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