...and the first Mosconi Cup Grand Prize winner is...

CrownCityCorey

Sock it to 'em!
Silver Member
Mr. Ernie Rivas (pictured below) of Oxnard, Ca (formerly of San Diego)!!!

and just what did Ernie win? He won:

  • Five night’s/Six day room accommodations for two at the MGM Grand Las Vegas (Dec 9-Dec 14, 2009)!!!
  • Two all-session passes to the four days of the Mosconi Cup!!!
  • Two invitations/passes to the Mosconi Cup players’ reception (Dec 9th – evening) – Meet the Stars!!!
  • $500 in spending cash!!!

GPwinner-ErnieRivas.jpg


a great time was had by all!!!

Here are some other notables/recognizable players and AZ'rs:

Former World 9-Ball Championships Runner-Up - Ismael "Morro" Paez!!!
Morro-MosconiCup.jpg


Top WPBA Star - Melissa Herndon!!!
MelissaH-MosconiCup.jpg


Former WPBA Star, Uber-great player, big time instructional columnist, and AZB Sweetheart - Tina Pawloski!!!
TinaP-MosconiCup.jpg


Palmer Cue Collector Extraordinaire - Chris Tate!!!
Mosconi-ChrisTate.jpg


and the current #1 player in the USA and Mosconi Cup USA Team Member - Oscar Dominguez!!! (I was trying to blind him with the flash as we were due to play each other next - Oscar is way too smart for me and did not fall for it - Doh!)
Oscar-MosconiShirt.jpg


A big congratulations to Ernie and thanks to all that came out to support the cause.

Remember, we are doing again on 12/6 - $30 Entry, sign-ups at noon, and tourney starts at 1pm!!!

Go Team USA!!!

P.S. Don't forget to get your votes in for the final Team USA Member - Go here (clicky-click) to vote!
 
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Congrats and cool stuff, sure he will have a great time there, hopefully we can have more stuff like this in the future. Good job Corey. :smile:
 
Congrats to Ernie. Knew him a little bit in SD and he is a good player and a nice guy.

I used to play a guy in SD who was terrible. After beating him 9-1 again, he told me "You practice too much. If I practiced as much as you, I'd be world champion."

I looked over at Ernie and asked, "If this guy practiced 10 hours a day for 10 years, do you think he could play decent?"

He looked over at my friend Saloman and said "You'd still be a terrible player". I thought that was hilarious. Ernie seemed like a quiet guy so his deadpan was perfect.

Tina looks the same as she did 7 years ago. Lovely lady.

Book your flight now, Watchez.
 
Congrats to Ernie. Knew him a little bit in SD and he is a good player and a nice guy.

I used to play a guy in SD who was terrible. After beating him 9-1 again, he told me "You practice too much. If I practiced as much as you, I'd be world champion."

I looked over at Ernie and asked, "If this guy practiced 10 hours a day for 10 years, do you think he could play decent?"

He looked over at my friend Saloman and said "You'd still be a terrible player". I thought that was hilarious. Ernie seemed like a quiet guy so his deadpan was perfect.

Thanks for the compliment, Bud. I vaguely remember that exchange with Salomon. Realize, he and I have been good friends for a long time. He is certainly use to my ribbing.

As you may remember, Salomon is well off financially and only comes to the poolhall to wind down from the pressures of running his business and to hang out with us goofballs. And, although he doesnt practice for 10 hours a day, he has shown remarkable improvement in the last few years. So look out Bud, King Salomon may be looking for revenge!

Ernie "the 8-ball Einstein"
 
I didn't realize that was you posting on here Ernie. I was the tall guy who hung out with Rick, James Poole, Anthony S., and tall Rich (boxer) at Society when I was in San Diego. Real name is Scott.

I posted about beating Soloman down because of his repeated shouts of "I f@@ked your mother!" while I was shooting nine balls, lol. Last time I hung out with him, he paid 4 grand for a pick six ticket on the ponies and a 20-1 killed his chances in the first race for the second week in a row.

We didn't play much but I remember you being a cool guy with a well rounded game that included one pocket, as well as a nice nine ball game.

Hope you're doing well and have fun at the Mosconi Cup.

If you see any of the gang at Society, tell them I'm still alive and will hopefully see them in 2010.
 
I didn't realize that was you posting on here Ernie. I was the tall guy who hung out with Rick, James Poole, Anthony S., and tall Rich (boxer) at Society when I was in San Diego. Real name is Scott.

I posted about beating Soloman down because of his repeated shouts of "I f@@ked your mother!" while I was shooting nine balls, lol. Last time I hung out with him, he paid 4 grand for a pick six ticket on the ponies and a 20-1 killed his chances in the first race for the second week in a row.

We didn't play much but I remember you being a cool guy with a well rounded game that included one pocket, as well as a nice nine ball game.

Hope you're doing well and have fun at the Mosconi Cup.

If you see any of the gang at Society, tell them I'm still alive and will hopefully see them in 2010.

Scott,

A lot of folks don't know my handle here and don't realize it's me posting. It's not that I've tried to keep it a secret, it's just that very few have asked.

As you mentioned, Salomon tries to shark his opponents as much as he can, especially when he has no chance of winning. Over the years though, he's managed to learn some pool etiquette. I occasionally go to Society and see him, Rick, Peter and Richard. Next time I'm there I'll tell 'em you said hi.

Be good and shoot 'em straight.
 
Back from Vegas!

I thought I would post up my thoughts about my experience at the Mosconi Cup.

But first, I have to thank Corey Harper from C^3 Sports Marketing. At Hard Times, he announced me as the winner of the Grand Prize. I was stunned when I heard my name. No doubt Corey had a lot to do with making this prize possible.

I also want to thank Luke Riches from Matchroom Sport. They were the financial backers of the prize. Without them, I would've missed the chance to see this historic event.

Interestingly, I had a difficult time finding someone to be my guest at this event. I asked people I knew from Phoenix, San Diego, Orange County and the Bay Area. Everybody I asked were thrilled to be invited but for various reasons couldn't make the gig. In the end, my friend Peter Civardi from San Diego gladly accepted my invitation.

The event itself was one of the most exciting I've ever seen in pool. Team USA was considered the underdog, going up against a European team made up of 5 World Champions. It was real impressive to see Team USA get fired up behind the large fan support and MVP, Dennis Hatch. Oscar Dominguez, the "weak link" on the team, showed he wasn't so weak at all! I also had to be impressed with Shane, who was cool as a cucumber, had good control and just shot the lights out. Then, watching Johnny overcome a 1-5 deficit with some flawless play to win 6-5, was just incredible.

The Europeans have nothing to be ashamed of, nosiree. Without a doubt, they played some awesome pool. All five represented Europe very well. They just ran up against a determined US team that was focused as a laser.

Another enjoyable part of this was meeting other AZ'ers, including vagabond, bflad and frankincali. Some were folks I've known for some time like dabarbr, fatboy, girlwon1, jay helfert, sunnyday, Mark Griffin and a couple of others I know I'm forgetting.

I'm so glad I didn't miss being a witness to this memorable event. My friend, Peter, couldn't thank me enough for giving him the same opportunity. We both love pool and this show was the cats meow. Look for me to be there next year!
 
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