It’s Vegas, baby.
It’s been a couple of years since my last visit, but just as advertised, this city remains like no other on earth. The neon, the bizarre mix of architectures, the non-stop gaming, all make you feel like Bond. James Bond. Or maybe like Brad Pitt in “Ocean’s 11.”
Actually, I take all that back. Walking through The Riviera, there’s an “old Vegas” feel that’s almost palpable. It’s as though you expect to see a marquee advertising Dean Martin doing his act in the headliner room later in the week. Or maybe Peggy Lee. In fact, taking a moment to look up the hotel’s history, it turns out that the original “Ocean’s Eleven” with Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack was shot at "The Riv." Not to mention that it was used as Robert De Niro’s “Casino,” The Tangiers. (Yes, I know “Austin Powers” was also filmed here, BUT, what you may not know is that hotel interiors for “The Godfather” were also put on film at The Riviera.)
And, for pool, it’s good fit. It feels right. I am home.
I’m here to watch Cue Sports International’s convening of the U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship. Now, normally, I’m not much of a 10-ball kinda guy. One pocket is my game. But at the invitation of Mr. Mark Griffin, CSI CEO and pool’s all around good guy, I’ve flown out for a few days. (In the interests of full disclosure: while here, ensconced at The Riviera on CSI’s dime, I’ve been given carte blanche to write and say whatever I want. With any luck, I’ll test out how they really feel about all that without finding my bags tossed out on the curb on Las Vegas Boulevard before my scheduled departure.)
Walking through the hotel’s convention area, it is pool heaven, or perhaps hell, depending on your point of view. The BCAPL National 8-Ball Championships is in full unfettered swing. Nearly 250 7’ Diamond pool tables covered in blue Simonis and equipped with shinny Aramith balls fill two huge ballrooms with a hundred tables apiece. It’s almost surreal to walk the periphery of the rooms and see so much pool and so many pool players in one place. Individuals and all permutations of teams are locked in mortal combat. In fact, there are so many pool players here that if you take a look down the rows of tables from certain angles, you see dozens and dozens and dozens of pool cues leaned against player’s chairs in symmetrical rows. With the endless rows of upright cues it’s like one of those arrow scenes from an Ang Lee film. Maybe “Crouching Tavern Player, Hidden Eight Ball.“
I run into a couple of folks from my home state of Missouri, including Mike Werner (klockdoc) and touring player Julia Gabriels (lookin’ good in that bikini, Julia). I wander into the Master’s Instruction Room and introduce myself to Randy (randyg), Dave Segal (SpiderWebComm), and John (didn’t catch the last name). Later I also get a chance to meet Holly Ryan, CSI PR Manager, and for the first time, Mike Howerton and Jerry Forysth, of AZ fame. Of course John Schmidt is in attendance and Bill (Marop) is not too far behind.
Last night I’m in time to watch the last two rounds of the 10-ball and I take an interest in the Kim Davenport – Gus Brieseno matchup, mostly because I’m interested in seeing how Davenport is playing nowadays. Truth be told, he’s hitting them pretty sporty, though he seemed bedeviled by the Diamond table side pockets, missing several makeable shots. Gus is also hitting them well, but let’s his cue ball get away and scratches several times. Davenport wins, 9-7.
The final round of the night includes Efren vs. James Baraks. Warming up, James is firing balls in from everywhere at speed. He looks impressive. When it’s his turn, Efren just ambles up to the table. He really hasn’t changed much over the last few years. He always looks just a bit disheveled, slightly off balance, and somewhat bemused by his surroundings. And he also fires a few in. The match starts, the TAR cameras are rolling, and Efren gets off to a big lead, pretty much limiting James to kicks and jump shots. And though Baracks makes an impressive run and keeps Efren on the hill for several games, he eventually loses 9-5.
The TAR setup at this event is incredible: great image quality and camera work; knowledgeable commentators like Billy Incardona and Scott Frost in the booth; and the feed is available on a huge screen in one of the 8-Ball tournament rooms and on channel 14 in your hotel room. It is all most cool.
While watching the Efren -- Baraks match, I was also watching the Oliver Ortmann -- Tyler Edey match. First off, I guess I’ve never watched Ortmann play that much before. I was shocked to see that he plays with the most pronounced chicken wing stroke I’ve ever seen. I mean, it is really out there. And what makes it even more striking is that he is usually holding the cue right at the very butt, so that he looks very much the gladiator holding a sword, about to administer a kill shot.
Edey plays a very clean, precise game. It’s almost as though he is playing 14.1 instead of 10-ball. And, he ends up on the hill in no time flat. In fact, it’s something like 8-4 when Edey starts to experience some "in-flight" problems. First, he corner hooks himself in the side pocket with just four balls left on the table. Game to Ortmann. A game later, Edey fails to apply enough draw and leaves himself on the eight straight into the rail and misses a table-length bank. Game to Ortmann. He then runs down to *the match ball.* Now this is when you knew it was time for someone to go knock on the cockpit door and ask if everything was OK, because this is a 10 ball that "the drunk Girl Scout" makes four-out-of-five. He misses. Game to Ortmann. Ortmann wins a game without assistance from Edey and then Ortmann makes a mistake in the next game. Edey is running out, but then misses a six ball. Game to Ortmann. The Efren match is over by now and everyone is watching to see if this meltdown is going to go “all the way.” Ortmann is now on the hill too. One of his safeties leaves a six-eight carom for Edey. He makes the carom but leaves the cue ball in the jaws, with an ugly back cut on the six. After lengthy due diligence, Edey steps up and everyone holds their breath as they watch the six ball slooowly slide into the corner pocket, while the cue ball gracefully travels two rails and comes up perfect for the seven, with the nine and ten nearby hangers. Edey gets out and saves himself from a very, very long and sleepless night.
Lou Figueroa
It’s been a couple of years since my last visit, but just as advertised, this city remains like no other on earth. The neon, the bizarre mix of architectures, the non-stop gaming, all make you feel like Bond. James Bond. Or maybe like Brad Pitt in “Ocean’s 11.”
Actually, I take all that back. Walking through The Riviera, there’s an “old Vegas” feel that’s almost palpable. It’s as though you expect to see a marquee advertising Dean Martin doing his act in the headliner room later in the week. Or maybe Peggy Lee. In fact, taking a moment to look up the hotel’s history, it turns out that the original “Ocean’s Eleven” with Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack was shot at "The Riv." Not to mention that it was used as Robert De Niro’s “Casino,” The Tangiers. (Yes, I know “Austin Powers” was also filmed here, BUT, what you may not know is that hotel interiors for “The Godfather” were also put on film at The Riviera.)
And, for pool, it’s good fit. It feels right. I am home.
I’m here to watch Cue Sports International’s convening of the U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship. Now, normally, I’m not much of a 10-ball kinda guy. One pocket is my game. But at the invitation of Mr. Mark Griffin, CSI CEO and pool’s all around good guy, I’ve flown out for a few days. (In the interests of full disclosure: while here, ensconced at The Riviera on CSI’s dime, I’ve been given carte blanche to write and say whatever I want. With any luck, I’ll test out how they really feel about all that without finding my bags tossed out on the curb on Las Vegas Boulevard before my scheduled departure.)
Walking through the hotel’s convention area, it is pool heaven, or perhaps hell, depending on your point of view. The BCAPL National 8-Ball Championships is in full unfettered swing. Nearly 250 7’ Diamond pool tables covered in blue Simonis and equipped with shinny Aramith balls fill two huge ballrooms with a hundred tables apiece. It’s almost surreal to walk the periphery of the rooms and see so much pool and so many pool players in one place. Individuals and all permutations of teams are locked in mortal combat. In fact, there are so many pool players here that if you take a look down the rows of tables from certain angles, you see dozens and dozens and dozens of pool cues leaned against player’s chairs in symmetrical rows. With the endless rows of upright cues it’s like one of those arrow scenes from an Ang Lee film. Maybe “Crouching Tavern Player, Hidden Eight Ball.“
I run into a couple of folks from my home state of Missouri, including Mike Werner (klockdoc) and touring player Julia Gabriels (lookin’ good in that bikini, Julia). I wander into the Master’s Instruction Room and introduce myself to Randy (randyg), Dave Segal (SpiderWebComm), and John (didn’t catch the last name). Later I also get a chance to meet Holly Ryan, CSI PR Manager, and for the first time, Mike Howerton and Jerry Forysth, of AZ fame. Of course John Schmidt is in attendance and Bill (Marop) is not too far behind.
Last night I’m in time to watch the last two rounds of the 10-ball and I take an interest in the Kim Davenport – Gus Brieseno matchup, mostly because I’m interested in seeing how Davenport is playing nowadays. Truth be told, he’s hitting them pretty sporty, though he seemed bedeviled by the Diamond table side pockets, missing several makeable shots. Gus is also hitting them well, but let’s his cue ball get away and scratches several times. Davenport wins, 9-7.
The final round of the night includes Efren vs. James Baraks. Warming up, James is firing balls in from everywhere at speed. He looks impressive. When it’s his turn, Efren just ambles up to the table. He really hasn’t changed much over the last few years. He always looks just a bit disheveled, slightly off balance, and somewhat bemused by his surroundings. And he also fires a few in. The match starts, the TAR cameras are rolling, and Efren gets off to a big lead, pretty much limiting James to kicks and jump shots. And though Baracks makes an impressive run and keeps Efren on the hill for several games, he eventually loses 9-5.
The TAR setup at this event is incredible: great image quality and camera work; knowledgeable commentators like Billy Incardona and Scott Frost in the booth; and the feed is available on a huge screen in one of the 8-Ball tournament rooms and on channel 14 in your hotel room. It is all most cool.
While watching the Efren -- Baraks match, I was also watching the Oliver Ortmann -- Tyler Edey match. First off, I guess I’ve never watched Ortmann play that much before. I was shocked to see that he plays with the most pronounced chicken wing stroke I’ve ever seen. I mean, it is really out there. And what makes it even more striking is that he is usually holding the cue right at the very butt, so that he looks very much the gladiator holding a sword, about to administer a kill shot.
Edey plays a very clean, precise game. It’s almost as though he is playing 14.1 instead of 10-ball. And, he ends up on the hill in no time flat. In fact, it’s something like 8-4 when Edey starts to experience some "in-flight" problems. First, he corner hooks himself in the side pocket with just four balls left on the table. Game to Ortmann. A game later, Edey fails to apply enough draw and leaves himself on the eight straight into the rail and misses a table-length bank. Game to Ortmann. He then runs down to *the match ball.* Now this is when you knew it was time for someone to go knock on the cockpit door and ask if everything was OK, because this is a 10 ball that "the drunk Girl Scout" makes four-out-of-five. He misses. Game to Ortmann. Ortmann wins a game without assistance from Edey and then Ortmann makes a mistake in the next game. Edey is running out, but then misses a six ball. Game to Ortmann. The Efren match is over by now and everyone is watching to see if this meltdown is going to go “all the way.” Ortmann is now on the hill too. One of his safeties leaves a six-eight carom for Edey. He makes the carom but leaves the cue ball in the jaws, with an ugly back cut on the six. After lengthy due diligence, Edey steps up and everyone holds their breath as they watch the six ball slooowly slide into the corner pocket, while the cue ball gracefully travels two rails and comes up perfect for the seven, with the nine and ten nearby hangers. Edey gets out and saves himself from a very, very long and sleepless night.
Lou Figueroa
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