Who knows the story of Efren surfacing in America?

kvinbrwr

Skee Ball Monster Playa
Gold Member
There's a thread currently that is pretty much mimicking the stories I had heard about Efren surfacing in America. The way I've heard it (I think) Efren surfaced at a pool tourney called Red's and played as Cesar Morales, won, and proceeded to take on all comers gambling (including Earl and Hall maybe?) and mowed everyone down. Maybe ending up giving world beaters weight?

Anyway, that's sort of the way I heard and I'm sure there are guys here that saw some of this first hand? Maybe Jay wouldn't believe what he was hearing in LA and dispatched someone to play Efren (maybe getting a spot?) (was it Keith ?) and they got wacked (but I might have just made that up).

Was Efren alone?

I'd like to hear about it.

Thanks

Kevin
 
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bdorman

Dead money
Silver Member
During a youtube video of a match (sorry, I don't remember which one) there was a female guest commentator who told the story of Efren gambling with Buddy Hall after the tournament.

The story went something like this:

Efren won the tournament and gambled heavily (and successfully) throughout it. He kept bugging Buddy to gamble and Buddy said he would when the tournament was over. After the tournament they played for $20,000. Efren got out to an early lead (I think running racks of 9-ball), let's say 10-1, race to 20. Someone challenged to double the bet, which they did. Efren made a mistake, Buddy got to the table and won 20-14. The $40k loss was the lion's share of what Efren had won that week.

I wish I could remember the video match and the name of the female commentator. It was someone who played a lot against Jean Balukis because I remember the person told many stories about her too.
 

Cornerman

Cue Author...Sometimes
Gold Member
Silver Member
During a youtube video of a match (sorry, I don't remember which one) there was a female guest commentator who told the story of Efren gambling with Buddy Hall after the tournament.



I wish I could remember the video match and the name of the female commentator. It was someone who played a lot against Jean Balukis because I remember the person told many stories about her too.
If it was anyone, it was the Nightmare - Mary Kenniston.

Freddie <~~~ if someone was a Hall of Fame Road Storyteller, she'd be near the top
 

smoooothstroke

JerLaw
Silver Member
Larry Schwartz tells the story of Ef gambling with Billy ( Utube but I forget what match he was commentating ).Billy confirms the story.
 

macguy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
There's a thread currently that is pretty much mimicking the stories I had heard about Efren surfacing in America. The way I've heard it (I think) Efren surfaced at a pool tourney called Red's and played as Cesar Morales, won, and proceeded to take on all comers gambling (including Earl and Hall maybe?) and mowed everyone down. Maybe ending up giving world beaters weight?

Anyway, that's sort of the way I heard and I'm sure there are guys here that saw some of this first hand? Maybe Jay wouldn't believe what he was hearing in LA and dispatched someone to play Efren (maybe getting a spot?) (was it Keith ?) and they got wacked (but I might have just made that up).

Was Efren alone?

I'd like to hear about it.

Thanks

Kevin
I played in the Red's tournament that year. People knew who he was. He just was not around for the calcutta and Cesar Morales went for like $100.00 to his buddies. The calcutta was like over $30,000.00. Nothing really all that nefarious though, pool players were always using other names.

Even way back, Andrew Ponzi's real name was Andrew D'Alessandro. His name is even in the record books as Ponzi.
 
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$TAKE HOR$E

champagne - campaign
Silver Member
I heard he also originally went by Cesar Millan, the one pocket whisperer, and when he was up north he went by Aurora Borealis.
 

West Point 1987

On the Hill, Out of Gas
Silver Member
Yes, I heard about that...the assumed name was suggested by his backer because there was word out about Efren, and they didn't think he'd be recognized. Tournament coverage after the fact didn't pick up on it, so I'm not sure anyone recognized him or outed him then. Maybe some knew? I also heard Buddy pretty much busted him after he'd ran through everyone else. Someone may know the details about his backer...I had heard that on that trip, he basically got stiffed by the backers and he went home; he came back much later, as Efren, and got stiffed again by a different group and finally went to Pulyat (sp?) and never looked back? I'm sure I'm getting a lot of that wrong, but heard he got screwed at least once. I wonder if the guys that ganked him for the short score miss the opportunity they lost for the long score...?

I also heard legend there were a couple of Filipino players about that time that never made it to the States that Efren and Parica never beat...might be a white whale tale, though.
 

itsfroze

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Buy the time Efren played Buddy, was it true that he really didn't have much of a choice but to lose and get out of there ?
 

NK_Sniper

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Thanks for the link. They should really make a documentary/biography of Efren.

This is a great interview to watch with Shane and Efren. Shanes asks Efren a lot of interesting questions and sometime towards the middle or end of it (ain't able check for it), he was asked to explain the Ceasar Morales story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kL9ena6j6M

According to him, Ceasar Morales was a real person and was actually one of his close friends. He also said he had to use Morales' real passport to travel to the US (guess they both looked similar for that to work out).
 

terryhanna

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
EfrenReyesakaCaesarMorales1985.jpg
thanks for the link. They should really make a documentary/biography of efren.

This is a great interview to watch with shane and efren. Shanes asks efren a lot of interesting questions and sometime towards the middle or end of it (ain't able check for it), he was asked to explain the ceasar morales story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kl9ena6j6m

according to him, ceasar morales was a real person and was actually one of his close friends. He also said he had to use morales' real passport to travel to the us (guess they both looked similar for that to work out).
///////////
 

macguy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Yes, I heard about that...the assumed name was suggested by his backer because there was word out about Efren, and they didn't think he'd be recognized. Tournament coverage after the fact didn't pick up on it, so I'm not sure anyone recognized him or outed him then. Maybe some knew? I also heard Buddy pretty much busted him after he'd ran through everyone else. Someone may know the details about his backer...I had heard that on that trip, he basically got stiffed by the backers and he went home; he came back much later, as Efren, and got stiffed again by a different group and finally went to Pulyat (sp?) and never looked back? I'm sure I'm getting a lot of that wrong, but heard he got screwed at least once. I wonder if the guys that ganked him for the short score miss the opportunity they lost for the long score...?

I also heard legend there were a couple of Filipino players about that time that never made it to the States that Efren and Parica never beat...might be a white whale tale, though.

I had heard that also and it was not small it was like in the hundreds of thousands they had made when he got screwed. Don't they something like a Filipino Mafia over there that run everything? People have been knows to disappear now and then.
 

poolguy4u

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I was there and got there a couple days early...I just know Efren played---I'm pretty sure it was Keith really late into the night and morning, might of been a couple different days. I believe Louie Roberts played too. The table wasn't out in the open with the rest of the tables but had walls around it like it was kind of private. Now I wasn't there after the tournament ended to see what went on.


I didn't even know what a calcutta was back then. I'm thinking I probably ended up in the player's pool.:D
 
There's a thread currently that is pretty much mimicking the stories I had heard about Efren surfacing in America.

Was Efren alone?

I'd like to hear about it.

Thanks

Kevin

Efren waited his entire life until he heard the Rack ,in Detroit, was closing and only then did he come to America:smile:.

You never would've heard his name otherwise:p.

ONB
 

Scott Lee

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
That's true. Efren ended up getting only a pittance of the actual money won. His Filipino backers took the rest. Efren learned quickly (and rightly so) to trust very few poolplayers...go figure...poolplayers being untrustworthy! LOL :eek: :grin:

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

My understanding is Mr Morales' backers took all his winnings.
 

Celtic

AZB's own 8-ball jihadist
Silver Member
I have always expected there is earlier happenings then the Red's tournament that likely occurred.

It makes little sense for a world beater and gambler to jump off the plane from the Philippines, enter a pro event, and win it.

I have no doubt that Red's was something of a "coming out" thing for Mr. Caesar Morales and not the start of his USA experience.

I would love to hear about his true earliest matches in the USA when he was completely unknown and simply matching up under the radar. Anyone after Red's knew to a degree what they were getting into. I want to hear about "Efren" getting spotted the 6 out by some short stop who could not beat Efren if he was "getting" that.

I am guessing a guy like Buddy and his backers would have gave a pretty decent spot to Efren prior to Red's when people really had no clue who he was.

Or was he really "that" unknown? Did the top guys in the world have rumors of a few of these phenoms that existed overseas? Parica was already around and he knew Efren, and Parica was already a feared player in the USA and thus the pros knew there were some monsters developing over there.

I would love to hear about what Efren did "before" Red's.
 
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