In a separate thread Drivermaker mentions that George San Souci is giving up pool. Is this true? Why? It's a sad commentary on the sport if such a talented player can't make a living at it.
Is Ginky gone??
- Thread starter Williebetmore
- Start date
Yep, it is pretty lame. He was just not good enough to make a decent living at the game. Mind you if he were as good at golf he would be a millionaire and live in luxery with those skills on the PGA. Pool is a sport that unless you are top 10 in the world you are better off doing something else. Even the top 10 make a pretty meager living considering they are the top of their proffesion. There are alot of jobs out there that are not high end and don't take loads of school that pay more then the top pool player in the world will make this year. I blame the marketers of the sport and the people who make the decisions at the corperate level. This sport is not unmarketable, we just have noone out there doing it right. Maybe Mark Griffin can show us something now that he has a important organization to work with and use.
Williebetmore said:
Why do you say it is such a sad commentary. True Ginky is (was) very good, but he wasn't the best, he wasn't in the same class as Reyes, Busta, Archer, Strickland, Hall, etc.
How many really good, just short of great, baseball players never make in to the big leagues? A lot don't and for that matter a few great ball players don't make it. They can continue to scrounge around in the minor leagues hoping against hope that a last little piece they need will fall in place or they can take their lumps and move on with life. Gingy probably just got tired of banging around in the minor leagues hustling here and there winning a minor tournament here and there, but always living on the edge. He was a very good minor league player, but a minor league player all the same.
And just maybe, as good a pool player as he is, he is a far better poker player.
Also I don't see it as neccessary for there to be a whole cadre of successful professional pool players for the sport (game, take your pick) to be valuable. I enjoy playing it, if nobody had ever made a living at it I'd still enjoy playing it. JMHO.
The guy can't play? He made 44k from tournaments alone in 2000, including winning the dcc, runner up espn 7 ball, but he can't play? He was 10th place in money won in 2000, didn't he have some problems with his health? Sounds to me like he got burnt out.
________
________
Last edited:
Cat's Cradle,
Just a note from the home of Vonnegut. I agree with everything you say. The only reason I care about pool being more popular is that it would provide more opportunity for me to watch and play. Imagine seeing top flight pool on television every week; I wouldn't mind (can't say the same for my wife).
Just a note from the home of Vonnegut. I agree with everything you say. The only reason I care about pool being more popular is that it would provide more opportunity for me to watch and play. Imagine seeing top flight pool on television every week; I wouldn't mind (can't say the same for my wife).
Johnson said:
He had back surgery 3 or 4 years ago and it seemed after that he never placed as high in tourneys as he did before that.
There's a lot of New Yorkers at the CCB that know him. Perhaps they could shed some light on this.
BTW, on ESPN2 today at 5 pm is his win at the 2000 BCA against Archer . Yeah, he could play.
Vonnegut
Glad to see somebody go the reference.Williebetmore said:
Maybe Ginky will get tired of Poker after awhile and come back to pool. Tang Hoa did it. He sure did play good. But health and boredom may have got the best of him.
Sarah
Sarah
Keith McCready
Pro Player
Celtic said:
Can you present some evidence of your statements? Ginky was one of the most talented young players I have ever seen. Made tons of money off pool in ways that most players miss. His money was always in side action at the pool room. He gambled every chance that came up. I know, because we made several road trips together. He was also a championship caliber tournament player, winning the Charlotte 10-ball Open, the Derby City Classic, the National Straight Pool Championships, and the BCA Invitational 9-ball Open. During his trek to those victories, he claimed the Massachusetts, Delaware, and Maine state championships. He also claimed the Rhode Island Championships twice. He also holds several records and many dozens of titles with the regional tours in the Northeast. From 1994 to 1997, he won 18 out of 22 tournaments on the tri-state tour!catscradle said:
IMHO, when Ginky's focus is on pool, he is without a doubt in the top 10! I believe he would have eventually reached #1...but his focus wasn't always entirely on pool. He had other things happen in his life that took away from pool. I guess at this time it is just not in his destiny. Perhaps one day he will play again. It was a beautiful thing...
Jimmy M. said:
Yeah, if pool was organized in 20 man teams he wouldn't be a minor league player, but it isn't. It is an individual sport and the definition of "minor league" in pool has to take that into account. There are 29 major league teams (I think), is Ginky one of the top 29 players? I don't think so, maybe you do. Even if he was one of the top 29 players, he isn't what he was I don't believe (again I might be wrong).
I know, as somebody else said, an equivalent golf or tennis player would be relatively rich, but pool just doesn't have the popularity of golf or tennis. There aren't as many people watching and even more importantly there aren't as many people BUYING. A casual golfer buys golf shoes, golf clubs, a golf bag, and a cute little hat. The casual pool player grabs a cue off the rack, and a lot of the non-casual pool players buy a custom cue from a mom & pop custom cue making operation which can't afford to sponser a 100,000 tournament. Furthermore, most pool player purchases are one time purchases except for beer. Let's face it we're a bunch of cheap SOB's.
I personally don't understand why even avid golfers want to drag their butt off to a course and watch an inch and a half ball fly by 50 yards away. Much less do I understand why they care who wins or losses. But evidently they do care and pool players don't. I go to all the tournaments I reasonably can (as a spectator) and the venues are generally terrible for spectating, it's smokey as all get out, no seating to speak of, it just is sucky for spectating. As far as TV goes if people were watching pool when it is on, the networks would be stealing it from ESPN just like they did "March Madness", clearly we don't have fan appeal.
Bottom line: Pool doesn't generate revenue for big business and until it does it will be small time. IMO.
Ted Harris said:
Well there you have it. It doesn't matter how much talent you have if you don't use it correctly. Not all minor leaguers were there for lack of talent.
Johnson said:
Never said he couldn't play.
Hold on a minute...you said in your previous post that Ginky was not in the top 29. Now all of a sudden he has to reach #1 to get any respect from you. He was on his way to #1...but his back surgery threw him off! His focus was right where it should have been. How does that equate to "not using his talent correctly?"catscradle said:
Methinks that sometime in the past Ginky must have beat on you or won your money!
Last edited:
well i can say from expierience ginky was a helluva player and a helluva guy....his love for the game was to be rivaled by no other......he did have some health issues and i promise when your health starts to fail or even waiver you tend to lose your game and interest......i have also come to the point of wanting to stop playing but just cant bring myself to do it.....just to much love for it.......i wish george the best in what ever he is doing and i want to thank him for the chance to hit balls at the apa in 97 on the pro practice table ......take care geroge and be safe......juston coleman
Ginky was 9th at the 2003 US Open -- probably the most competitive pool tournament in the world. That was just 7 months ago. I see him pretty regularly in the poolroom practicing by himself, giving lessons, and occasionally in action. He can still play pretty f***ing sporty.