Cornerman said:
That's pretty accurate. They were playing for a HUGE number per-game in 1P. If my memory serves, Allen ran out the last game (maybe for $10k???, I'll find out later) 10 and out on the snooker table.
Allen Hopkins The Gambler
- Thread starter Matt_24
- Start date
That's pretty accurate. They were playing for a HUGE number per-game in 1P. If my memory serves, Allen ran out the last game (maybe for $10k???, I'll find out later) 10 and out on the snooker table.
SpiderWebComm said:
Spider,
Here's a link to some Don Willis info, replete w/ photos. Also, Huckster is his grandson & knows him better than anyone here.
http://www.gcaba.com/willis.htm
Blackjack said:
Being a very close friend of Allen, I would have to second that emotion. He also told me that story while eating a snack @ a bar, "He picked up the tab, as always. LOL"
Frankie
Hoppy Road Story
Myself, Big Jeff(Comet Billiards), Big Daddy Mike and Allen go to this 14.1 tourny every year in Pa. to play. Anyhow the round was over and it was time for the festivities to comense. All four of us went to this, i dont know what, a bar of some sort in the middle of no place. Ofcourse they have a bar box in there with hair on the table so long I could braid it. There was a local gent in the place which did not have much money or any for that matter. He some how gets real tight w/ Allen telling him that he was a pro pool player and hustler and if Allen could buy him a beer. Allen says sure, but this is how its gonna go down. Your gonna play my buddy Frankie over here some eightball, Ill buy you a drink, but if Frankie beats you I want those beads you have on, mind you these beads must have been worth maybe 10 cents if that, but for some reason this local loved them(the beads). Low and behold I break and run out the rack! Allen goes to obtain these 10 cent beads, the guy says hold up no bet, I did not touch that beer, I thought it was yours. Allen says OK OK, you play my friend BIG DADDY, if you win I'll buy you a six pack, if you loose I want the beads and your watch. Mind you the watch was also worth about 10 cents. BIG DADDY gets up breaks and gets out, we look around the home town guys is gone, we have no watch or beads, and Allen has a bar tab for a six pack of Old Milwalkee....................
Frankie
Myself, Big Jeff(Comet Billiards), Big Daddy Mike and Allen go to this 14.1 tourny every year in Pa. to play. Anyhow the round was over and it was time for the festivities to comense. All four of us went to this, i dont know what, a bar of some sort in the middle of no place. Ofcourse they have a bar box in there with hair on the table so long I could braid it. There was a local gent in the place which did not have much money or any for that matter. He some how gets real tight w/ Allen telling him that he was a pro pool player and hustler and if Allen could buy him a beer. Allen says sure, but this is how its gonna go down. Your gonna play my buddy Frankie over here some eightball, Ill buy you a drink, but if Frankie beats you I want those beads you have on, mind you these beads must have been worth maybe 10 cents if that, but for some reason this local loved them(the beads). Low and behold I break and run out the rack! Allen goes to obtain these 10 cent beads, the guy says hold up no bet, I did not touch that beer, I thought it was yours. Allen says OK OK, you play my friend BIG DADDY, if you win I'll buy you a six pack, if you loose I want the beads and your watch. Mind you the watch was also worth about 10 cents. BIG DADDY gets up breaks and gets out, we look around the home town guys is gone, we have no watch or beads, and Allen has a bar tab for a six pack of Old Milwalkee....................
Frankie
Terry Ardeno said:
MUCH appreciated. Very good reading. I learned a lot-- Don was obviously a legend
Dave
I have a bunch of Allen stories, but not the "OK" to tell em yet.
one good one was back when I worked at the pool room and all the Pros were there for the 14.1 event, and in between matches we ran to "10 Downing street" a bar with good food. As soon as we sit down Allen looks at the Pro Golf on TV and said...." Who wants to bet?...I knew golf at the time, so I barked a little. Allen goes on to say....I'll give you 3 picks, and I'll take the field for the win. I was a little leery, so I balked....then He said....OK, I'll pick 3 and you take the field!!!
He just wanted some action.....which he got, and won....friggin Mark Calcavechia 3 putted 18 to kill my bet....
Allen is VERY fun to be around!!
G.
one good one was back when I worked at the pool room and all the Pros were there for the 14.1 event, and in between matches we ran to "10 Downing street" a bar with good food. As soon as we sit down Allen looks at the Pro Golf on TV and said...." Who wants to bet?...I knew golf at the time, so I barked a little. Allen goes on to say....I'll give you 3 picks, and I'll take the field for the win. I was a little leery, so I balked....then He said....OK, I'll pick 3 and you take the field!!!
He just wanted some action.....which he got, and won....friggin Mark Calcavechia 3 putted 18 to kill my bet....
Allen is VERY fun to be around!!
G.
Allen Gambling Stories
So at last year's BCA in Vegas, Hopkins Shadow and me are at the Riv when all of a sudden Hopkins gets involved in a last-pocket 8-ball game with a Mexican player (not sure of his name, but he was REAL good). Another Mexican guy asks me if I wanted Hoppy for $20/game on the side and I was like suuure, why not.
Before you know it, the Mexican guy was up 4 games in no time at all--- he played perfectly, literally. Hopkins seemed a little impatient. He says to the Mexican and the entire rail of Mexicans betting on the side, "Whatever you do, don't quit me. I'll play you until i lose a ton of money. As for the rail, I have all of your action as well (Shadow was managing the rail bets)."
The next thing ya know the Mexican guy breaks and doesn't make a ball and Hopkins put on the most amazing last-pocket 8-ball exhibition I've ever seen. I've never in all my life seen someone navigate through tiny holes in traffic to short-sides of balls to get out. Hopkins wins the next 9 games in a row and the guy quits. I know it was 9 because i was down $80 and I was up $100 when it broke up. From what I heard, the Mexican guy beat Efren at last-pocket 8-ball so he's def a player-player (the entire rail was tripping over themselves to bet on him).
So, SpiderWebComm's up $100 oddball cash... an hour or so later....
So we're all hanging around the craps tables trying to figure out what we wanna do.
Shadow didn't feel like doing anything, but Hoppy was combing through the craps tables like a shark circling a crippled fish. We finally found one that he liked and says, "So, are you IN or not?"
He was kind of squinty-eyed, like he was in the zone in something. Well yeah, I'm in (right???)!
I hand Allen my $100 and he takes $100 and starts pretty conservative... betting the don't pass line for a little bit. He gets up some quick cash and starts laying down number-bets, and then he's buying the numbers, and then we're pulling back winnings letting our bets ride, and the next thing ya know.... we're up at least $800 in what seemed like 15 minutes of REAL quick action.
He colors-in and says, "OK, now what--- how about Blackjack...you like blackjack Dave?"
I go, "I like what you like, Hop." (I'm giggling and getting way too cocky like we're gonna rob the casino or something)
We sit down at the blackjack table and we're betting $25 / hand. Some we lose, some we win...ya know the BJ drill. MAN, was it slow compared to craps table we just came from. We were floating around even and I was getting edgy.
"C'mon Allen... pump it up a little bit, this is too slow!"
Allen looks at me and goes, "What? You wanna bet something or what? Am I not betting enough?? What do you wanna do... do you wanna send it in? Is that what you wanna do?? Well hell, let's send it in then... I thought you wanted to play smart. Hey, no problem...."
Without hesitation, he takes our entire stack and pushes "all-in" on the bet circle. The dealer deals the cards...... K-4
.... you guys finish the story for me.
I learned a valuable lesson that night. Keep your mouth SHUT and let a gambler do his thing. Next time we're in the casino, I'm not saying crap.
Edit: One of the most fun days I ever had!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So at last year's BCA in Vegas, Hopkins Shadow and me are at the Riv when all of a sudden Hopkins gets involved in a last-pocket 8-ball game with a Mexican player (not sure of his name, but he was REAL good). Another Mexican guy asks me if I wanted Hoppy for $20/game on the side and I was like suuure, why not.
Before you know it, the Mexican guy was up 4 games in no time at all--- he played perfectly, literally. Hopkins seemed a little impatient. He says to the Mexican and the entire rail of Mexicans betting on the side, "Whatever you do, don't quit me. I'll play you until i lose a ton of money. As for the rail, I have all of your action as well (Shadow was managing the rail bets)."
The next thing ya know the Mexican guy breaks and doesn't make a ball and Hopkins put on the most amazing last-pocket 8-ball exhibition I've ever seen. I've never in all my life seen someone navigate through tiny holes in traffic to short-sides of balls to get out. Hopkins wins the next 9 games in a row and the guy quits. I know it was 9 because i was down $80 and I was up $100 when it broke up. From what I heard, the Mexican guy beat Efren at last-pocket 8-ball so he's def a player-player (the entire rail was tripping over themselves to bet on him).
So, SpiderWebComm's up $100 oddball cash... an hour or so later....
So we're all hanging around the craps tables trying to figure out what we wanna do.
Shadow didn't feel like doing anything, but Hoppy was combing through the craps tables like a shark circling a crippled fish. We finally found one that he liked and says, "So, are you IN or not?"
He was kind of squinty-eyed, like he was in the zone in something. Well yeah, I'm in (right???)!
I hand Allen my $100 and he takes $100 and starts pretty conservative... betting the don't pass line for a little bit. He gets up some quick cash and starts laying down number-bets, and then he's buying the numbers, and then we're pulling back winnings letting our bets ride, and the next thing ya know.... we're up at least $800 in what seemed like 15 minutes of REAL quick action.
He colors-in and says, "OK, now what--- how about Blackjack...you like blackjack Dave?"
I go, "I like what you like, Hop." (I'm giggling and getting way too cocky like we're gonna rob the casino or something)
We sit down at the blackjack table and we're betting $25 / hand. Some we lose, some we win...ya know the BJ drill. MAN, was it slow compared to craps table we just came from. We were floating around even and I was getting edgy.
"C'mon Allen... pump it up a little bit, this is too slow!"
Allen looks at me and goes, "What? You wanna bet something or what? Am I not betting enough?? What do you wanna do... do you wanna send it in? Is that what you wanna do?? Well hell, let's send it in then... I thought you wanted to play smart. Hey, no problem...."
Without hesitation, he takes our entire stack and pushes "all-in" on the bet circle. The dealer deals the cards...... K-4
.... you guys finish the story for me.
I learned a valuable lesson that night. Keep your mouth SHUT and let a gambler do his thing. Next time we're in the casino, I'm not saying crap.
Edit: One of the most fun days I ever had!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last edited:
frankwhite said:
Thats one of the best stories I've read on here.
SpiderWebComm said:
Hey Dave thats a good one, "BROTHER"...as Allen would say......LOL
APA7 said:Umm, no UR not. U may know him, but stop exaggerating, Frankie Scanlon
Brian
Whats goin on there BROTHER......LOL
Frankie
APA7 said:Umm, no UR not. U may know him, but stop exaggerating, Frankie Scanlon
Brian
In the APA your a seven(7), you must be playin pretty sporty......LOL
APA7 said:Umm, no UR not. U may know him, but stop exaggerating, Frankie Scanlon
Brian
This is all in fun, stop being so jealous cuz......We were all havin a good time till you chimmed in w/ your comment. This place will never change, it's a shame. We were all having some good laughs.
Hopkins vs Colavita
Heard this second hand so I can't verify it.
A friend told me that back at the West End in Elizabeth, NJ (which deserves its own thread) Jack and Allen matched up some straight pool and Allen ran 150 and out three times on the guy. The guy said Colavita was literally sick after the ordeal. Again, I don't know Allen and I heard it second hand from a West End regular, but I like hearing stories about the old NJ greats exaggerated or not.
Coincidentally, I'm about to log off and watch some Accu-Stats PPV. They have this awesome old school match of Allen vs Davenport at the Valley Forge Finals. Allen plays some killer nine-ball. If you wanna see Allen playing some killer pool, head over to Accu-Stats.com.
Justin.
Heard this second hand so I can't verify it.
A friend told me that back at the West End in Elizabeth, NJ (which deserves its own thread) Jack and Allen matched up some straight pool and Allen ran 150 and out three times on the guy. The guy said Colavita was literally sick after the ordeal. Again, I don't know Allen and I heard it second hand from a West End regular, but I like hearing stories about the old NJ greats exaggerated or not.
Coincidentally, I'm about to log off and watch some Accu-Stats PPV. They have this awesome old school match of Allen vs Davenport at the Valley Forge Finals. Allen plays some killer nine-ball. If you wanna see Allen playing some killer pool, head over to Accu-Stats.com.
Justin.
24 chances
I was playing with him once years ago an a bar table, 8 ball. He told me to pick a number between 20 and 30. I picked 24. He said, "I'm gonna give you 24 chances to shoot, then I'm gonna run out and win"
I got exactly that, 24 chances with the white ball stuck behind anything and everything. 24 chances to kick at my balls. Now I'm not the best player in the world, but I'm not the worst either. I never had a decent shot, i was kicking at any shot I tried. It was amazing. I didnt think it was possible to never have a shot on a bar table, at least not 24 times in a row...
After my 24th attempt at making at least a legal shot, he said, "OK, games over", and proceeded to run out, just like he said...
I asked him about this, said he used to do it out on the road to get action going... we weren't gambling though, i never bet money anywhere near a pool table against my dad
I was playing with him once years ago an a bar table, 8 ball. He told me to pick a number between 20 and 30. I picked 24. He said, "I'm gonna give you 24 chances to shoot, then I'm gonna run out and win"
I got exactly that, 24 chances with the white ball stuck behind anything and everything. 24 chances to kick at my balls. Now I'm not the best player in the world, but I'm not the worst either. I never had a decent shot, i was kicking at any shot I tried. It was amazing. I didnt think it was possible to never have a shot on a bar table, at least not 24 times in a row...
After my 24th attempt at making at least a legal shot, he said, "OK, games over", and proceeded to run out, just like he said...
I asked him about this, said he used to do it out on the road to get action going... we weren't gambling though, i never bet money anywhere near a pool table against my dad
New Orleans 1982
Allen used to make a regular trip down to New Orleans to make a score off our local legend, Earl Heisler. Earl was a player from the days of Eddie Taylor and Fattie (Minnesota Fats). Earl was a tenacioius gambler who seldom lost. Allen was in his prime and came to town on one occasion and gave Earl 9-7. While Allen was always known as being smart about gambling, he found out he wasn't "playin' with children". Earl played some of the toughest safeties you would ever find. He seldom ever shot a shot more than three feet away. Earl must have been close to 65 at this time in his life but he was a cagey gambler. The Sports Palace which Earl Heisler and Louie Knott owned was a den on iniquity with pool degenerates and people from all walks of life. It was a gambling haven and if you made it through the Sports Palace school of hard knocks, you at least could defend yourself.
As soon as the money was posted and the game begun, by chance old man Pete, the in house seafood boiler opened the doors to the seafood boiler room. Back in those days, you could dine on some of the largest Number 1 crabs in the world for cheap money. They also boiled crawfish and shrimp. New Orleans by nature is a very humid place, surrounded by water and well below sea level. When Pete opens the doors of the boiler room after boiling any kind of seafood, you could feel the moisture hitting your skin and laying hold to every surface in the pool room. The aroma was something that pleased the senses, especially hungry wolves that were normally famished because of long hours in the pool hall. We were used to the humidity and we just thought it was normal. Allen on the other hand got a taste of more than just seasoned seafood. He got a beating from an old wolf who had one more battle left in his old tired body.
Allen continued to come back to New Orleans and managed to pick Earl's pockets in future matches playing 9-7, 8-7. Allen also lost to me playing even up. I made him quit after only a couple of games. He just wasn't used to the pressure that Pinball Joey could put on an opponent.
Hope you enjoyed the story. It is as close as I remembered it.
JoeyA
Allen used to make a regular trip down to New Orleans to make a score off our local legend, Earl Heisler. Earl was a player from the days of Eddie Taylor and Fattie (Minnesota Fats). Earl was a tenacioius gambler who seldom lost. Allen was in his prime and came to town on one occasion and gave Earl 9-7. While Allen was always known as being smart about gambling, he found out he wasn't "playin' with children". Earl played some of the toughest safeties you would ever find. He seldom ever shot a shot more than three feet away. Earl must have been close to 65 at this time in his life but he was a cagey gambler. The Sports Palace which Earl Heisler and Louie Knott owned was a den on iniquity with pool degenerates and people from all walks of life. It was a gambling haven and if you made it through the Sports Palace school of hard knocks, you at least could defend yourself.
As soon as the money was posted and the game begun, by chance old man Pete, the in house seafood boiler opened the doors to the seafood boiler room. Back in those days, you could dine on some of the largest Number 1 crabs in the world for cheap money. They also boiled crawfish and shrimp. New Orleans by nature is a very humid place, surrounded by water and well below sea level. When Pete opens the doors of the boiler room after boiling any kind of seafood, you could feel the moisture hitting your skin and laying hold to every surface in the pool room. The aroma was something that pleased the senses, especially hungry wolves that were normally famished because of long hours in the pool hall. We were used to the humidity and we just thought it was normal. Allen on the other hand got a taste of more than just seasoned seafood. He got a beating from an old wolf who had one more battle left in his old tired body.
Allen continued to come back to New Orleans and managed to pick Earl's pockets in future matches playing 9-7, 8-7. Allen also lost to me playing even up. I made him quit after only a couple of games. He just wasn't used to the pressure that Pinball Joey could put on an opponent.
Hope you enjoyed the story. It is as close as I remembered it.
JoeyA
JoeyA said:Allen used to make a regular trip down to New Orleans to make a score off our local legend, Earl Heisler. Earl was a player from the days of Eddie Taylor and Fattie (Minnesota Fats). Earl was a tenacioius gambler who seldom lost. Allen was in his prime and came to town on one occasion and gave Earl 9-7. While Allen was always known as being smart about gambling, he found out he wasn't "playin' with children". Earl played some of the toughest safeties you would ever find. He seldom ever shot a shot more than three feet away. Earl must have been close to 65 at this time in his life but he was a cagey gambler. The Sports Palace which Earl Heisler and Louie Knott owned was a den on iniquity with pool degenerates and people from all walks of life. It was a gambling haven and if you made it through the Sports Palace school of hard knocks, you at least could defend yourself.
As soon as the money was posted and the game begun, by chance old man Pete, the in house seafood boiler opened the doors to the seafood boiler room. Back in those days, you could dine on some of the largest Number 1 crabs in the world for cheap money. They also boiled crawfish and shrimp. New Orleans by nature is a very humid place, surrounded by water and well below sea level. When Pete opens the doors of the boiler room after boiling any kind of seafood, you could feel the moisture hitting your skin and laying hold to every surface in the pool room. The aroma was something that pleased the senses, especially hungry wolves that were normally famished because of long hours in the pool hall. We were used to the humidity and we just thought it was normal. Allen on the other hand got a taste of more than just seasoned seafood. He got a beating from an old wolf who had one more battle left in his old tired body.
Allen continued to come back to New Orleans and managed to pick Earl's pockets in future matches playing 9-7, 8-7. Allen also lost to me playing even up. I made him quit after only a couple of games. He just wasn't used to the pressure that Pinball Joey could put on an opponent.
Hope you enjoyed the story. It is as close as I remembered it.
JoeyA
So you played Allen even. Now the truth comes out! Allen had to give me 8-5, so where does that leave us. No wonder you wanted a One Pocket game with me so bad.
My original offer still holds though. One set of Banks and one set of One Pocket. You pick the bet, and I pick the location.