from the 1P.org interview
Oh really? So you played Fats really early.
GR: 1934 or maybe ‘35 or ’36 -- along in there. He came to town and he was driving a LaSalle. You know what a LaSalle was?
1P: Was that a big Buick?
GR: A 16-cylinder car. He had a couple blondes with him and they parked out in front of the fireplug out in front of the poolroom. I was the only person in there, and I was brushing the tables. He came in and he says, ‘I'm looking for this guy George. I hear he plays.’ And I said, ‘Friend, he doesn't come down till about one, but I'll play you some till he gets here.’ He said, ‘Sonny, you don't have enough money to play me.’
So I went next door. The fellow that owned the place also was a bookie and he gave me a roll of bills about big enough to choke a horse. I came back and said, ‘Is this enough?’ He said, ‘That's enough.’ So he went and got his stick, you know, and he said, ‘You go and break them Sonny.’ So I broke them, made one on the break, and ran on out while he was taking his stick out, and getting it together. I broke them again, ran out and he’s getting some talcum powder from the bar and getting that ready. I broke them and ran out the third time. Now he's standing like this. The fourth time I broke them he was shaking his head and the fifth time I broke them he was unscrewing his stick. He never got a shot. Never got a turn at the table. That was The Fat Man the first time I played him.