congrats to joss NE tour Turing Stone classic

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pocketspeed

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
now that i have had a chance to decompress form watching a weekend of world class 9 ball, i just want to thank mike zuglan and the joss NE tour for putting on such a GREAT tournament. i had an awesome time and saw some smoking hot pool. i have been to several turning stone classics and i thought this one by far had the most consistently high level of play i have seen there. thanks to AZ for sponsoring and streaming as well and for doing it in a non intrusive way. kudos to jerry for sitting at that table for 12hrs a day typing into the chat. thanks to the Turning Stone casino as well for putting up the added money and providing an awesome venue. i'm sure mike or dana will pass along any posts here by AZ'ers who were there about what a great experience you had to the TS management. My stay at Turning Stone was great, the accomadations were excellent and as always the staff very customer service oriented. This tournamant always attracts the whos who in top players. if you have never been and can make to the next one, you wont be disappointed. i am looking forward to August.

thank again to all who made this tourney such a great success

brian
 
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Although I am not known as a 9-ball fan, Mike Zuglan & the Turning Stone do an exemplary job with these events, and I very much enjoy watching all those fantastic players from around the world. :thumbup:

The weather limited my tme to one day, but I did get a ton of photos anyway :smile:

They can be found here:

Turning Stone February 2009 Galley

Dennis Hatch didn't win, but played well enough to...

479593592_Gj2AG-L.jpg
 
Mike, once, again put on a fabulous event. Great players, great conditions, a wide variety of players including many of the top female players in the world. I wish my book sales went better but you can't have everything. I did receive several fine compliments on the story and I'm very grateful to those who purchased a copy or took the time to come by my table and inquired about the story. See all of you again in August.
 
Mike Z. and Dana B. did a great job as always

Brian (and Steve Booth, and Tom McGonagle):

I spent all day Saturday at Turning Stone, and I have to agree -- once again, this was a stellar event. I'm not known as a 9-ball fan either, but I agree with Steve B. in that Mike Z. and Dana B. ran this event without a hitch, and made it very exciting. Jerry Forsyth was in the AZB streaming area, and as always was a total gentleman -- very approachable, conversational, and fun to be around.

My day there was capped-off very nicely when I was riding back home, and about an hour into the commute, I got a phone call on my cell. It was Mike Zuglan, and he asked me if I wanted to hear the bad news first, or the good news first. Figuring I'd left my wallet or some other personal belonging there, I started patting myself down in the car, looking to see if I had all the items I'd arrived at Turning Stone with. I say to Mike, "OK, I give. Give me the bad news first." He says, "You're on the road home, and you need to turn around, ASAP." Now I'm starting to really get concerned! "OK, Mike, so what's the good news?" I ask. "You are Saturday's winner of the Joss cue!" he replies. (I'd entered the Joss cue raffle, and had forgotten about it -- I usually don't have much luck in raffles, even in the face of my Irish heritage, so I subconsciously have grown accustomed to thinking I'm donating money to a worthy cause.) However, the next sound he heard on the phone was me excitedly asking my driving buddy what's the nearest exit to turn around! Got there about another hour later, and retrieved the cue and the two shafts it came with (one standard shaft, one high-performance shaft with a pro-ish taper). And what a gorgeous and well-playing cue it is! Engraved right on the stainless steel joint collar is "Turning Stone Classic 2009" with the serial number of the cue. What a nice capper to a great day of pool spectating! I'll treasure this cue, that's for certain!

Again, accolades to Mike Z., Dana B., and crew for once again running a spectacular event!

Warmest regards,
-Sean

pocketspeed said:
now that i have had a chance to decompress form watching a weekend of world class 9 ball, i just want to thank mike zuglan and the joss NE tour for putting on such a GREAT tournament. i had an awesome time and saw some smoking hot pool. i have been to several turning stone classics and i thought this one by far had the most consistently high level of play i have seen there. thanks to AZ for sponsoring and steaming as well and for doing it in a non intrusive way. kudos to jerry for sitting at that table for 12hrs a day typing into the chat. thanks to the Turning Stone casino as well for putting up the added money and providing an awesome venue. i'm sure mike or dana will pass along any posts here by AZ'ers who were there about what a great experience you had to the TS management. My stay at Turning Stone was great, the accomadations were excellent and as always the staff very customer service oriented. This tournamant always attracts the whos who in top players. if you have never been and can make to the next one, you wont be disappointed. i am looking forward to August.

thank again to all who made this tourney such a great success

brian
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sfleinen said:
Brian (and Steve Booth, and Tom McGonagle):

I spent all day Saturday at Turning Stone, and I have to agree -- once again, this was a stellar event. I'm not known as a 9-ball fan either, but I agree with Steve B. in that Mike Z. and Dana B. ran this event without a hitch, and made it very exciting. Jerry Forsyth was in the AZB streaming area, and as always was a total gentleman -- very approachable, conversational, and fun to be around.

My day there was capped-off very nicely when I was riding back home, and about an hour into the commute, I got a phone call on my cell. It was Mike Zuglan, and he asked me if I wanted to hear the bad news first, or the good news first. Figuring I'd left my wallet or some other personal belonging there, I started patting myself down in the car, looking to see if I had all the items I'd arrived at Turning Stone with. I say to Mike, "OK, I give. Give me the bad news first." He says, "You're on the road home, and you need to turn around, ASAP." Now I'm starting to really get concerned! "OK, Mike, so what's the good news?" I ask. "You are Saturday's winner of the Joss cue!" he replies. (I'd entered the Joss cue raffle, and had forgotten about it -- I usually don't have much luck in raffles, even in the face of my Irish heritage, so I subconsciously have grown accustomed to thinking I'm donating money to a worthy cause.) However, the next sound he heard on the phone was me excitedly asking my driving buddy what's the nearest exit to turn around! Got there about another hour later, and retrieved the cue and the two shafts it came with (one standard shaft, one high-performance shaft with a pro-ish taper). And what a gorgeous and well-playing cue it is! Engraved right on the stainless steel joint collar is "Turning Stone Classic 2009" with the serial number of the cue. What a nice capper to a great day of pool spectating! I'll treasure this cue, that's for certain!

Again, accolades to Mike Z., Dana B., and crew for once again running a spectacular event!

Warmest regards,
-Sean
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I have to say Sean it was pleasure meeting you in NY,the vibe I get is your a good fella and deserved to win the cue,now post some pics of it for us to drool over. ;)
 
Joss cue that was raffled at Turning Stone

Fast Lenny said:
I have to say Sean it was pleasure meeting you in NY,the vibe I get is your a good fella and deserved to win the cue,now post some pics of it for us to drool over. ;)
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Lenny:

Hey there -- it's ThumbaLenny! :grin: Believe me, the feelin's mutual. Us NY'ers -- and admit, you still are one even though you find yourself in 'zona these days -- are a pretty friendly bunch, undeserved-streets-of-Manhattan-bump-into-you-and-don't-say-sorry reputation be damned.

Anyway, this is the cue that was raffled away on Saturday night:

http://josscues.com/html/cues/current/cur-29.html

CR29-828.jpg


Believe me, the picture doesn't do the cue justice -- you have to see it up-close. The particular grain pattern of the one I have is "tigerstripe-ish" -- the curls (grain patterns) run diagonally on the forearm, sort of like a barber's pole. Very unique!

Had a night of One Pocket with it last night, and I gotta tell ya, the hit is SOLID. I'd grown up with Meuccis and Malis (a 26-year old Mali which I still own to this day) and the hit is certainly new to me. It's not "whippy" like the old Meuccis and Malis, but solid. But part of that solid hit is certainly the tip, and let me see if I can get used to it. Worst case, I'll get a softer tip installed, like an ElkMaster.

I'll see if I can snap a couple of pics tomorrow and post 'em so you guys can see.

Nice, eh? <Reaches out of the computer screen with handkerchief and wipes the drool from your chin.>

Thanks,
-Sean
 
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I also have to give a thanks. This was my first Turning Stone experience and it was definitely one of the most well run tournaments I have ever been to. The whole set up is truly amazing for the players and the crowds. Thanks again to Mike and Dana especially. You guys did a great job and definitely made me feel welcome.

It was also nice meeting some new friends and spending time with old friends. It was a pleasure.

Sarah
 
I have to agree, this was a VERY exciting event. It was good to see friends and make new ones!!

Steve, great shots !!! , you have a unique ability to capture personality and emotion in this game.

Brian, it was nice to meet both you and your son.

Sean, congrats on the raffle..

Sarah..Glad you enjoyed it..It's much nicer during the summer !!!

Tom, always a pleasure..


Jerry from AZ...I enjoyed meeting you and had a ball hanging out at the streaming table.

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pocketspeed said:
...thank again to all who made this tourney such a great success...
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Nice post, Brian. The Turning Stone events have become more and more special over the years, and now represent key dates on the pool calendar.

The streaming of the matches, in my opinion, brought this event to an even higher level.

Let's add that the level of play has never been higher. The top five finishers, as a group, owned four Derby City Nine Ball titles, three World nine ball championships, and three US Open titles, and the runnerup came in having won the last five Joss events he entered. It doesn't get any better than that.

Certainly, Souquet's play on Sunday was some of the best pool anyone has ever played in the late stages of a tourney, as he won 31 racks and lost just 11 against Van Boening, Immonen, and Hatch. That's an almost inconceivable 20 ahead performance against three world beaters!

Congratulations to all involved for staging a wonderful and memorable show.
 
Can't say I ever had that much fun before by doing the 2 step at a tournament. Got knocked out after playing 2 pretty good matches and then sat there for 3 more days watching just about every round. With that many good players in attendance I couldn't pull myself away.
It's just a great venue, we all know what to expect and we get it.
I hope it continues to grow!!!!!!!!
 
Joe T said:
Can't say I ever had that much fun before by doing the 2 step at a tournament. Got knocked out after playing 2 pretty good matches and then sat there for 3 more days watching just about every round. With that many good players in attendance I couldn't pull myself away.
It's just a great venue, we all know what to expect and we get it.
I hope it continues to grow!!!!!!!!
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Joe, i was pulling hard for ya against Thorsten in your first round match! Wish you could have pulled it out, but I'm glad you still had a great time regardless.
 
I cannot wait to go next year... silly work kept me this year, but not a chance I am missing it in '10.
 
CTYankee said:
I cannot wait to go next year... silly work kept me this year, but not a chance I am missing it in '10.
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you wont have to wait till '10. next turning stone classic is august 20-23. make plans now so silly work wont get in the way :)

brian
 
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