9BallPaul
Banned
Jay and some of the others had a thread going about great rooms across the USA -- many long gone, and some of the characters who hung out there. I thought I'd localize that thread with this one about Denver, where I grew up playing.
Only one Denver room remains open, that would be the old Family Fun Center on West 38th and Sheridan, later called Paradise Billiards. It recently sold and is called something else (Hank's?) but it retains the character and charm it had in the '60s, when I first started playing there.
Some of you might remember that JAM wrote about stopping in Hank's in a post a couple years ago while she and Keith were on a road trip (and while JAM was still posting on this board). It's a player's room and some kind of action can usually be found from noon on. Lately when I've stopped in I've seen a golf session that seems to happen daily on the corner snooker table, and most of the players are engaged in 9-ball but you can find 14.1 and one pocket too. Can't remember seeing the billiards table that once occupied a prominent spot, the table where I watched Kelly string a dozen three-rail billiards as though he did it every night.
Because I drinks a bit, I can't get out for late night sessions anymore, but I've got a feeling things still happen in that room. Andy Hudson, a guy I've rhapsodized about before on this forum, must have put in a half-century playing in this room and playing amazingly well.
Among the players I saw at Family Fun were Eddie Kelly, Bill Staton (Weenie Beanie) and Bill Stroud. For a while, Stroud was living in Aspen and would occasionally pop in looking for 9-ball action. Local players I recall would be Freddy the Jap, Tony Ricotta (Tony Cheese, of course), his son, TJ Ricotta, Bill Barnes, Fat Marty, Tim Cole, Steve Roundsville and Rodney Robitz.
Sometimes as a 17-year-old, I'd sneak out my dad's old Dodge Dart and drive over to the Fun Center for post-midnight entertainment. At the time, Denver had a law that forced pool halls to close after midnight. The Fun Center sat just across the Denver line, in Wheat Ridge, and thus could close whenever it suited them. Then I'd sneak home, pop into my basement window, and no one was the wiser.
Celebrity LanesLocated in a little Denver enclave called Glendale, Celebrity also was exempt from the Denver law and so action could go on all night and usually did. Room was equipped with a dozen AMF 9-footers and a half-dozen AMF snooker tables.
The house man at night was named Don Roselle, he dressed in all black and played a mean game of 9-ball. Then, one night, in wanders Fat Marty, traveling with his sidekick Okie. He made a nice score off of Don and started hanging out at Celebrity as it suited him. Fat Marty owned a big black Cadillac convertible, but Marty was physically unable to drive it, such was his girth. So chauffering fell to Okie, an oldtimer who was missing some prominent teeth and yet still suited up in sport coat and tie wherever he went. Fat Marty, though, did his thing in dirty t-shirts, baggy pants and a hideous green cardigan sweater that appeared slept in.
Steve Roundsville began frequenting this room and that's where I met him. Last time I saw Steve, he had raised his game to a really respectable level, but don't know if he's still around.
York Billiardsat East Colfax and York Street. First thing you gotta know is that Colfax is the center of all vice in Denver. Yet it flows through lots of moneyed neighborhoods and through Downtown. But whatever you're looking for in Denver, whether it's a pool game or a pipeful of crack, Colfax is your place.
York Billiards was owned by two characters, Don DeLuzio and his partner, Gino. Gino had a respectable job in a Denver bank, but was moonlighting with his old pal, Don, whose reputation was slightly, uh, tarnished.
DeLuzio had been an all-state basketball player at Regis High and went on scholarship to play at the University of San Francisco. Some sort of scandal happened, though I've never learned the details. Anyway, he returned to Denver, hooked up with Gino, and opened this pool room with 16 Gold Crowns and a couple snooker tables.
Among Don's pals was Chauncey Smalldone, at that time considered the don of whatever kind of organized crime was happening in Denver. Chauncey would park his big green Cadillac right on the sidewalk outside the pool hall, totally illegal but perfectly safe from any cop who might dare to screw with him. Because my pool buddy Mickey and I both went to high school just a couple blocks away, we spent lots of time here, truant officers be damned. Over time Chauncey began giving us odd jobs and dispensing us on errands for some spot cash, which we happily accepted. The Smalldone family was a big part of Denver history, operating the old Gaetano's restaurant on the north side. Mostly the family business involved bookmaking, but other shady stuff was often alleged, usually by cops quoted in Denver newspapers.
Midnight would often find Mick and me hanging around while Don and Gino counted the cash and closed for the night. Then we'd go across Colfax to the White Spot coffee shop, where they'd treat us to breakfast.
York Billiards was the place where I ran into Rodney Robitz. He was just a teenager but grew up with a pool table in his living room. So naturally he had a sidewinder kind of stroke, a la McCready. His dad owned a used car lot on Colfax and kept a wad of cash stashed in his dresser at home. Rodney was fully aware of this bankrool and made frequent trips to his dad's dresser.
Rodney was on his way to becoming a top player, but I don't know what happened to him, just like Steve. Last I heard many years ago was that he was a regular at the dog track and had done some time in prison. Sorry to hear it, kid.
Varsity BilliardsOn South University Boulevard, near the University of Denver. In the '60s it was run by a guy named John Canino. Not too many players came through here, but one day I dragged in Fat Marty and announced to the room that he was my dad. This brought on lots of attention, Marty loved it and put on a show. Then I stuffed him back into my Volkswagen and took him home. Don't know who was driving his Caddy that day.
That's what I got. Any other Denver oldtimers out there? Or those who can post on the modern rooms, such as Tarantula's and Table Steaks.
Only one Denver room remains open, that would be the old Family Fun Center on West 38th and Sheridan, later called Paradise Billiards. It recently sold and is called something else (Hank's?) but it retains the character and charm it had in the '60s, when I first started playing there.
Some of you might remember that JAM wrote about stopping in Hank's in a post a couple years ago while she and Keith were on a road trip (and while JAM was still posting on this board). It's a player's room and some kind of action can usually be found from noon on. Lately when I've stopped in I've seen a golf session that seems to happen daily on the corner snooker table, and most of the players are engaged in 9-ball but you can find 14.1 and one pocket too. Can't remember seeing the billiards table that once occupied a prominent spot, the table where I watched Kelly string a dozen three-rail billiards as though he did it every night.
Because I drinks a bit, I can't get out for late night sessions anymore, but I've got a feeling things still happen in that room. Andy Hudson, a guy I've rhapsodized about before on this forum, must have put in a half-century playing in this room and playing amazingly well.
Among the players I saw at Family Fun were Eddie Kelly, Bill Staton (Weenie Beanie) and Bill Stroud. For a while, Stroud was living in Aspen and would occasionally pop in looking for 9-ball action. Local players I recall would be Freddy the Jap, Tony Ricotta (Tony Cheese, of course), his son, TJ Ricotta, Bill Barnes, Fat Marty, Tim Cole, Steve Roundsville and Rodney Robitz.
Sometimes as a 17-year-old, I'd sneak out my dad's old Dodge Dart and drive over to the Fun Center for post-midnight entertainment. At the time, Denver had a law that forced pool halls to close after midnight. The Fun Center sat just across the Denver line, in Wheat Ridge, and thus could close whenever it suited them. Then I'd sneak home, pop into my basement window, and no one was the wiser.
Celebrity LanesLocated in a little Denver enclave called Glendale, Celebrity also was exempt from the Denver law and so action could go on all night and usually did. Room was equipped with a dozen AMF 9-footers and a half-dozen AMF snooker tables.
The house man at night was named Don Roselle, he dressed in all black and played a mean game of 9-ball. Then, one night, in wanders Fat Marty, traveling with his sidekick Okie. He made a nice score off of Don and started hanging out at Celebrity as it suited him. Fat Marty owned a big black Cadillac convertible, but Marty was physically unable to drive it, such was his girth. So chauffering fell to Okie, an oldtimer who was missing some prominent teeth and yet still suited up in sport coat and tie wherever he went. Fat Marty, though, did his thing in dirty t-shirts, baggy pants and a hideous green cardigan sweater that appeared slept in.
Steve Roundsville began frequenting this room and that's where I met him. Last time I saw Steve, he had raised his game to a really respectable level, but don't know if he's still around.
York Billiardsat East Colfax and York Street. First thing you gotta know is that Colfax is the center of all vice in Denver. Yet it flows through lots of moneyed neighborhoods and through Downtown. But whatever you're looking for in Denver, whether it's a pool game or a pipeful of crack, Colfax is your place.
York Billiards was owned by two characters, Don DeLuzio and his partner, Gino. Gino had a respectable job in a Denver bank, but was moonlighting with his old pal, Don, whose reputation was slightly, uh, tarnished.
DeLuzio had been an all-state basketball player at Regis High and went on scholarship to play at the University of San Francisco. Some sort of scandal happened, though I've never learned the details. Anyway, he returned to Denver, hooked up with Gino, and opened this pool room with 16 Gold Crowns and a couple snooker tables.
Among Don's pals was Chauncey Smalldone, at that time considered the don of whatever kind of organized crime was happening in Denver. Chauncey would park his big green Cadillac right on the sidewalk outside the pool hall, totally illegal but perfectly safe from any cop who might dare to screw with him. Because my pool buddy Mickey and I both went to high school just a couple blocks away, we spent lots of time here, truant officers be damned. Over time Chauncey began giving us odd jobs and dispensing us on errands for some spot cash, which we happily accepted. The Smalldone family was a big part of Denver history, operating the old Gaetano's restaurant on the north side. Mostly the family business involved bookmaking, but other shady stuff was often alleged, usually by cops quoted in Denver newspapers.
Midnight would often find Mick and me hanging around while Don and Gino counted the cash and closed for the night. Then we'd go across Colfax to the White Spot coffee shop, where they'd treat us to breakfast.
York Billiards was the place where I ran into Rodney Robitz. He was just a teenager but grew up with a pool table in his living room. So naturally he had a sidewinder kind of stroke, a la McCready. His dad owned a used car lot on Colfax and kept a wad of cash stashed in his dresser at home. Rodney was fully aware of this bankrool and made frequent trips to his dad's dresser.
Rodney was on his way to becoming a top player, but I don't know what happened to him, just like Steve. Last I heard many years ago was that he was a regular at the dog track and had done some time in prison. Sorry to hear it, kid.
Varsity BilliardsOn South University Boulevard, near the University of Denver. In the '60s it was run by a guy named John Canino. Not too many players came through here, but one day I dragged in Fat Marty and announced to the room that he was my dad. This brought on lots of attention, Marty loved it and put on a show. Then I stuffed him back into my Volkswagen and took him home. Don't know who was driving his Caddy that day.
That's what I got. Any other Denver oldtimers out there? Or those who can post on the modern rooms, such as Tarantula's and Table Steaks.
