"The Conclusion & The Sting"
Well the kid can’t come up with any more than $200.
I refuse to play for less than the $500.
Gerry is now sure that I’m just a Big Blow Hard that probably wouldn’t play for $500 anyway.
REMEMBER – There are about 20 or so people (customers) of Gerry’s standing around because of the “Talk” about this Business Man Sucker coming back today.
Gerry says that he is willing to play me for $500 a set, if I’m serious.
HOW? – I REPLY!
We both agree (after 10 minutes of woofing) that the only fair way for us to play is the same way that Gerry plays the kid. With the 7, 8 & the break.
We play 2 sets that day, 3 the next day (with just the 8 & the break), & 2 more the following day (with just the 8).
All this time I stay “In Character” and have to leave about 8:30 or 9 so as to be able to work the next day.
In reality, I am playing a Very Good player EVEN $30 & $50 NINE BALL at a bar in Jefferson, WI about a 45 minute drive east of Madison. We are starting to play about 10 o’clock every night and I’m playing in jeans, sweatshirt & tennis shoes. I’m using my Balabushka and in “Dead Stroke”.
NOW IT’S FRIDAY – and the action is just about over. The player in Jefferson has lost about $2,800 and exhausted all his resources & backers the night before.
Gerry is stuck $3,500 and refuses to play anymore unless it’s EVEN.
KEEP IN MIND THAT I DIDN’T JUST STUMBLE INTO HIS POOL ROOM BUT WAS STEERED BY SOMEONE. I knew he was a gentleman and had “Been Around The Block”. I also know that he was starting to “Smell A Rat” but because I had beaten him so bad and he didn’t know if I had ever played my best, I also knew that I had an advantage even if we were to play EVEN.
I got weak and did something I almost NEVER do. I told him that I would play him a $700 set EVEN. - 7 AHEAD.
He agreed.
I got completely “Out Of Character” and returned with my Balabushka, jeans, Etc.
It took almost 6 hours for me to win and to this day it was one of the toughest “Gunfights” I have ever played.
Gerry wasn’t happy, (by any means) but knew what had happened. I could tell that while he didn’t enjoy “THE HUSTLE” he somehow respected it.
THE THING I REMEMBER MOST IS WHAT HE LAST SAID –
“PLEASE DON’T COME BACK IN HERE MONDAY AND OFFER ME THE 8”!
NOW FLASH TO 1992
I am in Madison, WI to train a Sales Rep for my NEW advertising company. This is a legitimate company I have now owned & operated for the last 14 years. We now have 28 Sales Reps all over the country selling my product that I invented & developed from a dream I had in the middle of the night back in Sept, 91. All the information about my company is @
www.communitymagnets.com.
I weighed about 120 pounds more than the last time I was in Madison and find myself back at Gerry’s poolroom. I REALLY AM there to kill a few hours after training this Rep in Middleton. To this day, he is still with me and the oldest Rep I have. He makes over 60K a year in commissions.
I sit down to have a few beers and relax. Just wanted to see if I could run into Gerry again and ask “HowYaDoin”. Gerry is not around. As I sit there watching this College kid banging around the balls (and hardly ever missing) I guess he notices me watching him so he asks me to play. I go into the “Same Old, Same Old “ and refuse. I say I have a hard days work ahead and need to get to bed.
THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS – “THIS TIME I’M TELLING THE TRUTH”!
Well this kid won’t let me alone and keeps after me to play. Now this is one of those young, dumb, smart ass pool players who believe that every time they offer a spot to another player and he turns it down, it is the same as winning at that game. I just keep turning down the offers and he finally gets under my skin a little. He also has gotten to the point of offering me the last three & the break. He says he can only play for $20 a game though. He shoots pretty straight but I KNOW he is the type who will completely fold if someone shoots back at him. I have also had about 3 or 4 beers by now (I never drink while playing) but figure I can still teach this young whippersnapper a think or two. The waitress who is serving me tells me that everyone in here hates this punk because he hustles all the non-players and won’t play any fair games with anyone who plays anywhere close to him.
I tell him that if he can come up with $200 I will play a set of Nine Ball, Race to 11, just to shut him up. He leaves and comes back in 20 minutes with all he can raise - $175.
Now I make sure the $ Posted with the biggest guy in the house and go out, get my stick, change into tennis shoes and return.
I GOT THE KID 10 to 3 AND WHO DO YOU THINK WALKS IN ??? – GERRY
He has just been told what’s going on and comes over to the railing overlooking the table and sees IT’S ME.
HE STARTS TO LAUGH SO LOUD, SO LONG & SO HARD THAT I THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO FAINT.
“HE NEVER SAID A WORD – JUST TURNED AROUND AND WALKED OUT”.
Ps – If anyone would be interested in a nice framed & mounted newspaper article all about me that appeared in The St. Louis Globe Democrat back in ‘77, Please let me know. It is titled “The Hustle Is On” and it goes into pretty good detail about my tactics, deceptions & successes of hustling pool for many a year. It appeared on Dec. 26 and the very next day they ran an article all about St. Louie, Louie. It was titled “He’s No Hustler” It was intended to show the contrast of the different types of Pool Players back then. Their ambitions, goals and how they got to where they were. I have had this article hanging in our family room for the last 15 years and was getting tired of seeing it. A good friend of mine, Terry Huelsman, (who owns the pool room I now play in) said he would like to hang it up in his room. When I took it down to give it to him, both my kids had a fit. They said it was something that all there friends enjoyed reading when first coming into our home.
I had it Professionally Reproduced at a local Reprographic company.
Without my knowledge or permission, my 18 year old Daughter put it up for sale on Ebay and sold 12 copies in two weeks for $175 a piece. I later found out that it was being sold to people with nice recreation rooms in their homes and also to poolroom & bar owners. The Avatar photo shown here on azbilliards is from the original full page article.
My accountant had a fit when he saw the entries in my PayPal account because I am only supposed to use it for paying commissions to my Reps. He also told me to call my lawyer and get a current copy write. What upset me the most is that it is supposed to be combined with the accompanied article about Louie to make any sense and I think it only right to include Louie. I thought. I was never very well known (that was the whole idea) and for good reason. I didn’t think there was any market for this article because of that. I was wrong. I am having some limited professional copies made with the new copy writes and Buddy Hall (a great friend of mine since Johnston City when we were both 19) is also adding his endorsement and some comments along with his signature.
TY & GL
