Last night I went to a bar in Northern Illinois where I’ve had good luck playing pool for small amounts ($5 to $20 a game)--except this time things went awry. Funny thing is, I was just talking with someone earlier at the bar and he was telling me that he doesn’t play pool anymore because there is too much risk of getting in a fight. I assured him that nothing like that ever seems to happen to me and that everything usually works out just fine (little did I know what was going to happen).
This is a bar that I’ve been to only about 4-5 times, but I’ve always got along good with everyone there and last night was no exception (until the altercation). I chatted with quite a few new people that I met at the bar and played pool with a few of them just for fun earlier in the night.
I should also point out that I was there alone. I’m about 5’9” and 175 lbs, not a big guy, but fairly muscular, and I feel that I can handle myself quite well. However, I’m a mild-mannered person and am definitely not the type of person that is looking for any kind of trouble.
The bar was pretty full of people and it was only about 8 pm. I had stopped playing pool and I was just talking with a guy from the military about his experiences in Afghanistan. A group of new guys started to play pool, so I put my money up and waited. Now the “fun” starts…
The guy asks to play for a buck…so I said fine. He is there with three other guys that are seated or standing around the pool table to watch. Then before the guy is about to break, the biggest guy that is with him starts telling me to post my money on the table. I kind-of chuckled and said we’re playing for a buck, I think that I’m good for it. He insists about 3 or 4 more times that I post the money, but my opponent breaks and we just start the game without me posting the buck. Although this seemed kind-of overboard, I shrugged it off and thought no big deal.
Needless to say, the other guy won the first game. He was a very young looking guy, but he was a bit taller than me and very stocky. He was a good shot, I think that he missed only once in the first game—but I was quite sure that he was no match for me. The next game I suggested that we play for $5 and he said sure. This time we both posted our money on the table. I won that game—didn’t run the table, but just waited for the balls to open up a bit—so it appeared like a close game.
The third game he suggests that we play for $10. I said sure and we posted the money. Now is where things start to turn ugly. I break, run five balls and leave the cue ball in a bad spot for him on the rail. He shoots and scratches. One of my two remaining balls is in the kitchen and the other one is more than halfway out of the kitchen, and is clearly playable upon close inspection. The guy starts insisting that the ball is in the kitchen. I explain to him that it’s more outside the kitchen than in the kitchen so it’s playable. He doesn’t seem to be interested in my logic and just keeps repeating, “You’re not hitting that ball!”
His big buddy sees us arguing and comes over, so I asked him for a ruling if he thinks that the ball was playable. He looks at it, says “yes”, and actually MOVES the ball completely out of the kitchen. The guy I’m playing then tells him that it’s not HIS shot…so he moves the ball completely into the kitchen and says that it’s NOT playable. (I know what most of you are thinking at this point—I should have grabbed my 10 off of the table and quit—but I didn’t). I insisted that it was more outside the kitchen than in, so he asks the guy I was playing and he confirms that the ball was about 60% over the line.
The big guy offers to ask someone “objective” and to make the ruling…but before he does, he curiously asks me if I come to this bar a lot. I told him “yes” and that I know a few people here. He says, “What about that guy over there in the orange shirt?” I said that I didn’t know him, and he said that he’s one of the owners that I should know him if I come here a lot. I look at this guy that he pointed out—he is very big, and I said that he was the bouncer of the bar (which he was). So he goes over and asked the bouncer whether a ball is playable that is more out of the kitchen than in and they conclude and told me that it wasn't playable unless it’s COMPLETELY out of the kitchen.
So obviously, this chain of events is now becoming very worrisome for me. The bouncer of the bar is friends with these people and is clearly not interested in the fairness of the game. (Plus he is huge…lol).
I made one last attempt to argue my case and my opponent says, “Don’t talk to me, talk to him (the big guy)”, and then the big guy starts to threaten me and started telling me to, “Go ahead and hit me with your stick and I will shove it up your a_ _.” I could tell that he was testing me with every threat—he was watching me closely to see if I was getting mad and if I was going to back down or not. I eventually gave in and said fine, I won’t shoot at the ball. Instead I banked the cue off the rail and all of the way back down and nearly made the ball in the corner (a little harder and it would have went in). My opponent missed his shot because he was jacked-up and I made a long shot on my first remaining ball and then I’m out. (Although I was tense, I clearly have become a much better pressure player and never thought even once that I wouldn’t get out).
Well, I’m obviously not going to play anymore after that, so I grabbed my winnings off the table and decided that I was just going to sit down and have a drink (because by that time I really needed one). I should point out that I wasn’t “drunk” but was probably near the legal limit, as I typically shoot pool all night and have at most one drink per hour. (Me having been drinking and having drove my own car there also plays into this situation somewhat—although it didn’t stop me from eventually asking someone to call the cops).
Sure enough, the player comes over and asked me if I want to play again, and I said, “No, because you guys cheat—plus I’m sure that someone else will want to play anyways.” The guy just walks away. So now I’m thinking, I better get the heck out of there. I go to the restroom to take a quick leak before I go, and guess who comes into the restroom—yeah, my opponent’s friend—the big guy who was threatening me. As I am leaking, he tells me that we were only playing for one dollar a game and that I took too much of his friend’s money. He then puts $2 on the top of the urinal and tells me to give him the $15 back. I just kept telling him, “I don’t want your money”, and he keeps telling me to give him the $15 back or he will follow me out in the parking lot and beat the s_ _ _ out of me.
One of my personality flaws is that I am kind-of a stubborn person, so I decided that I’m just going to leave and ignore him. But, sure enough, he started following right behind me—so I decided not to go right out the door, but instead headed for the other side of the bar. I then saw the bouncer so I walked up to him and told him that the guy was threatening me. The bouncer said at first, “Why are you involving me?” and he then proceeded to tell me to, “Check to see if you have the money in your pocket and give him the money back.”
I then decided that I’m going to try to tell my story to the bartender (happens to be a female). While I’m walking towards the back of the bar, my opponent's friend ("big guy" as it were) turns me to the side, crouches down and gives me a quick jab/punch right in the nuts. It wasn’t a full punch, I think that he held back and just wanted to get my attention (which he did). Even though the bar was full, he punched me in a way where I don’t think that anyone saw it—I recovered quick from the shock and walked to the entry at the back of the bar—told the woman bartender to call the cops, and that the guy just assaulted me. Yeah…surprise, surprise, she just smiles at me and says nothing.
Now I’m in even bigger trouble, because now the bouncer is severely ticked off. He comes right in my face and says, “I want you to leave RIGHT now!” I’m like, that’s fine with me. But as soon as I started walking, the big guy and the bouncer cornered me and I was forced to pull the money out of my pocket and give them the $15 back. The funny thing is, the guy actually gave me $2 in return—this is just nuts!
I exit the bar and head to my car and my opponent opens the door and just leers out at me, probably waiting for me to mouth-off or something. Well that’s it…I headed home…but I was actually smiling, because I just could not believe what had just happened to me…unbelievable.
Hey, all you guys that encouraged me to gamble after my first winning night…never told me that this was going to happen…LOL.
My observations regarding this whole ordeal:
1) I just can’t believe that they would do this to me for 15 lousy dollars. If I was the wrong person, this could have easily resulted in some severe retaliation against them and could have resulted in someone getting killed.
2) This was not a one-time occurrence where these guys decided just to dog me. It was definitely apparent that the young guy was the player and the big guy was the muscle. If the player didn’t win, the big guy would threaten and steal the money right back from whomever they were playing. With these types of guys, it’s only a matter of time and they will threaten the wrong person—and end-up severely injured or dead.
3) I know that there are many other things that I could have done, but when something like this is going on, trust me—you can’t exactly think straight and things happen very fast.
4) I’m writing this story, because to me it was just amazing—and…I love reading real-life stories like these myself—and, I’m also not too proud to admit that they got the best of me…LOL.
If anyone has had any similar experiences, I would really like to hear about them…if for anything, as therapy for my recovery…LOL. Sorry for the long post, but I thought that it would make a better story if I included all of the details. Thanks for reading.
This is a bar that I’ve been to only about 4-5 times, but I’ve always got along good with everyone there and last night was no exception (until the altercation). I chatted with quite a few new people that I met at the bar and played pool with a few of them just for fun earlier in the night.
I should also point out that I was there alone. I’m about 5’9” and 175 lbs, not a big guy, but fairly muscular, and I feel that I can handle myself quite well. However, I’m a mild-mannered person and am definitely not the type of person that is looking for any kind of trouble.
The bar was pretty full of people and it was only about 8 pm. I had stopped playing pool and I was just talking with a guy from the military about his experiences in Afghanistan. A group of new guys started to play pool, so I put my money up and waited. Now the “fun” starts…
The guy asks to play for a buck…so I said fine. He is there with three other guys that are seated or standing around the pool table to watch. Then before the guy is about to break, the biggest guy that is with him starts telling me to post my money on the table. I kind-of chuckled and said we’re playing for a buck, I think that I’m good for it. He insists about 3 or 4 more times that I post the money, but my opponent breaks and we just start the game without me posting the buck. Although this seemed kind-of overboard, I shrugged it off and thought no big deal.
Needless to say, the other guy won the first game. He was a very young looking guy, but he was a bit taller than me and very stocky. He was a good shot, I think that he missed only once in the first game—but I was quite sure that he was no match for me. The next game I suggested that we play for $5 and he said sure. This time we both posted our money on the table. I won that game—didn’t run the table, but just waited for the balls to open up a bit—so it appeared like a close game.
The third game he suggests that we play for $10. I said sure and we posted the money. Now is where things start to turn ugly. I break, run five balls and leave the cue ball in a bad spot for him on the rail. He shoots and scratches. One of my two remaining balls is in the kitchen and the other one is more than halfway out of the kitchen, and is clearly playable upon close inspection. The guy starts insisting that the ball is in the kitchen. I explain to him that it’s more outside the kitchen than in the kitchen so it’s playable. He doesn’t seem to be interested in my logic and just keeps repeating, “You’re not hitting that ball!”
His big buddy sees us arguing and comes over, so I asked him for a ruling if he thinks that the ball was playable. He looks at it, says “yes”, and actually MOVES the ball completely out of the kitchen. The guy I’m playing then tells him that it’s not HIS shot…so he moves the ball completely into the kitchen and says that it’s NOT playable. (I know what most of you are thinking at this point—I should have grabbed my 10 off of the table and quit—but I didn’t). I insisted that it was more outside the kitchen than in, so he asks the guy I was playing and he confirms that the ball was about 60% over the line.
The big guy offers to ask someone “objective” and to make the ruling…but before he does, he curiously asks me if I come to this bar a lot. I told him “yes” and that I know a few people here. He says, “What about that guy over there in the orange shirt?” I said that I didn’t know him, and he said that he’s one of the owners that I should know him if I come here a lot. I look at this guy that he pointed out—he is very big, and I said that he was the bouncer of the bar (which he was). So he goes over and asked the bouncer whether a ball is playable that is more out of the kitchen than in and they conclude and told me that it wasn't playable unless it’s COMPLETELY out of the kitchen.
So obviously, this chain of events is now becoming very worrisome for me. The bouncer of the bar is friends with these people and is clearly not interested in the fairness of the game. (Plus he is huge…lol).
I made one last attempt to argue my case and my opponent says, “Don’t talk to me, talk to him (the big guy)”, and then the big guy starts to threaten me and started telling me to, “Go ahead and hit me with your stick and I will shove it up your a_ _.” I could tell that he was testing me with every threat—he was watching me closely to see if I was getting mad and if I was going to back down or not. I eventually gave in and said fine, I won’t shoot at the ball. Instead I banked the cue off the rail and all of the way back down and nearly made the ball in the corner (a little harder and it would have went in). My opponent missed his shot because he was jacked-up and I made a long shot on my first remaining ball and then I’m out. (Although I was tense, I clearly have become a much better pressure player and never thought even once that I wouldn’t get out).
Well, I’m obviously not going to play anymore after that, so I grabbed my winnings off the table and decided that I was just going to sit down and have a drink (because by that time I really needed one). I should point out that I wasn’t “drunk” but was probably near the legal limit, as I typically shoot pool all night and have at most one drink per hour. (Me having been drinking and having drove my own car there also plays into this situation somewhat—although it didn’t stop me from eventually asking someone to call the cops).
Sure enough, the player comes over and asked me if I want to play again, and I said, “No, because you guys cheat—plus I’m sure that someone else will want to play anyways.” The guy just walks away. So now I’m thinking, I better get the heck out of there. I go to the restroom to take a quick leak before I go, and guess who comes into the restroom—yeah, my opponent’s friend—the big guy who was threatening me. As I am leaking, he tells me that we were only playing for one dollar a game and that I took too much of his friend’s money. He then puts $2 on the top of the urinal and tells me to give him the $15 back. I just kept telling him, “I don’t want your money”, and he keeps telling me to give him the $15 back or he will follow me out in the parking lot and beat the s_ _ _ out of me.
One of my personality flaws is that I am kind-of a stubborn person, so I decided that I’m just going to leave and ignore him. But, sure enough, he started following right behind me—so I decided not to go right out the door, but instead headed for the other side of the bar. I then saw the bouncer so I walked up to him and told him that the guy was threatening me. The bouncer said at first, “Why are you involving me?” and he then proceeded to tell me to, “Check to see if you have the money in your pocket and give him the money back.”
I then decided that I’m going to try to tell my story to the bartender (happens to be a female). While I’m walking towards the back of the bar, my opponent's friend ("big guy" as it were) turns me to the side, crouches down and gives me a quick jab/punch right in the nuts. It wasn’t a full punch, I think that he held back and just wanted to get my attention (which he did). Even though the bar was full, he punched me in a way where I don’t think that anyone saw it—I recovered quick from the shock and walked to the entry at the back of the bar—told the woman bartender to call the cops, and that the guy just assaulted me. Yeah…surprise, surprise, she just smiles at me and says nothing.
Now I’m in even bigger trouble, because now the bouncer is severely ticked off. He comes right in my face and says, “I want you to leave RIGHT now!” I’m like, that’s fine with me. But as soon as I started walking, the big guy and the bouncer cornered me and I was forced to pull the money out of my pocket and give them the $15 back. The funny thing is, the guy actually gave me $2 in return—this is just nuts!
I exit the bar and head to my car and my opponent opens the door and just leers out at me, probably waiting for me to mouth-off or something. Well that’s it…I headed home…but I was actually smiling, because I just could not believe what had just happened to me…unbelievable.
Hey, all you guys that encouraged me to gamble after my first winning night…never told me that this was going to happen…LOL.
My observations regarding this whole ordeal:
1) I just can’t believe that they would do this to me for 15 lousy dollars. If I was the wrong person, this could have easily resulted in some severe retaliation against them and could have resulted in someone getting killed.
2) This was not a one-time occurrence where these guys decided just to dog me. It was definitely apparent that the young guy was the player and the big guy was the muscle. If the player didn’t win, the big guy would threaten and steal the money right back from whomever they were playing. With these types of guys, it’s only a matter of time and they will threaten the wrong person—and end-up severely injured or dead.
3) I know that there are many other things that I could have done, but when something like this is going on, trust me—you can’t exactly think straight and things happen very fast.
4) I’m writing this story, because to me it was just amazing—and…I love reading real-life stories like these myself—and, I’m also not too proud to admit that they got the best of me…LOL.
If anyone has had any similar experiences, I would really like to hear about them…if for anything, as therapy for my recovery…LOL. Sorry for the long post, but I thought that it would make a better story if I included all of the details. Thanks for reading.
