In all the years I have played pool and all of the places I have played, I think these guys have stood out as the very best pool room owners I have had the good fortune to know, be friends with and play in their rooms. Hopefully some of you will have more stories about them or some of the owners you know.
?Indian Joe? Monzingo, The Golden Cue, Rosemead, CA
Joe & his son in law Bob opened the Golden Cue in the late 60?s I believe. There was always something going on. Close to downtown Los Angeles, the Mexican players were in there quite a bit, and since Archie The Greek hung out in there, some kind of action was always going on. They had four domino tables that they also played cards on. You paid time just like a pool table, and we played pinochle, gin, hearts and sometimes poker. You could shoot dice with Joe?s old friend Curly off the board in the back room, but you couldn?t win. Joe went in with me when pool action showed up & we played anyone who came through the door. I was in the insurance business in an office a few miles away and came in daily. We booked winners and losers but were always in action. I ran a 9 ball tournament on Weds. nights and my old friend Frank The Barber and I spent many a Weds. night next door at the Silver Mug after the tournament with some of the tournament players. Some of the players I hooked up with over the years there were the who?s who of road players, but I always ground out enough $$ from the regulars to take a decent shot at them. When St. Louie Louie came in (we didn?t know who he was) I won the first set, a race to five for $200, and Joe yelled ?Bet Four Hundred?. That was a mistake that cost us a thousand. A day or two later there was an article on the front page of the LA Times sports section about St. Louie Louie Roberts giving a pool exhibition at the LA Elks Club. Wish it would have come out a day or two earlier. They moved the room to So. El Monte in the 80?s and Joe & Bob finally sold it and it is still going strong as far as I know.
Verne Peterson, The Billiard Palace, Bellflower, Ca
Every pool player who hit the West Coast came here in the 60?s & 70?s. Verne put together an action room that was open 24 hours. Pay Ball games on the snooker table with five or six champions in the game. Grady hung out here before he left for Colorado. Verne was too good for me to play anything with and was pretty careful about matching up. Verne remodeled the 6 x 12 with the tight pockets that they call Big Bertha and still play on in Hard Times, Bellflower. Butch Van Syoc and his dad Brian bought the place from Verne, and it still was full of action for many years. Bertha was such a tough table that a stranger had almost no chance in the liability snooker games we played there. Over the years, Denny Searcy and Jose Parica were the best players on the table, and I?d have to say Searcy was the best of the two. He used to drink a bottle of whiskey, stall and still rob the game. Butch & I used to gamble at pool & cards, and you could bite him or his dad if you went empty in the snooker game. You would have to leave Verne your cue IF you could get anything.
Chuck & Mike Markulis, Hard Times Bellflower & Sacramento
They built and ran two of the most successful pool rooms for players on the West Coast. When they put together Hard Times in Bellflower, I was living in San Diego, managing a Mortgage Co. I started spending every weekend in Bellflower because of the action on Big Bertha and the tournaments. I finally resigned to come back to the Orange County office just so I could be near the room. We would play liability snooker sessions for 20/30 hours and no one was barred. Chuck would keep it open as long as there was action. The game got up as high as $50 a point, and they even flew in a Canadian to play in the game one time. Parica was the man on the table when he was here, but so many players were in and out of the game, taking a shot at it, that there was plenty of money to go around and I got my share.
I still play at their room in Sacramento. It is mostly tournaments with some small action from time to time, but it is a great room for the players. Chuck is still recovering from an accident and we hope to see him back soon.
Wayne Isiri, The Great American, Sacramento (Hard Times, Sacramento now)
?Wayno? has to be one of the greatest pool room owners that ever lived. He has a twin brother named Walt, and they are identical twins and they are midgets. They both have as much gamble as anyone you have ever met. Players moved to Sacramento just to be around him and the room. Warren ?Monk? Costanza, Diamond Bill Cress and Dave Piona lived there for a while. He played pool, he staked and went in with players and he played cards. I met him at First Street Bowl in San Jose. Wayno offered to stake me in some one pocket against a guy I knew I couldn?t beat and I told him so. I don?t care, he said, I just want to see some action. In the early 90?s I was doing commercial mtg. loans and was in Sacramento on business with my boss. We went to the pool room for lunch and I introduced my boss to Wayno. My boss asked him if I really was a good pool player. Wayno looked at him, looked at me and the back at him. ?Can?t make a ****ing ball? he said. That was Wayno and I expected nothing less.
I understand Wayno and his brother are both in poor health now and wish them both the best. John Henderson
?Indian Joe? Monzingo, The Golden Cue, Rosemead, CA
Joe & his son in law Bob opened the Golden Cue in the late 60?s I believe. There was always something going on. Close to downtown Los Angeles, the Mexican players were in there quite a bit, and since Archie The Greek hung out in there, some kind of action was always going on. They had four domino tables that they also played cards on. You paid time just like a pool table, and we played pinochle, gin, hearts and sometimes poker. You could shoot dice with Joe?s old friend Curly off the board in the back room, but you couldn?t win. Joe went in with me when pool action showed up & we played anyone who came through the door. I was in the insurance business in an office a few miles away and came in daily. We booked winners and losers but were always in action. I ran a 9 ball tournament on Weds. nights and my old friend Frank The Barber and I spent many a Weds. night next door at the Silver Mug after the tournament with some of the tournament players. Some of the players I hooked up with over the years there were the who?s who of road players, but I always ground out enough $$ from the regulars to take a decent shot at them. When St. Louie Louie came in (we didn?t know who he was) I won the first set, a race to five for $200, and Joe yelled ?Bet Four Hundred?. That was a mistake that cost us a thousand. A day or two later there was an article on the front page of the LA Times sports section about St. Louie Louie Roberts giving a pool exhibition at the LA Elks Club. Wish it would have come out a day or two earlier. They moved the room to So. El Monte in the 80?s and Joe & Bob finally sold it and it is still going strong as far as I know.
Verne Peterson, The Billiard Palace, Bellflower, Ca
Every pool player who hit the West Coast came here in the 60?s & 70?s. Verne put together an action room that was open 24 hours. Pay Ball games on the snooker table with five or six champions in the game. Grady hung out here before he left for Colorado. Verne was too good for me to play anything with and was pretty careful about matching up. Verne remodeled the 6 x 12 with the tight pockets that they call Big Bertha and still play on in Hard Times, Bellflower. Butch Van Syoc and his dad Brian bought the place from Verne, and it still was full of action for many years. Bertha was such a tough table that a stranger had almost no chance in the liability snooker games we played there. Over the years, Denny Searcy and Jose Parica were the best players on the table, and I?d have to say Searcy was the best of the two. He used to drink a bottle of whiskey, stall and still rob the game. Butch & I used to gamble at pool & cards, and you could bite him or his dad if you went empty in the snooker game. You would have to leave Verne your cue IF you could get anything.
Chuck & Mike Markulis, Hard Times Bellflower & Sacramento
They built and ran two of the most successful pool rooms for players on the West Coast. When they put together Hard Times in Bellflower, I was living in San Diego, managing a Mortgage Co. I started spending every weekend in Bellflower because of the action on Big Bertha and the tournaments. I finally resigned to come back to the Orange County office just so I could be near the room. We would play liability snooker sessions for 20/30 hours and no one was barred. Chuck would keep it open as long as there was action. The game got up as high as $50 a point, and they even flew in a Canadian to play in the game one time. Parica was the man on the table when he was here, but so many players were in and out of the game, taking a shot at it, that there was plenty of money to go around and I got my share.
I still play at their room in Sacramento. It is mostly tournaments with some small action from time to time, but it is a great room for the players. Chuck is still recovering from an accident and we hope to see him back soon.
Wayne Isiri, The Great American, Sacramento (Hard Times, Sacramento now)
?Wayno? has to be one of the greatest pool room owners that ever lived. He has a twin brother named Walt, and they are identical twins and they are midgets. They both have as much gamble as anyone you have ever met. Players moved to Sacramento just to be around him and the room. Warren ?Monk? Costanza, Diamond Bill Cress and Dave Piona lived there for a while. He played pool, he staked and went in with players and he played cards. I met him at First Street Bowl in San Jose. Wayno offered to stake me in some one pocket against a guy I knew I couldn?t beat and I told him so. I don?t care, he said, I just want to see some action. In the early 90?s I was doing commercial mtg. loans and was in Sacramento on business with my boss. We went to the pool room for lunch and I introduced my boss to Wayno. My boss asked him if I really was a good pool player. Wayno looked at him, looked at me and the back at him. ?Can?t make a ****ing ball? he said. That was Wayno and I expected nothing less.
I understand Wayno and his brother are both in poor health now and wish them both the best. John Henderson
.
