Gus Szamboti Cue

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Phlytire

Registered
Hi guys,

I'm brand new to the forums. I played a lot of pool back in the 80s and early 90s, mostly just for fun and in some Busch 8 Ball leagues and some $5 entry Friday night 9 Ball tournaments.

I bought a used Gus Szamboti in the 80s from the pool hall owner back then. It's a pretty simple 4 point with red, green and yellow veneers and 4 maple windows in the butt. One of the windows has G.S. inlaid in it in black. Just before I bought it, it had been sent to and re-finished by Gus and he also made 2 new shafts for it. He left the original green speck linen wrap on the cue. With the original shaft, the cue is 58 inches. With the 2 newer ones it's a 60 inch cue. All have ivory ferrules. I played with it for 4-5 years after I bought it, and then sadly got away from playing much.

I was told the cue was made for Allen Hopkins, and I got in touch with him very recently and emailed him some pics. He said it looked like the cue Gus made for him in the early 80s and that if I drafted and sent him a provenance letter, he'd be glad to sign it. Sadly, when he got the letter, which included some larger pics, he determined that it was not the cue that Gus had made for him.

Anyway, the cue is in excellent shape, and I'd really like to know from some of you cue guys how much value a "G.S" on the butt adds to the value of a Gus Szamboti.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

Phlytire
 
Phlytire said:
Hi guys,

I'm brand new to the forums. I played a lot of pool back in the 80s and early 90s, mostly just for fun and in some Busch 8 Ball leagues and some $5 entry Friday night 9 Ball tournaments.

I bought a used Gus Szamboti in the 80s from the pool hall owner back then. It's a pretty simple 4 point with red, green and yellow veneers and 4 maple windows in the butt. One of the windows has G.S. inlaid in it in black. Just before I bought it, it had been sent to and re-finished by Gus and he also made 2 new shafts for it. He left the original green speck linen wrap on the cue. With the original shaft, the cue is 58 inches. With the 2 newer ones it's a 60 inch cue. All have ivory ferrules. I played with it for 4-5 years after I bought it, and then sadly got away from playing much.

I was told the cue was made for Allen Hopkins, and I got in touch with him very recently and emailed him some pics. He said it looked like the cue Gus made for him in the early 80s and that if I drafted and sent him a provenance letter, he'd be glad to sign it. Sadly, when he got the letter, which included some larger pics, he determined that it was not the cue that Gus had made for him.

Anyway, the cue is in excellent shape, and I'd really like to know from some of you cue guys how much value a "G.S" on the butt adds to the value of a Gus Szamboti.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

Phlytire
Click to expand...



Contact Barry Szamboti and have him look at the cue and the initialed butt cap, there are a lot of changes made to Szamboti cues, and without Barry's thoughts on it value can not be attributed.
 
Phlytire...Barry Szamboti is always at the Super Billiards Expo, coming up next month, just outside of Philly. I'm sure he could perhaps take a look at the cue and tell you about it. If he's not there, there are plenty of other cue guys that will have a good idea. Some might offer to buy it from you, on the spot. With Szambotis, like Balabushkas, condition is everything. Almost any Szamboti, in good-excellent condition, will bring at least a few thousand dollars. Rare ones bring much more.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
Your best bet is to contact Barry Szamboti..... better yet, I would just keep it and play with it....

Your cue could potentially be worth 10k easily. The only person worth paying to find that out would be Barry himself. You would not only have answers to all your questions, but accurate confirmation and an LOA to prove it.
 
Thanks, Guys.

The pool hall owner I bought it from is a good friend, and I'm 100% sure it's a Gus. I remember how excited he was when he got it, because when he saw it and asked the kid who was playing with it if it was a Szamboti he said it was, but that he didn't like it. When the owner asked him what he liked, he said, "I like a Meucci!" The owner just happened to have a Meucci and $150 in stock. :)

I got the lowdown on the cue's status every week while it was being refinished by Gus, and when it finally came back, I bought it.

He's actually interested in buying it back from me, and I know the approximate value, and so does he, but I have no idea what the G.S. inlay might add to that. I'm not trying to sell it here, just looking for some info from someone who might know better than I.

Thanks again.

Phlytire
 
Phlytire said:
Thanks, Guys.

The pool hall owner I bought it from is a good friend, and I'm 100% sure it's a Gus. I remember how excited he was when he got it, because when he saw it and asked the kid who was playing with it if it was a Szamboti he said it was, but that he didn't like it. When the owner asked him what he liked, he said, "I like a Meucci!" The owner just happened to have a Meucci and $150 in stock. :)

I got the lowdown on the cue's status every week while it was being refinished by Gus, and when it finally came back, I bought it.

He's actually interested in buying it back from me, and I know the approximate value, and so does he, but I have no idea what the G.S. inlay might add to that. I'm not trying to sell it here, just looking for some info from someone who might know better than I.

Thanks again.

Phlytire
Click to expand...

I think I saw this cue in 1989 at the BCA trade show in Nashville.
Only one I ever saw with GS on it.
Sammy Jones believed it to be genuine and tried to buy it..unsuccessfully

Got a good memory for cues....post some pictures

Sammy also showed me a triple-bank one pocket shot at that time...
...it was worth the price of the trip
 
pt109 said:
I think I saw this cue in 1989 at the BCA trade show in Nashville.
Only one I ever saw with GS on it.
Sammy Jones believed it to be genuine and tried to buy it..unsuccessfully

Got a good memory for cues....post some pictures

Sammy also showed me a triple-bank one pocket shot at that time...
...it was worth the price of the trip
Click to expand...

I'm fairly sure it wasn't this cue that you saw in Nashville. I bought the cue in 1987 or 88 (before Gus passed away), and I've had it since.

As requested, here are some pics:

SZAMBOTI003.jpg


SZAMBOTI004.jpg


SZAMBOTI002.jpg


SZAMBOTI006.jpg


SZAMBOTI001.jpg


Thanks again.

Phlytire
 
Last edited:
Phlytire said:
I'm fairly sure it wasn't this cue that you saw in Nashville. I bought the cue in 1987 or 88 (before Gus passed away), and I've had it since.

As requested, here are some pics:

SZAMBOTI003.jpg


SZAMBOTI004.jpg


SZAMBOTI002.jpg


SZAMBOTI006.jpg


SZAMBOTI001.jpg


Thanks again.

Phlytire
Click to expand...

I've thought very carefully before responding.
It looks like the cue to me.
Are you sure that you or the room owner didn't attend that show?

The cue was not on display at a dealers booth....
Sammy and I just happened to see the cue being pulled out of a case
and got into a conversation about it.
Whoever showed us the cue said he thought it was the only one with
GS....and it was in the window just like yours.
I've seen quite a few Szambotis and have only seen GS on a cue once.
 
I'm interested in your cue if you want to sell it. You can send me a pm anytime when you decide.
Thanks.
 
Phlytire...I think Barry would be the one who could tell you about the G.S. letters better than anyone.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

Phlytire said:
I'm fairly sure it wasn't this cue that you saw in Nashville. I bought the cue in 1987 or 88 (before Gus passed away), and I've had it since.

As requested, here are some pics:

SZAMBOTI003.jpg


SZAMBOTI004.jpg


SZAMBOTI002.jpg


SZAMBOTI006.jpg


SZAMBOTI001.jpg


Thanks again.

Phlytire
Click to expand...
 
pt109 said:
I've thought very carefully before responding.
It looks like the cue to me.
Are you sure that you or the room owner didn't attend that show?

The cue was not on display at a dealers booth....
Sammy and I just happened to see the cue being pulled out of a case
and got into a conversation about it.
Whoever showed us the cue said he thought it was the only one with
GS....and it was in the window just like yours.
I've seen quite a few Szambotis and have only seen GS on a cue once.
Click to expand...

I can't absolutely, positively say for sure that this wasn't the cue you saw at that show. I know I wasn't at the show, and I'm pretty sure I bought before Gus died. The owner didn't have it back from Gus too long before he offered it for sale, and I bought it.

I've seen one other Szamboti with a G.S on the butt, and it was a really amazing one with ivory inlays all over it.
 
I have seen a few GS cues, some that just say Gus Szamboti, some say made by Gus Szamboti. All in all I would think the total of all the cues with identification is probably under 150. (Based off the law of averages)

JV

950_butt_hi.jpg
 
classiccues said:
I have seen a few GS cues, some that just say Gus Szamboti, some say made by Gus Szamboti. All in all I would think the total of all the cues with identification is probably under 150. (Based off the law of averages)

JV

950_butt_hi.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanx for that info...I never knew there were a bunch of signed Szambotis.

Would love to see more pictures if anyone has any
 
Thanx 9ballRob

I love Szambotis.
Can't believe I never saw more than one signed.

Played with one for 17 years...lost it in a car theft.
I could draw twice as far with that cue than any other I've owned.
 
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