For my buddy Cornerman
The Jeanette Lee Calcutta Scandal
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My friend, Tompnation, who signed up on this site but couldnt post yet because his account is in moderation queue (awaiting activation), he posted on another site and asked me to post this until he could log on here at AZ and post himself, here is his account, word for word and the link to his post. He has the same account name here an AZ as he does on billiards forum, Tompnation.
http://www.billiardsforum.info/forum...?TOPIC_ID=1130
First off, I wanna start by saying that I created this account for the sole purpose of telling this story and that everything u read below is factual. I don't know anything about this site, but if someone thinks this should be posted in a different category, please let me know. I
P.S. I apologize for the length of this in advance, but I know people want all the facts. It is hard to believe and definitely worth the read.
On February 21st I went to an A-B-C tournament at John Wayne's Pub in Greenwood, Indiana. I go up there with a couple buddies and we immediately grab an open table, (with chairs, not a pool table.) which we sit at for the next four or five hours After a while Jeanette Lee walks in, which is no biggie considering she lives in Indianapolis and one can see her at any bigger pool tournaments in the area on any given weekend. I myself have seen her numerous times at different pool halls and the DBCC. The calcutta starts at around one o'clock, and goes through 45 C players. The 14 A-B players are next and begin with a wild bid, which was not Jeanette. Her name gets called next and me and my friend buy her for $140. For 35 dollars apiece we think we got a steal, (Or so we thought) knowing that the tourney is gonna pay at least a thousand to win.
Anybody who knows anything about tournament pool knows that if a player does not buy themselves in the calcutta then THEY must find the person who bought them and BUY half themselves from the buyer. Knowing that she always has people hounding her for pictures and autographs, I go find her. I introduce myself, as she sits at a table trying to download a popular poker website, and tell her its 70 bucks for half of herself. She responds verbatim "Let me see how big the pot is...I will let you know." We bs'd for about 5 more minutes and i went back to my seat. The tournament begins and everybody starts playing , and woofing, and carrying on as players usually do. I don't give much more thought about it.
About eight o'clock, i hear my name being called over the PA by one of the tournament directors. I know exactly whats about to happen as soon as I hear him ask me to come up there. He tells me that Jeanette has been looking for me, and wants to buy half of herself. I don't say yes or no, I just go back to my seat .
About ten o'clock Jeanette begins playing one of the guys I rode up there with in the finals of the winners bracket of the A-B side. During the first game of the match, she walks away after a miss and walks up to the tourney directors and asks them to get me up there. She says, "hey, I've been looking for you...I want to buy half of myself." I tell her that was 8 hrs ago and it was too late. She responds by turning around and breaking down her pool cue.
Ok, here's my take on the subject. My account of what went down. I rode up to John Wayne's with a couple friends and their girlfriends. I did not drive, so therefore I never left. We arrive around 11:30 or so and sat at a table in the middle section of of the tournament area. Jeanette arrived later but was definitely in time for the calcutta. I bought Jeanette for 140 dollars and went to her to offer her half. She said she wanted to look at the pot first and she would let me know. We talked for roughly five minutes after that, which would have been sufficient time to just give me seventy dollars. There were 59 players, how could she not win enough to cover her expenses?
My friends and I play in the tournament, but always return back to that table which their girlfriends are sitting at, as well as our coats and belongings. That being said, I could have easily been found. She also got on the microphone on two different occasions to speak, so I figured she could have easily called "the gentleman who bought me" to come speak with her. As I've said, everyone knows that if someone buys you in the calcutta, you are supposed to buy half of yourself before you hit even one ball. Every pool player in every tournament would love to get a free ride in the calcutta and then claim half the dough in the end.
Look, she had a great chance of winning the tournament, but just because someone is supposed to win or get second, DOES NOT mean that they do not "really" have to buy half of themselves. It is not just "understood" that they want half of themselves because they are going to win the tournament. That is why I wouldn't give her half of herself. I've never seen anything like that by any caliber of player, and sure didn't expect her to react the way she did. She forfeited the entire tourney from there, and cost me and my buddy to lose 35 dollars apiece.
This is what really happened so everyone can think what you will but this is the way I saw it. There are at least three sides to every story, so i would love to hear what Jeanette or anyone else who was there have to say.
. 
