Man, I sure envy this guy! I started learning to play pool in 1991 right after Desert Storm. I came home on leave and went to my best friends dads food/game room called the Browns Dairy Snack in Ft Gibson, Okla. I went in and knew everyone there and they were playing 9ball for .50 on the 5 and 1.00 on 9. There was maybe 6 people playing and I said I would join.. I remember it well. I walked out of there 34.50 lighter in my pocket. I went and got into my new 1992 Red GT Mustang that I bought with the money from being deployed for 6 months and thought about what had just happened..These guys werent THAT good and I knew I could beat them. So I drove back 722miles to Ft Benning Ga and I commenced to practice pool.
There was a Rec Building just down the hill from my barracks and they had 9 Gold Crowns. I played pool from the time I got off work at 3:30 till 11pm and on the weekends I would go to a local pool hall in Columbus Ga and play all night Fr, all day sat and all day Sunday. I watched the Color of Money every night for 4 months. I played in a few tournaments there in Columbus and did ok. I thought if I was going to play pool and get good I needed a new cue, so the old man that owned the pool hall told me I should get a Joss. He gave me some prices and I said I had only 1250.00 on a cue. This man was a VERY nice man and I will always remember him, he helped me out a lot. He smiled when I said all the money I had was 1250.00 (this was a lot of money for a 23yr old single Corporal) He told me to give him the 1250.00 and he would get me a nice cue. He bought me a 1 of 1 Joss West that I still have to this day, and I even got back 75.00. And there was this other pool hall down in Columbus Ga by the bus station that alot of older guys went to that had absolutely the Best Chili Dogs I have ever ate!
So finally, I got a chance to go back home on a 4day pass.. I took my 1175.00 cue into this burger joint and when I pulled the cue out, everyone was just in awe, a Joss cue was something that only the big boys played with. We started playing pool, 9 ball, 1 on 5, 2.00 on 9. I walked out of that pool hall that day with everyones money. They couldnt believe how good I had gotten. I went back the next day and did the same thing. It was such a good feeling. I played at the Green Room in Atlanta a few time and won some money, played in a few tournaments in the Atlanta area and did well for someone who had only been playing pool for 6 months. When I was asked how long I had been playing pool and I told them 6 months, they just laughed and said Yea Right!
I ETS'd out of the Army in May 1992 and got a piddly job making 7.15/hr. I played pool every breathing minute I was not working. A friend I worked with played as well. I usually had 3-4k on me and on Friday after work, me and Mark would take a change of clothes to work, and after work we would go to the airport in Tulsa. We would pick someplace out to fly to play pool Dallas(CJ's), Houston, Kansas City(Olathe), Memphis(Rack N Roll), Denver, Atlanta (Green Room), Philadelphia, Nashville, Las Vegas, or we would just stay in Tulsa and play at the Billiards Palace. Well, after getting in late on Sunday night/Monday mornings, I was fired from my job. It sucked, so I went and played pool and made 250.00. That was about a weeks worth of pay, so I decided to play pool all the time. I played in bar tournaments mon - thurs locally and usually made 500-600. My first big outing playing pool full time was to Phoenix Az., and played a guy nicknamed Buddha. This was a super nice man, we played for about a day straight and when I walked out of the pool hall, I was ahead 2200.00. That 1 year I played pool every breathing minute I was awake, after all my losses, I was ahead 65,000.00. Not bad for a 23yr old single guy.
I met my future wife, she was 18 and I had a big tournament in Springfield, Mo. Myself, Trina, my friend Mark and 2 other buddies went to play in this tourney, well, she was underage and had to sit in the car for 14hrs. This made me absolutely sick. So on the way home we stopped in Branson for a day, and that night I proposed to her and told her I would never do that again and leave her in the car while I played pool. I played off and on till I quit in 1994 and re-enlisted in the Army and went to Alaska (Loved it). I finally picked up a cue June of 2008 and I am playing about 3hrs a day now and trying to get better. Last week I ran 7racks of 9ball and I feel really good about my game. I am wanting to travel around within about a 500 mile radius and play in some tournaments and just try and do the best that I can.
"My wife just reminded me. There was a billiards supply store there in Springfield that had a pool table in the front lobby and there was this HUGE FAT Cat that layed on it. The daughter of the guy that owned the shop said she fed this cat Burger King every day...and he sure looked like it. He had to have weighed at LEAST 30-35lbs."
So hearing about Jay Helfert and a day in his life sure brings back the memories of my short stint as a pool player.. Congratulations Jay in all you have done and I wish you and all the pool players here on AZBilliards the very best and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Shawn Smith
There was a Rec Building just down the hill from my barracks and they had 9 Gold Crowns. I played pool from the time I got off work at 3:30 till 11pm and on the weekends I would go to a local pool hall in Columbus Ga and play all night Fr, all day sat and all day Sunday. I watched the Color of Money every night for 4 months. I played in a few tournaments there in Columbus and did ok. I thought if I was going to play pool and get good I needed a new cue, so the old man that owned the pool hall told me I should get a Joss. He gave me some prices and I said I had only 1250.00 on a cue. This man was a VERY nice man and I will always remember him, he helped me out a lot. He smiled when I said all the money I had was 1250.00 (this was a lot of money for a 23yr old single Corporal) He told me to give him the 1250.00 and he would get me a nice cue. He bought me a 1 of 1 Joss West that I still have to this day, and I even got back 75.00. And there was this other pool hall down in Columbus Ga by the bus station that alot of older guys went to that had absolutely the Best Chili Dogs I have ever ate!
So finally, I got a chance to go back home on a 4day pass.. I took my 1175.00 cue into this burger joint and when I pulled the cue out, everyone was just in awe, a Joss cue was something that only the big boys played with. We started playing pool, 9 ball, 1 on 5, 2.00 on 9. I walked out of that pool hall that day with everyones money. They couldnt believe how good I had gotten. I went back the next day and did the same thing. It was such a good feeling. I played at the Green Room in Atlanta a few time and won some money, played in a few tournaments in the Atlanta area and did well for someone who had only been playing pool for 6 months. When I was asked how long I had been playing pool and I told them 6 months, they just laughed and said Yea Right!
I ETS'd out of the Army in May 1992 and got a piddly job making 7.15/hr. I played pool every breathing minute I was not working. A friend I worked with played as well. I usually had 3-4k on me and on Friday after work, me and Mark would take a change of clothes to work, and after work we would go to the airport in Tulsa. We would pick someplace out to fly to play pool Dallas(CJ's), Houston, Kansas City(Olathe), Memphis(Rack N Roll), Denver, Atlanta (Green Room), Philadelphia, Nashville, Las Vegas, or we would just stay in Tulsa and play at the Billiards Palace. Well, after getting in late on Sunday night/Monday mornings, I was fired from my job. It sucked, so I went and played pool and made 250.00. That was about a weeks worth of pay, so I decided to play pool all the time. I played in bar tournaments mon - thurs locally and usually made 500-600. My first big outing playing pool full time was to Phoenix Az., and played a guy nicknamed Buddha. This was a super nice man, we played for about a day straight and when I walked out of the pool hall, I was ahead 2200.00. That 1 year I played pool every breathing minute I was awake, after all my losses, I was ahead 65,000.00. Not bad for a 23yr old single guy.
I met my future wife, she was 18 and I had a big tournament in Springfield, Mo. Myself, Trina, my friend Mark and 2 other buddies went to play in this tourney, well, she was underage and had to sit in the car for 14hrs. This made me absolutely sick. So on the way home we stopped in Branson for a day, and that night I proposed to her and told her I would never do that again and leave her in the car while I played pool. I played off and on till I quit in 1994 and re-enlisted in the Army and went to Alaska (Loved it). I finally picked up a cue June of 2008 and I am playing about 3hrs a day now and trying to get better. Last week I ran 7racks of 9ball and I feel really good about my game. I am wanting to travel around within about a 500 mile radius and play in some tournaments and just try and do the best that I can.
"My wife just reminded me. There was a billiards supply store there in Springfield that had a pool table in the front lobby and there was this HUGE FAT Cat that layed on it. The daughter of the guy that owned the shop said she fed this cat Burger King every day...and he sure looked like it. He had to have weighed at LEAST 30-35lbs."
So hearing about Jay Helfert and a day in his life sure brings back the memories of my short stint as a pool player.. Congratulations Jay in all you have done and I wish you and all the pool players here on AZBilliards the very best and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Shawn Smith
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I just liked that movie...I wore that VHS smooooth out!:grin-square:
