Because I have one of these and someone asked about it, I dug for some information and found this humorous story from RSB.
Subject Re: Cue Points
From Jason Froehling
Date 1997/12/15
[Jim Barr's original post added for completeness]:
It was a Keith Kustom that I bought it in a pawn shop about 2 months ago. Even though I no longer own it I'm still interested in learning about this cue, so I'm asking a couple of more questions.
In the forearm of the cue was a serial number plate. The serial number was 00455 and above the serial number it read "Last Chance". Does anyone know if this cue was made by the original Keith or the current Keith and how old this cue may have been?
What did the "Last Chance" mean? Was it something that Keith did or was it something added by the customer?
Reply from Jason:
Hello my name is Jason Froehling and I've been a follower of this newsgroup for about six months now. I live in Sioux Falls, SD (where Keith Kustoms are made) and am fortunate to know Keith Hanssen fairly well. Hanssen bought the business from Mr. Keith Holcomb, as you may know. The cue you came across was made by Keith Holcomb. Mr. Holcomb referred to the point design on your cue as a 12 point. A friend of mine who I played 9-ball league with earlier tonight has #456 and although no two Keith Kustoms are identical his is very similar to this and he's been offered $2,500 for it.
When I left for 9-ball league tonight I was hoping to run into a fellow named Larry Bishop which fortunately I did. Larry worked with Keith Holcomb closely in his cuemaking business and has photographs of nearly every cue they made during Holcombs era. When I asked him if he remembers a cue close to Kevin's that had "Last Chance" by the serial #, a smile came to his face as he started sharing the history of this cue.
Although, I may have the spelling wrong he said the cue originally was made for Greg Milkey. Greg owned a bar on the edge of Sioux Falls called The Last Chance. From the sound of it Greg had a wild hair, and took all the money he could gather up and headed to Las Vegas looking to parlay it. From what Larry told me not only did he lose his dough while he was gone. Meanwhile, back in Sioux Falls someone from the East Coast came through and wrote a few grand in bad checks that were cashed by his bartender. When Greg arrived back home he was worse off than he thought. (By now your probably thinking the same thing I was about this situation, but it gets worse.) Apparently Milkey was looking for a way to recoup his losses so he hung out in the bathroom of the local VFW until it closed. After close he looted the place. On his way out he set off a security alarm at the police station as well as an audible alarm at the VFW. Someone nearby heard it, looked out their window and recognized him as well as his vehicle. Larry thought Milkey was in prison at the moment.
I am a little curious on your buying price from the pawn shop? And how much you passed it on for? (Kevin payed $250.00 also at a pawn shop for his-a steal!) By the way Keith Holcomb made only one twelve pointed cue that all faced up. It's also owned by a gentlemen in Sioux Falls.
One other tidbit Larry passed on to me was that Keith Holcomb's first serial number used started at #166. As he showed me his cue it read #166. He's been offered in the neighborhood of 5k for it, it's beautiful. Well I hope I didn't go overboard answering your question, but I'm glad to contribute.
Subject Re: Cue Points
From Jason Froehling
Date 1997/12/15
[Jim Barr's original post added for completeness]:
It was a Keith Kustom that I bought it in a pawn shop about 2 months ago. Even though I no longer own it I'm still interested in learning about this cue, so I'm asking a couple of more questions.
In the forearm of the cue was a serial number plate. The serial number was 00455 and above the serial number it read "Last Chance". Does anyone know if this cue was made by the original Keith or the current Keith and how old this cue may have been?
What did the "Last Chance" mean? Was it something that Keith did or was it something added by the customer?
Reply from Jason:
Hello my name is Jason Froehling and I've been a follower of this newsgroup for about six months now. I live in Sioux Falls, SD (where Keith Kustoms are made) and am fortunate to know Keith Hanssen fairly well. Hanssen bought the business from Mr. Keith Holcomb, as you may know. The cue you came across was made by Keith Holcomb. Mr. Holcomb referred to the point design on your cue as a 12 point. A friend of mine who I played 9-ball league with earlier tonight has #456 and although no two Keith Kustoms are identical his is very similar to this and he's been offered $2,500 for it.
When I left for 9-ball league tonight I was hoping to run into a fellow named Larry Bishop which fortunately I did. Larry worked with Keith Holcomb closely in his cuemaking business and has photographs of nearly every cue they made during Holcombs era. When I asked him if he remembers a cue close to Kevin's that had "Last Chance" by the serial #, a smile came to his face as he started sharing the history of this cue.
Although, I may have the spelling wrong he said the cue originally was made for Greg Milkey. Greg owned a bar on the edge of Sioux Falls called The Last Chance. From the sound of it Greg had a wild hair, and took all the money he could gather up and headed to Las Vegas looking to parlay it. From what Larry told me not only did he lose his dough while he was gone. Meanwhile, back in Sioux Falls someone from the East Coast came through and wrote a few grand in bad checks that were cashed by his bartender. When Greg arrived back home he was worse off than he thought. (By now your probably thinking the same thing I was about this situation, but it gets worse.) Apparently Milkey was looking for a way to recoup his losses so he hung out in the bathroom of the local VFW until it closed. After close he looted the place. On his way out he set off a security alarm at the police station as well as an audible alarm at the VFW. Someone nearby heard it, looked out their window and recognized him as well as his vehicle. Larry thought Milkey was in prison at the moment.
I am a little curious on your buying price from the pawn shop? And how much you passed it on for? (Kevin payed $250.00 also at a pawn shop for his-a steal!) By the way Keith Holcomb made only one twelve pointed cue that all faced up. It's also owned by a gentlemen in Sioux Falls.
One other tidbit Larry passed on to me was that Keith Holcomb's first serial number used started at #166. As he showed me his cue it read #166. He's been offered in the neighborhood of 5k for it, it's beautiful. Well I hope I didn't go overboard answering your question, but I'm glad to contribute.
