Lou Butera Passed Away this Morning :(

Sad news, just watched his son on a live stream a week or two ago. Lou is one of the last of that generation of pool players.

Condolences to his family and friends.
 
A sad loss indeed.

My first glimpse of Lou's wonderful play came in 1976, and I saw much of Lou's play in his prime. He was a great talent and a great man.

Last caught up with him at Eddie Kelly's BCA HOF Induction in Vegas. It must have been close to ten years ago.

Condolences to his family and friends. We've lost a good one.
 
Lou Butera

When I was a kid my parents didn't have a ton of money but for my birthday one year I got a Sega video game machine and a video game. It might have been an early virtual pool or something similar I have forgotten the exact title anyway this video was part of the extra bonus stuff in the game and it blew my young mind!

https://youtu.be/E8Cn92-IqKU

It was my first exposure to high level pool and I probably watched that video 500 times. I have one of his exhibition posters hanging in my workshop to this day. Although I never met him he was a big influence on my life.
 
"Machine Gun" Lou Butera was one of my favorites to watch when I seriously got into pool. He was different than the others - sharply dressed in solid white, sent the cue ball flying an instant after coming to rest and getting a lot of attention.

He gave a wonderful exhibition in San Diego about 1982. Afterward, I asked him if he gave lessons. I was bummed when he said he wasn't interested in teaching. He did tell me that the fella across the table from us would be happy to take me as a student. I didn't recognize him and just let it go. I later found out that fella was Bob Byrne.

Now, I often go to a poolroom in Moorpark owned by Sal "Son of a Gun" Butera.

Rest in peace, Lou.
 
Last week.....Tim Scruggs and now this week starts with Lou........this sure helps to remind me of my own mortality...........today's players are cut from a different cloth then the legends of pool were like "Machine Gun" Lou Butera.........I hope his family's and friends' sorrow passes quickly and replaced with cherished memories of Lou so they can celebrate his life.


Matt B.
 
Very sad to read this, Lou was always a gentlemen whenever I saw him over the years.
My condolences to Sal and the Butera family and all his friends.

PS if you have any pics of Lou from years gone by please put them up
 
RoadHustler said:
When I was a kid my parents didn't have a ton of money but for my birthday one year I got a Sega video game machine and a video game. It might have been an early virtual pool or something similar I have forgotten the exact title anyway this video was part of the extra bonus stuff in the game and it blew my young mind!

https://youtu.be/E8Cn92-IqKU

It was my first exposure to high level pool and I probably watched that video 500 times. I have one of his exhibition posters hanging in my workshop to this day. Although I never met him he was a big influence on my life.
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I remember playing this game as well. It had lots of great trick shots by Mr. Butera also. I loved it. As a straight pool enthusiast I have great respect for Buteras skills and accomplishments, and his record for fastest 150 and out may well stand forever. RIP.
 
Best wishes to Sal and the family. Lou was definitely an ambassador of the game, a legendary player and a great guy.
 
12squared said:
This was reported on Facebook by Bill Smith (Mr3cushion) and just confirmed to be true. RIP, Lou!

From Bill: Sad news again in the billiard industry! Just heard from my good friend, Charlie Ursitti a VERY good friend of Lou 'Machine Gun' Butera, that He passed away today! He'd been suffering from 'Parkinson's' decease for awhile.
R.I.P Lou!

Sincere condolences to the entire Butera family and his many friends. Lou was a fantastic player and better human. He will be missed.

Dave
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This is really sad news, he was a very nice guy. I was playing him in a tournament and I was having trouble with my cue. I was looking through my case for some sandpaper.

He pulls out his money and folded in with his money was small squares of sandpaper. He gave me a piece of 1000 paper. I thought that was very nice of him. Just a small clue into who the man was, a genuinely nice person. That was a lot of years ago, funny what sticks in ones mind about people. A small thing like that stays with you.
 
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I remember Lou gave one of the best exhibitions I've ever seen (at Harry's in Novato, CA). It wasn't just that he made great shots quickly -- he had wonderful back-and-forth with the audience. He used to come up to Terry Stonier's Jointed Cue in Sacramento which is probably where I saw him most.
 
RIP Lou. My condolences to Sal and the rest of his family, Lou was a great guy and will be missed.
 
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