Pool Player killed by falling tree

Poor guy. :( The article states that: "Bates won several national championships as a professional pool player." That must be a misprint.
 
That was a fluke accident and I feel bad for him. The article said he was just driving along and the tree fell on his car.

This is really bad:

"Because Bates' father is in a nursing home and his mother is dead, many of his friends are donating money to cover funeral expenses."

He doesn't even have a family to see to his burial. Bad things can really happen in this world!

James
 
Hey, I read the obit, and that pool room he worked -- Q-Ball in Greensburg, PA -- is owned by Don Steele, a senior player today who's name still pops up in the pool headlines. He's a strong player in his own right.

Don and his wife are good people. I am sure they are going to make sure that the right thing is done by this poor fellow.

JAM
 
C'mon guys... if there's any group of humans who get bad rolls, it's pool players. Why? Because we know they exist.

I'll never forget my trip to Vegas last year. I was killing time at the Rio, getting killed at Roullete (like I said, killing time), waiting for a poker seat.

Up walks this 21 year old (MAYBE) blonde with Jay-Lo glasses and a few $25 chips. She stares at the table forever, lays $25 on 18 or something and then claps her hands and high-fives her girlfriend. What a douchebag, I thought. Why not just give ME the money and at least you'll get a kiss before getting f***ed.

Well, you guessed it, 18. The girl frowns, and starts walking away. I get up and drag her back to tell her she won. "I WON!?!? OMG!! I WON YAY!!!" she says. She was gonna leave her winnings there like a moron. Did she tip me out? Of course not. So I tell her..... maybe you should let your $25 ride. When luckboxes like you hit, it comes in droves.

She says, "OMG no why would I do that? I already won!!" Whatever, i thought. Next thing ya know, 18 comes up again. I yanked her back--- she was standing 10 ft away sipping on some fruity drink. See? Being a nit cost you 8 yards and change not betting your oddball.

My point in the story is if anyone on this board laid that bet, you'd get what was coming to ya... and what you deserve. And when you walked towards the cage, a waitress might nearly bump into you causing you to drop a black chip, unknowingly, and then get a crappy meal across the street somewhere.

Between Tony Ellin and this poor soul, I've seen it all. If some force of God goes three rails with inside english around town, bumps off two cars and a house and knocks you dead... 10 to 1 the poor soul is a pool player.
 
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SpiderWebComm said:
Between Tony Ellin and this poor soul, I've seen it all.
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when i read the article he was the first one that crossed my mind. I was thinkin the same thing. damn pool players just cant catch a break
 
Ron was a friend of mine. I played on teams with him on and off for the last 10 years. Recently, due to his father's poor health, he had dropped out of the league scene to help with his care.

And the National champion thing was a typo, however he was on teams that won trips to Nationals (APA Vegas and TAP-New Orleans). He played to a high 6 speed in both leagues and was a handful on the table.

He was a good guy with a big heart and will be missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him.

Rest in peace Ron...
 
SpiderWebComm said:
C'mon guys... if there's any group of humans who get bad rolls, it's pool players. Why? Because we know they exist.

I'll never forget my trip to Vegas last year. I was killing time at the Rio, getting killed at Roullete (like I said, killing time), waiting for a poker seat.

Up walks this 21 year old (MAYBE) blonde with Jay-Lo glasses and a few $25 chips. She stares at the table forever, lays $25 on 18 or something and then claps her hands and high-fives her girlfriend. What a douchebag, I thought. Why not just give ME the money and at least you'll get a kiss before getting f***ed.

Well, you guessed it, 18. The girl frowns, and starts walking away. I get up and drag her back to tell her she won. "I WON!?!? OMG!! I WON YAY!!!" she says. She was gonna leave her winnings there like a moron. Did she tip me out? Of course not. So I tell her..... maybe you should let your $25 ride. When luckboxes like you hit, it comes in droves.

She says, "OMG no why would I do that? I already won!!" Whatever, i thought. Next thing ya know, 18 comes up again. I yanked her back--- she was standing 10 ft away sipping on some fruity drink. See? Being a nit cost you 8 yards and change not betting your oddball.

My point in the story is if anyone on this board laid that bet, you'd get what was coming to ya... and what you deserve. And when you walked towards the cage, a waitress might nearly bump into you causing you to drop a black chip, unknowingly, and then get a crappy meal across the street somewhere.

Between Tony Ellin and this poor soul, I've seen it all. If some force of God goes three rails with inside english around town, bumps off two cars and a house and knocks you dead... 10 to 1 the poor soul is a pool player.
Click to expand...

This post has me shaking my head. I guess I just don't think this way.
 
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akaTrigger said:
This post has me shaking my head. I guess I just don't think this way.
Click to expand...

Hey dont get me wrong, I'm a positive person. I'm just saying the worst rolls come to pool players. Golfers/tennis players come in second.

I can tell you about a story about a golfer who hit a bad drive, threw his driver down, it hit a tee marker, split the graphite into pieces, and a piece embedded in the artery in his thigh and he nearly bled to death waiting on the ambulance (I was the caddy). Ask Kim Davenport about golfer's luck too.

Just when you think you were safe on a tennis court, someone out of the audience runs up and stabs you with a knife because she wanted you to lose the match. Ask Monica Seles about that one.

All i'm saying is the worst-of-the-worst comes to the pool people.
 
SpiderWebComm said:
C'mon guys... if there's any group of humans who get bad rolls, it's pool players. Why? Because we know they exist.

I'll never forget my trip to Vegas last year. I was killing time at the Rio, getting killed at Roullete (like I said, killing time), waiting for a poker seat.

Up walks this 21 year old (MAYBE) blonde with Jay-Lo glasses and a few $25 chips. She stares at the table forever, lays $25 on 18 or something and then claps her hands and high-fives her girlfriend. What a douchebag, I thought. Why not just give ME the money and at least you'll get a kiss before getting f***ed.

Well, you guessed it, 18. The girl frowns, and starts walking away. I get up and drag her back to tell her she won. "I WON!?!? OMG!! I WON YAY!!!" she says. She was gonna leave her winnings there like a moron. Did she tip me out? Of course not. So I tell her..... maybe you should let your $25 ride. When luckboxes like you hit, it comes in droves.

She says, "OMG no why would I do that? I already won!!" Whatever, i thought. Next thing ya know, 18 comes up again. I yanked her back--- she was standing 10 ft away sipping on some fruity drink. See? Being a nit cost you 8 yards and change not betting your oddball.

My point in the story is if anyone on this board laid that bet, you'd get what was coming to ya... and what you deserve. And when you walked towards the cage, a waitress might nearly bump into you causing you to drop a black chip, unknowingly, and then get a crappy meal across the street somewhere.

Between Tony Ellin and this poor soul, I've seen it all. If some force of God goes three rails with inside english around town, bumps off two cars and a house and knocks you dead... 10 to 1 the poor soul is a pool player.
Click to expand...
Man, you're lucky you made it this long. Better get out of the game while you're still alive. If not, then at least get your affairs in order so we don't have to bury you someday.
 
FastMikie said:
Somebody should take that tree and make some "killer" cues out of it! :rolleyes:
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In any other situation that statement would be funny !

But out of all seriousness let's show some respect for the recently deceased !!!

Afterall, it could have happened to anyone of us at anytime !!!

I'm not trying to chastize or scold you in anyway whatsoever... just wanted to point out the respect issue for a "fallen" player !

R.I.P. Ronald....


Sincerely, Eddie Wheat
 
I don't want to hear anyone complain about getting a bad roll again. Poor Ron got the worst roll possible. RIP bro.
 
SpiderWebComm said:
....

All i'm saying is the worst-of-the-worst comes to the pool people.
Click to expand...

When I read your first post I thought you were joking. Now that I know you might be serious all I can say is "nonsense".
If you really believe that maybe you should start another thread about it. I guess this isn't really the right thread to debate it.
 
jay helfert said:
I don't want to hear anyone complain about getting a bad roll again. Poor Ron got the worst roll possible. RIP bro.
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I guess it's all in how you look at it. Personally I think he got a good roll, or at least, it was nowhere near as bad as it could have been. He didn't get the Big C and go slooooow and nasty, and he didn't get old and have to attend the funerals of all his friends and then get the Big C and wear a diaper for his golden years while he wasted away in a "nursing" home that would push him in a corner and ignore him. I'd prefer to go QUICK and not even know it, something like having a tree fall on me, or have a meteor hit my house, or a biplane... yeah, a nice open cockpit biplane. One minute I'm pickin' my nose and the next I'm gonzo!

BiplaneOverSurf-sm.jpg


It's not good to take life too seriously... none of us are getting out of this alive. A little sense of humor helps us live longer and healthier...
 
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