Question for Deno

bud green

Dolley and Django
Silver Member
After seeing you on a number of tapes of three cushion, including some record breaking matches at Sang Lee's (you even ref'd one of the record breaking matches, I believe) I was wondering what you considered your best billiard memories.

You were there when Sang ran 50 pts in 4 innings, so I'll just assume that's one of them since it might be the most impressive thing I've ever heard in 3-C. Your grandfather was a top player and I think you said Gus Copulos (didn't he help invent the corner 5 diamond system?) used to play at your house so that must be up there also.

Any other stories you'd care to share about stuff you've seen in person?
 
When I saw SL run the 50 in four innings, it was truly spectacular. I remember I had just arrived and we were going to have dinner together. He said he wanted to play one more game and that we would go. He said that it would be quick! I thought sure...a 50 point game...quick...no way. It was quick.

My most wonderful memory was meeting Raymond Ceulemans for the first time. I stood there in awe of the man, mostly because of what he did for the game of billiards. However, after getting to know him, I was even more impressed with his character. He is one of the nicest men I have ever met and the game of billiards is lucky to have him around. We were in Mexico City together last year for about a week. We were there for a major tournament, and as usual, I had a blast being around him. He has a great sense of life and I have learned a lot from his philosophy about life.

Other fun stuff includes going on the road with Rojas and learning the artistic billiards program from him. I brought him in for a few weeks of exhibitions about ten years ago...and usually do about a week annually with him. He is another great guy and the absolute best artistic billiard player the world has ever seen...hands down. He's also been a great influence on the game and me. Having won the World Championship a few years ago really did something for him in Mexico. He is somewhat of a celebrity there and does regular appearances on Mexican TV. The first time he ever saw snow was on one of our road trips together. He wanted to stop the car and touch it. After doing so, he got back in the car and with his limited English said..."it's cold!" I had to laugh.

I could write a short book about my experiences in the billiard and pool world. These are high up on my best memory list. If you are ever in the Chicagoland area, I would be happy to share more with you over some billiards.

Best regards,
Deno
 
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