Probably twelve years ago, when Raphael first hit the tour, he came through San Antonio. I managed a pool room and the owner of the room met him, liked him and decided to sponsor him. At the time, Raphael was ranked #8 in the world.
Part of his deal with the owner was to be the house pro which included playing in the weekly tournaments, giving lessons, etc. when he was not on the road or tour.
One of our local players, Eddie, never played for more than $2-3 9 ball.
One night, Eddie is mouthing off about how much his game has improved of late. I turn around and Raphael had just walked in. I thought by this time everyone knew about Raphael so as a joke I told Eddie, "See that guy up on the rail? I gave him the 7 and 8 and hosed him last week. Go ask him to play." Everyone laughed and I thought that was the end of it.
About 15 minutes later, I look to see Eddie and Raphael starting to play.
I walked over and asked Ed what he was doing. He said they were playing a race to seven for $35 which was astro bucks for Ed. Never saw Ed bet that much before or since.
I explained to Ed that I was kidding and that Raphael was ranked #8.
Raphael laid it down very well, beating Ed 7-4.
It took us another two days to convince Ed of what had happened. To this day, he has never forgave me. LOL
For being so small, Raphael has a very powerful stroke. Get him to show you some stroke trick shots if you can. Amazing.
