Swanee updates

Sal

Wow it sounds like a nail-biter and I'm kinda glad we left early as I would have been very dissapointed to see Sal lose that way. I don't know him well but I've been to his pool room in Simi a few times and its a GREAT place to play pool. Great Diamond equipment in a great set-up. Sal runs a family-style pool room that is often filled with young kids and it looks like a great atmosphere and a positive place for kids to hang out, learn and appreciate pool and have fun. Both times I have been there, Brendon Crockett was on a table, running simply rack after rack of 9 ball, rack after rack after rack. I hear Mosconi played jam-up at Brendon's age, I think I'd take Brendon in that dream match-up and when I see him play I know I'm watching the future US Open champ and I'm sure Sal has a big part in that.

That's the way pool should be. That's how you support and grow the sport you love. You give to and pass down to the future generations. Thanks Sal and congrats on a great Swanee (again).

Kevin
 
wayne said:
Hey! What about me? (see I have 897 posts) Just kidding. I know you never knew who I was until this weekend.

I was pretty happy about finishing 3rd since I am almost exclusively a one-pocket player, maybe I will start playing a little more 9 ball now.

You and Mark and Jay did a great job running the tournament, thanks.
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Who thought you were a member of AZ?

Who thought you could play 9-Ball?

Congrats on a great tournament. 3rd place in that field is quite a feat.

Kevin
 
Congrats to AZer wayne for a great finish. I hope they have video surveillance and can show who jarred OMGWTF's drink.
 
I was there and stayed until the end and what a great finish it was. Parica played like Parica. Sal played a terrific match to come from behind to get to the hill first.

The last game at hill hill with Parica breaking dry and leaving and open table I thought it was over by the way Sal was playing. But there was still a lot of drama left in that game. Sal ran to the six ball and momentary lost focus.

Sal was playing that run with a lot of confidence and just plain missed the six, didn't dog it, just plain missed it and left Jose with a long angle shot on it. He made the six and was trying to come three rails for the seven but ran into it after hitting two rails. He had to play safe but left an easy kick for Sal. Sal kicked and hit the seven on the good side to get both the seven and the nine moving with a lot of speed. After the balls settled down Jose still had a long and fairly straight shot to make with a lot of follow, once he made it he two hangers left and it was over at this point.

Wayne had a great tournament and congratulations to him for that great showing. It's now obvious why he's such a great one pocket player. Great cue ball control and can ran the balls. Nice job Wayne, no more keeping that nine ball game under the one pocket cover.

Also a nice showing by Brandan Crockett. This boy is the future of pool in the making. Plays great and makes good decisions.
 
Hey Wayne congrats from the boys down in Santa Monica. Sorry parking was a nightmare in Hollywood but we were getting text reports on the hour. We knew about your 9 ball game all along but dont worry your other secrets are still kept. Curling anyone? LOL!!!! Now come back home. The railbirds are missing you.
PS Congrats to Jose. Like the energizer bunny-he just keeps running
 
Kudos

The team who ran the Swanee board this weekend were amazing. 192 players, 26 tables, 2 days, decent length races (8 and 7)...brutal.

Sunny was highly instrumental in runing the board, I don't think I saw her leave the brackets Sunday at all.

ok...now time for the U.S. Bar Table Championships :) entry deadline is this week on the 18th. Here is a link to the entry form for the USBTC:

http://playcsipool.com/Events/USBarTableChampionships/tabid/75/Default.aspx
 
One of the best "Swanee's" yet! Can't believe it is number 14. In case you didn't know him, Swanee was a gift to the pool world. GREAT player, wonderful friend and just a lot of fun to be around. He RULED San Diego pool for over 20 years and took down hustler after hustler who crossed his path. Only Keith and Parica could hold their own with him and they were the two best players for money at the time. That will give you an idea how Swanee played.

Parica is still KING on the left coast! Sal made a stirring comeback from 11-7 down to make it a hill-hill match but missed a fairly routine six ball on his way to running out for the match. Parica also could have ended it sooner but he missed a four ball that he slow rolled, and later on an eight ball down the rail. These two misses gave Sal the opportunity to climb back into the match.

Both players looked a little fatigued in the final. It had been a LONG two days of pool. Sal had won NINE matches in a row on the loser's side to reach the finals with Jose. He played some God awful pool to put down players like Louie Ulrich and Oscar Dominguez. Sal was running out like water on the super tough "Ernesto-tight" Gold Crowns. It was some of the best pool I have seen in years. When Sal is on his game, NO ONE has to like it. He has a a very high speed, and it is intimidating to watch someone run out so fast on such tough equipment. Parica meanwhile took the "short cut" through the winner's side winning seven matches in a row to reach the one set final.

First prize was $3,000 and second paid $1,500. Our very own AZ'er Wayne took down a tidy $1,000 for 3rd. He showed us all that he isn't just a One Pocket player. Wayne is a super nice guy by the way. He will smile and compliment you while he is relieving you of your money playing One Pocket. That's how nice he is. :smilewinkgrin:

But Parica had the answer in the final match. He slowed the tempo down and kept control of the table. He is simply a marvel of the pool world. 60 years old and still plays like God! Soft touch, good eye and always shoots the right shot at the right time. A very smart player in other words. Without a doubt the best sixty year old player on the planet! Even today, I don't see anyone running up to him and asking him to play. He still may be the most feared money player on the West Coast. In my opinion his game has not slipped very much, if at all. He is still capable of beating any player, anywhere, at any time.

There were some good money games that went on as well. Ernesto hooked up with George Ramirez from Arizona for some friendly three dollars a game One Pocket. They played for hours and Ernesto made some lunch money :wink:. George is a solid player though. Brandon Shuff (who didn't go far in the main event) played some even-up One Pocket with "One Pocket Rich", L.A.'s best player. A little dough riding on these games too. Rich won this first encounter and they are planning a rematch today. HOB Santa Monica for those who are interested.
 
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sunnyday said:
Hey, Frank- I will post the complete money list later. Once we wrap up. I'm posting now from Iphone and personally want to enjoy the final match. You can't blame me for that, can ya?:p
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Sunny is another incredible gift to the pool world. Beautiful with a capital B, sharp as tack (the secret to all Mark Griffin's success), and always with a smile on her face and a kind word for everyone! She's got a good sense of humor too. Pretty cool chick I would have to say.

Best of all was the way she pitched in to help at this year's Swanee. No one has any idea what a feat it is to play 192 players in two days and keep everyone happy. Well Sunny was integral to helping us pull this off again. She took over the charts (tournament boards) on Saturday with no previous experience and ran them smoothly for well over twelve hours! Her hubby Mark and Mark Estes also helped her out when they weren't playing matches. P.S. They both got in the money and Griffin got to the final 48! Not bad for an old man. :)

It freed me up to be out on the floor watching matches and making sure everything was running smoothly out there. There were 28 tables in constant action all day Saturday, so a lot was going on all the time. Thanks to Sunny's wonderful assist we were able to get down to 48 players coming back on Sunday. Both days started at 10 AM sharp and the final ball was hit at 1:45 AM Monday!

We also had a $25 mini on Friday night with a full field of 64 players. It came down to Ernesto in the hot seat and Max and Hemmah to play the loser's side final. They all made a deal at that point (nearly 2 AM). Ernesto got $450 and the other two got $325 each.

The Swanee is like a smaller abbreviated version of Derby City. It is more than a tournament, it is a reunion for all the LA area players. Every one gets to reminisce about old times and get reacquainted. I heard some great stories about fabled players from yesteryear and great match ups.

Parica told me about his first excursion across the states where he beat everybody he played, including ALL the champions, except Buddy who declined to play him. He got back to L.A. and they hooked him up with Keith, who quickly offered Jose the eight, not knowing who he was (or caring for that matter). It must have worked on Jose's mind, because Keith went ahead and beat him anyway! The only loss he suffered to an American player.

Another old time Mexican player told me about watching Keith give one Mexican champion after another the five ball on a bar table, and mowing them down. They revered Keith. He was "El Diablo," The Devil! When they heard someone was spotting the mighty Keith the eight ball, all the Mexicans came to see who could possibly do this. Granted it was a little past Keith's glory days, but he was still a force to be reckoned with. Who was this masked man who could spot their hero. Turns out his name was Efren! And he beat Keith that day.

On another occasion when Keith was still the ruler of the bar boxes, the legendary Canela came to Los Angeles, after hearing that Keith offered ANY Mexican the five ball. He sat on the sidelines and watched Keith run out two sets on Larry Hubbard and took a left out the back door. Canela no longer wanted anything to do with El Diablo. :rolleyes:
 
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A couple final thoughts after finally getting some sleep.

1- the tournament gets many casual West Coasters for the reasons Jay mentioned. Its fun and everyone is there. You meet people and see old friends. Theres plenty of room and time for socializing.

2- While I am not a top player at all I have played alot around the country due to work travel. The tables this weekend played as tough as any I have played on. They played the same for everyone and rolled true. They were just super tough. To see guys playing well and drilling the centers was very fun to watch.

3- The room and owners do a great job with the event. The room is awesome and they dont try and squeeze players in to rent table. They give the tournament the room and offer good serve. Many places especially on a friday or sat night don't do this. thanks to jeff and his staff.

4- Wayen while known by many might just be the most underrated player in LA. I think its his focus that helps him. He and another LA player
Butch are extremely tough to beat no matter what. Mentally they are strong and stay in the match. Congrats to wayne for the nice event.

5-If you havent been to Hollywood Billiards then plan a trip to next years Swanee.

6- Great to see some many AZers there. From third place to the last money spot the finishing spots were litttered with AZers in the cash.
 
sunnyday said:
...
There were many AZ Forum players and some couple played exceptionally well.

Abe Lim (I4Pool) finished impressive 13-16 and it took USA's #1 BCA ranked player Oscar Dominguez to ruin his fantastic run. Good job, Abe! Later I learned Abe isn't just a great pool player but also a brain. He in the key engineer of the Lazar rack :)

...

S.
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SUNNYDAY-- A BIG, BIG, BIG, "THANK YOU" to you, Mark Griffin, Mark Estes, Holly, Jay Helfert, and the Hollywood Billiards staff (Jeff & crew). You guys organized and managed this event great. I was there for the 2 days and you guys never stopped. That board was always changing and names were always being called. Awesome!

Thank you for commenting on my finish this year. Last year was my first year playing where I won my first, lost my second, won the third, and then lost the fourth. I knew I was going to play again and knew I wanted to do better.

I surprised myself with my 13-16 finish this year and am very satisfied. BUT it's also made me more hungry! Through the course of the 2 days I learned a lot about myself on the table. I know what weaknesses I need to work on and also what mental challenges I need to do better with. I will definitely be signing up for next year. Holly- taking early sign-ups yet? :D

Playing Oscar Dominguez my last match was truly an experience. He is such a great player! I really admired how he moved the ball around and his safety play was amazing! I hung in there for the first 2 or 3 games but after that he was like runaway train. I had my opportunities but my inexperience against him was obvious (bad safety play, inconsistent position play, etc...). For some reason, losing to Oscar didn't bruise my ego too much. How often does someone like me get to play against a pro like Oscar? Oh btw, last year, his father Ernesto put me into the one-loss side. I wonder... are there any other Dominguez' I might have to face next year? :) :D Oscar... My hats off to you. I wish you all the success in the world! You are a true professional, a class act!

I wanted to say "HEY" to all the AZers I met/saw this year:
Jaden, breakball, FranknCali, spongebob, charlesufarley, poolhustler, dogsplayingpool, and others (sorry if I missed u).

DogsPlayingPool-- Thank you for the cigar and conversation! You're a cool cat! (or dog i should say) :)

Poolhustler/breakball/spongebob-- Thank you for the support throughout the event. :thumbup:

Jay-- It was great seeing you again! Till next time...

Wayne-- Congrats on your finish! Sorry we didn't get to meet/introduce.

OMGWTF-- Melinda, I am so sorry to hear what happened to you. Truly upsetting when I found out about it. I hope you're doing better. :)​
Lastly, if you're ever in LA area do yourself a favor and drop by Hollywood Billiards. I told Jeff that not only does he have a great room but his and his staffs customer service is top notch! Customer service means a lot to me and goes a long way. Food there was great too! The Blackened Catfish was to die for. :D :)



Regards,
 
jay helfert said:
...Another old time Mexican player told me about watching Keith give one Mexican champion after another the five ball on a bar table, and mowing them down. They revered Keith. He was "El Diablo," The Devil! When they heard someone was spotting the mighty Keith the eight ball, all the Mexicans came to see who could possibly do this. Granted it was a little past Keith's glory days, but he was still a force to be reckoned with. Who was this masked man who could spot their hero. Turns out his name was Efren! And he beat Keith that day.
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Jay, I believe Efren spotted Keith the last two, if I remember right. No matter, in those days, it was considered unbelievable that Keith was getting anything.

As for the tournament, it was incredible event. The Hollywood Billards staff and the tournament organizers came through again with another outstanding celebration of the "Gentle Giant".

This year it seemed like there were less folks coming from outside of Southern California. In previous years, we had a dozen players from Arizona and a similar count from Northern California. From what I could tell, the only wildcard we had was Brandon Shuff. Of course, none of this diminishes the event at all. It was just something I noticed about this year.

No doubt, I'll be back for the 15th annual Swanee, if Mark and Sunny are up for doing it again - who knows, they may be getting tired of the whole thing. I'm sure Swanee is up there, proud to see us enjoying ourselves and playing the game we all can't get enough of.
 
i4pool said:
SUNNYDAY-- A BIG, BIG, BIG, "THANK YOU" to you, Mark Griffin, Mark Estes, Holly, Jay Helfert, and the Hollywood Billiards staff (Jeff & crew). You guys organized and managed this event great. I was there for the 2 days and you guys never stopped. That board was always changing and names were always being called. Awesome!

Thank you for commenting on my finish this year. Last year was my first year playing where I won my first, lost my second, won the third, and then lost the fourth. I knew I was going to play again and knew I wanted to do better.

I surprised myself with my 13-16 finish this year and am very satisfied. BUT it's also made me more hungry! Through the course of the 2 days I learned a lot about myself on the table. I know what weaknesses I need to work on and also what mental challenges I need to do better with. I will definitely be signing up for next year. Holly- taking early sign-ups yet? :D

Playing Oscar Dominguez my last match was truly an experience. He is such a great player! I really admired how he moved the ball around and his safety play was amazing! I hung in there for the first 2 or 3 games but after that he was like runaway train. I had my opportunities but my inexperience against him was obvious (bad safety play, inconsistent position play, etc...). For some reason, losing to Oscar didn't bruise my ego too much. How often does someone like me get to play against a pro like Oscar? Oh btw, last year, his father Ernesto put me into the one-loss side. I wonder... are there any other Dominguez' I might have to face next year? :) :D Oscar... My hats off to you. I wish you all the success in the world! You are a true professional, a class act!

I wanted to say "HEY" to all the AZers I met/saw this year:
Jaden, breakball, FranknCali, spongebob, charlesufarley, poolhustler, dogsplayingpool, and others (sorry if I missed u).

DogsPlayingPool-- Thank you for the cigar and conversation! You're a cool cat! (or dog i should say) :)

Poolhustler/breakball/spongebob-- Thank you for the support throughout the event. :thumbup:

Jay-- It was great seeing you again! Till next time...

Wayne-- Congrats on your finish! Sorry we didn't get to meet/introduce.

OMGWTF-- Melinda, I am so sorry to hear what happened to you. Truly upsetting when I found out about it. I hope you're doing better. :)​
Lastly, if you're ever in LA area do yourself a favor and drop by Hollywood Billiards. I told Jeff that not only does he have a great room but his and his staffs customer service is top notch! Customer service means a lot to me and goes a long way. Food there was great too! The Blackened Catfish was to die for. :D :)



Regards,
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It was good to see you do well in this tournament Abe. Great job. I had a couple of good wins (8-0 and 7-1) but overall am not happy with the way I performed.

Melinda, I don't know you personally, but I freaked out when they announced that they might need someone who knows cpr. I got certified about 13 years ago and wasn't sure if I remembered how, but I ran to the entrance and was ready to try until I found out you were breathing. I was relieved to hear you were ok.

I hope Mr. Marshall is ok too.
 
atthecat said:
If Swanee were to play in the Swanees, how many Swanees would Swanee have won???
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All of them! :)
He would have been one of the favorites every year for sure. When Swanee was regularly playing in Southern California events, the favorites usually were him, Ernesto and Keith. And if Kim came down South, he would be another one.
 
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rackem said:
Could someone list the past Swanee winners?
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I believe Mitch Ellerman won last year. I cheated cause Mitch's on this year's flyer for Swanee :p

We just got back and sometime this week, I will post complete list of this year's finishers and may dig up past winners as well.

S.
 
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