Thank you Mike Zuglan

[Koop]

and thank you to the Turning Stone Casino.

From a spectators point of view I highly doubt you could come up with a better venue to watch world class pool from.
At one point I was literally able to watch Earl Strickland, Efren Reyes, Ralf Souquet, Francisco Bustamante, Dennis Hatch, Shawn Putnam, Keith McCready, and Corey Deuel all without moving from my seat. You want to talk about being in awe, that was the most awesome set of matches I have ever seen and the view was incredible.

I would just like to say that when this event happens again, do yourself a favor and go. I had numerous people tell me, including players, that this venue is better than the US Open. I've never been but I will take their words on it.

Thank you Mike for making this happen and I look forward to the next one, as this is now on my must see list.

Kind regards,
Koop

 

[cueball1950]

Hey KOOP

and thank you to the Turning Stone Casino.

From a spectators point of view I highly doubt you could come up with a better venue to watch world class pool from.
At one point I was literally able to watch Earl Strickland, Efren Reyes, Ralf Souquet, Francisco Bustamante, Dennis Hatch, Shawn Putnam, Keith McCready, and Corey Deuel all without moving from my seat. You want to talk about being in awe, that was the most awesome set of matches I have ever seen and the view was incredible.

I would just like to say that when this event happens again, do yourself a favor and go. I had numerous people tell me, including players, that this venue is better than the US Open. I've never been but I will take their words on it.

Thank you Mike for making this happen and I look forward to the next one, as this is now on my must see list.

Kind regards,
Koop

Hey Koop. i have to agree definately with everything you just said. Every player i talked with (and there were alot, and i mean alot) told me the same thing about this venue. one of the Pro's that i talked with told me how much he loved this place. He stated that If the Chesapeake Conference Center (where the us open is) and this venue were playing 9 ball this place could give the conference center the "6" and not worrying about winning.. Rumor mill has already started that there may be another event next February. i have been to every Joss event held at Turning Stone and this new venue is definately the BEST..................................mike

 

[SteveC]

I would just like to echo the praises of Koop & Cueball1950. Mike Zuglan & his Joss Tour staff put on an excellant show, with free admission to boot. Venue was fantastic. Job well done.

Cueball1950 - Thanks for selling me the non winning tickets on the Joss cue!!!

 

[JAM]

I would just like to echo the praises of Koop & Cueball1950. Mike Zuglan & his Joss Tour staff put on an excellant show, with free admission to boot. Venue was fantastic. Job well done.

Cueball1950 - Thanks for selling me the non winning tickets on the Joss cue!!!

The venue was superb. Four days for a tournament is a good time frame, too. Here is a snapshot of the Exhibition Hall. It was a professional room with every amenity. On the big screen in the distance, they showed some matches with a bird's-eye view. The Turning Stone Casino likes pool, and I hope this is the first of many more to time.

JAM

 

[JAM]

...I would just like to say that when this event happens again, do yourself a favor and go. I had numerous people tell me, including players, that this venue is better than the US Open. I've never been but I will take their words on it.

Hi, Koop! It was really great meeting you. I had a great time, but it sure feels good to be back home. Keith is already in hibernation, recovering from the whole affair! I'm coffee'd up from the long drive back.

This is a shot of the center of the Exhibition Hall the day of the players meeting, allowing them to practice and get used to the equipment.

I talked to Greg Sullivan from Diamond, and he said that the pocket size on the 9-foot Diamond tables was just under 4-1/2, and the color of the Simonis cloth is called "TOUR BLUE." Some technology group did a study on what was better for the eyes, and it is this color. He said that some tennis venues are switching to this color of TOUR BLUE, too.

The pockets were tighter than usual, and there weren't too many players running 2 and 3 racks consecutively. One of the Joss Tour rules is that you must break from the "D." Early in the tournament, Corey was breaking what looked to me as "soft," but then later in the tournament, I saw him breaking them hard. Niels Feijen was cut-breaking the balls. Keith put three different tips on his cue stick and was breaking with his shooting cue.

JAM

 

[liljon]

I Must say that I agree!!!

Everyone knows that I didnt have much luck the last time I was in the northern part of the US but I must say that Mike put on what I think was a "class act" event. The added money was what initially attracted me to the Tourning Stone but I Had a chance to meet Mike briefly and his staff and they were all very friendly and willing to do whatever it took to make this event a pleasure for everyone. I also met some new vendors and cue repair technician Mike Webb and they were all very friendly as well. Even though I lost I enjoyed my tripp and plan on coming up in Feb if this takes place again.....LJON

 

[JAM]

Everyone knows that I didnt have much luck the last time I was in the northern part of the US but I must say that Mike put on what I think was a "class act" event. The added money was what initially attracted me to the Tourning Stone but I Had a chance to meet Mike briefly and his staff and they were all very friendly and willing to do whatever it took to make this event a pleasure for everyone. I also met some new vendors and cue repair technician Mike Webb and they were all very friendly as well. Even though I lost I enjoyed my tripp and plan on coming up in Feb if this takes place again.....LJON

Liljon, you should have stuck around. The Dynamic Dice Duo made another run of 1,500. They had the whole table hooping and hollering!

Keith would have liked to have played better than he did in the tournament too, but he enjoyed everything about the Turning Stone Casino. The staff were very friendly and helpful, and they like pool there. Next event, if there is one, Mike Zuglan may have to extend the field to 256, though I think he'd rather have it at 128. It was perfect, no seeds or byes, names picked at random, and may the best player win! That's the way they should all be (IMO).

Here's the Dynamic Dice Duo, Frankie from Parsippany and Keith!

JAM

 

[cueball1950]

Steve

I would just like to echo the praises of Koop & Cueball1950. Mike Zuglan & his Joss Tour staff put on an excellant show, with free admission to boot. Venue was fantastic. Job well done.

Cueball1950 - Thanks for selling me the non winning tickets on the Joss cue!!!

You should have introduced yourself to me. or did you. i was having so much fun hanging out with Jose Parica that i might not remember. but remember what i told you like i told everyone. if you did not win that 1 I have its twin sitting right here. only mine has 2 shafts.......lol..............mike

 

[cueball1950]

Hi You Cutie pie

Liljon, you should have stuck around. The Dynamic Dice Duo made another run of 1,500. They had the whole table hooping and hollering!

Keith would have liked to have played better than he did in the tournament too, but he enjoyed everything about the Turning Stone Casino. The staff were very friendly and helpful, and they like pool there. Next event, if there is one, Mike Zuglan may have to extend the field to 256, though I think he'd rather have it at 128. It was perfect, no seeds or byes, names picked at random, and may the best player win! That's the way they should all be (IMO).

Here's the Dynamic Dice Duo, Frankie from Parsippany and Keith!

JAM

The rumor i heard before i left JAM is that another one might take place in february. So lets keep our fingers crossed and hope it happens. like i said before. it was great seeing both of you again and i hope to see you at the Open.........................................mike

 

[Koop]

Hi, Koop! It was really great meeting you. I had a great time, but it sure feels good to be back home. Keith is already in hibernation, recovering from the whole affair! I'm coffee'd up from the long drive back.

JAM

Same here JAM. I'm still recuperating but I had a great time.
Coffee'd up doesn't begin to describe me right now but I'm already looking forward to the next one.

Regards,
Koop

P.S. How's about those pics with Keith?

 

[JAM]

Same here JAM. I'm still recuperating but I had a great time.
Coffee'd up doesn't begin to describe me right now but I'm already looking forward to the next one.

Regards,
Koop

P.S. How's about those pics with Keith?

PM me with your private e-mail address, so that I can send you the high-resolution .jpeg files. I got you red-eyed (LOL). It's not you, though, but my camera. If you have a photo editor, you can fix the red eye. My eyes were a strange shade of pink when I returned home, but this morning I can now see the whites of my eyes.

We drive home with no problem until I got within 20 miles from my house. There was a fiery crash on I-270, and traffic literally came to a halt, with nothing moving for over an hour. I couldn't believe it. We tried to take the back roads home, but so did everybody else. The 7-hour drive ended up being close to 10 when it was all done. I'm so glad to be home, though.

BTW, I hasten to make a public announcement, but today will be the first day that I am attempting to quit smoking. I will smoke one cigarette every 2 hours for one month, and then I will go cold turkey. I hope I'm not too late because I have chest pains and other symptoms, but I'm going to give it a try. If your friend can do it, Koop, so can I.

Here's Keith and Koop!

JAM

 

[Koop]

Everyone knows that I didnt have much luck the last time I was in the northern part of the US but I must say that Mike put on what I think was a "class act" event. The added money was what initially attracted me to the Tourning Stone but I Had a chance to meet Mike briefly and his staff and they were all very friendly and willing to do whatever it took to make this event a pleasure for everyone. I also met some new vendors and cue repair technician Mike Webb and they were all very friendly as well. Even though I lost I enjoyed my tripp and plan on coming up in Feb if this takes place again.....LJON

Hey liljon,

Nice to meet you even though I didn't formally introduce myself. I was the one running around with JAM trying to find you a ride to Albany.
I look forward to watching you play again.

Koop

 

[Koop]

BTW, I hasten to make a public announcement, but today will be the first day that I am attempting to quit smoking. I will smoke one cigarette every 2 hours for one month, and then I will go cold turkey. I hope I'm not too late because I have chest pains and other symptoms, but I'm going to give it a try. If your friend can do it, Koop, so can I.

Here's Keith and Koop!

JAM

Atta girl. You and I can both do it and thanks for the pic. I will PM my email address.

Koop

 

[Snapshot9]

Sounded great ...

It's pretty bad when you want to vote a casino in here
in Wichita just so you can go to the Pool tournaments
that they might have sometime in the future .... lol

but after hearing all the great comments about this
tournament, that is exactly what I am doing .... <grin>

 

[DOCALLIDAY]

I say thanks to all that were involved,by far the best venue that I've ever seen.This was world class ,could not have been better. I don't understand why there weren't more players from around that area there to watch? Shame on them for not supporting the players and the sport.

 

[Koop]

I say thanks to all that were involved,by far the best venue that I've ever seen.This was world class ,could not have been better. I don't understand why there weren't more players from around that area there to watch? Shame on them for not supporting the players and the sport.

Agree. Did you play in the event?
That guy Kennedy from your neck of the woods is one helluva player.

Koop

 

[HighEndCues]

Mike and his staff worked hard to make this event a great success. I also spoke with Mike telling him that this venue would be perfect to hold the US Open.
I enjoyed playing in the event and having a vendors booth (highendcues). It was a pleasure meeting a few AZer's(JAM and Diana).
Good Job Mike...
Best,
Ken

 

[jmaitino]

Koop, I totally agree with your assesment of the tournament

Your assesment of the Turning Stone tournament was right on.

I know Mike worked very hard to bring another tournament to the casino. His efforts to bring world class players to the casino is ongoing also. I wish him luck in this endeavor.

It would be a very good thing if the casino acted swiftly for many reasons. The Joss Northeast 9 Ball Tour is ovbiously effected by dates the casino establishes. Players need to schedule their appearances and they base this on what they know at the time.

Wouldn't it be great to have a series of annual tournaments at the casino with established dates?

Thanks for your thoughts, Koop

Sincerely, Jim Maitino

 

[Koop]

Wouldn't it be great to have a series of annual tournaments at the casino with established dates?

Thanks for your thoughts, Koop

Sincerely, Jim Maitino

Thanks Jim and yes it would.

Mike is a great guy who obviously put a lot of time into getting this together considering the initial finale fell through in Maine.
Even more reason to applaude what he did.

Kind regards,
Koop

P.S. Next time we'll have to meet up. I'll even give you one of the beers from our cooler

 

[JAM]

Koop, the second day of the tournament, I'm sitting on the rail watching Keith practice, and up comes Kerry Herbert, the owner of Spot Shots in Portland, Maine, and host of the last Joss Tour Season Finale.

It was the first time I had seen him since last year, and the first words out of his mouth were thanks for an 8-1/2-by-10 of Keith and himself I had sent him after last year's event.

Kerry mentioned to me that he really wished that he could have hosted the Joss season finale once again this year, but that his pool business in Portland, Maine, has not been good to him in recent times. The only way he could have hosted one would have been to reach into his 401(k) or retirement funds. Pool rooms are struggling in the United States, and he too has experienced hardships in the pool business, which began with the smoking ban in Portland.

So-called "pro" pool players also experience decision-making moments, picking and choosing which tournament to attend, mainly because the expenses are so high to participate. Unfortunately, whether you're a pool room owner or a full-time pool player, the reality is it's a tough racket to earn a living in.

Here's a picture of Spot Shot owner Kerry Herbert and Keith. Kerry was a close friend of the late Larry Lisciotti and has quite a few funny tales!

JAM