Just wanted to give a quick shoutout to everyone who I got to meet (or see again) at Valley Forge:
Mr. Cornerstone himself, Bill Grassley! Was a pleasure to get to talk to him about all of his cues as well as anything else I had on my mind. This guy is absolutely top notch, as is his massive collection of cues, and a real pleasure to deal with! I also got to meet Mark (8-ball rat) at the Cornerstone booth -- was a blast, sir, and congrats on the new BB!
Richard Chan of Xtreme Billiard Technology (maker of XBreaker jump breaks and a new dedicated jump cue now, too). This guy is nothing short of the nicest guy on earth! His customer service is unmatched by anyone I've ever met in ANY industry! I watched as a middle-aged couple brought their all black XBreaker over to his booth and complained (politely) about a "clicking" noise...Richard figured out that the dealer they bought their cue from had put a weightbolt into his cue which was not his and was loose. So he had them wait for just a moment as he ran downstairs to Joe Blackburn's booth to tighten the screw for them. And on top of that, as if it wasn't enough to just solve their problem, he returned with the shaft dents all removed, the ferruled cleaned, and the tip perfectly reshaped -- and at no cost! Needless to say, the customer was super happy! Richard was never hesitant to engage any and all people who approached his booth and he genuinely praised many other cuemakers' work (some of which compete with his product), which is always the sign of an honest and respectful man -- and who better to do business with? And even aside from all this, his product is pretty sweet, and he's got me thinking about maybe investing in one...
I also got to meet a bunch of cuemakers there, but most importantly, Mr. Chris Nitti! The man is amazingly nice and quite funny, and his wife was super nice, too. And he builds a fantastic cue, in my opinion. He had about 25 cues on display and for sale at the beginning of the show, and he left with less than 10. His designs are more on the traditional side with beautiful colors and ring work -- and best of all, he does everything the old fashioned way: by hand. I can't wait to get a custom started!
I also got to meet custom cue case maker Gil Castillo. Any AZers out there who remember seeing that sweet 2x3 soft case (which I found out was actually a 2x4 according to Gil) with the sun, moon, and 9-ball tooled into natural leather for sale on here...? That's Gil's work! He had some incredible designs on display at VF and he also introduced his line of hard cases -- and what suprised me the most was the low pricing (same 2x4 soft case, but w/ an 8-ball, was going for just $100!). If you liked Gil's work, you can PM me for his contact info...
I also had the pleasure of trading up and out of my SW for a Dennis Searing over at the CueAddicts booth! So a quick thanks to Scott and Sean who helped me out with that and were also able to answer lots of other questions I had on my mind about any and all things cues. The collection of custom cues at their booth is astounding and they're really good about helping the customer out, too. Wish you guys the best of luck with your business in the future and thanks again!
And last, but certainly not least, a shout out to Troy (troro) of On The Hill Cue Sales and Matt (lenoxmjs) and Jayme (Worminator) of New2YouQ's! These guys ran a joint booth and were awesome! It was their first time at the show, and I found them to be super organized and effectively cooperative when helping their visitors and customers as well as genuinely fun to talk to and deal with -- more than even some booths who claimed to have been doing the event for years. I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone for any and all cue purchases! These guys are great and I constantly found myself at their booth just laughing it up and watching the cue deals go down -- and these guys all have amazingly hot cues just waiting for buyers who want to give them new homes! It was an absolute pleasure and privilege, gentlemen...
And whenever I wasn't hanging out with these guys, I was watching the pro tournament, hanging out with Stevie Moore after his matches, or chattin' it up with Paul Song at the XBreaker booth. Two super nice guys and awesome players on the rise! All in all, my expectations of the Super Billiards Expo were met and I give the VF a 9 out of 10 (no free Balabushka giveaways
and the food was so nasty and expensive! Lol).
I know there are more people who I met, but I just can't remember right now, so sorry if I missed anyone, but thanks to all for the great experience! Look forward to doing it again sometime...
- Joaquin.
Mr. Cornerstone himself, Bill Grassley! Was a pleasure to get to talk to him about all of his cues as well as anything else I had on my mind. This guy is absolutely top notch, as is his massive collection of cues, and a real pleasure to deal with! I also got to meet Mark (8-ball rat) at the Cornerstone booth -- was a blast, sir, and congrats on the new BB!
Richard Chan of Xtreme Billiard Technology (maker of XBreaker jump breaks and a new dedicated jump cue now, too). This guy is nothing short of the nicest guy on earth! His customer service is unmatched by anyone I've ever met in ANY industry! I watched as a middle-aged couple brought their all black XBreaker over to his booth and complained (politely) about a "clicking" noise...Richard figured out that the dealer they bought their cue from had put a weightbolt into his cue which was not his and was loose. So he had them wait for just a moment as he ran downstairs to Joe Blackburn's booth to tighten the screw for them. And on top of that, as if it wasn't enough to just solve their problem, he returned with the shaft dents all removed, the ferruled cleaned, and the tip perfectly reshaped -- and at no cost! Needless to say, the customer was super happy! Richard was never hesitant to engage any and all people who approached his booth and he genuinely praised many other cuemakers' work (some of which compete with his product), which is always the sign of an honest and respectful man -- and who better to do business with? And even aside from all this, his product is pretty sweet, and he's got me thinking about maybe investing in one...
I also got to meet a bunch of cuemakers there, but most importantly, Mr. Chris Nitti! The man is amazingly nice and quite funny, and his wife was super nice, too. And he builds a fantastic cue, in my opinion. He had about 25 cues on display and for sale at the beginning of the show, and he left with less than 10. His designs are more on the traditional side with beautiful colors and ring work -- and best of all, he does everything the old fashioned way: by hand. I can't wait to get a custom started!
I also got to meet custom cue case maker Gil Castillo. Any AZers out there who remember seeing that sweet 2x3 soft case (which I found out was actually a 2x4 according to Gil) with the sun, moon, and 9-ball tooled into natural leather for sale on here...? That's Gil's work! He had some incredible designs on display at VF and he also introduced his line of hard cases -- and what suprised me the most was the low pricing (same 2x4 soft case, but w/ an 8-ball, was going for just $100!). If you liked Gil's work, you can PM me for his contact info...
I also had the pleasure of trading up and out of my SW for a Dennis Searing over at the CueAddicts booth! So a quick thanks to Scott and Sean who helped me out with that and were also able to answer lots of other questions I had on my mind about any and all things cues. The collection of custom cues at their booth is astounding and they're really good about helping the customer out, too. Wish you guys the best of luck with your business in the future and thanks again!
And last, but certainly not least, a shout out to Troy (troro) of On The Hill Cue Sales and Matt (lenoxmjs) and Jayme (Worminator) of New2YouQ's! These guys ran a joint booth and were awesome! It was their first time at the show, and I found them to be super organized and effectively cooperative when helping their visitors and customers as well as genuinely fun to talk to and deal with -- more than even some booths who claimed to have been doing the event for years. I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone for any and all cue purchases! These guys are great and I constantly found myself at their booth just laughing it up and watching the cue deals go down -- and these guys all have amazingly hot cues just waiting for buyers who want to give them new homes! It was an absolute pleasure and privilege, gentlemen...
And whenever I wasn't hanging out with these guys, I was watching the pro tournament, hanging out with Stevie Moore after his matches, or chattin' it up with Paul Song at the XBreaker booth. Two super nice guys and awesome players on the rise! All in all, my expectations of the Super Billiards Expo were met and I give the VF a 9 out of 10 (no free Balabushka giveaways
and the food was so nasty and expensive! Lol).I know there are more people who I met, but I just can't remember right now, so sorry if I missed anyone, but thanks to all for the great experience! Look forward to doing it again sometime...
- Joaquin.
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