Thanks FastEddieF for the post:
Here's the entire story as it happened...
1986 Atlantic City World Open Nine Ball Championship
How is it possible that I’m playing here on this pool table in the middle of the practice room at the “Atlantic City World Open 9-Ball Championship” watching the roll of the cue ball, after pocketing the 8-ball to get position on the 9-ball…that would take down a $21,000.00 win upon pocketing the 9-ball!
Hard to believe, but that was the circumstance that I was in and it was an amazing feeling. But before I get to the end of this story…let me start at the beginning.
It was December 1986 and everyone was very excited in the world of pool, because the first major world open 9-ball tournament was being held in Atlantic City. Players and fans from all over the country merged together to create tremendous action at Resorts International Hotel Casino and it was GREAT! The practice room was buzzing with excitement and the walk from the practice room to the tournament area was packed with people because of the many booths set up throughout the hallway. From Cue Makers such as Danny Janes (JOSS CUES), (I’ve been using a cue that Danny made for me over 50 years ago, and it still looks and plays like the day I got it!), to the billiard news papers, to business owners selling all types of pool paraphernalia…you could feel the action and overwhelming smell of smoke! Quite different today!
Anyway throughout the rooms, there was a lot of talk about games that would be played in the practice room. Matching up for cash games was a big thing in the pool world back then. I was known for playing “One Handed Jacked-Up Pool” and had put out an open challenge to anyone in the world to play 9-ball. There were no immediate takers on hand even though the hotel was packed with champions. They were all great players, but my specialty was jacked up play! So, they decided to import someone by the name of “Frenchy” (he was considered by many players to be possibly the best in the world at that time) who was from Canada and his form of playing was to hold his cue as if he was fencing! He was very effective and we hooked up and played a set for $1000.00. I was a bit nervous to start and he won the first set. We then played a second set and I ran through him to the point that he refused to play a third set and exclaimed to me that he thought I was the best player in the world. I thanked him for the complement and the action, and waited for the next match-up.
It didn’t take long…the next day another import that originated out of Mexico and was then residing in California was known as Ernesto Dominguez. He was a top-notch tour player, and a One-Pocket champion. Ernesto was considered, to be the best jacked-up one-handed player throughout the pool world. He was exceptionally strong, because his game was to play super safe, meaning, he hardly ever left his opponent a shot, when he missed. Because of his “One Pocket knowledge”, he was on auto-pilot to consistently play great safeties. Me, on the other hand, I was a wide-open shot maker that would shoot away at anything that was in front of me. At that time, shot for shot I had no fear of any player in the world! Our two very different modes of playing, made for a very exciting match-up!
The stage was set and we started playing. We kicked off the set for $10,000.00, a race to nine 9-ball. My backer was also betting $500.00 per game on the side. The room was packed with more than 200 people moving around and positioning themselves for a place to watch the match. It went back and forth to start with and then Ernesto jumped ahead by two games. It stayed that way until the score was 8 to 6 in his favor. Not a good position for me to be in, but there was no giving up! He missed a 3-ball and I proceeded to run out to win that game making the score 8 to 7. The next game I broke and ran out the rack making the score now even at 8 to 8. I now broke the balls and ran to the 8-ball leaving him the equivalent of a spot shot on the 8-ball and the nine laying close to the head rail midway. He missed the shot and left the 8-ball in a position that, in order for me to make the shot and get position on the 9-ball I would have to deep draw the cue ball past the side pocket without scratching and proceed to travel three rails around the table to get the position on the 9-ball to win the match.
This is where I found myself at the beginning of this story! Hitting the 8-ball as perfect as it could be hit, I’m now watching the cue travel past the side pocket, and in a perfect line with perfect speed to create a lock shot on the 9-ball to win the match…take down $21,000.00 and be at the top of the Pool World! But, then came an amazing twist of fate as I watched Allen Hopkins, Steve Mizerak and numerous others jump out of their seats and started clapping for the perfect hit that I made, I noticed that when the cue ball came off of the third rail, and was on its way to line up perfect with the 9-ball, the cue ball started taking a left hand turn and kept rolling to the left as if there was a magnet drawing it towards the corner pocket. I heard the roar of clapping starting to diminish to groans, as the cue ball kept turning and getting closer to the pocket…to the point that I could now hear a pin drop onto the floor, if someone had dropped one! No one in the room made a move as the cue ball continued on its lop-sided path to the corner pocket. But, then as the cue ball got to the edge of the pocket, it stopped and you could hear a sigh of relief until
(I caught a glance of Allen Hopkins face grimacing as he was looking at me in disbelief) out of nowhere the cue Ball decided to disappear into that black hole of a pocket!! It ended up being a $21,000 scratch!
Thirty Eight years later and I still see it as clear as the day it happened!
Until the next story…
Thanks for spending time with me.
Best Wishes,
Michael Seidel
OHAPMAN©