The pool world needs Alex Pagulayan

predator said:
Forget about pool. Alex will ruin his whole life if he continues to do what he's doing. That's for sure.

If he could get back into serious pool and somehow accept that he will never be rich, he'll do just fine. Why can't pool champion like Alex realize that money and wealth isn't everything? Why can't he be satisfied with being great pool champion who earns enough money to make a decent living? He can certainly make more money per year than a regular 9 to 5 job. He can be paid (ok sum of money, not great) for doing something that he loves. How many people in the world can say that? People always say that there's no money in pool. Well, for champions like him there is...certainly enough to make a decent living.

What if he indeed wins a 'big score' in poker? How long will that last? A month? A year? Then what?

Somebody please get his head straight and get him back to full time pool. ASAP.
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This thread is a little depressing when reading about one of my favorite pool players, Alex Pagulayan. :sorry:

Unfortunately, gambling is a disease. It rates right up there with alcoholism and drugs. If you got it bad, the future isn't bright. I don't care if you're betting on cocks, playing pool, throwing the dice, or playing poker. Some addicted gamblers just cannot help themselves. The more they win, the higher they bet until it is all gone. :eek:

I like to gamble, but I don't have an addiction. I can go in a casino or to a horse track with $300 to bet. When I lose the $300, that's it. I'm done. :)

I can't tell you how many times I've been approached in a casino by friends who went bust and asked me if they could borrow a C-note or two. Anywhere else, I would lend them that C-note but not in a casino. :grin-square:

It's fun to gamble, especially when you're winning. When reality smacks you in the face that you're broke, in deep dept, and don't have a place to hang your hat, requiring you to live off the goodwill of others, this is when the gambling addict finds out how many so-called "friends" they really have. Everybody loves a winner.:smiling-heart:

If you're a loser, they'll run from you like you've got the plague. :outtahere:

I wish Alex all the very best. He is such a nice guy. If he ever needed help, I'd help him. After years of being around gambling addicts, I did learn one lesson which I adhere to today. I never lend anybody money in the pool room unless I can afford to lose it. ;)
 
LAlouie said:
Now there's an oxymoronic phrase if ever there was one.
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Another word for a smart gambler is nit. The guys who are addicted hate them because the won't get in a game they don't like and they will quit ahead.
 
the pool world needs Alex Pagulayan

When Alex is "in the hunt" in a major tournament, EVERYONE wants to see him in action! (probably even more people than Earl "The Pearl" attracts when he's playing well)! Both are really exciting to watch and both are VERY animate and emotional. I miss both of them !



Snapshot9 said:
I agree. Alex is a great Pool personality and a great player. He has always been an inspiration to me because I am not too tall myself. His execution is flawless. I miss not seeing his name on tournament lists.

Come on Alex, start playing again, we all miss you!!!
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Michael Vick anyone?

I can't believe nobody has even pointed out that the way Alex Pagulayan is apparently currently making his living is through animal cruelty!!!

He's a great player. But I have no respect for someone who decides his money will be made through raising innocent animals to kill each other for sport. I hope Alex Pagulayan comes back to pool, but more than that I hope he realizes what he's doing is horribly wrong.

Where is the outrage a la Michael Vick?

-Andrew
 
Andrew Manning said:
I can't believe nobody has even pointed out that the way Alex Pagulayan is apparently currently making his living is through animal cruelty!!!

He's a great player. But I have no respect for someone who decides his money will be made through raising innocent animals to kill each other for sport. I hope Alex Pagulayan comes back to pool, but more than that I hope he realizes what he's doing is horribly wrong.

Where is the outrage a la Michael Vick?

-Andrew
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That was my first reaction when I read it. :(

I feel the same way about dog racing. :angry:

Then there's the horse racing. :eek:

I am reminded of the Planet of the Apes.
 
Andrew Manning said:
I can't believe nobody has even pointed out that the way Alex Pagulayan is apparently currently making his living is through animal cruelty!!!

He's a great player. But I have no respect for someone who decides his money will be made through raising innocent animals to kill each other for sport. I hope Alex Pagulayan comes back to pool, but more than that I hope he realizes what he's doing is horribly wrong.

Where is the outrage a la Michael Vick?

-Andrew
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Vick was fighting dogs and he's black and he already had a rep for thinking he was above the law.

Alex is likeable and personable and filipino and he's a champion at the sport we are addicted too.

I don't want to start a race war but all I'm saying is the equivalent argument would be if Alex P. is compared to Peyton Manning. Peyton could get away with fighting dogs, cheating on his wife, and using steroids. I know it and you know it.

I'm black and it's irrelevant I just know how it goes.
 
mikeyfrost said:
Vick was fighting dogs and he's black and he already had a rep for thinking he was above the law.

Alex is likeable and personable and filipino and he's a champion at the sport we are addicted too.

I don't want to start a race war but all I'm saying is the equivalent argument would be if Alex P. is compared to Peyton Manning. Peyton could get away with fighting dogs, cheating on his wife, and using steroids. I know it and you know it.

I'm black and it's irrelevant I just know how it goes.
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You really think people wouldn't be outraged if Peyton Manning was caught fighting dogs? I would disagree.

-Andrew
 
alstl said:
Another word for a smart gambler is nit. The guys who are addicted hate them because the won't get in a game they don't like and they will quit ahead.
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well, I guess call me a nit.......I"m fond of well made games.

I'm having trouble wrapping my head around this one?....in our sport you are an outcast if you make "smart bets"...... and or go home with the money, yet you are a hero when you try to outrun badly made games and keep making bad bets til you go home broke? uhhhhhhuh.

absolutely idiotic, and the main reason most gamblers are destitute!.........but they got GREAT stories! ....HA :)


and, NO.....I'm not saying it is ok to run out a quick winner after 1 game or set......that would be very nittish.

G.


oh yea, I wish Alex would get it together and be on the pool scene again!
 
alstl said:
I understand people are addicted to gambling but it seems like a smart gambler would focus on what he is best at. There is a lot of money in poker but it's fools gold unless you are great at poker.

Same thing with cock fighting. I've been to a cock fight in the Philippines and I know it is politically incorrect in the United States but I enjoyed it (and made a little money). There are people in the Philippines who have that sport down to a science.



I too have watched cock fights in the Phillipines, Back in the early 60's while stationed at Clark AFB in Efren's home town of Angeles, Pampanga, I stopped off in Tarlac, while enroute to Manila, ( Bustamante's home town)

There I watched my first and last cock fight. A very brutal sport, especially for the losing rooster. Years later, I read about a hustle first brought to the Phillipines by an American who robbed the whole island of Luzon and never was caught. He went on to the United States and became a famous movie actor. His hustle was ingenius at the time. He had obtained venom from the very deadly poisonous king cobra. Just before the roosters are loosed by their holders, to start fighting, they are placed face to face and allowed to peck at each other. This goes on for less than a minute but the face pecking really piises the roosters off and when they are let go, they start to fight immediately. The hustle was rubbing cobra venom on the beak of the rooster not expected to win. When pecking at the face of the opposing rooster, he breaks the facial skin and in the process injects to opposing rooster with just enough cobra venom that within the first minute of the fight, the opposing rooster goes down annd cannot regain his stand up capability, thus quitting the fight and losing the match. The name of the actor was Erreyl Flynn.

I too loved watching the Lion play pool, I would like to see him hook up with Manny Paquio and get staked for a movie making venture, having to do with pool.

Cross-Side-Larry

"Learn from the best, and beat the rest"
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mikeyfrost said:
Vick was fighting dogs and he's black and he already had a rep for thinking he was above the law.

Alex is likeable and personable and filipino and he's a champion at the sport we are addicted too.

I don't want to start a race war but all I'm saying is the equivalent argument would be if Alex P. is compared to Peyton Manning. Peyton could get away with fighting dogs, cheating on his wife, and using steroids. I know it and you know it.

I'm black and it's irrelevant I just know how it goes.
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Tiger Woods was arguably the most popular athlete in the world and his infidelity brought him down. He may still be popular, but much less so than before, and with a lot less respect from the general public. Many golf fans don't mind that he's taking his lumps now at the expense of the new young stars.
 
Great thread. I fully agree with that the pool world misses Alex Pagulayan.
Maybe Alex needs to go to Toronto and start his life over again like he did in 92 at age 14. Back then his family was worried for his life because he won too much money from a street gang in Cebu, so they shipped him to Canada kicking and screaming.The rest is history.

Now that he's got huge debt problems from cock fighting to "gambling lords" back in the Phillipines it could be time to wipe the dust off the Canadian passport and revert to the procedure of 92 - one way flight to Toronto.

I think history would repeat itself. Sure his action would be dried up a bit since everyone in North America now knows who he is , but hey there will always be lots of young up and comers wanting to go after the lion. Sure put it all up on TAR!

Some of the best matches ever had Alex in them. My vote for best ever (though I haven’t been around that long) is Alex vs. Shane (part 3) where Alex comes back from stuck 22 games. Just a classic.

And then there was the time he got John Schmidt in straight pool. I know it’s hard to believe but it did happen and was well documented a few years back where Alex came back from way behind in a race to 300 to win by 3 points. Not really knowing the patterns in straight pool – just shooting his way out of trouble all day.

It’s all just insane stuff. Of course the problem is he’s got the same invincible attitude towards every game. That’s why he could be a fish at poker or cock fighting – too much "heart".
There is way too much talent in poker these days. The field is insanely strong with math wiz kids brought up on the internet playing 8 tables at once. They are the ones winning the WSOP events these days. So forget about him playing a final table against them or Phil Ivey. Not gonna happen. That’s like thinking he could pick up a tennis racket and go get Roger Federer.

But it’s just not his style to play recreationally for smaller stakes against weaker opponents.

So Alex if you are out there – smarten up buddy and get back to the game that made you who you are and **** everything else!
 
I've been reading this thread since it began, and I wondered how long it would take for someone to talk about how bad cockfighting is, and how could Alex be involved with it. 4 pages... longer than I expected.

Before I go any further with this thought, let me state that I think it's a horrible "sport", and that it is extremely cruel and horrible. Much the same way I feel about dog-fighting. I do not condone it.

I'm no expert, but it's a different way of life in the Phillipines. I'm sure Jay and others can speak to this far more eloquently than I. But as I understand it, cockfighting is a way of life there, and isn't particlularly looked down upon. Different world, different culture. Doesn't excuse it in my mind, but that's no doubt why Alex and the rest are able to be involved in it.
 
I lost $600 at a cock fight in Tennessee when I was 18 years old. I rode up there with a friend and his cousin because his cousin said it was fun and they loved to gamble and there was a card game in the back room. I was WAY overdressed and I only had on a Tommy Hilfiger polo shirt. I've never seen so many rednecks and toothless women shouting stuff like "get 'em speck". Needless to say, I was out of my element.

They were right about one thing though, those idiots loved to gamble. I won my money back in the 10/20 Omaha game in the back room. They kicked me out after they found out I was only 18. It was funny that nobody offered to kick me out when I was losing at picking the right chickens.
 
justadub said:
I've been reading this thread since it began, and I wondered how long it would take for someone to talk about how bad cockfighting is, and how could Alex be involved with it. 4 pages... longer than I expected.

Before I go any further with this thought, let me state that I think it's a horrible "sport", and that it is extremely cruel and horrible. Much the same way I feel about dog-fighting. I do not condone it.

I'm no expert, but it's a different way of life in the Phillipines. I'm sure Jay and others can speak to this far more eloquently than I. But as I understand it, cockfighting is a way of life there, and isn't particlularly looked down upon. Different world, different culture. Doesn't excuse it in my mind, but that's no doubt why Alex and the rest are able to be involved in it.
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That says it all. Go over to India and tell them you just had a hamburger for dinner the other night and see what their culture thinks of you. Just saying. I don't condone it either, but it's just the way it is in the Philippines.
 
every time I eat chicken tenders I think, wow, what if I'm eating the world's greatest chicken athlete? I mean, really, over here we don't even think about all of the chickens that could be great at cock fighting in some other country, we just kill em' and eat em'.

Some of these liberal congressmen should come up with a bill that would fund an Olympic style chicken training complex. That way not only would we recognize all of the truly talented and athletic chickens, but our tax paying dollars would really go to something useful.
 
justadub said:
I've been reading this thread since it began, and I wondered how long it would take for someone to talk about how bad cockfighting is, and how could Alex be involved with it. 4 pages... longer than I expected.

Before I go any further with this thought, let me state that I think it's a horrible "sport", and that it is extremely cruel and horrible. Much the same way I feel about dog-fighting. I do not condone it.

I'm no expert, but it's a different way of life in the Phillipines. I'm sure Jay and others can speak to this far more eloquently than I. But as I understand it, cockfighting is a way of life there, and isn't particlularly looked down upon. Different world, different culture. Doesn't excuse it in my mind, but that's no doubt why Alex and the rest are able to be involved in it.
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It's not for me to say whether it's right or wrong. It's just the way it is over there. There are cock fighting arenas in every province, but no one forces you to participate. And there are pool halls on every corner. Should I criticize them for that? It's kind of like the wild west over there, just about anything goes. Except don't be disrespectful!

You can have a real good time if you remember to show respect and not argue with everyone you meet. It's not always as easy as you think when a cab driver tries to rip you off, or a money changer short changes you. But if you tell a cop (they're everywhere), they will usually take care of it for you. Of course they will be looking for a tip afterward. :cool:

A little Vegas, a little old West. Works for me.
 
Alex loves to gamble! That is well known. I watched him bet $500 on a coin flip at the world 9-ball championship in Cardiff! I was stunned! He lost, laughed his a$$ off, and paid the man!!
 
Believe it or not Cockfighting is more popular than billiards in this country. It is our national pastime and it is a huge million dollar industry. We are proud of our sport.

And please dont give us this animal cruelty B.S.

These chickens are cared for and pampered for 2 years. They live lives comercial poultry would be envious of.

The fighting also comes natural to them. They are not trained to fight like pitbulls. They are conditioned like boxers.
 
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