As far as watching pro competition is concerned, i wonder if any night can ever match the Saturday evening session of the 1992 US Open 14.1 event. Sigel ran his legendary 150 and out on Zuglan, and Mike rebounded immediately by runnning a 148 on Ray Martin. Mosconi and Caras were there sitting together watching the action, and Mosconi, who would die just a few months later, said that Zuglan had displayed as much heart as he'd ever seen over the green felt. I had a great seat and caught all the action up close.
In a way, though, the 1980 PPPA World Open straight pool event was more memorable for me. I was a fan of Jim Rempe, but had never met him until my friend Irving Crane introduced us during the 1980 event. The very next day, Rempe, then a sales rep for Adams cues, was selling his cues outside the tournament room. I browsed, but didn't see anything i particularly liked. Jimmy told me he had some more cues in his hotel room, and offered to take me there and let me check them out. Sure enough, in his hotel room at the Roosevelt, I found a cue that Jimmy had competed with but had tired of and he sold it to me used for $75. It was a great cue. I still can't believe it!