The first thing I’d like to say is, Gilbert is one of the most educated, respectful young man that I’ve had the pleasure to associate with in many years. Secondly, he is also an extremely gracious host; I was treated like a king, not just by him, but everyone I met!
Our time together on the billiard table was very productive, for him and me, since I have not played much since March. Gilbert is already a very qualified billiard player; he is very easy to communicate with and follows instruction without any problems. He is probably the most traveled international player we have in the states, since He’s lived abroad most of his life.
We worked on several aspects of the game for 5-6 hours a day, our lessons were held at the, “Burbank Elks Clubs”, which has 5 very nice Verhoeven tables, which are about to be recovered this week. I feel we made very good progress in the areas he wanted to improve upon, I have no doubt Gilbert will become one of the best billiard players in the USA in no time, He has an abundance of talent!
On Saturday I had a special student to give a lesson to, Mr. Paul Sorvino the actor mostly known from the TV series “Law and Order” and his role as the mob boss,"Paulie" in the film “Goodfellas”, also starring Robert De Niro. Paul is also an extremely charming man who seems real comfortable at a billiard table. We spent a couple of hours going over some fundamentals and then some lunch were we talked about some of his most rewarding roles in the movies.
On Sunday, we went to the “House of Billiards” in Santa Monica, I really enjoyed the room, and it’s been there for many years and has a warm atmosphere. They have 2 tables, one Soren Sogaard and one Gabriel, which both play very nice. I gave one player a private lesson and a mini clinic for 5 or 6 guys.
![DSC05046[1].jpg](https://forums.azbilliards.com/data/attachments/187/187879-87843f1002bc0092494b451998c4aa7d.jpg?hash=h4Q_EAK8AJ "DSC05046[1].jpg")
One of my oldest and dearest friends is still alive and kicking, George Aronek hangs out at the Elks club, and we were both extremely happy see each other and spend of few days together.
I also visited some Asian and Hispanic rooms in the area, they all seemed to be doing well, and all had European heated tables.
I really hated to leave LA, it brought back many fond memories for me when I lived there from, 87-90, seeing old faces and made some new friends is always a good thing!
Once Again I thank Gilbert for the opportunity to work with him on his game, and for the memories!
Bill Smith "Mr3Cushion"
P.S. Gilbert, Good Playing at "Hard Times Billiards" next week.
Our time together on the billiard table was very productive, for him and me, since I have not played much since March. Gilbert is already a very qualified billiard player; he is very easy to communicate with and follows instruction without any problems. He is probably the most traveled international player we have in the states, since He’s lived abroad most of his life.
We worked on several aspects of the game for 5-6 hours a day, our lessons were held at the, “Burbank Elks Clubs”, which has 5 very nice Verhoeven tables, which are about to be recovered this week. I feel we made very good progress in the areas he wanted to improve upon, I have no doubt Gilbert will become one of the best billiard players in the USA in no time, He has an abundance of talent!
On Saturday I had a special student to give a lesson to, Mr. Paul Sorvino the actor mostly known from the TV series “Law and Order” and his role as the mob boss,"Paulie" in the film “Goodfellas”, also starring Robert De Niro. Paul is also an extremely charming man who seems real comfortable at a billiard table. We spent a couple of hours going over some fundamentals and then some lunch were we talked about some of his most rewarding roles in the movies.
On Sunday, we went to the “House of Billiards” in Santa Monica, I really enjoyed the room, and it’s been there for many years and has a warm atmosphere. They have 2 tables, one Soren Sogaard and one Gabriel, which both play very nice. I gave one player a private lesson and a mini clinic for 5 or 6 guys.
One of my oldest and dearest friends is still alive and kicking, George Aronek hangs out at the Elks club, and we were both extremely happy see each other and spend of few days together.
I also visited some Asian and Hispanic rooms in the area, they all seemed to be doing well, and all had European heated tables.
I really hated to leave LA, it brought back many fond memories for me when I lived there from, 87-90, seeing old faces and made some new friends is always a good thing!
Once Again I thank Gilbert for the opportunity to work with him on his game, and for the memories!
Bill Smith "Mr3Cushion"
P.S. Gilbert, Good Playing at "Hard Times Billiards" next week.
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