Tony Ryla (from Las Vegas) Passed Away Last Night

[JAM]

Tony Rila (from Las Vegas) Passed Away Last Night

For those who know Tony from Vegas, he goes a long way back in pool. In particular, he is very close friends with many pool players and has been a generous friend to all who know him. In particular, he was good friends with Ronnie Allen, Keith McCready, Harry Platis, and others from the old-school pool era.

Originally, Tony was from Oklahoma, worked in a carnival as a young adult, and ended up in Vegas, owning several businesses. He's done well financially, a smart businessman, but he never once hesitated to share with his friends. That's just the kind of guy he was. When Keith was visiting Vegas, Tony opened his doors to him and let him stay at his house. They used to have fun together, going to all the different casino poker games.

Tony also liked sweating the pool games throughout his life. He was mentioned in the book, "Playing Off the Rail."

Tony has a boxing practice facility at his home in Las Vegas, and he's a big boxing fan, in addition to pool and poker. He loves the poker games and competed in many tournaments.

Keith McCready was extremely close with Tony over the past few years, talking to him several times every single day on the phone. They played online poker together and were very close. Ronnie Allen just called us with the bad news that Tony passed away last night.

Keith was talking to him last night while they were playing poker, and Tony was saying how bad he felt. It was horrible for Keith to hear this news this morning. Keith talked to the person taking care of Tony last night when Tony was complaining of feeling so awful, and he told the person they should get Tony to the hospital. Now to hear this bad news today is just heart-wrenching.

We are both crying today, me because I hurt for Keith, and Keith because he hurts terribly that his good friend passed away.

RIP, Tony. You will always have a place in our heart.

Here's a picture of Tony welcoming Filipino boxing champ Pacman to his boxing facility. They were good friends.

 

[JAM]

Tony and Keith on some water lake new Vegas. I never knew Vegas had any water, but Tony and Keith managed to find a spot to go boating on Tony's boat.

 

[RealLive]

R.I.P. Tony

sounds like it would take most people 2-3 lifetimes to accomplish some of the things this guy has done.

 

[JAM]

Tony was a big poker fan and got a little recognition for his game.

Check out this video of Tony's house, an interview done by some poker media entity, CardPlayer.com ---> HERE Watching this video, you can just recognize what a generous and kind man Tony Rila is.

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

Jen, I worked the carnival circuit for quite a few years with the Wall of Death. Can you possibly find out what show or shows he was with.

Something about his face looks a bit familiar.

I was with Conklin Shows which were Canadian but based out of Florida. I crossed paths with many others.

 

[JAM]

Jen, I worked the carnival circuit for quite a few years with the Wall of Death. Can you possibly find out what show or shows he was with.

Something about his face looks a bit familiar.

I was with Conklin Shows which were Canadian but based out of Florida. I crossed paths with many others.

I'll try to find out. I think that may have been where he met Ronnie Allen, but I'm not 100-percent positive.

This one's for you, Tony: Amazing Grace!

 

[Neil]

My condolences to Keith and Tony's family.

 

[JAM]

My condolences to Keith and Tony's family.

Thank you so kindly, Neil.

Morning bump with respect to a great man: Tony Rila.

Here's Manny Pacquiao sitting in Tony's office while he's preparing for Fight Night. That's Tony's beloved dog on the left.

 

[decentshortstop]

Im very sorry to hear that, it saddens me very much. I too was very close to him. He & Sunshine helped me out a lot. Any idea about services?

 

[JAM]

Im very sorry to hear that, it saddens me very much. I too was very close to him. He & Sunshine helped me out a lot. Any idea about services?

Keith talked to Sunshine and Steve last night. At this time, I think they are taking him back to Oklahoma, where he has family, but I'm not sure if they are going to move his body or cremate him at this time. I will post up as soon as I find out. I think Keith is going to the wake if they have one. He and Tony were so close. My heart aches for Keith. It's almost as if he lost a father. Tony always looked out for Keith and was his good friend, no matter what, rich or poor, win or lose. Keith will feel the pain for a long time. Tony and he were together every night until the wee hours of the morning.

 

[decentshortstop]

Thanks for the info, I may come up from AZ if there is a wake.

Tommy D.

 

[JAM]

Thanks for the info, I may come up from AZ if there is a wake.

Tommy D.

Call Sunshine. She told Keith last night that they were thinking about having a celebration of Tony's life in about 2 weeks at the house. I'm not sure of all the logistics, but before you make the trek, it may be better to find out first.

Keith thinks she is taking Tony's body back to Oklahoma where his family is.

 

[JAM]

Check out this cool photo of Tony and a boxer named Roberto Duran.

I just learned that Tony was only 66.

 

[Jaysonr]

R.I.P Tony Rila

It was sad to hear the news of Tony's passing, I am in the carnival toy industry & knew Tony for many year, he was the manager of Davis Enterprises out of California, we lost touch with Tony after he left the carnival business but he always extended an invitation to us any time we were in Las Vegas Tony, was a very generous man, he will be missed.

 

[jay helfert]

Tony had the best boxing facility in Vegas and Manny always trained there before his big fights. Tony was close with all the big names in boxing. He owned and managed carnivals for a long time and retired from that business a wealthy man. In the pool world most of us just called him "Carnie" or "Carnie Man". He was generous to a fault, never turning down anyone as far as I knew. Also an accomplished poker player with some big wins on his record. He pulled down a 100K score at the WSOP just a few years ago.

Tony really enjoyed the pool scene and would show up at a lot of the bigger events in Vegas and L.A. He was friends with many of the top players and he would open his house to them when they were in town for a tournament. A really cool guy with an even bigger heart. RIP my friend.

P.S. to Jam, that's Lake Mead!