Way to go, Williebetmore and AZ

[1pocket]

I just wanted to personally reach out and thank you Don, for all you did in making the whole AZBilliards/OnePocket.org room come off so fantasticly well. Every where I went for a week here at Derby City I got nothing but positive reactions from everyone -- from Greg Sullivan, Mark Griffin, every pro that dropped by, and all of the members of AZ & OnePocket.org that I enjoyed meeting overe the last seven days.

And what can you say about the pros that came by and so generously donated their time in giving exhibitions, impromptu lessons, playing challenges and even betting it up a little

Jerry Briesath spending hours and hours in free instruction;
Stefano & Nevel exchanging artistic pool shots;
Danny Di Liberto entertaining and getting down;
Grady Mathews perfoming an exhibition;
Harry Platis and One Pocket Hall of Fame inductee Marshall 'Squirrel' Carpenter matching up in our room;
and I am forgetting seemingly dozens more...

And Randi Mathews so generously donating 6 hours every day to provide stability and dignity in monitoring the room, which was one of the cornerstones in establishing the trust that Diamond & the hotel placed in us.

Congratulations Don & Mike for winning the chance to face off with Efren & Jeanette in your partner's challenge on the TV table -- and you shot pretty sporty, by the way!

http://onepocket.org/AZ-1PPrivateRoom.htm

I enjoyed meeting you all; let's do it again next year!!

-- Steve

 

[Timberly]

I enjoyed meeting you all; let's do it again next year!!

-- Steve

As did I and I truly hope that we can do it again next yr. I've already told IP that I would be more than happy to work their booth again next yr. It really wasn't like work at all and it's in a GREAT location right by the tournament room so I get a chance to see everyone!

You never knew who was going to show up in the AZ-OP room... one night Allen Hopkins, Sarah Rousey, Alice Rim, & Shawn Putnam were all in there at the same time.

I had the pleasure of being in there one day when Greg Sullivan stopped by and what an informative experience that was! I now know the reason behind Diamond tables being as great as they are. Greg is extremely knowledgeable about the sport and it's products. Thank you Greg, and everyone else for stopping by and sharing your knowledge and experience with us.

 

[tom haney]

Tap! Tap! Tap! Thanks, Don. I know I really enjoyed
my time there.

I just wanted to personally reach out and thank you Don, for all you did in making the whole AZBilliards/OnePocket.org room come off so fantasticly well. Every where I went for a week here at Derby City I got nothing but positive reactions from everyone -- from Greg Sullivan, Mark Griffin, every pro that dropped by, and all of the members of AZ & OnePocket.org that I enjoyed meeting overe the last seven days.

And what can you say about the pros that came by and so generously donated their time in giving exhibitions, impromptu lessons, playing challenges and even betting it up a little

Jerry Briesath spending hours and hours in free instruction;
Stefano & Nevel exchanging artistic pool shots;
Danny Di Liberto entertaining and getting down;
Grady Mathews perfoming an exhibition;
Harry Platis and One Pocket Hall of Fame inductee Marshall 'Squirrel' Carpenter matching up in our room;
and I am forgetting seemingly dozens more...

And Randi Mathews so generously donating 6 hours every day to provide stability and dignity in monitoring the room, which was one of the cornerstones in establishing the trust that Diamond & the hotel placed in us.

Congratulations Don & Mike for winning the chance to face off with Efren & Jeanette in your partner's challenge on the TV table -- and you shot pretty sporty, by the way!

http://onepocket.org/AZ-1PPrivateRoom.htm

I enjoyed meeting you all; let's do it again next year!!

-- Steve

 

[breakup]

I had the pleasure of being in there one day when Greg Sullivan stopped by and what an informative experience that was! I now know the reason behind Diamond tables being as great as they are. Greg is extremely knowledgeable about the sport and it's products. Thank you Greg

For those too young to remember Greg was a top notch player in his day, I'm sure that is a factor in why Diamond tables are so good. I caught a picture of him in Tampa, 1978 when in his pool playing prime.


cheers

 

[1pocket]

I happened to shoot this pic of Greg last year during the One-handed One Pocket tournament at Derby City. This photo was shot about midnight, and within an hour or two Greg was being rushed to the hospital -- last year.
This year Greg looked great and it seems like he is doing real well as far as his health is concerned. That was quite a scare last year.

I've been going through old pool mags alot lately, and keep coming across little comments about Greg being involved with pro-player oriented tables and tournaments going back quite a few years.

--> a toast to Greg

 

[sodapopd]

williebetmore is the man!

I enjoyed meeting a bunch of you people and getting to put faces to the screen names.
Don (aka WBM), THANK YOU, for getting the ball moving in the azroom at DCC. Without you we would have never gotten anything done or even started. Even though you beat me in the DM challenge, stacked the deck in your favor to win the drawing for the doubles match , and then DANGLED the carrot in front of us losers, entertaining the possible option to sell to the highest bidder, I am not the least bit bitter,nope not at all, not even a little tiny wee bit envious of you getting to partner up w/efren... (how much did you pay g.p.07 to draw your name?? first even! I hope that he at least got a hot meal out of the deal man, I wish that I had thought of that first.)

Having the pros show up from time to time was a bonus!
Sarah Rousey, thank you for letting me get on the hill, before dashing away all hope of a possible victory for me. Next time...

Ratchet, maybe next year you can stay the entire time, man you cracked me up.
Justin, if you are that good w/only 5months exp., next year you are going to have to give up some weight.
Samiel, you are a banking fool, and I mean that in a good way.
John,from (NH?) don't know your screen name, I played you last year(05/dcc) and you were the first person that I saw in the azroom, Your game has greatly improved over the year. there were so many of you that I met that I cannot remember( I'm really, really bad with names), and a lot of you that were very good at remembering people. Martin, Don (can't remember screen names.
I am a quiet person, not always as outgoing as I would like to be, but you all were a pleasure to meet and be around. Thank you.
tom a.k.a. sodapopd

 

[Williebetmore]

Even though you beat me in the DM challenge, stacked the deck in your favor to win the drawing for the doubles match , and then DANGLED the carrot in front of us losers, entertaining the possible option to sell to the highest bidder, I am not the least bit bitter

sodapopd,
Well, I guess I will have to totally disagree with every point in your slanderous, libelous, no-class, fanciful allegations (though they ARE uncomfortably close to the truth ).

#1 - I DIDN'T beat you in the Q-Skills Challenge. You beat yourself. It seems totally obvious that if you and I played ANY pool game, you would stomp me like a polka dancer with a hotfoot. Remember the words of ChefJeff, in Q-Skills Challenge you are only playing yourself. I bet you wish you'd entered the DMHT now, don't you?

#2 - I DID NOT stack the deck in my favor (they were just little pieces of paper, we didn't use cards).. I did, however, enter into an "arms race" with breakup and yourself; even though Jeanette had to dump a last minute substitute pro on us. I used the funds I won in the Q-Skills Challenge Event. I bet you wish you'd entered the DMHT now, don't you?

#3 - I was NOT dangling the "sell" option, I was DEFINITELY going to do it, and for purely selfish reasons. I REALLY enjoyed the AZB room and the whole week, and I wanted to encourage as many people as possible to participate and see how much fun it really is; in the hope that we could do it again next year. But stevelomako talked me out of it - I got the distinct impression that I might suffer grave physical harm should I sell. I suppose you should take this up with Steve (of course he's twice as big as you, and would probably just twist your head off - I guess you should just have bought more tickets with the money you won in the Q-Skills Challenge....oops....you didn't win....if you had finished first instead of 2/3 you could have bought more tickets...I bet you wish you'd entered the DMHT now, don't you?).

P.S. - Is there any chance we can sign you up as the first registered competitor in NEXT year's Drivermaker Memorial Holiday Tournament (DMHT)??????

 

[Timberly]

take this up with Steve (of course he's twice as big as you, and would probably just twist your head off)

LOL, Steve is definitely one tall guy. I swear his legs don't end! If he weren't so nice, he'd be dangerous.

 

[Samiel]

Yeah, Steve was pretty imposing!

I like Banking! So, yes, I am a banking fool! I like it because no one says anything to you when you miss a bank... but when you miss those straight-in shots, you sure do get hell!

 

[allie]

Thanks to everyone who made the az room possible, especially williebetmore! I didn't get to spend as much time as I wanted in the room, but when I did, I really enjoyed myself. I'm just sorry I didn't get to meet everyone. Hopefully next year! Thanks again for all your hard work and to those who contributed!

Alice Rim

 

[breakup]

if you had finished first instead of 2/3 you could have bought more tickets...I bet you wish you'd entered the DMHT now, don't you?).

I have a confession to make. I was remiss in my duties during the DMHT. As one of the battle hardened gladiators from last year I felt a sense of obligation to help persuade people to participate. While I was subtly attempting to coax some of the members here on line to participate I didn’t even know Tom was posting. I see him virtually every day at the pool hall and I had no idea he was Sodapopd from here at AZ. I just found that out in the AZ room at DCC!!

Sooo had I been paying attention to the world around me since Thanksgiving this is the sequence of events that would have transpired.

1) I would have likely convinced Tom to participate in the DMHT.
2) He would have won the DMHT event at DCC.
3) He would have had more $$ for tickets, which would have changed the entire dynamic of the drawing.
4) Therefore I would have won.

Pretty simple huh

 

[sodapopd]

sodapopd,
Well, I guess I will have to totally disagree with every point in your slanderous, libelous, no-class, fanciful allegations (though they ARE uncomfortably close to the truth ).

#1 - I DIDN'T beat you in the Q-Skills Challenge. You beat yourself. It seems totally obvious that if you and I played ANY pool game, you would stomp me like a polka dancer with a hotfoot. Remember the words of ChefJeff, in Q-Skills Challenge you are only playing yourself. I bet you wish you'd entered the DMHT now, don't you?

#2 - I DID NOT stack the deck in my favor (they were just little pieces of paper, we didn't use cards).. I did, however, enter into an "arms race" with breakup and yourself; even though Jeanette had to dump a last minute substitute pro on us. I used the funds I won in the Q-Skills Challenge Event. I bet you wish you'd entered the DMHT now, don't you?

#3 - I was NOT dangling the "sell" option, I was DEFINITELY going to do it, and for purely selfish reasons. I REALLY enjoyed the AZB room and the whole week, and I wanted to encourage as many people as possible to participate and see how much fun it really is; in the hope that we could do it again next year. But stevelomako talked me out of it - I got the distinct impression that I might suffer grave physical harm should I sell. I suppose you should take this up with Steve (of course he's twice as big as you, and would probably just twist your head off - I guess you should just have bought more tickets with the money you won in the Q-Skills Challenge....oops....you didn't win....if you had finished first instead of 2/3 you could have bought more tickets...I bet you wish you'd entered the DMHT now, don't you?).

P.S. - Is there any chance we can sign you up as the first registered competitor in NEXT year's Drivermaker Memorial Holiday Tournament (DMHT)??????

steve shmeeve (as I look over my shoulder)

Maybe they were a little on the fanciful side, but i did take note of your failure to comment regarding goingproin07

Yes, I do plan on entering the dmht this time around, if for no other reason than to get a handle on the rules...and of course to learn how to count...but thats a whole separate issue

After reading about your dmht scores,
Williebetmore
AVG. = 153.2
Total =766
I don't think I have as much of a chance against you as you'd have me believe...

If there was no problem with you selling more tickets,(Wait a minute... there was a problem with it right?!?) I would have been right there with you sprinkling all that extra "confetti" into the drawing to pad your assured "golden ticket" opportunity.
tom

 

[Paul Mon]

Tap Tap Tap

Don (aka Willebetmore) did a tremendous job organizing and executing all details around making the AZ room a huge success. The best part is that he seems to get it right and make everyone happy at the same time. I wouldn't change a thing next year, except for another table. The DCC is one of those don't miss tournaments and the AZ room is a great way of relaxing, socializing and having a getaway from the big crowds.

Paul Mon

 

[Timberly]

The DCC is one of those don't miss tournaments and the AZ room is a great way of relaxing, socializing and having a getaway from the big crowds.

Paul Mon

Tis true.... the room was located halfway down the hallway from the lobby to the tourney room. There was always someone walking extremely slow right in the middle of the walkway and there was always a group of people standing around talking blocking the small walkway....the AZ-OP room was a place to get out of the hallway, breathe, and calm down before I made the 2nd half of the journey to the booth and the tourney room. LOL, ok that sounded bad... that wasn't the only reason or time that I went to the AZ-OP room... however, I did use it for the express purpose of getting out of that hallway and the aggrevation it caused once or twice.

 

[Ratchet]

A

I am a quiet person, not always as outgoing as I would like to be, but you all were a pleasure to meet and be around. Thank you.
tom a.k.a. sodapopd

As far as the quiet not outgoing type goes I think you are full of it ,You talked my ear off the whole time I was there ! Or maybe it was the other way around ?
lol ,I get stuff confused at times lol, It was really good to meet you and I am glad that the cops let you stay for the duration , If it had been me speeding and plowing into a police cruiser they would have sent me straight to prison w/o a trial !! ROTFLMAO

Ratchet - as one Tom to another we gotta keep any eye on the others !hehehe

 

[breakup]

Now that I have kind of decompressed from all the excitement I would like to thank all those that participated in making my DCC trip this year the best ever by making the AZ room a reality. People that took on responsibilities of organizing, coordinating and overseeing are really the heroes in this project. Money can’t do anything alone without people stepping up hanging themselves out there and making things happen.

I would particularly like to thank the Pros that were so generous with their time and knowledge that went out of their way to instruct us, share stories with us and put on a great show. Grady, Jeanette and Efren were the three that greatly enhanced my trip personally but I was only there for a short time and I regret missing many others that I only heard about.

And thanks to the “Gang of three” Don, Steve and Timbery for taking on the task of turning this years event into a tradition.

Please accept my somewhat belated expression of gratitude.

Cheers