randyg said:
Man, what a loaded question. So many different games, so many different names. I'll throw a few proven ones into the hat.
Bob Vanover
Dick Lane
Paul Guernsey
Chen
Lil David
Bastrop
Rene Rendon
Javier Franco
Erman Bullard
Coy Lee
Gabby
And that's just for starters......randyg
randy
Do you remember Franco Sebastion (sp?). Might have been Sebastian Franco.
If so have your heard anything about his whereabouts.
He won me a decent wad once without even knowing each other.
I showed up in Panama City with a couple buddies late one night before a tournament. Hot Shots did not close so we hung out there until the morning to get a room. A guy comes in with a small suitcase and sits nearby.
We were just sitting around drinking and the guy asks to bum a drink telling us he had just come off the greyhound from Texas. His appearance was not too swift and I was not sure about befriending the guy but all he wanted was
a beer. He sits down and starts in about how he is a good player and is down on his luck a little. He had sold his cue and was trying to get somewhere by playing some events. My two buddies had a table and asked
him to shoot alittle I thik too call his bluff.
He stepped up and surprised us by playing pretty good. He then asked us to put him in the event and told us his name. We did not know his name and
he said he did not think many people knew him except Scotty and Javier.
We figure it was worth a shot and the entry was only $50.
A not so funny part was that they had a calcutta and the place was packed.
They started bidding on Franco and it was at about 100 when I started.
It ended up with me and another fellow at $175 and I was about to get him.
I stepped backwards a little to lean on a table thinking we were about done and I would go pay when I hear another bidder. I jumped forward but could not see the bidder. He upped me and I ended up getting Franco for
$200 or $225. When I started going to the front i saw one of my buddies and
he told me that HE had been outbid and did not know how much to bid for Franco. I asked him when he stopped bidding and he says it was him and another guy at the end. I reached out to shake his hand and told him "hello
I am that other guy". We started laughing.
Franco played great and won the tournament. For some reason I remember there being two events that time but I dont know why there would ahve been. One bar box and one big table. No matter he got the cheese and was great about the splits. He even took some out for the drinks and food we had bought him. He did not speak great english but he really could play.
We were very young and pool inexperienced and he was fair with us which is
unusual in pool circle.
My buddy had a Joss West and I had a Schon yet he chose to play with
my buddies Meucci Sneaky Pete. Afterwards we took him to the bus depot and he was off to another pool tournament and some relatives.
One odd thing was that I assumed that he had no money and was busted.
We gave him the drink and other food/drinks over the day and a half yet when we were cutting up the money he had some money on him. He would say that it was his money he was raising for his trip. Not sure what that was but he was decent to us and showed us some pool. We went back home having a good fun weekend. I always wondered what happened to him and
how Dean Moore did not know him.
I'm usually pretty vocal about tournaments and pool related things that I attend so that I can meet fellow AZBer's if they're going to be there.