bud green said:
Flyboy
Archie the Greek
Harry Platis
some (current or former) Exec at the Mirage (Vegas).
Aloha Wayne (RIP)
Though these guys were "whales", but they were not stupid and getting the right game could be tough as nails.
Who was the best hustler?
- Thread starter alstl
- Start date
Flyboy
Archie the Greek
Harry Platis
some (current or former) Exec at the Mirage (Vegas).
Aloha Wayne (RIP)
Though these guys were "whales", but they were not stupid and getting the right game could be tough as nails.
Yep JAM Keith was one of the best at it. And isn't that Nick Schulman that was with Ginky and played Keith? Nick is now a professional poker player making millions. Does he even play pool anymore? I sure haven't seen him playing anywhere. Just curious
I've seen Keith put together a few impressive moves for the cash. I have read the stories but McCready is the only guy I've seen able to hustle 300players at one time.
eaglesfan44 said:
Yep, that's Nick Schulman. He played partners with Ginky against Keith and Genie Man.
I saw him on TV once, but it was not the poker tournament that he won the million. He's done well for himself in poker, at such a young age, much better than he ever would in pool for sure.
JAM
eaglesfan44 said:
No, he is 100% pro poker player. And may I add, plays pretty sporty.
Frankie
Now this is the kind of thread that makes AZB so great!
And JAM, I love the way you add the pics to the stories. Keith's expressions are priceless, going from disgruntled in one to slightly frazzled-looking in the next, finishing up looking like a kid on Christmas morning! Great stuff indeed!
And JAM, I love the way you add the pics to the stories. Keith's expressions are priceless, going from disgruntled in one to slightly frazzled-looking in the next, finishing up looking like a kid on Christmas morning! Great stuff indeed!
Thanks, Chilli66!
Here's another cute shot taken at a Viking Tour event in Northfield, Ohio.
As usual, Keith was on a mission to get in action and decided to bark at, of all people, Corey Deuel. The hard part for Keith was trying to come up with a game to match up with Corey. It didn't matter what the game was to Keith, as long as he got in action.
So a back-and-forth ensued between Corey and Keith, with Keith doing all the talking. Corey listened intently, like a cat waiting for his prey to make a move.
JAM
Here's another cute shot taken at a Viking Tour event in Northfield, Ohio.
As usual, Keith was on a mission to get in action and decided to bark at, of all people, Corey Deuel. The hard part for Keith was trying to come up with a game to match up with Corey. It didn't matter what the game was to Keith, as long as he got in action.
So a back-and-forth ensued between Corey and Keith, with Keith doing all the talking. Corey listened intently, like a cat waiting for his prey to make a move.
JAM
Attachments
Finally, Keith came with the bait that Corey was waiting for: Keith would play every shot one-handed, and Corey would have to play every shot using the mechanical bridge.
Seemed like a good game to Keith. Corey agreed, and right before the games commenced, Corey looks back at the rail, happy that it was Keith's idea to play this way!
Dee Adkins, in the background, keeps mum, knowing Keith is in a trap!
JAM
Seemed like a good game to Keith. Corey agreed, and right before the games commenced, Corey looks back at the rail, happy that it was Keith's idea to play this way!
Dee Adkins, in the background, keeps mum, knowing Keith is in a trap!
JAM
Attachments
Well, the set of 9-ball, race to 10, ended almost as quick as it began. Corey looked like a mechanical machine out of Star Trek the way he addressed the ball with that rake, never missing a shot. In fact, it seemed as if he shot better with the bridge than without it. This time, it only cost a nickel.
Alls fair in love and pool, with all three players posing for me and my camera. Corey had no trouble saying "Cheese."
JAM
Alls fair in love and pool, with all three players posing for me and my camera. Corey had no trouble saying "Cheese."
JAM
Attachments
The art of hustling is a specialized field. One must have the gift of gab, but better have enough game to back it up.
Here's a shot of happier times when Keith matched up with Santos and Jalapena in Bristol, Connecticut, at a Joss Tour event playing one-pocket. After Keith defeated Santos for a couple dimes, Jalapena wanted to take a crack at Keith.
At this juncture, there was a long line waiting to side-bet on Keith, and Keith managed to win once again, putting cheese in a lot folks' pockets! Genie Man sure was happy!
JAM
Here's a shot of happier times when Keith matched up with Santos and Jalapena in Bristol, Connecticut, at a Joss Tour event playing one-pocket. After Keith defeated Santos for a couple dimes, Jalapena wanted to take a crack at Keith.
At this juncture, there was a long line waiting to side-bet on Keith, and Keith managed to win once again, putting cheese in a lot folks' pockets! Genie Man sure was happy!
JAM
Attachments
I would have to agree with you on that. What hustler throughout the history of pool, got paid before he even showed up to an event he agreed to come to..."Win or Lose". I've seen "Fats" twice in my lifetime, and had to pay both times to see him...and I wasn't even playing him...LOL. Hell, he even hustled his nickname into the history books!!!! as the greatest player thats ever lived. His name alone is known by "Everyone" that even plays the game of pool! The title of this thread should have been, next to "Fats", who's the next best hustler of all time!smashmouth said:
Glen
realkingcobra said:
I've posted this before on this forum, but it seems like this thread is a good one to repeat it.
About Minnesota Fats: The flamboyant Wanderone once toured the country in a candied-apricot-over-carmel-plum Lincoln limo and had little trouble with identity recognition. His elongated nickname, "Minnesota Fats, King of Pool", on the side panels was done in transluscent paint which changed colors with reflections from the sun as it moved. In 1980, Wanderone had to double his order of autographed pictures after he was stopped 37 times in a one-mile stretch while visiting St. Louis.
Wanderone was notorious for his spontaneous wit. When he was named the "uncrowned king" because he never got actively involved in tournament circles, because he was too busy out hustling, his reply on his new title was: "You judge a king by the size of his wallet and his palace. You can leave the crown in the toilet."
JAM
Another Minnesota Fats story, according to Keith McCready: Matter of fact, I did play Minnesota Fats. Actually, I was the last guy that he played for money before he passed.
I was in St. Louis competing in a pool tournament...Many of the best pool players of that era were in attendance, including Ronnie Allen who was good friends with the fat man. I was the up-and-coming star at this time, my game not even at its peak, and Fats, I believe out of curiosity, wanted to see how good I played. He had been hearing about this young kid from California, and Ronnie, with his usual gift of gab, got the game going.
I was one of the very few privileged individuals given this opportunity to gamble with Minnesota, as he liked to be called, and what a show it was, one of the best times I have ever had in my life and something that I will never forget. I played him a nickel a game, 8 to 7, one-pocket, and then I spotted him 10 to 8 playing banks. He was a perfect gentleman, very funny, and the games were all pretty close. We were cutting up with each other, and if you think I'm funny, you should have seen him. He was the ultimate entertainer when he was at the table, a real crowd-pleaser, and this was a very unique show between a living legend and a kid. "How, do you like me now, Junior?," he would bellow out after making a good shot, and then as he would approach his next shot, he would turn to the crowd and make gestures towards me. I ate it up, laughing just as hard, if not harder, as everybody else. The whole joint was pulling for Fatty, which I don't blame them. If I wasn't playing, I would have been rooting for him, too. I ended up beating him out of 8 dimes, and he paid me off: 4,000 in $500 bills and the rest in C-notes. He autographed every single one of those $500 bills as he handed them to me. They were priceless, and I sure do wish I still had them. I was on the road with a guy named Charlie the Ape then, and for whatever reason, Charlie went south with my winnings, stealing every single one of those signed $500 bills. But there is one thing that nobody can ever take away from me, and that is this wonderful memory, one I will always cherish, of playing Rudolph Wanderone a/k/a Minnesota Fats.
Years later, I was living in Nashville, and word came out that Fats was very ill and in the hospital. I went to see him and he knew who I was, and even though he didn't feel good, he still maintained his sense of humor. He was talking about old times, laughing and smirking. A week later, he passed.
JAM
I was in St. Louis competing in a pool tournament...Many of the best pool players of that era were in attendance, including Ronnie Allen who was good friends with the fat man. I was the up-and-coming star at this time, my game not even at its peak, and Fats, I believe out of curiosity, wanted to see how good I played. He had been hearing about this young kid from California, and Ronnie, with his usual gift of gab, got the game going.
I was one of the very few privileged individuals given this opportunity to gamble with Minnesota, as he liked to be called, and what a show it was, one of the best times I have ever had in my life and something that I will never forget. I played him a nickel a game, 8 to 7, one-pocket, and then I spotted him 10 to 8 playing banks. He was a perfect gentleman, very funny, and the games were all pretty close. We were cutting up with each other, and if you think I'm funny, you should have seen him. He was the ultimate entertainer when he was at the table, a real crowd-pleaser, and this was a very unique show between a living legend and a kid. "How, do you like me now, Junior?," he would bellow out after making a good shot, and then as he would approach his next shot, he would turn to the crowd and make gestures towards me. I ate it up, laughing just as hard, if not harder, as everybody else. The whole joint was pulling for Fatty, which I don't blame them. If I wasn't playing, I would have been rooting for him, too. I ended up beating him out of 8 dimes, and he paid me off: 4,000 in $500 bills and the rest in C-notes. He autographed every single one of those $500 bills as he handed them to me. They were priceless, and I sure do wish I still had them. I was on the road with a guy named Charlie the Ape then, and for whatever reason, Charlie went south with my winnings, stealing every single one of those signed $500 bills. But there is one thing that nobody can ever take away from me, and that is this wonderful memory, one I will always cherish, of playing Rudolph Wanderone a/k/a Minnesota Fats.
Years later, I was living in Nashville, and word came out that Fats was very ill and in the hospital. I went to see him and he knew who I was, and even though he didn't feel good, he still maintained his sense of humor. He was talking about old times, laughing and smirking. A week later, he passed.
JAM
If there was a talk show on TV, and all the formentioned players on this thread were all alive and on the show called the "Best hustlers of all time", some of the players would be reconized by those that knew of them, but all those watching would know the "Fats", even if they'd never seen him, or met him before in their own lifetime, because they've all heard of his name, though most would not even be aware of his birth name! That, in my opinion, makes "Fats" the greatest of the greatest hustlers of all time!JAM said:I've posted this before on this forum, but it seems like this thread is a good one to repeat it.
About Minnesota Fats: The flamboyant Wanderone once toured the country in a candied-apricot-over-carmel-plum Lincoln limo and had little trouble with identity recognition. His elongated nickname, "Minnesota Fats, King of Pool", on the side panels was done in transluscent paint which changed colors with reflections from the sun as it moved. In 1980, Wanderone had to double his order of autographed pictures after he was stopped 37 times in a one-mile stretch while visiting St. Louis.
Wanderone was notorious for his spontaneous wit. When he was named the "uncrowned king" because he never got actively involved in tournament circles, because he was too busy out hustling, his reply on his new title was: "You judge a king by the size of his wallet and his palace. You can leave the crown in the toilet."
JAM
Glen
Fatty
One of the funniest Fatty episodes occurred when I was watching him perform to the crowd at Johnston City. He would periodically put on impromptu exhibitions down there, and believe me they were priceless to see. He loved to pick on the top guys, like Lassiter, chiding him about getting $150 to do an exhibition and being tickled about it. To see Fats would cost you thousands. Fats said a small time pool room owner called and asked him how much to do an exhibition in his room. When he heard how much Fats needed to perform, he gasped and said he couldnt possibly afford that price, the most he could pay was $40. The guy begged Fatty for a compromise, so as a favor Fats said he would walk in the joint and take a leak for the $40.
I knew all the great hustlers from Titanic on down, and if I could pick who I wanted to hang with, it would have to be Fatty.
the Beard
I've got 2 new trick banks up on my blog, www.bankingwiththebeard.blogspot.com/ Do you think you can make 'em? I don't think so.
One of the funniest Fatty episodes occurred when I was watching him perform to the crowd at Johnston City. He would periodically put on impromptu exhibitions down there, and believe me they were priceless to see. He loved to pick on the top guys, like Lassiter, chiding him about getting $150 to do an exhibition and being tickled about it. To see Fats would cost you thousands. Fats said a small time pool room owner called and asked him how much to do an exhibition in his room. When he heard how much Fats needed to perform, he gasped and said he couldnt possibly afford that price, the most he could pay was $40. The guy begged Fatty for a compromise, so as a favor Fats said he would walk in the joint and take a leak for the $40.
I knew all the great hustlers from Titanic on down, and if I could pick who I wanted to hang with, it would have to be Fatty.
the Beard
I've got 2 new trick banks up on my blog, www.bankingwiththebeard.blogspot.com/ Do you think you can make 'em? I don't think so.
freddy the beard said:
That's priceless Freddie. And it sounds just like something he would say. I think I have may have heard him tell this story too, but there were so many funny stories from his lips, who can possibly remember them all.
Did you ever hear him tell the story about Willie the Wop? It was long and it was hilarious. He finally quit telling it. I think he made someone mad. Once he started playing Mosconi on TV, I never heard him tell it again.
Fats In J.c.
I was at J.C. in the back room when Fats came in whoffing and Ohama Fats (Marty Kyman}was there, they were try to match up playing 1 handed duked up but never did. That was a memorable conversation. Was anyone else there??freddy the beard said: