Funny story. Years ago I rented a booth at the Billiards Expo in Pennsylvania. He was a no name guy and I thought having a lot of people see his cues would help him develop a name. Anyway, some hick looking unshaven guy and his hick looking buddy came by our booth. The guy was carrying in his hand a two piece Sneaky Pete, no case, no jump cue, no break cue, no scuffer. Nothing. He looked at some of the cues and the cue maker I rented the booth for, Marshall Piercy, told the guy he should try one of his Sneaky Pete's. The guy said alright, grabbed a cue from Marshall that he had never played with and went to play his match. I asked who that guy was and was told it was Larry Price, a guy who had just had a massive heart attack a couple of months before. He was supposed to play in the Pro division with the world's best, but they let him play in the Open division because of his heart attack. 864 people from all over the United States and elsewhere played in the Open division. My brother and I became friends with Larry and his "money guy" and watched all his matches. He took so much crap and sharking from all the young players that I really felt for him. Maybe I shouldn't have. Larry won the Open division. So, I guess the moral of the story is what you are talking about being a pro and able to play with anything. Larry picked up a cue he had never played with before and beat out 863 other Open players. For those who knew Larry you probably either loved him or hated him, but in my eyes he was a heck of a guy. He died a year or so later from another heart attack. Jack
