Was playing in a bar/poolroom in Richmond, IN a long, long time ago. They had a ring game, $1 on the five and $2 on the nine. If you made one out of turn it spotted up and you kept shooting. The first time I played the game I won over $50. It was only 30-40 miles from Dayton so I went back a few days later. This time I was winning again and it was my break. I set my cue (my first custom made cue - a Brunswick house cue that Pappy Winkler had put a brass joint in. Cost me $5!) on the table and went to the bathroom. There must have been a dozen guys watching the game (and three or four other players). I was gone for maybe three minutes and when I came back my cue was gone! I asked where my cue was and no one said a word. They all played dumb. I never got that cue back and I never went back to that bar. Lesson learned!
