Tony Robles Cancels the 3rd Stop of the Ozone Billiards Predator 9-Ball Tour Tomorrow Due to Severe Weather

Tony Robles announced today that he is cancelling the NY area Ozone Billiards Predator 9-Ball tour’s event tomorrow. Next weekend March 6-7  the tour will be having it’s first ever $2,500 Added Empire State Amateur Championship. The event is only for  ABCD players.

Read his message to all the players and fans.

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Stop # 3 of the Ozone Billiards Predator Tour at Master Billiards has been canceled due to severe weather conditions. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

I look forward to seeing everyone at Raxx Pool Room Sports Bar & Grill next weekend March 6-7 for the $2,500 Added 1st Annual Empire State Amateur Championship which will be open to ABCD players only. This event will be limited to 128 players (64 AB & 64 CD).

Have a great weekend!

Tony Robles

“The South Dakota Kid” Shane Van Boening Tops Jose Parica to Earn U.S. Bar Table 10-Ball Title

Fan favorite and USA pool superpower… Shane Van Boening continues to build a buzz-worthy resume. “The South Dakota Kid” defeats “The Leader of the Filipino Invasion” Jose Parica in the U.S. Bar Table Championships. “Bar Box” is slang for “Bar Table”, and Shane proves his reputation of being a killer on the 7 foot tables with this title and 5k check.

To get there Shane had to defeat “Amang” Jose Parica, who is known for being a veteran world class pro, and was the first of many Filipino champions to come to the US and compete.

Parica continues to prove that he still has a dominant game, with a strong 2nd place finish… following up his win at the Jay Swanson Memorial 9-Ball Tournament. The 14th annual event was held earlier this month at Hollywood Billiards, in Hollywood, CA.

Both this event as well as the Jay Swanson Memorial event are Cue Sports International presentations.

Jose Parica and Shane Van Boening are gearing up for the Super Billiards Expo coming up March 18-24th in Valley Forge, PA where fans will get to see more top play from both.

Click Here to read the full story reported by AZbilliards.com’s Tina Pawloski.

Pool Instruction: CueTips #19 Learning From Our Mistakes

One of the great things about pool is that no matter how good we play, we will always make mistakes, miss position, miss shots, or make a mental error.

At this point you can either get mad at yourself, call yourself all sorts of names, etc, or, you can smile (like Efren does) and learn something from your error. Taking this more positive approach is the road to an improved game and more wins.

Here is my lesson. Last night during Pool School at Slate’s, I was at the table for the case game against a great opponent. We were hill-hill. Here is the layout:

Read on to view the Cuetable diagram of the shot layout…

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“The Iceman” Mika Immonen Freezes the Competition at Mezz Tour Stop #2 at Atlantic City Billiards

Last Sunday, February 21st, the newly-launched Mezz Tour headed to Atlantic City Billiards for its second stop of the season.  Although a very tough field of 50 players were in attendance for this event, none were able to match the firepower of reigning World 10-ball Champion and Mezz player representative Mika Immonen.

However, some strong performances were seen from a number of players, including Victor Nau, who finished 3rd in both this event and the first event at Drexeline Billiards.  Eddie Abraham also made his presence known, going undefeated through the winner’s bracket to defeat Nau for the hot seat, winning a hill-hill match against Immonen along the way.  WPBA Pro Liz Ford also had an impressive showing at this event, finishing tied for 5th place with Joey Testa.

Stop #3 of the Mezz Tour will be held on March 7th at Main Line Billiards Club in Frazer, PA.

Read on for all the details on this event in the tour’s press release…

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Plush Pockets and the Pool Community Raise Money for Lupus Awareness Advocate Nikki Ellerholz’s 7-year-old Daughter

Saturday March 27th, 2010 there will be a benefit event to raise funds to go to Nikki Ellerholz Land’s 7-year-old daughter, Olivia. Nikki was with her boyfriend, pro pool player Adam Smith, on the way back from the Derby City Classic, when the unimaginable happened. Adam and Nikki were in a car accident that resulted in Nikki’s death.

Adam Smith is a rising star on the profession pool circuit, and is focused on leaving a legacy in the sport. Adam was blessed to have the support of Nikki, who was always in Adam’s corner, bringing positive energy to not only Adam, but the room that she would light up.

Several key players got together in her hometown in Michigan to put together a really thoughtful event to raise money for Nikki’s 7-year-old daughter that survives her.  The event will take place Plush Pockets in Warren, MI.

I remember Nikki always having a an infectious smile on her face. Nicole battled with lupus, and wanted to bring awareness to disease.

Recently NYCgrind.com shot an awesome poetry/spoken word performance by Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam artist Shanelle Gabriel at Mike Geffner’s “The Inspired Word”.

Check out the video and public service announcement regarding lupus. The “Inspired Word” new YouTube channel just made this video public.

Read on for the details on the event from Facebook…

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WPBA Regional Tour Championship Live on the Web this Weekend from Hard Times Billiards

Kicking off today out on the West Coast is the 2010 WPBA Regional Tour Championships, being held at Hard Times Billiards in Bellflower, CA.  Top female players from all over the country (and one who qualified from Taiwan) have come together to compete for a chance to be a part of the WPBA women’s pro tour.

The WPBA is the premiere Women’s professional billiards tour, and features big name players such as “The Duchess of Doom” Allison Fisher, Ga-Young Kim, Kelly Fisher, and “The Black Widow” Jeanette Lee.

A strong contingent of players from the New York area and around the Northeast are at Hard Times representing the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour, (one of the numerous WPBA qualifier tours) including Erin McManus, Emily Duddy, Borana Andoni, NJ’s Rhio Flores, Junior National Champion Briana Miller, Boston’s Erica Testa, and Ji-Hyun Park-Thompson of MD.

You can watch all the action live on the web via AZBTV, courtesy of PoolDawg.com.  Check it out below:

Watch live video from azbtv on Justin.tv

Jeanette Lee is Honored with the Louie Roberts Action & Entertainment Award

Looking back at the 12th Annual Derby City Classic, held at the Horseshoe Casino for the second consecutive year, a few players truly stood out in the crowd.  With battles in the action room ranging from 10-ball to one pocket to banks and more, the latest news out of the Derby is that none other than “The Black Widow” Jeanette Lee has been named the first-ever female recipient Louie Roberts Action & Entertainment Award for 2010.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Louie Roberts Award, it is the annual award given to the player who was most actively in action at the DCC, and provided a high value of entertainment to those in attendance… and in pool, there it is hard to find better drama then when a high-profile female player like Jeanette Lee puts the guys to the test for big cash.  According to a press release, the nomination was set to a vote among attendees and forum members, in which Jeanette received over 90% of the vote to win by a landslide.

Another star of this year’s Derby City Classic was 2009 All-Around Champion John Brumback, who returned to successfully defend his Banks title, defeating Efren Reyes 3-0 in the finals out of a field of 353 players.  But, as time would tell, this would not be the last time that Reyes would be seen in the finals at the Derby…

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British Asian Sports Awards Raj Hundal Most Up and Coming Personality of 2010

In an industry like pool, which has struggled to achieve mainstream status and recognition for its players and as a sport, it takes some extra creativity and charisma to stand out.  Take for example the great Steve Mizerak, who made a splash in his 1978 appearance in the unforgettable Miller Lite commercial.  The Miz’s personality and talent left a lasting impression on audiences, who most definitely created new positive associations in their minds pool.  Click Here to watch the YouTube video of the ad also featuring Rodney Dangerfield.

Similarly, “The Hitman” Raj Hundal has been working hard to get more people exposed to pool in unique ways, such as his appearance in a promotion for England’s Monkey Magazine which incorporated trick shots… click here to read the story on it.  Raj has also been working to make a positive impact in the world of pool by widening participation of the sport in his home country of India, along with working to heighten his own game.

Read on to learn about Raj’s nomination as the Most Up and Coming British Asian Sports Personality of the Year.

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Pro Pool Players Raise Money for Cancer Patients: New Video and Interview with Event Creator Jason Gonzalez

As reported by the American Cancer Society, a staggering figure of 1,479,350 new cases of cancer were reported in 2009, and over 100,000 in New York state alone.  When paired with the statistic that over one-third of Americans went without heath insurance between 2007-2008, it is clear that a tragically large number of those new cancer patients would have no way of paying for standard health care, let alone the expenses of cancer treatment.

However bleak this situation may seem, it only takes the effort of a few people to start making a positive impact in the lives of those who may have been losing hope.  On Saturday, February 6, 2010, members of the New York pool community banded together to raise money for the Patient Free Care Fund based at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York to help those who could not otherwise afford treatment.

This charity benefit, “Pooling Our Strength” www.poolingourstrength.org, was created by New York pool player Jason Gonzalez, and brought together NYC pros Tony Robles & Jennifer Barretta to Eastside Billiards, along with BCA professional pool instructor & NYC Grind contributor Mark Finkelstein and members of the “Kiss of Death” team.

Read on for a special video from this event, along with Jerry T’s exclusive interview with “Pooling Our Strength” creator, Jason Gonzalez… Click Here to view the photo gallery from this event.

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A Special Tribute to a Pool Gem - Lacey Laskowski

By NYC Grind Contributor, Mark Finkelstein

On January 27, 2010, the pool world lost a bright shining star.  After a courageous battle with leukemia, Lacey Laskowski, the niece of renowned cue maker Dave Jacoby passed away at the age of 25.

Although many of you may not know of Lacey, she was well-loved by the pool community, as she worked with the Jacobys at many of the major tournaments and exhibitions. Lacey had a heart of gold and an unforgettable smile, and I had the good fortune to meet her twice. She was a treasure to know, and I’d like to share a special story with you.

I first met Lacey at the National Arts Club billiards exhibition in New York City.  I was doing an exhibition representing Blatt Billiards with Tony Robles, who was there with Gail Glazebrook.  Some of the members of the club wanted to see a match, so to make it interesting, we thought of playing doubles.  The only problem was, I needed a partner.

In another room, as part of the exhibition, Dave Jacoby was showing some of his great cues.  With him was a bubbly, very pretty dark-haired girl that was full of energy and life–Lacey.  When we were playing, she was quietly watching, but taking things in.  Since I needed a partner, I asked her if she played pool.  She said yes, she played a little, so I replied, “Great, you can be my partner!”

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