All Skill Levels Welcome At Bally’s Championships Volume 18, Number 1, January 2018 VNEA 8-BALL NEWS & VIEWS THE MAGAZINE FOR POOL PLAYERS Regional News... Tournament Season Is In Full Swing Around The Country! ami TM Check Out What’s Inside This Issue... 2018 Las Vegas Championships Details 2018 Junior Championships Details Inside 8-Ball News & Views Features 2 President’s Report 4 The Doctor’s In 8 2018 Junior Nationals 12 State/Provincial Events 16 Hall of Fame Ballot 17 Billiards With Briesath 18 2018 Vegas Update 22 Bally’s Room Reserv. 28 Tournament Calendar 31 1 On 1 With The Wizard Editors... Tom Elum Publication Chair Gregg Elliott Executive Director Brian Elliott Marketing/Promotions Editor reserves the right to edit and reject all 8 submitted materials and/or advertisements. All rights reserved. Reproduction or other use of editorial content is strictly forbidden 17 4 without consent. VNEA encourages all members to submit articles, pictures, etc. of activities in your area. Forward comments, materials and advertising inquiries to VNEA Headquarters. 18 January • 2018 1 President’s Report by Ed Borgia Happy New Year VNEA Family! Current VNEA President, Ed Borgia from Warner Coin in Erie, Pennsylvania I hope your Christmas and New Year get- made there every year Happiness will fill your togethers were exciting between players from all heart and put a smile and fun! countries. on your face. You never With 2018 comes many The VNEA is exhilarating events home of the including the Vegas most won- Championships and derful pool several State and Pro- players on vincial Tournaments. You the planet. I can check out all of the would like to upcoming Tournament suggest that our awe- know when that little act action at VNEA.com. some members start of kindness will return to a World Movement for Bally’s Las Vegas will be you... maybe when you 2018 by saying a kind need it most. hosting the International word or helping some- Championships again one you know who Ed Borgia VNEA President this year so be sure to needs it. Be encourag- get your reservations ing to each other and in as soon as possible. appreciative for what Lifetime friendships are you have been given. 2 8-Ball News & Views NEW The Cougar Duramith™ magnetic cue ball by Aramith The new generation. The Cougar Duramith magnetic cue ball features the Duramith technology with its hi-tech engineered molecular structure enhancing drastically the longevity of the balls while minimizing significantly table cloth wear. With a life-time that exceeds up to 8 times that of the average polyester and phenol-like resins, reaching easily up to 40 years in residential use, Aramith balls are the logical choice for both the trade and the player. Duramith™ the new benchmark With the Duramith™ Technology, the Aramith resins entered their 4th generation. With a totally overhauled resin formulation with new hi-tech reticulation, cross-linking and curing technologies, the Aramith products now set a new benchmark in quality, durability & longevity, increasing their service life up to 50% during which : their through-hardened vitrified surface and core holds their With its new Duramith™ formulation, the 4th generation Aramith 4 life glossy look products cross new boundaries, guaran- their specifications, rebound and playing consistency throughout teeing the lowest cost of ownership. the set is maintained all along the cloth wear and white marks that so easily ruin the look of the table are minimized their friction resistance minimizes burn spots as well. The Valley Cougar is a registred trademark of Valley-Dynamo. JanuaryAugust • 2013 3 The Artistic Pocket Newsletter By Tom Rossman SPECIAL MOMENTS... SPECIAL MEMORIES... SPECIAL MISSION! When something “special” happens in your game and / or life journey, a “special” mem- ory is stored in your right brain. When “special” happenings occur time and time again, the brain warehouses a magnetic gallery of unique experiences. If a recurring theme or common foundation of these images is evident, a vision / goal is often established that can quickly turn into a specific and “special” mission for one’s life focus. I have enjoyed numerous special moments / memories in my personal billiard jour- ney. My initial cue sport experience occurred at the age of 10 in 1959 with my first job as a “rack boy” at Elsie’s Pool Room in Minonk, IL. Then from 1967-1972 exposure to higher-level play in both pool and carom (3 cushion) took place at the college level. Special game challenges at the professional level from the early 1970’s until present day, including ESPN and WPA sanctioned events, fine-tuned a special joy I discovered both on and off the table, regardless of the final win-loss paper tallies. In 2010 I made a decision to be more open for outreach ministry as an expression of an overwhelming “theme of joy” for the game (and life) inspired by 40+ years of career centered entertainment shows using “trick shots and so much more”, plus a myriad of special teaching engagements – all with a “twist of humor”! Coupled with a solid foundational base for the game (and life) from Elsie’s and a supernatural billiard industry vision revealed to me in 1984 called the RACK Vision, a special mission for enhancing the billiard industry (and beyond) and for developing RACK Rooms worldwide evolved. Select mission stops have included: a special billiard venue station in the desert country two hours north of Cairo, Egypt; pool rooms in the jungles of Honduras; an assortment of pool room venues in Asia including a Philippines chicken coop (written about in previous articles); recreational centers / youth group fellowships and churches in the US and Canada; plus in November of 2017 – a heartfelt sharing of the “joy of billiards” in the Middle East. Following is a short story about this latter outreach: Building Bridges with Billiards in the Middle East Chaplain Steve Lillis with Gospel Trick Shot Ministries, Inc. and Tom “Dr. Cue” Rossman with Dr. Cue Promotions toured the Middle East for over two weeks (11/8 - 22, 2017) to help build bridges in the name of Jesus using a special “joy of the heart” message applied to the wonderful sport of billiards. Four war torn countries were visited includ- ing Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, and Israel. A total of 13 Gospel Trick Shot shows were performed with 2 teaching clinics that included national billiards teams. Shows were done on American pool tables, English and Canadian snooker tables, a carom table, and a Russian pyramid pool table. Also included in the trip was a Holy Land visit with Muslim, Jewish, and Christian tour guides. Steve and Tom were special guest performers for the Arab Championships in Beirut, Lebanon, which included national teams from 16 Arab nations. In Israel they did a live TV interview, a Gospel Trick Shot show, and a teaching clinic for members of the Israeli billiard team. They also spoke at a Messianic Christian Church and helped start two Billiard Bible study groups in two different billiard rooms which are now called RACK Rooms (Recreational Ambassadors for Christ’s Kingdom) with one in Lebanon and the other in Israel. Travel was challenging as transportation was provided by 9 private cars, 7 taxis, 4 buses, 6 planes, all of which included travel through 20 military security checkpoints. Steve and Tom are also McDermott Ambassadors and McDermott cue sticks were brought and distributed as gifts to some of their special hosts and friends. Special thanks to all of our billiard friends across the region who helped build bridges across different cultural, religious, ethnic, and national backgrounds. Billiards is alive and well in the Middle East and is a strong bond to bring people together. Tom and Steve went as men of peace with cue sticks in hand with the message of Jesus who is the Prince of Peace! (End of story) The “special” mission of bringing a message of “joy” to the billiard industry continued on December 4, 2017 when another special moment in billiard history took place at the BCA (Billiard Con- gress of America) Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Las Vegas, NV. I was humbled and honored to be selected this year and am thankful for this “special” blessing God has given me, once again to be used for the higher mission purpose. Special thanks to everyone for his or her heartfelt support and encouragement to Marty (Ms. Cue) and me over the years! May each of you discover and / or follow a special mission in your life’s journey that brings you love, joy, hope, and peace... which I encourage you to share with others until next time (and beyond) when... The “Doctor’s In” The Drs In... 4 8-Ball News & Views Everything Pool Players Need in One Place FREE SHIPPING + EASY 1 YEAR RETURNS *Applies to all orders $50 & up to the lower 48. 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