March 24, 2026

Mary Kenniston - Part 4 (Action in California, Road Stories, and Life on the Hustle)

Mary Kenniston - Part 4 (Action in California, Road Stories, and Life on the Hustle)
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In Part 4 of our seven-part conversation with WPBA Hall of Famer Mary Kenniston, the road keeps rolling and the stories keep getting better.

Mary takes us deep into the action-heavy pool world of the early 1980s, from Houston to Fayetteville, Rocky Mount, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area. With her trademark honesty and sharp wit, she recalls the thrill of finding games, protecting her cover, and learning how to survive in a world where toughness, timing, and table smarts meant everything. Whether she was matching up in smoky poolrooms, drawing crowds on bar tables in Southern California, or navigating the nonstop action of Houston’s legendary rooms, Mary was building a reputation the hard way—one set at a time.

This episode is packed with unforgettable road stories: high-stakes lessons from Buddy Hall and New York Blackie, a return trip that turned the tables on a doubter, colorful characters from the gambling scene, and a chilling reminder of the ugliness that still existed in parts of the country during that era. Mary also shares how her hustler’s instincts carried beyond the pool table, as she built a successful jewelry clientele in California before deciding it was time to move on yet again.

What comes through in this chapter of Mary’s life is her resilience, adaptability, and fearless independence. She could win in the poolroom, win in business, and hold her own anywhere she landed.

Part 4 is a vivid portrait of pool’s action years—raw, funny, sometimes harsh, and always compelling—told by one of the game’s true originals.

Give Allison, Mark & Mike some feedback via Text.

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Music by Lyrium.

About

"Legends of the Cue" is a pool history podcast featuring interviews with Pool Hall of Fame members, winners of major championships and other people of influence in and around pocket billiards. We also plan to highlight memorable pool brands, events and venues. Focusing on the positive aspects of the sport, we aim to create and provide an engaging and timeless repository of content that listeners can enjoy now and forever. Co-hosted by WPBA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher,  Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, our podcast focuses on telling the life stories of pool's greatest, in their voices. Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cue.”

WEBVTT

00:00:15.119 --> 00:00:20.879
So Mary, how long were you out in California running the uh pool hall in Castroville, California?

00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:30.640
Uh well, let's see, I got there at the end of 1980, at the very end of 1980, like almost Christmas time.

00:00:30.879 --> 00:00:39.439
And and I left to move to Vegas in right after the Super Bowl in 1986.

00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:44.560
So around the first of February, I guess.

00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:46.000
Okay.

00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:47.359
So you were out there a little while.

00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:48.159
Yeah.

00:00:50.159 --> 00:00:52.399
What happened in those few first few years?

00:00:52.560 --> 00:01:02.719
Because you know, the the tour was getting going as well, and you probably would have been competing, but uh uh did you go out on the road from there, or did you pretty much were your homebody for those few years?

00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:07.040
Well, I was kind of on the road in place, I guess.

00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:25.439
There was so much action in Southern California that, you know, it was it was like Christmas all over again, you know, because uh, you know, I really didn't have to go anywhere and I could sleep in my own bed, you know, every night.

00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:25.920
You know.

00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:26.879
Nothing wrong with that.

00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:27.200
Yeah.

00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:31.840
So there's just plenty of action, both bar table and in the pool rooms.

00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:41.120
But I stayed kind of away from the pool rooms mostly because I didn't want to, you know, pool rooms are where the pool players were, you know.

00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:43.040
With the real players.

00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:44.079
Yes.

00:01:44.159 --> 00:01:49.439
So I didn't want to, you know, blow my cover as of yet.

00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:54.640
But that seemed like a long time to stay in one spot for you at this point in your life.

00:01:55.040 --> 00:02:00.719
Well, like I say, Mark would know, you know, you get tired of living out of a suitcase.

00:02:01.920 --> 00:02:04.480
And I just got tired of it.

00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:14.879
I mean, you know, for for a little over a year, yeah, I was on the road nonstop, and I just got tired of living out of a suitcase.

00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:17.680
We we used Houston as our home base.

00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:30.800
So, you know, every time we'd pump up, you know, or you know, we'd get a little tired of it, you know, we would just work our way back to Houston and stay there for, you know, till whenever, and then we would go out again on the road.

00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:34.560
Uh we kind of ended up in LA by accident.

00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:42.000
When I first got to Houston, Buddy introduced me to several players, and one of the players was New York Blackie.

00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:45.280
And it turned out that Blackie and Buddy were best friends.

00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:50.479
So it was we were like the three musketeers, you know, everywhere we went, it was the three of us.

00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:59.039
And I had never played for a lot of money back in New Jersey because it just wasn't really that much action, you know.

00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:06.159
And now I I did get a little bit of action in Tulsa, but it was mostly five and ten dollar action.

00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:12.400
So anyway, one day Buddy said, Come on, let's go to Baton Rouge.

00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:15.520
We're gonna let Mary play that girl over there.

00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:18.400
And so I was excited, you know.

00:03:18.800 --> 00:03:27.039
And uh so we got in the car, and these are the days of the 19, and this is 1980, and it was the days of the 55 mile an hour speed limit.

00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:32.960
And Buddy took great care to never go over 55.

00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:34.800
Sounds like you, Mo.

00:03:35.680 --> 00:03:37.520
Yeah, but Buddy had a good reason.

00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:39.919
We had uh contraband in the car.

00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:42.879
There you go.

00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:46.240
Or as Mitch Lawrence calls it called, what does he call it?

00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:48.719
Nature's bounty or something like that.

00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:52.800
Anyway, so we've a little wacky.

00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:55.280
I mean, you know, it wasn't that far away.

00:03:55.360 --> 00:03:58.400
I mean, it was only like a four-hour ride, but it seemed like 40.

00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:00.319
But anyway, we finally get there.

00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:07.599
And when we pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car, Buddy says, Oh, look, there's there's Danny Jones.

00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:14.560
You know, and Danny was standing outside the pool room smoking a cigarette and talking to a couple other people.

00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:19.120
So Buddy says, Come on, Mayor, I'll introduce you to the handsome Danny.

00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:20.079
I said, Okay.

00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:27.439
So we went over there and Buddy's introduced us and said, uh, Mary's gonna play uh the girl.

00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:30.480
He says, she plays real good, you know, she bet on her.

00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:33.199
And Danny says, Yeah, okay.

00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:35.519
So anyway, we go inside.

00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:39.199
And they got me playing 50 a game.

00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:42.879
And they shouldn't have told me what I was playing for.

00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:54.000
I played perfect until I'd get down to the eight of the nine, and then it looked like I was trying to squeeze a basketball into a, you know, into a like a little hole.

00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:55.839
Anyway, I'd dog it.

00:04:56.560 --> 00:04:58.160
I would just keep dogging it.

00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:00.480
Anyway, we went off for our home bankroll.

00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:04.480
So we're walking out the door, and I saw Danny, and I just put my head down.

00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:06.720
But he was smiling, you know.

00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:09.920
So he says, that's okay, you did fine, Mary.

00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:11.120
So anyway.

00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:17.279
So now they tortured me all the way back home, back to Houston.

00:05:17.519 --> 00:05:24.480
I'm in the back seat, Buddy and Blackie are in the front seat, and Blackie say to Buddy, how about that nine she missed?

00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:25.519
Remember that nine?

00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:29.040
And they'd howl, and then they just tortured me all the way home.

00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:30.240
I was so embarrassed.

00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:32.319
You know, and they felt terrible.

00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:41.759
We finally got back to Houston, and Buddy says to me, We're gonna go back there, Mary, but you're gonna be ready when we go back.

00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:45.360
Well, anyway, they got me in action for like the next month.

00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:47.120
I was, you know, I was ready.

00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:50.800
I was playing for 50 a game, 100 a game,$1,000 sets.

00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:52.720
I mean, I didn't care, I was ready.

00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:54.240
So now we go back.

00:05:54.399 --> 00:05:57.120
And I was like, I say, I'm ready, we're ready.

00:05:58.240 --> 00:06:04.319
And we pull up in front of the place, and lo and behold, there's Danny standing outside the pool room again.

00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:10.879
And so we pulled up, and uh and buddy says, Hey Danny, how you doing?

00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:19.360
And and uh he says, uh, well, you should bet on Mary uh this time because she's ready, she's gonna, she's gonna be, you know, I can't remember the girl's name.

00:06:19.519 --> 00:06:22.319
But anyway, so we went in there and I just robbed her.

00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:28.319
I mean, it anyway, so we walked out and Danny was didn't look so happy.

00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:32.319
Turned out that he'd bet against me the first time.

00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:34.639
So 12.

00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:37.600
No, he he won because I couldn't make a ball, right?

00:06:37.759 --> 00:06:44.720
And then when I came back and destroyed the pool room, the whole pool room went off behind this girl, including Danny.

00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:54.879
Well, anyway, so Danny, whenever he would introduce me to other players, he would always say that I was the only girl, the only person, only pool player ever beat him coming and going.

00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:01.360
Oh, that's great.

00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:16.959
And then another time we were in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and as you know, it was a military town, and we used to always make sure we were around a military town around the first of the month because that's when the boys would get paid.

00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:18.319
And uh so anyway.

00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:19.920
Mark knows that trick, huh?

00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:20.879
I'd see him nod.

00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:27.600
So anyway, so we go into Dixie Villiards, and I mean this place is an old school pool room.

00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:34.800
I mean there was spittoons, you know, lined up against the the wall, and I mean it was just a nasty place, right?

00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:38.240
But anyway, I was excited because I was on the road.

00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:48.319
They had these like theater seats on one side of the pool room, and they were elevated a little bit.

00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:59.199
So I was sitting there watching one of the guys play, and this little black guy comes walking in, and and I said, You want to play some nightball?

00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:00.639
And he looks at me.

00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:02.560
He says, Yeah, I'll play.

00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:03.920
I said, Well, what do you want to play for?

00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:05.040
He says, Five a game.

00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:06.240
I said, All right.

00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:11.680
I beat him every game.

00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:19.279
So Buddy kind of sidles over and he says, Mary, he says, Yeah, you gotta let him win one once in a while.

00:08:19.920 --> 00:08:22.319
And I said, Oh, oh, all right.

00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:26.560
You know, I mean, we stuck like 50, 60 bucks, 10, 15 games, you know.

00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:32.879
I said, All right, so I made sure I hung the nine in the hole the last time, and he followed it in.

00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:37.440
So I just turned around and looked at Buddy.

00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:40.080
Buddy just went, buddy just went.

00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:49.360
I beat him another, you know, 20, 30, 40 dollars, and he quits.

00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:51.600
And he says, but I'll be back.

00:08:51.919 --> 00:08:53.600
I says, Okay, cool.

00:08:53.919 --> 00:09:00.559
So about a half an hour later, he comes back and we play some more, and he loses another 15, 20 games, quits.

00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:02.000
Never wants to raise the bet.

00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:03.360
Five a game.

00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:04.639
I'll be back.

00:09:04.960 --> 00:09:07.360
Said, okay, same thing.

00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:08.639
I'll be back.

00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:10.240
I'm sitting there waiting for him.

00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:13.039
Now I'm I'm ahead, like 300 or five a game.

00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:14.559
He never won a game.

00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:23.120
And all of a sudden, this I don't know if she was a lady or a or a guy, but she now I'm six feet tall, right?

00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:27.600
I mean, she was like six four or six five in these, you know, in these heels.

00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:38.799
And she comes walking in, she looks around, she sees me sitting on the wall against the wall, and she walks over, so I kind of stand up and draw myself up to my full height, you know.

00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:42.080
And she looks mad, she and she sticks her hand out.

00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:45.600
I flinched, and she I so I struck my hand out and shook her hand.

00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:49.600
She says, I just wanted to see who I was working for, and turned around and walked out.

00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:52.879
He was shaking her down every little while.

00:09:53.039 --> 00:09:55.440
He was that was that was his hooker.

00:09:56.480 --> 00:09:57.519
Oh my god.

00:09:57.919 --> 00:09:58.799
Oh no.

00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:01.600
Alison, see what you missed out on.

00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:02.799
Wow.

00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:03.919
Did I?

00:10:04.159 --> 00:10:10.960
So, anyway, several months later we went back and I walk into the pool room, and there's a son, and he ran out the door.

00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:13.679
I'm not playing you, I've had it with you.

00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:15.440
Funny.

00:10:15.679 --> 00:10:16.799
But anyway, we did.

00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:24.159
I don't know if you want to keep this in the interview, but we went to Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

00:10:24.399 --> 00:10:26.000
Now, this is 1980.

00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:31.440
WPBA had a tournament there about 10 years ago, maybe, Allison.

00:10:31.919 --> 00:10:33.759
Oh, yeah, yeah, but maybe a bit more than that.

00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:35.519
Yes, definitely Rocky Mount.

00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:37.759
I was there in 1980.

00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:44.480
We had gone there because we were told that there was somebody there that I could beat and we could win some money.

00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:56.960
And we walked in the place, and as Mark remembers, pool grims in those days just had, you know, like a counter where you'd get the balls and maybe a soda or something.

00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:12.720
When you walked in on the left, there was the counter running situated against the front wall, and there was like a half wall with a swinging gate, I guess you would call it, to go into the pool room, pool room table part.

00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:26.240
You could see all the tables from there, but you had to go through the gate to get in, and on the gate, there was a sign, no women or n-words past this whatever it said.

00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:26.720
Wow.

00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:27.120
Yeah.

00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:27.600
Yeah.

00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:28.399
Wow.

00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:28.879
Yeah.

00:11:29.039 --> 00:11:29.679
1980.

00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:30.879
Not that long ago.

00:11:32.320 --> 00:11:33.279
Yeah, 1980.

00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:36.080
Yeah, no women or ends past this point.

00:11:36.879 --> 00:11:37.759
That's crazy.

00:11:37.919 --> 00:11:38.240
Yeah.

00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:40.000
Rocky Mountain, North Carolina.

00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:45.200
So when you girls, when you WPBA went there, I said, well, they must have taken the sign down.

00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:48.080
Yeah, I thought so.

00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:57.600
I was working for the WPBA at that time, and we went to the pool room after the tournament was over with where they filmed Bull Durham, the movie, with all the pool shooting scenes.

00:11:57.679 --> 00:11:58.480
So that was pretty cool.

00:11:58.639 --> 00:12:02.960
And then Kim Newsom absolutely killed me in that place.

00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:04.639
Yeah.

00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:08.000
Talk a little bit about the Houston pool scene when you were there, Mary.

00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:12.000
There was action like all over the country.

00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:13.919
There was action everywhere.

00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:19.039
The place that we kind of ended up hanging around was called Fast Eddies.

00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:20.240
Do you remember that one?

00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:21.039
Yes.

00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:27.600
And it had like a bar in the front with a few tables you could sit and eat at.

00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:30.480
And a bar with some bar stools.

00:12:30.559 --> 00:12:34.240
And then when you went through a door, it was the pool room.

00:12:37.120 --> 00:12:40.000
Buddy introduced me to this old old guy.

00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:42.080
And he was short and stocky.

00:12:42.159 --> 00:12:44.879
And Buddy told me in his day he was a boxer.

00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:46.240
He was a fighter.

00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:51.759
And he said, uh I can't remember his name.

00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:54.720
Anyway, Buddy says, he knows everybody.

00:12:55.200 --> 00:12:58.000
He says, uh, you can get a game, he'll tell you who he can play.

00:12:58.159 --> 00:12:58.720
I said, okay.

00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:01.360
And so I can't remember his name now.

00:13:01.440 --> 00:13:03.919
But anyway, he says, and he pats the seat next to him.

00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:05.360
He says, Here, sit down, Mary.

00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:06.399
I said, okay.

00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:13.360
So we're talking a little bit, and he's eyeballing everybody's coming through the door.

00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:23.279
And then all of a sudden he jumps up and he reaches in his pocket and he throws his money on the table and all the cash spreads all over the table.

00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:27.679
He says, and he grabs the guy by his arm, by his shirt sleeve.

00:13:27.840 --> 00:13:30.000
He says, Here, play her song.

00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:31.840
She's driving me nuts.

00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:34.240
And he scoops up the money and he hands it to me.

00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:35.919
He says, Go on, get out of here.

00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:38.480
The guy's eyes get real big.

00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:41.279
He says, Give her the seven or something.

00:13:41.440 --> 00:13:45.120
You know, so anyway, we did that so many times.

00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:55.279
The only time, the only time we got in trouble was when uh the player turned out to be Tony Fargo, and he pulled up after two or three games.

00:13:55.360 --> 00:13:58.639
And he says, Uh, I can't beat you with the seven.

00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:05.360
I can't remember his name, but we had so much fun.

00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:09.919
He'd throw that money on the table, those uh guys' eyes would get so big.

00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:12.960
Smart moves.

00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:13.279
Yeah.

00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:15.519
But we went out of the pool rooms.

00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:20.639
We didn't go so much to the bars because there was so much action in the pool rooms.

00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:24.159
But Goofy's was one of the pool rooms.

00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:25.279
Grand Central Station.

00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:26.159
Cassidy's.

00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:28.000
We went to Cassidy's.

00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:30.000
They had several locations.

00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:33.600
My favorite was Grand Central Station.

00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:34.399
Do you remember that?

00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:34.960
Yes.

00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:42.799
They had the small tables, the four, the eight, eight-footers on one side, nine-footers on the other, and then they had a very beautiful bar.

00:14:42.879 --> 00:14:58.080
Well, I used to go over there around lunchtime because they had a businessman special, an hour of pool, and a and a drink of their choice, and a sandwich for whatever the amount of money was.

00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:02.559
And so the businessmen would come in for lunch, and I'd be waiting.

00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:06.320
So I had a couple of customers, they'd fight over who would get to play me.

00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:07.679
Yeah.

00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:13.759
And uh so I made it a point whenever I was in town to be there at lunchtime to relieve them of their money.

00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:15.360
That was my favorite place.

00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:18.720
Not only because of that, but it was just beautiful.

00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:23.279
It was a really good action town, and it was right on the tail end of the oil boom.

00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:25.919
So everybody had money.

00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:31.679
People up north that wouldn't play for big money, like maybe$5 a game down there.

00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:33.440
They'd say, Do you want to bet$30 or not?

00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:36.240
And it would be the same skill set.

00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:41.840
And so it was a 24-hour pool room, and it was near the Galleria Mall in a real upscale.

00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:46.320
I want to say like it wasn't called Thousand Oaks, but maybe River Oaks area.

00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:47.200
River Oaks.

00:15:47.600 --> 00:15:47.919
Yeah.

00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:48.720
Yeah.

00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:49.440
Yeah.

00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:53.120
And it was 24-hour, brand new gold crowns, beautiful.

00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:54.639
Flyboy would be there.

00:15:54.720 --> 00:16:01.360
All the road players would come through, and there was good players, bad players, big stakes, ring games.

00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:03.600
James Christopher hung out there.

00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:05.279
Did you know Bel Air Red?

00:16:05.919 --> 00:16:06.559
Vaguely.

00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:07.440
Yeah, a little bit.

00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:07.840
Okay.

00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:12.320
He would I remember Cal, you Cal used to go in there and play the owner backgammon.

00:16:12.960 --> 00:16:18.240
The owner was uh an Arab, Saudi, I think, or something like that.

00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:19.679
He had a white wife.

00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:21.679
I think her name was Pauline.

00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:23.200
And she was all right.

00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:25.360
He was pretty stingy.

00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:31.120
I played, I played the 24-hour session there, and the pool time was astronomical.

00:16:31.200 --> 00:16:35.039
It was uh that time it was$92.54.

00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:35.759
Yeah.

00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:41.440
I did 24 hours and maybe a little bit more.

00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:44.480
And I I paid him$90 thinking this is astronomical.

00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:46.159
Oh no, he wanted to.

00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:46.399
Yeah.

00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:47.600
I gave him two dollars.

00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:52.320
Then I had to give him the 50 cents, which but anyway, it was an action spot.

00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:59.039
Buddy, but yeah, Buddy was there all the time, and that's where I really got to know Buddy pretty well.

00:16:59.279 --> 00:17:02.159
He hustled me, but I knew who he was anyway.

00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:06.079
And he introduced himself as Cecil, which is Buddy Cecil Hall.

00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:07.359
Yep.

00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:07.759
Yep.

00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:09.440
So I said, okay, yeah.

00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:13.359
And he ended up, he'd let me win a game or two, and then he'd pull it back.

00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:15.200
We'd be even then he'd want to raise the bet.

00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:16.160
And I said, oh no.

00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:21.359
And uh I just wanted to see how would he deal with it because I didn't know what I was doing for sure.

00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:23.920
And just wanted to see, and then we became good friends.

00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:29.200
And he had this old terrible Impala, like a 60s Impala that was enormous.

00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:31.039
And he would go out and sleep in it.

00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:36.880
Yeah, and he'd win some money, and then he'd go out and sleep in it, then he'd come back in and win some more money.

00:17:37.039 --> 00:17:43.519
And uh they had a real cute girl running the counter, and and he goes, uh, see that girl up there, and all of us guys liked her.

00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:46.400
And he goes, Yeah, she wants me to go home with her.

00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:47.839
And I said, Oh, okay.

00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:51.839
And he says, Yeah, she saw me snatch my rock back about three rails.

00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:54.240
That would just do it, yeah.

00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:56.400
But but he was such a whore.

00:17:56.720 --> 00:18:01.119
He was oh lord, yeah.

00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:05.839
So was there a lot of was there a lot of wacky around at that time, Mark Mark?

00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:07.440
I would imagine so.

00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:14.960
Anywhere you pretty much have it any time you wanted, but I never could play pool under it, behind it.

00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:18.480
You know, not for everybody, yeah.

00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:24.559
I as long as I was sure I didn't have to get off the couch, then I would, then I would smoke.

00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:29.680
You know, but uh I couldn't I couldn't do anything behind it.

00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:33.359
Well, some people they could, and I never could understand that.

00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:41.039
So back to California, and we'll I'm sure we'll have plenty more road stories, but uh at some point you you said, okay, it's enough enough.

00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:42.720
Where'd you go from California?

00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:45.920
Well, I stayed in California for several years.

00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:53.519
I I stayed down in LA for a few years and then went up north to the Bay Area and worked for Bucktooth.

00:18:53.680 --> 00:19:07.039
I had like an old diaper bag that we loaded up with with jewelry, and I would just, you know, go out in a t-shirt and jeans, you know, with the diaper bag slung over my shoulder, and it was all beat up and everything.

00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:14.799
And but it would be loaded up with gold, you know, uh charms that you could hang around your neck, bracelets, earrings.

00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:20.640
And I would everywhere I went, I would be handing out my card.

00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:25.519
I had some business cards, and I told them, you know, if you need anything, come here and ask for me.

00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:28.960
And if I'm not there, just show them a card and you'll get a discount.

00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:33.839
And uh so after a while, people started coming in.

00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:35.920
And I was there most of the time.

00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:42.480
As I kept meeting people, I would get phone calls, and it was a businessman.

00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:48.079
He'd call me up and he'd say, He says, I don't have time to come to the store.

00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:52.559
He says, Could you come over maybe with some earrings or something like that?

00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:54.880
And I'd say, sure, you know.

00:19:55.119 --> 00:20:02.400
And so I would I started going into office buildings and and just passing out my cards.

00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:06.160
And I had built up quite a clientele and I would keep a Rolodex.

00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:11.519
Like if Joe Blow bought his wife, you know, a pair of you know, earrings.

00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:16.559
Next time I would go see him, first of all, I'd ask him, Well, when's your anniversary?

00:20:16.720 --> 00:20:17.599
When's your birthday?

00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:19.359
And I'd write it all down on the card.

00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:26.480
And I'd call him up a week or so before her birthday and say, uh, get her anything yet, and go, Oh, sh no, come on over.

00:20:26.720 --> 00:20:28.000
You know, thanks.

00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:31.599
You know, so you know, I was hustling that way, you know.

00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:38.240
And uh, so I'd go over and I'd show him, you know, the matching bracelet or, you know, the necklace, or you know, whatever.

00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:44.319
And uh so and he'd tell his friends, you know, so I built up quite a clientele.

00:20:44.799 --> 00:20:56.160
But one of my customers was uh some of my customers were Oakland Raiders, and these guys were huge, their hands, like you know, and wrists were huge.

00:20:56.319 --> 00:21:02.079
Like one of them had like a size 24 ring size, you know, it was unbelievable.

00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:14.799
And anyway, this one guy came to the store, and so I was showing him around the store, and he's and Tooth came out from the back, and uh, so I introduced him to the Raider.

00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:20.319
And Tooth had this beautiful, in that time nugget jewelry was the style.

00:21:20.559 --> 00:21:31.519
And he had this nugget bracelet on, and it was about an inch wide, and it was like an old ID bracelet, and the part where the ID thing was all diamonds.

00:21:31.839 --> 00:21:46.079
There's four or five rows, and they were about two or three inches long and about an inch wide, and all one carrot stones, and they were all just, you know, perfect stones, and I mean they don't blind you when you you know.

00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:50.240
But this raider saw it and he says, I want one of those.

00:21:52.720 --> 00:22:01.599
So I just handed them over to Tooth and uh Tooth, you know, got the order and got a deposit and So I was, you know, real excited.

00:22:01.680 --> 00:22:05.680
You know, this would be a big score for me a couple of months later.

00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:11.759
I uh I was at the gas station getting gas.

00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:17.440
And I'm standing outside my car, just you know, standing there with the pump, waiting for the car to fill up.

00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:24.720
And another car pulls up and it's a real snazzy car, and my radar gets out, and he's got the bracelet on.

00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:25.920
I said, Hey.

00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:27.680
Well, I didn't see he had the bracelet on.

00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:29.599
He says, Hey, whatever his name was.

00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:32.559
And uh, oh, Mary, Mary, and he holds up his arm.

00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:35.119
He says, Look, I just came from the store.

00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:36.559
And he picked it up.

00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:38.160
And I said, Oh, cool.

00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:39.839
So I'm all excited now.

00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:41.680
So I go back to the store.

00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:45.119
And and Wanda doesn't say a word.

00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:47.039
Tooth doesn't say a word.

00:22:47.440 --> 00:22:48.880
Tooth wasn't there, that's right.

00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:49.839
He was on a trip.

00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:51.119
He was on a buying trip.

00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:55.920
So Wanda doesn't say a word, but I figured she'd settle up with me at the end of the day.

00:22:56.240 --> 00:22:59.279
At the end of the day, she doesn't settle up, so I give her to the next day.

00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:00.799
She doesn't settle up.

00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:05.119
Tooth comes back and I and I told Tooth what was going on.

00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:13.200
And over time, some of my people had come in and bought things, and they told me about it.

00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:14.720
And I never got my end.

00:23:14.880 --> 00:23:18.000
And so I'd mentioned it to her, and she'd oh, I forgot, you know.

00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:19.359
I went to the back.

00:23:19.599 --> 00:23:20.799
I didn't even say anything to her.

00:23:20.880 --> 00:23:23.200
I just went into the back where he had his office.

00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:24.240
And I sat down.

00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:25.279
He says, What's the matter?

00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:26.079
And I told him.

00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:28.240
I said, you know, that bracelet.

00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:30.319
I said, well, he came in and picked it up.

00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:33.119
And Wanda never gave me my end.

00:23:33.839 --> 00:23:35.200
He said, oh, here.

00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:43.200
And he reaches in his pocket and he just peels off, you know, you know, all these hundred dollar bills and shoves them across the table.

00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:47.039
I says, I says, tooth, you've got to talk to her, you know, about this.

00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:49.039
This has happened several times before.

00:23:49.200 --> 00:23:51.759
And he just looks at me and gives me this dead fish stare.

00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:54.160
He says, Well, you know, she's my wife.

00:23:55.920 --> 00:24:03.519
And I thought to myself, and I thought to myself, I says, well, you know, I'm thinking I either got to stay in the store all the time.

00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:07.759
You know, but then how am I going to, you know, get new customers?

00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:09.599
And you know, I can't be here 24-7.

00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:16.240
And he liked me being out of there anyway, you know, because I always sold a lot of stuff when I left the store for him.

00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:18.799
I called, I called my mom.

00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:20.400
I says, I'm coming home for a few days.

00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:22.160
So she was all excited.

00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:25.920
Uh home by this time was they had moved to North Jersey.

00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:31.759
So uh I went home for a few days and discussed it with her.

00:24:31.839 --> 00:24:34.880
And she says, Well, she says, You got a decision to make.

00:24:35.039 --> 00:24:36.079
I says, Yeah, I know.

00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:38.400
I had decided I was gonna quit.

00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:47.119
And uh at this time, you know, Tooth was talking to me about opening up another store and I could run it and everything else.

00:24:47.359 --> 00:24:52.079
But if I couldn't trust him or his wife, why would I do that?

00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:53.839
So what year what year was this?

00:24:54.480 --> 00:24:56.319
This was probably 83.

00:24:56.720 --> 00:24:58.799
So I was up there about two years.

00:24:59.200 --> 00:24:59.759
Oh, gotcha.

00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:00.000
Okay.

00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:01.119
Yeah, maybe 84.

00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:03.920
So I just got back in my car and went to LA.

00:25:04.559 --> 00:25:11.039
One of the first places I went when I when I got back to LA was uh the Stagger Inn in Bellflower.

00:25:11.359 --> 00:25:14.079
And I'm gonna have to backtrack a little.

00:25:14.240 --> 00:25:23.599
When I first got to LA, I walked in the door of the Stagger Inn, and I just won the world championships in Las Vegas.

00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:38.960
And the owner was standing behind the bar, and he said, Get some on the mic, and he says, Oh, ladies and gentlemen, the celebrity just walked through the door, world champion, just won the world championships in Vegas.

00:25:39.039 --> 00:25:40.640
She said, I'm gonna stake her something.

00:25:40.799 --> 00:25:43.759
Everybody get your asses up there and play, play her some.

00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:53.119
And I thought to myself, you know, and I looked at, I was with Blackie at this time, and I just looked at Blackie and just shifted my head because you know I just got knocked, right?

00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:58.000
And uh, you know, meanwhile, there was a stampede.

00:25:58.640 --> 00:26:05.039
They had three bar tables, and there was a stampede where they're all putting their quarters up to play me.

00:26:05.200 --> 00:26:06.079
I couldn't believe it.

00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:07.920
So anyway, I ended up playing them all night.

00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:17.440
I'd I'd, you know, when I'd finish a game or or when it was their turn, I'd just go to the next table and they'd all patiently wait, you know.

00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:21.359
And this went on for four or five nights, you know.

00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:26.559
And so finally they didn't want to play me anymore, but they said they'd play my steak horse.

00:26:27.119 --> 00:26:32.079
So they played black, they played Buddy, no, it was Blackie, yeah, for I don't know, another week.

00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:38.799
And so by this time, you know, we'd we'd pumped up and we decided to stay there.

00:26:40.880 --> 00:26:43.279
So that's how I first got to LA.

00:26:44.880 --> 00:26:51.599
What happened in Vegas was I won the tournament and Sid Mann, do you remember Sid Mann, Mark?

00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:52.880
He had the tournament in Austin.

00:26:53.119 --> 00:26:55.279
Well, he was he staked me in the tournament.

00:26:55.759 --> 00:27:01.359
So after I won the tournament, I went over and I was supposed to get$2,880.

00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:08.480
And he he peels off a thousand dollars and hands it to me, or$800, I can't remember what it was.

00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:11.839
And I and I looked up and said, Well, where's the rest?

00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:13.440
I was supposed to get like 14.

00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:18.400
And and I looked, and he just looks at Blackie, and Blackie's looking at the floor.

00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:25.920
Blackie had been barring against my prize money all week long and go and going off in the casinos.

00:27:27.039 --> 00:27:28.880
I was so pissed.

00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:32.319
I told Blackie, I said, Come on, let's get out of here.

00:27:32.400 --> 00:27:35.599
And we went back to the room, packed up, and I was so mad.

00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:42.640
And because, you know, we'd come to town with about a thousand dollars, and he'd gone through almost all of it.

00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:52.880
I could, in fact, one night I caught him, I had my the I kept the bankroll and I was doughing out, you know, fifty or a hundred a day, you know, for him.

00:27:53.039 --> 00:27:58.559
And uh and I caught him with his hands going in underneath my pillow trying to get the money.

00:27:58.799 --> 00:28:03.599
So I had to I went up and had to put the money in the cage so he wouldn't get it, right?

00:28:03.920 --> 00:28:10.160
And so now he'd been barring against my prize money, come up to me, say, give me$50 for cigarettes, you know, or something like that.

00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:11.200
He was like, Oh boy.

00:28:11.279 --> 00:28:13.200
So anyway, I said I'm furious.

00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:16.240
And so I says, Where's the map?

00:28:16.480 --> 00:28:17.440
He says, in the car.

00:28:17.519 --> 00:28:18.640
I says, we'll go get it.

00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:20.160
And it was an atlas.

00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:23.519
So I I'd never been out west before.

00:28:23.839 --> 00:28:28.559
So I looked at the found Vegas on the map, and I see LA.

00:28:28.640 --> 00:28:30.240
I said, how far is LA from here?

00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:32.960
He says, he says, uh, several hours.

00:28:33.200 --> 00:28:34.160
I says, well, let's go there.

00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:35.680
I've never been to LA.

00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:40.799
So we went there and he had a friend, he used to live in LA.

00:28:41.359 --> 00:28:45.359
And he told me that he had a friend there that owned a bar in Gardena.

00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:48.240
So that's where we were gonna go.

00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:51.200
Said, okay, so yeah, at least we knew somebody there.

00:28:51.279 --> 00:28:52.480
So we go there.

00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:57.119
And by the time we get there, no, we left in the middle of the night.

00:28:57.359 --> 00:29:00.400
So by the time we get there, it's like six in the morning.

00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:07.599
And so we pull up to the bar, and the only person in the bar was the house, you know, the guy behind the bar.

00:29:07.839 --> 00:29:11.279
And so he tells Blackie that Jimmy will be here in a couple hours.

00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:18.720
He always comes in at eight, nine o'clock, reads the paper, and gets the deposit, and goes to the bank.

00:29:19.839 --> 00:29:23.119
Eight, nine o'clock comes around, and still no Jimmy.

00:29:23.279 --> 00:29:29.759
And then the door opens, so we both look at the door, and then walks a tall, thin black guy.

00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:32.480
And Blackie says, Calvin.

00:29:33.359 --> 00:29:36.240
And uh Calvin goes, Blackie.

00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:38.799
Turns out that they knew each other, right?

00:29:38.880 --> 00:29:42.960
From when so but Calvin was just making the rounds, right?

00:29:43.200 --> 00:29:47.279
So Blackie says, Give this girl the seven ball.

00:29:48.960 --> 00:29:50.319
Player is set for a hundred.

00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:57.119
So anyway, after the$100 set, he Calvin didn't want to make it play anymore, but we're friends to this day.

00:29:58.240 --> 00:29:59.039
That's great.

00:29:59.359 --> 00:30:01.440
So now it's 10 o'clock.

00:30:01.759 --> 00:30:08.720
And so I'm tired because you know I'd been up since like, you know, noon day before.

00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:15.039
And so I says, look, I says, I'm gonna go get us a place to stay.

00:30:15.359 --> 00:30:17.200
And I'll call you and let you know where I am.

00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:18.319
He said, All right.

00:30:18.640 --> 00:30:23.440
So before I left, I split our bankroll like we always did, and gave him his half.

00:30:24.720 --> 00:30:37.440
So I filled the car up with gas, found us a place, had to pay for a room for a week in advance, went to the store because it had a little refrigerator in, got some grocery, dropped the laundry off.

00:30:37.920 --> 00:30:41.759
In those days you could drop the laundry off, and I think it was 10 cents a pound.

00:30:42.079 --> 00:30:43.680
You know, for like 10 bucks, you know.

00:30:43.920 --> 00:30:45.039
Oh, it was a great deal.

00:30:45.279 --> 00:30:47.200
And and they even ironed your jeans.

00:30:47.279 --> 00:30:48.880
I mean, it was unbelievable.

00:30:49.839 --> 00:30:55.119
So by the time I got all done, you know, I only had like a hundred left.

00:30:56.240 --> 00:31:01.359
And so now I'm I go to sleep, you know, but it's like one o'clock in the afternoon.

00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:05.119
And I wake up, like, and I called him and told him where I was.

00:31:05.279 --> 00:31:10.400
He said, All right, well, I'll be Jimmy's here, we're gonna go eat lunch, I'll be there later.

00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:12.720
I said, All right, now go to bed.

00:31:13.119 --> 00:31:24.559
And I wake up and I hear, I hear the the key in the door, and it was Blackie, and he had that same face on that he had all week in Vegas.

00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:27.920
And I looked at him, I said, How much do you have left?

00:31:28.160 --> 00:31:29.599
And he just looked at the floor.

00:31:29.680 --> 00:31:33.680
I said, God, I was so mixed.

00:31:34.079 --> 00:31:36.559
You know, we got like a hundred hours left.

00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:39.200
And uh I was so angry.

00:31:39.440 --> 00:31:40.960
So I was unpacking.

00:31:41.119 --> 00:31:46.799
Now I'm wide awake, and I'm there's no way I could sleep, and I'm not gonna let him sleep, son of a gun, you know.

00:31:47.119 --> 00:31:52.160
And uh so I'm unpacking the suitcase, and there's a bunch of business cards in the bottom of my.

00:31:52.480 --> 00:31:56.240
So one of them was a bright yellow card, and it was for the stagger in.

00:31:56.400 --> 00:31:58.720
I said, How far is Bellflower from here?

00:31:59.359 --> 00:32:02.079
He said, uh, not that far.

00:32:02.480 --> 00:32:03.200
Ten minutes.

00:32:03.359 --> 00:32:05.680
I said, All right, well, that's where we're going.

00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:12.640
And so that's when we went to the Stagger Inn, and and we ended up staying in LA.

00:32:13.279 --> 00:32:15.440
Cardena, is that where Robin's from?

00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:16.480
Gardena is.

00:32:16.799 --> 00:32:20.079
She's from Westminster, she's from Orange County.

00:32:21.039 --> 00:32:28.400
But she's probably mentioned Gardena, because in those days a lot of the bowling alleys, the Brunswick bowling alleys, had pool rooms.

00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:35.920
And so, like little Al Romero, who was one of the top players, he was the houseman at the Gardena Bowl.

00:32:36.079 --> 00:32:43.759
And so we would go there a lot, and he'd point out who I could play, you know, and because he and Blackie were good friends from the old days.

00:32:43.920 --> 00:32:48.319
They used to be what they call running mates, and he was in action.

00:32:49.839 --> 00:32:58.079
But so I told you that, you know, we'd we'd run around to the bars and and we'd stay away from the pool rooms.

00:32:58.400 --> 00:33:04.640
But after a while, there was a pool room in town in Bellflower called Bellflower Billiards.

00:33:04.880 --> 00:33:08.480
Not the same one that's famous by this time.

00:33:09.759 --> 00:33:10.960
They just used the name.

00:33:11.039 --> 00:33:17.119
The other place was upstairs, and I missed those days that they closed before I got to town.

00:33:17.440 --> 00:33:17.759
Yeah.

00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:22.079
We walked in and the place was empty.

00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:29.200
And there was, you know, the the normal counter right there on your left when you walked in, you know, where you got the balls, nobody there.

00:33:29.519 --> 00:33:38.640
And so we were turn turning around to leave, and I heard the crack of pool balls or the click of a pool ball, a cue ball hitting the ball.

00:33:38.880 --> 00:33:46.720
And so we both kind of listened, and then turned out they had a room that was walled off from the rest of the place.

00:33:46.880 --> 00:33:49.599
And that's where the owner was with a bunch of other guys.

00:33:49.839 --> 00:33:58.400
Grady was there and a couple other people, John Henderson, and uh said, like I say, Blackie had been there before.

00:33:58.480 --> 00:34:07.599
Now they were playing on Big Bertha, which ended up was a six by twelve snooker table that ended up years later at Hard Times in Bellflower down the street.

00:34:07.839 --> 00:34:10.159
They were playing a game called Liability.

00:34:11.039 --> 00:34:16.159
And it was, I think it was six red ball snooker.

00:34:17.039 --> 00:34:22.800
And and so, Allison, you know, you make a red, then you can shoot any numbered ball.

00:34:22.880 --> 00:34:22.960
Yeah.

00:34:23.119 --> 00:34:28.159
And then after all the reds are gone, then you shoot them, you know, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

00:34:28.480 --> 00:34:29.840
Or whatever it was.

00:34:30.079 --> 00:34:41.039
And basically it was like a ring game, except if you sold out, you had to pay, like if Mark followed me, I sold out to him and he probably made why I'd have to pay him, and you'd play so much a point.

00:34:41.199 --> 00:34:43.440
Well, they were playing five dollars a point.

00:34:43.920 --> 00:34:45.679
So it could get expensive.

00:34:45.760 --> 00:34:50.800
Like let's say Mark made the one, made the red ball, and then and then the the black.

00:34:51.039 --> 00:34:53.039
Well, how much is that, Alison?

00:34:53.599 --> 00:34:56.559
That would be uh eight times five is 40 bucks.

00:34:58.159 --> 00:35:04.000
And if you now you spot the red, and then let's say Mark makes the red and the black again.

00:35:04.079 --> 00:35:06.079
So it could be expensive.

00:35:06.320 --> 00:35:06.639
Yeah.

00:35:06.880 --> 00:35:12.800
So we walk in, and I've never seen anybody playing snooker before.

00:35:13.199 --> 00:35:21.760
I stuck my head in there first, and then Blackie walks in, and I hear I hear John Henderson holler, hey Blackie, you can get your ass in here.

00:35:21.840 --> 00:35:22.880
Nobody's barred.

00:35:23.119 --> 00:35:25.440
Oh, and he looks at me, he says, the girl can play too.

00:35:25.519 --> 00:35:28.079
Nobody's barred, and the whole place laughed, you know.

00:35:28.320 --> 00:35:36.239
That's how I met John Henderson, and uh, we were real good friends uh until he passed away about a year ago.

00:35:37.039 --> 00:35:40.559
Thank you for listening to another episode of Legends of the Cube.

00:35:40.880 --> 00:35:49.679
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00:35:50.159 --> 00:35:53.760
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00:35:54.800 --> 00:35:57.599
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00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:02.400
And to our next Golden Break with more legends of the queue, so long, everybody.