The booth to our left was for an online magazine called NYC Grind. Much to our surprise, we saw a Wisconsinite operating that booth as well. A transplant from the northwoods of Wisconsin, Alison Fischer recently made the move to the east coast to work with NYC Grind and her boyfriend and “Grind” founder, Jerry T. I knew of Alison from the casino tours in Wisconsin, but this was my first chance to really get to know her. She is a lovely young lady and Jerry is a very cool, ambitious guy. Be sure to check out the “Grind’s” great articles, videos and photos. www.nycgrind.com 

Some people may remember the huge surge in popularity that pool enjoyed in the late 80’s as a result of the blockbuster, The Color of Money. Writer Tony Palma hopes to create that same kind of buzz and impact with his upcoming movie, 9-Ball. The movie is slated to star Jennifer Barretta and will feature many more top pool stars.

                 See the official 9-Ball site here:

CTC has been working closely, via long distance phone calls and emails, with Tony to help promote and create awareness of the project. As a result, Tony Palma and MainStreet Productions, has granted CTC exclusive merchandising rights for the movie’s apparel. With the help and talents of graphic artist Terry Beer, there are some great new T-shirts and polos available to show your support for the movie! See the store here:

  Tony Palma- Writer/Director “9-Ball”

 Model Borana Andoni has been a long-time acquaintance and friend of CTC. We finally met face to face at the Expo. She has been very gracious in helping promote CTC by posing in some of our great CTC designs. She always makes us look great! By the way, look for her on the second page of the March edition of Inside Pool Magazine.

I also had the pleasure of meeting a little firecracker, appropriately nicknamed “Cherry Bomb”, for her explosively pleasant personality. She is a writer, instructor and rising star in the ladies pool scene. She recently signed an endorsement deal with Tiger Products. She also has a great blog that chronicles her tournament adventures and more. Expect big things from this little lady with the infectious smile and warm personality!       

One last note from the expo. Jeanette Lee made the rounds, checking out the vendors though-out the expo. She was very approachable and a class-act all the way. She also said we had some pretty cool stuff. That makes me giddy to even say it.

Now for my testimonial. The CueShark is one of those “Oh Yeah” ideas. One that makes perfect sense after seeing it. I have pockets full of tools in my cue case, that can now be eliminated by the CueShark. It is a multi-purpose tool that is made with high quality, precision. Here’s the most important part! I put it on my belt for pool league on Thursday, and proceeded to run the first two racks! I ended up winning 5 out of 6 games that night. Did the CueShark make me shoot better? I don’t know, but I am not willing to play without it from here on out. I always tell customers that wearing CTC apparel will make their pool game better, but haven’t found many that believe me. I for one, believe that they will, at minimum, look better playing with the  CTC gear on. The CueShark may or may not make your game better, but will make your equipment better with its shaping tool, burnisher, scuffer or trimmer. To find out more, check them out at www.cueshark.com and tell them that CTC sent ya.

 I have been neglecting this blog of recent and hope to get back on track, updating more frequently. I will add a few more Super Billiards posts, highlighting who we met and what we learned. I also want to thank my good friend Scotty B. for making the trip with me and for entertaining me by building a most majestic Coor’s Light pyramid!

 Other new products include The Weight of the Eight wall clock and The Calling-Metropolis 11X 17″ Poster. All products are available for immediate purchase, so order yours today!

Next was the unlikely pairing of CTC with Craig Townsend, a renowned hypnotherapist who has worked with Olympic athletes, major corporations and individuals. I was asked by Mr. Townsend to help customize a program for the pool player to help focus, overcoming past limitations, realizing your full potential, strengthening confidence, belief, performance and results to new heights. Having suffered through extremely prolonged slumps and being a “head case” myself, I believe I was able to offer unique and profound insights into the struggles of a pool player.  I am a strong believer in hypnosis. I was able to quit smoking over three years ago as a result of hypnosis after all my other attempts had failed. Check out Craig’s program @ Mind Training for Pool Players - Mental training info for competition pool players, including a hypnosis / visualization mp3 download, and a free subliminal.

 Lastly, we have begun working with Tony Palma of Main Street Productions on efforts to help launch the filming and production of the movie “9-Ball”, slated to star Jennifer Barretta. I have read the screenplay and am excited about its commercial potential and look forward to the impact it likely will have on the billiard industry.  This film could have a similar effect on billiards as The Color of Money did in the late 80’s. So, CutThroat CueSports will be prominently and actively attempting to help get this movie made. We will do so by bidding for product placement, help with merchandising sales and promotion, gaining grass-roots support for the project and aide in raising the needed capital for filming to begin. For information on how you can help email us @ info@ctcpool.com or visit www.mainstreetproductions.com

To me, the game that boasts the greatest level of characters is pool. All I need to do is look at the friends I have made over the years. In the pool world, I have befriended people from many walks of life and backgrounds that wouldn’t be likely acquaintances under normal circumstances. I have friends that are many years my senior and many years my junior. Most of these people would likely have nothing in common with me, except for a love for pool.  Of course you tend to find other things in common as you talk, but those conversations would likely never take place without the foundation of pool.

Pool players seem to be a different breed of person. Many are addicted to action and competition. They love to be apart of it or around it. They are poolroom rats, they linger to watch or talk pool when they are not playing. These players all have stories, and always an audience to hear them. They talk about conquests, tournaments, money games & brushes with the legends of the game. And many of them sport nicknames. “Cornbread Red”,  “The Magician”, “Bugs”, “Nubs”, is a few as colorful as the characters themselves. The game is great because it is played by men, women and children, by wealthy and poor and by the strong and the frail. What really makes it great is that you can find the unlikeliest friends from any of them.

Today I will highlight the popular Weight of the Eight designs and give an insight into how they were conceived.

The Weight of the Eight (WO8):

  The concept for the WO8 originated in about 1994. We formed a small company, selling cues, running tournaments, planning to open a poolroom, and we called it Atlas Billiards. A relative of mine was reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and I was always intrigued by the thought of replacing the world on Atlas’ shoulders with a giant 8-Ball. I made my first crude sketch and had a graphic artist I knew, superimpose an 8-ball over the picture of Van Halen’s 5150 CD cover. It would take another decade before I finally decided to do something with this simple but intriguing concept. The WO8 is designed to show the gravity or significance of the 8-Ball in a typical bar room game. It also shows the burden or pressure often felt when trying to sink it when a match, game or tournament is on the line. Copyright © 2007 CutThroat Creations, LLC.

The Weight of the Eight (WO8) Cavewoman:

  I decided that I wanted a version with a woman holding up the Eight as well. I anticipated this design would appeal to women mostly, but have found that most of my male friends preferred this design for themselves, to the Atlas version. This version was done intentionally in contrast to the male version. The class and poise of the WPBA largely inspired it, particularly in the 90’s when I followed the pool scene much more closely. Pool had been riding the great wave of enthusiasm derived from The Color of Money and pro tournaments were frequently being televised. The men’s pro tour had been divided & hindered by infighting and power struggles. Conversely, the women maintained a unified front and a single-minded purpose to promote and progress their tour’s viability. The men’s tour split in two and the WPBA remained united and excelled, increasing their visibility at every opportunity. With great ambassadors such as, Eva Laurance, Jeanette Lee, Lorie Jon Jones, Allison Fisher, Vivian Villarreal and many others, the tour has become a model of stability. It is with these great achievements in mind, that the WO8 lady would not succumb to the pressure or The Weight of the Eight!

 We look forward to an exciting 2008!