Hurricane Billiards

The Sky Ute Casino Resort in Ignacio, Colorado will host the WPBA September 16-20, 2009. The Southern Ute Indian Tribe in conjunction with Sky Ute Casino Resort are pleased to announce that the Casino/Resort will be hosting the Women’s Professional Billiards Association’s Colorado Classic, taped to air October 18th, 2009 on ESPN. The competitive field will be made of 45 WPBA Exempt Professionals for 2009 with the remaining spots going to qualifiers and invited players. This event caps off an exciting time for the Casino/Resort as the one year anniversary of the brand new facility nears. “As the General Manager/COO of Sky Ute Casino Resort,” said Matt Olin, “I could not be more pleased to be hosting a WPBA event. I am excited to bring professional billiards to the Four Corners region and I know our customers and guests are looking forward to it as well.” Anne Craig, WPBA Event Administrator, echoes Mr. Olin’s sentiments. “It’s been quite a few years since the WPBA has had a Professional Tournament in this region and we are excited to bring our Classic Tour to such a fantastic facility and the beautiful surroundings that Sky Ute Casino Resort provides. Our players are looking forward to the hospitality that Sky Ute Casino Resort offers.” The Sky Ute Casino in conjunction with the WPBA will kick off with a Charity Pro-Am benefiting their Peaceful Spirit Charity, which offers substance abuse treatment options for young persons. The preliminary rounds of tournament play begin Thursday, September 17th, 2009 at 11:00 am and run through Saturday night, when the field will be narrowed down to four players for the taping of the two semi-finals and final match on Sunday. Tickets go on sale August 1st, 2009. Thanks to the WPBA’s Presenting Sponsor for Web Streaming 2009, Pooldawg.com, the WPBA and Sky Ute will offer live, free web streaming of one match per round during the non-televised portion of during the Colorado Classic. It was a huge success at the San Diego and Great Lakes Classic events, where featured players included Allison Fisher, Jeanette Lee, Ga Young Kim and Kelly Fisher, Gerda Hofstatter, Jasmin Ouschan, Xiaoting Pan, Ewa Mataya Laurance and Karen Corr. About Sky Ute Casino & Resort: The new site includes a 45,000 square foot casino hosting hundreds of slot machines, blackjack tables, 3-card poker tables, crap tables, roulette and an exclusive private poker room. There is also a 200-seat Bingo hall, a 24-lane bowling center, a miniature golf course, a multiple of restaurants, and administrative offices. Built within the Casino/Resort is an 18,000 square foot ballroom designed to host conferences as well as a variety of live sporting and entertainment events. The ballroom can accommodate up to 1,800 seated persons. Also available are three separate meeting breakout rooms designed for a variety of events. The Casino/Resort is built in conjunction with a 140-room luxury hotel; including an indoor pool, several retail spaces, a small fitness center, and a salon/day spa. It has been the goal of both the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and Sky Ute Casino Resort to incorporate as much Southern Ute Culture into the new facility as space will allow. Both locals and visitors alike are exposed to a wide variety of Native American Art blending in with the architectural concepts throughout the complex. For more info, visit skyutecasino.com

Taylor Road Productions, working in conjunction with the International Pool Tour (IPT), will broadcast 11 hours of the Galveston World Classic on ESPN Star, the pan-Asian sport network. The deal was reached in cooperation with the IPT, who has agreed to provide the Galveston World Classic with 11 hours from its broadcasting agreement with ESPN Star. The Galveston World Classic will be a combination of pool events which will be played at Moody Gardens in Galveston, TX. The tournaments will feature top professional men and women players along with amateur players with total prizes that according to organizers could exceed $900,000 USD. Some professional players already committed to play are Efren Reyes, Francisco Bustmante, Earl Strickland, Shane Van Boening, Johnny Archer and Nick Varner. The Galveston World Classic will take place September 11-20, 2009. Louie Vickio of Taylor Road Productions said, “We’re extremely excited about reaching this milestone. This is a fantastic agreement for Taylor Road Productions and for the sport of pool and billiards. We really see great things in store for the future of the sport.” Deno J. Andrews, IPT Director said, “We are delighted to share some of our Asian broadcasting hours with the Galveston World Classic.” Taylor Road Productions will make more announcements concerning the event and top players that will be playing at The World Classic as the event date approaches. Entries, vendor spaces, stadium seating and VIP seating can be paid online at the Galveston World Classic web site. About Taylor Road Productions Taylor Road Productions is the producer and promoter of the Galveston World Classic from September 11-20, 2009 at Moody Gardens in Galveston, TX. The vision of the company is to produce pool and billiard events that promote the sport to a new level with large cash prizes, televised events and high profile events for all to experience. The company web site is The World Classic.

Forgive the intrustion 8-Ball Blog fans – Just updating some info – More pool news soon! Shoot Straight! Shari & The P&B Crew 4t9cszn5r2

Holy pink flamingos! Women pool players in Florida lost out this year when the Ladies Spirit Tour, founded by Heather Barkley and Bonnie Coats, folded its tent. But West Palm Beach’s Mimi McAndrews has announced that a new Flamingo Billiards Tour, recognized as a regional tour by the Women’s Pro Billiard Association, will debut its first event on August 15 at Ultimate Billiards in Ft. Pierce, Florida. The event will be open to all pro and amateur players and will serve as a qualifier for a 2009 pro tour stop. High point winners through regional tour play this year will be invited to the WPBA’s National Regional Championships in January 2010. For more info on the fledgling flamingos, visit FlamingoBilliardsTour.com

For the fourth straight year, Dragon Promotions will produce the Annual Predator World 14.1 Championship, marking the 69th running of this prestigious title. Comet Billiards will host this year’s event playing on beautiful Brunswick Gold Crown tables and using Simonis Cloth, Master Chalk, and the Laser Rack. Play begins August 24, 2009 and ends with a new champion on August 29. The greatest straight pool players from around the world will arrive on USA’s east coast Invented by Jerome Keough and shortly after recognized as the official game of billiards, the first World 14.1 Championship was held in 1911, won by Alfredo DeOro. In its history due to war and economics, the World 14.1 Championship had 29 tournaments that did not take place including a 15 year gap between 1990-2005 until Dragon Promotions revived the game and the World Tournament in 2006. That also became the first year a non-American won the event, Germany’s Thorsten Hohmann…   14.1 stars including Thorsten Hohmann, John Schmidt, Ralf Souquet, Danny Harriman, Tony Robles, Mika Immonen and defending champion Niels Fiejen are just a few of the powerful list of world beaters who will compete. Qualifiers thus far will be held at Drexeline Billiards in PA, Amsterdam Billiards in NY, and Comet Billiards in NJ. To host a qualifier or play, contact worldstraightpoolchampionships@gmail.com   The format for the event will be the same as the past three years. 64 players divided into 8 groups of 8 players in round robin brackets playing races to 100. The top 32 players will advance to a double elimination tournament races to 150. The top 16 players will then advance to a single elimination race to 200 points. Half of the field will earn prize money with the champion winning $11,500. The champion will also have his/her name inscribed on the World 14.1 Champion’s Cup alongside the names of previous winners such as Steve Mizerak, Mike Sigel, Willie Mosconi, Thorsten Hohmann and Oliver Ortmann.   August 23, the night before the event kicks off, Comet Billiards will host a special sponsor / pro team match tournament for the patron sponsors of the event. Billiard aficionado Stu Mattana of NYC and long time billiard supporter Harold Siegel of NYC are two of this year’s generous patrons of the Predator World 14.1 Championship. Their contributions are helping keeping the event going.   “The World Straight Pool Championship has become a very important event for the players, fans, and billiard community. It is a very tough time in the economy now, but based on the outpouring support of players and fans we felt it was our responsibility to try to put on the event. We hope others in the billiard community feel the same and work towards keeping the World Straight Pool Championship alive,” said Cindy Lee, CEO of Dragon Promotions.   The 2009 Predator World Straight Pool Championship is proudly sponsored by Predator Cues, Comet Billiards, Brunswick Billiards, Simonis Cloth, Ozone Billiards, Laser Rack, Master Chalk and patron sponsors Stu Mattana and Harold Siegel of Excelsior Graphics. For more information on player registration, sponsorship, or if you would like to submit a comment, please email worldstraightpoolchampionships@gmail.com or contact Dragon Promotions at 1-407-782-4978.     For more info on this event and its sponsors, visitwww.dragonpromotions.com