2008 International billiard and Home Recreation Expo Far from Conventional
Southern Sophistication Meets Serious Business

With 2008 rapidly approaching, planning has moved into high gear for the 25th Annual International billiard and Home Recreation Expo, June 12-14, 2008, at the Charlotte Convention Center. Combining a unique mix of innovative exhibitors, qualified buyers, strategic business seminars, professional pool play, recognition for the game’s greatest players and a little fun, the billiard Congress of America (BCA) is pleased to announce an exciting line up that is “far from conventional.”
“The 2008 Expo will present attendees with a host of business opportunities on the floor, networking opportunities throughout the show and a little fun on the side,” said Ivan Lee, BCA president. “Research from the 2007 show indicates attendees and exhibitors were equally satisfied with their experience and took note at the efforts to improve the show’s overall content. Taking the ideas we incorporated into last year’s show, including strategic business seminars and networking events, and dedicating increased efforts to bring new exhibitors with innovative products to the Expo floor, will make the 2008 Expo a great show for exhibitors and attendees alike.”
Withmore than 20 hours of open floor time and 200,000+ square feet of exhibit space inthe Charlotte Convention Center, hundreds of exhibitors will be on hand with productdisplays ranging from the “classics,” such as billiard tables, cues, cases, cloth, slate, balls,chalk, racks, stands, lighting, instructional products, publications, accessories and leaguesystems, to complementary lines like furniture, bars, darts, room décor, poker supplies, game tables, video games, music systems, tanning beds, spas, apparel and novelty items. The Business of billiards Seminar Series will provide exclusive education sessions for BCA Expo attendees with a total of six seminars.

The highlight of the educational sessions will be keynote speaker Kyle Petty, NASCAR Nextel Cup driver and CEO of Petty Enterprises. As CEO of Petty Enterprises, Petty remains a fixture at his family-owned business. Petty has been able to productively use his family business, and take advantage of his incredible driving talents and people skills, to build a winning driving resume and rebuild a racing business that has been one of the most successful in the history of motorsports. A proven winner, Petty stays focused and determined to keep Petty Enterprises at the forefront of the motorsports world. In addition, the Business of billiards Seminar Series will feature business improvement sessions specifically for retailers and poolroom operators, and general sessions for all attendees. Topics will include retail merchandising strategies, poolroom design tactics, Internet marketing strategies, and charity and promotions tips. The results of the BCA consumer research project also will be presented.
The BCA is also turning to laughs for this year’s industry celebration. Comedian Jake
Johannsen will provide a great night of entertainment during the Expo. Johannsen is one of David Letterman’s favorite comics, as he has appeared on Letterman’s show over 29 times. Johannsen’s bizarre take on life and his uniquely intelligent style have made him a regular at comedy clubs all over the country. Scheduled for Friday evening, Johannsen will provide a fun-filled night at the Expo. Also this year, and for the first time ever, the BCA’s 9-ball Championship Tournament – the generationpool.com 9-ball Championships – will be held in conjunction with the BCA Expo. The 2008 BCA 9-ball Championships will feature professional men’s and women’s divisions.

Semi-final and final events will take place June 11-12, 2008, in the Grand Ballroom at the Charlotte Convention Center and will be aired on ESPN. In addition, the 52nd BCA Hall of Fame Induction ceremony will take place June 12 during the intermission of the final events.

“With the combination of the 2008 BCA Expo, the 2008 generationpool.com 9-ball
Championships and the BCA Hall of Fame induction ceremony, this year’s event will truly be a celebration of billiards,” said Lee. “We are looking forward to a highly successful week in Charlotte.”

About the BCA
Founded in 1948, the billiard Congress of America (BCA) is a non-profit organization
dedicated to growing a united, prosperous and highly regarded billiard industry through BCA leadership. The BCA seeks to enhance the success of its members and promote the sport of billiards though educational, marketing and promotional efforts, annual industry trade shows, tournaments and other programs designed to encourage billiards as a lifestyle and make pool everybody’s game. For more information, visit www.bca-pool.com (http://www.bca-pool.com/) or call 866.852.0999

2007 WPA World Junior Championships Kick Off
World billiard championship being held in Germany
by Jerry Forsyth
Thirty-nine young men and nineteen young women began their individual journeys towards billiards history today in Willingen, Germany. The resort of Sauerland Stern is the host venue, tucked into the popular ski country that has been showered with snow the last three days.
This is a double-elimination format, so no one will face elimination until Wednesday, but many have already crossed over into the danger zone. Notable among those is Mary Rakin, last year’s world champion, who lost today 7-4 to Denise Wilkinson of New Zealand. Landon Shuffett came here accompanied by the high hopes of many Americans, only to fall 9-5 in his first match against Tomoya Iima of Japan.
But it is still early days here, and everyone has at least a single barrel left so there is no feeling of hopelessness to be found as yet. The players are still adjusting to their travel to get here and the venue itself, and these adjustments will begin to take hold and firm their games on Wednesday.
There are a lot of ways to follow the latest happenings of this event. For one, table #1 is a show table and the matches there are broadcast live over the Internet. As well, the scores are updated in real time at WPAtour.com, as are the brackets. There is a link at WPAtour.com that will take you to the live streaming video.
This is also the week and site of the annual WPA Board and General Assembly meetings, and we will keep you up to date with any breaking news that may emerge from these conferences. Of course, we will update you daily as to interesting match news and the progress of the players throughout the week.

Brett Favre and Pechauer Join Forces

Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre and J. Pechauer Custom Cues are proud to announce the uniting of forces to help raise money for charity. Pechauer Cues is creating a uniquely designed pool cue for the serious cue collector and the die-hard Favre fan. There will be only 25 of these once-in-a-lifetime cues. Each cue will be numbered and hand-signed by both Brett Favre and Joe Pechauer and include a certificate of authenticity.
Green Bay Wisconsin, home of the Green Bay Packers, is also the home of J. Pechauer Custom Cues, a family-run business that has been making pool cues for over 40 years. Since its inception, Pechauer Cues has built a strong reputation as not only one of the most desired playing cues in the world but as a highly desired collectable cue as well.

The most popular Pechauer cues sell for $250-$600. Pechauer also creates one-of-a-kind custom cues that have sold in excess of $10,000. Joe Pechauer, president of Pechauer Cues, will have his personal line of cues soon to be featured in the billiards Encyclopedia, a showcase of the talents of cue makers from around the world.

The cues are composed of exotic materials such as black ebony, mother of pearl, ivory, malachite, and other inlays to show bits of history of Green Bay’s favorite son. For a cue of such collectability and high demand, the Brett Favre signature collector cue will be modestly priced at $5000.

Everyone at Pechauer Cues wishes to congratulate Brett Favre for his guidance of the Green Bay Packers over the past 16 years, as well as his leadership shown off the field.

Pechauer will give proceeds from the cues to the Brett and Deanna Favre Foundation. “By giving all proceeds to the Brett and Deanna Favre Foundation, I am confident that all of the money given will be directed to the people and organizations that need it the most”, says Joe Pechauer.

Brett Favre is the league’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns, completions, and attempts. He also ranks first in passing yards, having recently broken the record previously held by the Miami Dolphins’ prolific Dan Marino. Brett Favre is probably best known for the most consecutive starts by a quarterback in the NFL. Since taking the reins as quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, he has started over 250 games straight. This is an unheard-of accomplishment for a starting quarterback in today’s NFL.

For more information on these once-in-a-lifetime custom cues, please call 800-934-7735.

Abernathy Aces Queen City Open
J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-ball Tour / Charlotte, NC

by InsidePOOL Staff
Jeff Abernathy won his second regional tour event of the month when he swept the J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-ball Tour’s November 24 stop. Hosted by Morey’s billiards in Charlotte, NC, this event brought in 45 competitors vying for the $500-added prize money.
Cruising undefeated to the finals, Abernathy made short work of Rob Krull 4-2 in the hot seat match, sending Krull to the one-loss side. In the semifinals he faced Jim Jennings, fresh off a 3-1 victory over Maryland hotshot Mike Davis. Krull surpassed Jennings 3-2 to earn a rematch with Abernathy, but he again fell short as Abernathy overcame him 4-3 for the title.

Results:

1st
Jeff Abernathy

2nd
Rob Krull

3rd
Jim Jennings

4th
Mike Davis

5-6th
Tommy Kennedy

Brian Davis

7-8th
Jeff Bumgarner

Jack Bock

9-12th
Ray Floyd

Allen Green

Steve Horne

Paul Mullins

Bergman Beats All Comers at Turkey ShootoutFifth Annual Turkey Shootout / Victorville, CA

by InsidePOOL Staff
Youngster Justin Bergman took top honors at the Fifth Annual Turkey Shootout, hosted by Gary’s Victor billiards in Victorville, CA. Held over the Thanksgiving weekend, this event boasted a prize fund that attracted a field of 53 top SoCal billiard players.
With a field that included 2006 U.S. Open champion John Schmidt, Tang Hoa, Jui-Lung Chen, Ernesto and Oscar Dominguez, Francisco Galinda, and Max Eberle, the action was incredible. Fach Garcia put hometown hero John “Mr. 403” Schmidt out of the event, depositing him in a seventh-place tie with Bernardo “King Kong” Chavez. Garcia, however, only ended up in fifth place, after being defeated by Jui-Lung Chen out of Texas.
After an earlier loss to Hollywood player Max Eberle ended up in fifth place after a loss to another top Southern California player, Tang Hoa. Hoa was stuck in fourth place after an unsuccessful battle with Johannes Kouhanen. In the hot seat match, Bergman and Kouhanen faced off, with Bergman the winner. Chen was happy to step up in the semifinals but fell short against Bergman, who had all guns blazing. In the true double-elimination finals, Chen bested Bergman in the first set 10-6, but Bergman came back in the second to win a deadly double-hill match 7-6 to take first place.

Results:

1st
Justin Bergman

2nd
Jui Ling Chen

3rd
Johannes Kouhanen

4th
Tang Hoa

5-6th
Fach Garcia

Max Eberle

7-8th
John Schmidt

Bernardo Chavez

9-12th
Simon Dudley

Tyler Benton

Damien Alishon

Oscar Dminguez

13-16th
Joones Ohtonem

Dave Hemmah,

Kyle Lanford

Francisco, Galinda