Some of our TAP members will remember Nick Wortham from the monthly junior tournaments, some from league and some from the tournament at the last TAP Las Vegas league party hosted at the Las Vegas Cue Club in May. Nick is just 13 years old and one of the youngest members of TAP Las Vegas.
Nick is surely the youngest player to have won his entry into the TAP League National single tournament while competing against 22 other local league players! He is pictured here with Ted Rauenbuehler, his final opponent in the skill level 2/3 8-ball tournament in April of this year. As his award for winning 1st place in the local tournament, the Las Vegas Cue Club will be sponsoring Nick at the TAP League national singles tournament in November at Bally's on The Strip.
Nick just completed the 7th grade as a straight "A" student at Lawrence Junior High in Las Vegas. He and his brother Joe "JT" Wortham first learned to play pool at their papa and nana's house, Joe and Lajan Wortham. At just 2 years old, Nick had a tiny cue and would sit on the table to shoot because he was too short to see over the table. With the exception of a 4 year time span, Nick and JT have been playing pool ever since.
In January of this year, Nick was cheering on his grandparents and dad in a tournament at Mickey's Cues & Brews. That's when I met Nick and he discovered that he could play in the TAP League and compete in the junior pool tournaments. Hence, the Renegades pool team was born and the weekly family night out began.
After just one session, the Renegades amazed everyone by placing 2nd place and winning $900! I attribute much of their success to the “team” they have truly become. Every week, you see all 7 players watching, teaching and cheering each other on the entire evening. The Wortham's and the Moden's themselves were overwhelmed. After all, they were happy with just a night out with the family!
The Renegades are pictured above: Joe, Sr., Lajan, Kacie, JT, Nick, Joe, Jr. and Scott Moden. At the core of the are Joe and Lajan Wortham, aka Papa and Nana. Joe has played pool for about 50 years. His wife, Lajan, finally gave in and joined the fun by playing on a team with her husband in 2003. They've competed in national team tournaments on 3 occasions and made it to the money once. Joe won 3rd place in a national singles tournament in 2001.
Next in line is Joe Wortham Jr. who only started playing pool about a year ago. His sons are Nick and Joe "JT" Wortham. JT just completed the 10th grade at Durango High School. JT has quickly excelled up to a skill level 4 in TAP and has a noteworthy 68% match win record!
To round out the team, they invited their friends, Scott and Kacie Moden to be a part of the team. Kacie is Scott's 15 year old daughter.
Scott met the Wortham's while competing against them in league. He first started playing pool as a small child on his grandparent's table. Later in life (around 1992/93), Scott began playing league. He's won an 8-ball and 9-ball regional tournament and competed in a national tournament.
Kacie just completed the 9th grade at SECTA High School in Las Vegas. They have a pool at home, but Kacie didn't play much until dad invited her to play on the team! Now she loves playing and spending quality time with dad.
We all spend time together playing league on Mondays at Mickey's or the Cue Club and all three kids compete in the monthly junior 8-ball and 9-ball pool tournaments! They have been a great addition to our league with a consistent show of good sportsmanship and the drive to improve their skills.
Photography provided by Mark Lester of MJL Photographic Art.
