The clock worked against players on the Tri-State Tour again on Saturday, August 25, when a field of 40 signed on for the $750-added, A-D handicapped event  at Port Richmond Billiards Club on Staten Island, NY. Robert Veit chalked up his first victory on the tour, and his last victory in the event, by getting into the hot seat. Later, he opted to split the top two prizes with Tony Ignomirello, who had already split the second and third place prize with Gary Murgia, when the semifinals didn’t happen, either. 

Following victories over James Stern, Mike Davie, Luis Jimenez and Antonio Navarro, Veit advanced among the winners’ side final four and met up with Ben Castaneros, who’d just sent Ignomirello to the loss side. Murgia, in the meantime, squared off against Geoff Bauer. Murgia and Veit got into the hot seat battle, once Murgia had sent Bauer west 7-3, and Veit dispatched Castaneros 6-2. In what proved to be the last match for both of them, Veit sent Murgia to the semifinals 7-6.

Ignomirello got back to work on the loss side with a 6-3 victory over Keith Diaz, and followed that up with a 7-3 win over Thomas Rice, which set him up for a re-match against Castaneros. Bauer drew Bryan Jeziorski, who’d defeated Keith Adamik and Abdullah Howard, both 7-3, to reach him. Jeziorski advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-3 win over Bauer, and was met by Ignomirello, who wreaked his vengeance on Castaneros 7-2.

The last match of the night saw Ignomirello survive a double hill battle versus Jeziorski. Ignomirello and Murgia then opted out of the semifinals, and shortly thereafter, Ignomirello and Veit exercised the same option in regards to the finals. Prizes were split, and as the hot seat occupant, Veit took possession of the event title.

Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Port Richmond Billiard Club, as well as sponsors  Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Poison Cues, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing,  and Human Kinetics. Next up for the Tri-State Tour is their annual collaboration with the Mezz Pro-Am and Predator Tours, for the second annual George “Ginky” Sansouci Memorial Tournament, set for September 1-3 at Amsterdam Billiards in New York City. The next regularly scheduled stop on the Tri-State Tour is a $500-added, A-D handicapped event, scheduled for September 8, at Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.

In the finals of the Tri-State Tour stop on Saturday, June 2, Christian Smith stopped a five-match, loss-side streak by Rick Shellhouse to finish undefeated. The $500-added event drew 37 entrants to Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.

Smith was rolling along smoothly, until he got to the winners’ side semifinals, where he faced two straight double hill matches that eventually left him in the hot seat. He got by Dennis Feliciano first, as his hot seat opponent, Al Cacciola, was busy sending Antonio Navarro to the loss bracket 6-4. Smith sent Cacciola to the semifinals, and waited for what turned out to be the return of Shellhouse.

On the loss side, Shellhouse, after being sent over by Cacciola from among the final eight winners 6-4, worked his way by David Danchak 6-4 and Ted Lapadula 6-3 to reach Navarro. Feliciano picked up Scott Simonetti, who’d defeated Emily Duddy and John Trobiano, both 7-5. 

Shellhouse downed Navarro 6-5 and in the quarterfinals, faced Feliciano, who’d stopped Simonetti 8-2.

Shellhouse dropped Feliciano into fourth place 7-3, and turned for a rematch versus Cacciola in the semifinals. He won that 6-3 and with a bit of momentum on his side, moved on to an extended race-to-10 final against Smith.

Shellhouse forced the extension by winning the double hill match (for Smith) at 7-7. Smith, though, went on to win three straight to complete his undefeated day.

Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Castle Billiards, as well as sponors  Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics.