It’s been a really quiet year for old Frank T. Dawg. With the retirement of my previous handler and with Samm busy starting up her new pool league, I’ve been spending a lot more time doing my best Han Solo frozen in carbonite imitation. Thankfully, August is here, which means I’ll be hanging out with Keven, Mike, Brent, Dave, Alexis and about 10,000 pool players out in Vegas for a couple weeks. That’s right, it’s time for APA Nationals!
Being a bit of an APA nationals veteran (this is my 6th trip to nationals), I know exactly what I need to bring with me to keep me going through the entire event:
- Piles of PoolDawg stickers? Check.
- 6 Cases of PoolDawg chalk to give away? Check.
- A pallet of pool cues, cases and accessories? Check.
- Bottle of acetaminophen? Check.
- Giant box of Berry flavored 5 hour crack? Check.
Of all the WPBA tour stops, the Pacific Coast Classic in Lincoln City, Oregon has to be my favorite. First off, its right by the ocean, which is pretty cool. If I was a real dog, I’d make Sarah throw a frisbee into the ocean so I could go out to retrieve it, but it my current condition I unfortunately don’t do very well in the water. Even so, it is nice to be able to look out my hotel window and see the water.
The other reason why I love this place so much? Every year there’s an awesome APA regional event that takes place in the hotel at the same time as the WPBA event. There’s always tons of people there having a good time, playing in the mini events and just getting excited about pool.
Sarah had a good tournament here last year finishing 9th when she got knocked out of the tournament by Allison Fisher. ESPN’s going to air the quarterfinal matches this year (along with the semis and finals), so maybe if Sarah gets on TV she’ll let me hang out in her corner.
Yeah, yeah, I know its been a week since I last blogged but I’ve been sorta busy here in Las Vegas. Once again, we’ve made the trip out for APA Nationals which means that I’m standing guard over the pool cues in the booth.
As always, APA Nationals are a blast. We get to see some old friends as well as make a bunch of new ones, so Nationals pretty much always turns out to be one of my favorite shows of the year.
Of course with all the work I’m putting in, there hasn’t been much time for any R&R. Its pretty much wake up, chow on some gruel at Kady’s, guard the cues for 12 hours, hit Peppermill for dinner and go to bed. I sure do miss the Splash Bar too. It was always right on the way back to the room, so we could hang out after work for a bit. Now its just slot machines that no one seems to be using.
Anyway, after I’m done here, I’ll be trying to stow away in Rowdy’s luggage for a quick trip to NYC, then its back to Colorado for the WPBA Colorado Classic. I was hoping to see the tall lady there, but it looks like she’s not going to make it. We’ll have to get Mike, Keven and Sarah to do a shot of Patron in her honor.
