Kim White, WPBA touring professional, has finalized plans for the “Lone Star Billiards Tour,” which will hold six open tournaments this year in the Greater Houston Area. Kim ventured into independent tournament promotions in 2008, and the 2009 tour is an extension of her early success.
“The Houston area is a hotspot for pool,” the native Houstonian says. “My objective is to offer a low entry fee that will attract players of different calibers and provide nice payouts to one quarter of the field.”
A unique aspect of the Lone Star Billiards Tour is that the events will be divided among three types of tables: 7-foot bar tables, 8-foot standard tables, and 9-foot professional tables.
Kim now has the three poolrooms committed to her tour, and she has finalized the schedule for the remainder of 2009.
The venues are:
Rose Country Club – This poolroom has the atmosphere of an old-fashioned Texas roadhouse. It offers eighteen 7-foot Valley bar tables.
Bogies Billiards and Games – This poolroom is urban in design and is considered to be one of the best in Houston. It offers eighteen 8-foot standard-size Gandy tables.
Casper's Billiards – This poolroom is located southeast of Houston in San Leon, and it overlooks Galveston Bay. A magazine poll in 2008 listed it among the Top 10 new poolrooms in the nation, and it offers fourteen professional-size Brunswick tables.
“I'm extremely pleased with the response so far,” Kim says. “The three poolroom owners have welcomed us, and they've supported this new tour by personally adding to the prize money. And I'm particularly appreciative of the participation by professionals, such as Charlie Bryant and Shawn Putnam, as well as the many local and regional players who've come out. In the three tournaments we've held this year, we've had no problem in filling out our 64-player brackets.”
After the first three stops on the Lone Star Billiards Tour, the Top 10 players are as follows:
1. Charlie Bryant
2. Lanny Herrin
3. Nick Hood
4. Claude Marrier
Shane Van Boening
6. Doug Young
7. Manuel Ayala
Danny Tam
James Christopher
10. James Davis, Jr.
The next stop on the 2009 Lone Star Billiards Tour will be on June 6 and 7, at Casper's Billiards in San Leon, Texas.
Kim White finalizes plans for the 2009 Lone Star Billiards Tour
May 9, 2009