Robert Raiford Wins the Hall of Fame Tournament!

Robert Raiford (L) with room owner Ramy Noja (R)

If you have never been to Hall of Fame Billiards in Warren, Michigan, then you are missing out. It is a beautiful room with lots of pool tables, three Verhoeven 3-Cushion tables, video games, fantastic food and drink and a great regular crowd of people. On Sunday night, the music was pumping and people were dancing all over the place. It was like one big, giant party with people that you are comfortable with. I was impressed with the place the moment that I walked in.

But the main attraction this past weekend was a 3-cushion tournament for "B+" players. Only players with an average of less than .900 could play. There was a full field of 21 players who played on brand-new Granito cloth.

Click the name of the flight to see chart in PDF format.

Flight A: Jamil Isreal and Mercedes Gonzales were the favorites to win this flight. However, Mercedes defeated Jamil in the first match and Jamil was upset by Andrew Janquitto who averaged .800 in his win against Jamil. Mercedes Gonzales and Steve Andersen from Grand Rapids, Michigan ended up going 5-1 to qualify for the finals.

Flight B: This was the toughest flight. With players such as Dan Kolacz, Gary Elias, Bill Johnson, Gary Scharff and Armando Wong, nobody knew who would win this flight. Bill Johnson suffered 2 defeats in the 1-hole, despite averaging .728. Gary Elias won the flight with a 5-1 record and an .891 average in the prelims. Dan Kolacz finished 2nd going 4-2 with an .850 average in the prelims.

Flight C: Robert Raiford and Jim Shovak were the favorites. Raiford finished undefeated with a .667 grand average. But Shovak was upset by Bassel Elshaar 20-17. In Bassel's final match against Robert Raiford, Bassel needed just 13 points to insure going to the finals. Unfortunately Raiford defeated him 20-7 in just 23 innings. Then Shovak went on to win his last match 20-4 in just 20 innings, sending him to the finals.

Finalists: Gary Elias, Jim Shovak, Dan Kolacz, Robert Raiford, Mercedes Gonzales, Steve Andersen

THE FINALS:

Round 1: Elias defeats Shovak, Raiford defeats Kolacz, Gonzales defeats Andersen.

Round 2: Shovak defeats Raiford, Elias defeats Andersen, Kolacz defeats Gonzales.

Elias 2-0, Raiford 1-1, Shovak 1-1, Kolacz 1-1, Gonzales 1-1, Andersen 0-2.

Round 3: Raiford defeats Andersen, Shovak defeats Kolacz, Gonzales defeats Elias.

Elias 2-1, Raiford 2-1, Shovak 2-1, Gonzales 2-1, Kolacz 1-2, Andersen 0-3.

Round 4: Raiford defeats Gonzales, Shovak defeats Andersen, Kolacz defeats Elias.

Raiford 3-1, Shovak 3-1, Gonzales 2-2, Kolacz 2-2, Elias 2-2, Andersen 0-4.

This was a very interesting point in the tournament. It was actually possible to have 5 out of the 6 players all ending up with a record of 3-2. If that happened, then the top 2 players with the most total points scored would have a playoff game to decide 1st and 2nd place and the other 3 players would end up in 3rd, 4th and 5th based on the tie-breakers (total points, head-to-head and points against).

The other scenario was as follows: if both Raiford and Shovak won their final matches, then they would play a 20-point playoff game. If one of them won and the other lost, then the winner would win the tournament. And that is what happened. Mercedes Gonzales came out swinging against Shovak and had him 13-1 before he knew what hit him. Gonzales won the match 25-11. Meanwhile Raiford was losing his match to Gary Elias by a score of 10-1. Then it was 19-13 in favor of Elias. Raiford kept closing the gap. Finally the score was 24-24 and Raiford made the final point to win the tournament. Ironically, Shovak's loss to Gonzales sent him into 4th place, with Gonzales and Kolacz both winning their last matches. Kolacz, who seemed to be out of contention with a 1-2 record ended up finishing in 2nd place and Gonzales in 3rd.

Order of Finish and Prizes:

Dan Kolacz won $ 100.00 each for the best game of .833 and the high run which was 5.

Dan Kolacz (2nd), Robert Raiford (1st), Mercedes Gonzales (3rd)

Congratulations to Robert Raiford and everyone else that participated! It was a lot of fun!

We'd like to thank the following:

Hall of Fame Billiards for your enormous hospitality. What a great place!
All who kept score in the final matches.
All who helped out cleaning the balls, cleaning the tables, etc.
In particular, Ramy Noja, Bassel Elshaar, Bill Johnson, Brian Roy, Steve Schumaker, Armando Wong, Ed Gasbarre and Tournament Director Gary Elias for all your hard work.

Our sponsors:

Mueller Products/Gorina cloth
Paul Frankel
Bob Jewett
Jim Shovak
David Levine
Andrew Janquitto
Robert Byrne

Don't forget that the "B" player Championship Tournament is coming up September 12-14 at Carom Cafe in Flushing, NY and the following week is the "C" Championship!!!

Prize Fund (based on 21 players) = $ 7,000.00
$ 3,850.00 added money

Entry fee $155
21 Players Maximum
3 Flights of 7 players
Top 2 from each group advance to 6 man round robin finals
20 point matches in the preliminaries
25 point matches in the Finals
All players must keep their averages
Players must be or become USBA Members

Send $155.00 entry fee to:
HALL OF FAME BILLIARDS
Attn: Gary Elias
5775 E 13 Mile Rd
Warren, MI 48092
1-586-939-8880
No checks accepted after August 8th.

Prizes based on 21 players:

1) $ 2,000.00
2) $ 1,600.00
3) $ 1,250.00
4) $ 950.00
5) $ 600.00
6) $ 400.00

Finals: Hi-Run: $ 100.00 - Best Game: $ 100.00

Call Gary Elias For More Info at 1-586-484-7421.

Hotel Info:
Quality Inn & Suites
32035 Van Dyke, Warren, MI 48093
Single Bed, room $50
Two Beds, room $70
Mention Hall of Fame Billiards Tournament
(586) 264-0100

Hotel 1 Mile from Hall Of Fame Billiards

This is a USBA event. Must be or become a 2008 USBA Member.
$ 5.00 sanction fee per player already included in entry fee.

Dress Code: Casual/Dress
Collared shirts, pull-over collared shirts, black pants, black shoes. No sneakers, no blue-jeans, no T-shirts. Black sneakers are OK as long as they are all-black.

Hotel Info

The USBA has a contract with Choice Hotels International. If you would like to receive at least a 15% discount at Choice Hotel locations, please refer to your Membership Package for details. To become a USBA Member, click "Join" at the top or the upper left side of this page and follow the instructions to pay by credit/debit card through PayPal. You do NOT need a PayPal account to use PayPal. You can also mail in payment by check.

USBA Members also receive between 5-10% discount from the following car rental companies, if they service the area:

Be advised that we have not reserved a block of rooms anywhere, and so availability is not guaranteed. Our aim has been to offer a wide range of choice with regard to type of room, exact location and price. Since availability is not guaranteed, we recommend that you make your reservation as soon as you know the dates you will be attending the Tournament. You may want to inquire if your hotel will offer a small discount if paid in cash upon your arrival (these policies may differ with each hotel).

All players must make their own hotel/car rental reservations. If you need a room that's closer to the pool hall, please check online at Travelocity, Orbitz or Hotels.com.

Taxes

If you are planning to enter the tournament you need only read the sections below that apply to you:

• For U.S. residents – only sections 1 and 5 apply;

• Most foreign residents need only read sections 2 and 5;

• However, if you live outside the United States but you have received or can obtain an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) you may be able to avoid withholding taxes. To learn more, read sections 3 and 4 (as well as 2 and 5).

Forms referred to below may be viewed/downloaded at http://www.irs.gov/formspubs

Section 1 – United States Residents

You can avoid withholding taxes on your prize money by filling out Form W-9. This tells us your name, address and Social Security number. (Form W-9 will be made available at the Tournament.) After the Tournament, the Billiard Tour will report your winnings to the IRS, to Michigan State and to you, using Form 1099-MISC (If you do not fill out Form W-9, we will be required to withhold 30% of your prize money!).

Section 2 – Foreign Residents: Most Will Be Subject to Withholding Taxes

For most (and, perhaps, all) foreign participants, the process is very simple: (1) You will be subject to 30% withholding taxes on your prize money; (2) at the Tournament, prize winners will have to supply their name and address; and (3) we will then provide the IRS with this information on Form 1042-S, two copies of which will be mailed to you. When it comes time for you to pay taxes in your own country, you will not only have a record of your winnings, but you will have documents that show that you paid substantial taxes to the U.S. Government. In many cases you will be able to get a tax credit for these payments. Be sure to check with your tax advisor in your home country.

Section 3 – Foreign Residents: A Few May Be Able to Avoid Withholding Taxes

For some non-U.S. residents, withholding taxes may be avoided provided (a) your country has a tax treaty with the United States, (b) you have an “Individual Taxpayer Identification Number” (ITIN) from the IRS and (c) your prize money does not exceed the maximum amount that is exempt from withholding under the treaty.

If you do not have an ITIN, we regret to inform you that rule changes in recent years have made them much more difficult to get. We will be unable to assist you in obtaining an ITIN but a tax adviser in your own country might be able to help you. However, if you received an ITIN at any time in the past, it is still valid.

In any event, if you have an ITIN and there is a tax treaty between your country and the United States and your prize does not exceed the amount allowed under the treaty you will be able to avoid withholding taxes by filling out Form 8233. We will be able to help you do this at the tournament.

One more thing: If you are eligible for zero withholding, we will have to temporarily withhold 100% of your prize money until 10 days after Form 8233 is mailed to the IRS. We expect to mail such Forms one or two days after the end of the tournament. The 10-day period is required by the IRS to give them time to verify your eligibility for avoiding withholding. Assuming there is no objection from the IRS (and there shouldn’t be as long as your ITIN is valid), we will mail you a check for the full amount of your prize approximately 12 days after the Tournament ends.

Section 4 – Foreign Residents: Information on Individual Countries

The table below summarizes the treaty situation for residents from 28 countries. We list the maximum dollar amount that you may earn without becoming subject to tax withholding. We also list the treaty article number that will have to be put on Form 8233. None of this is relevant to you unless you have or can obtain an ITIN. If there is no treaty with your country you will be subject to withholding even if you have an ITIN.

Argentina No treaty
Aruba No treaty
Austria $20,000 17
Belgium $ 3,000 14(2)(c)
Canada $15,000 16
Colombia No treaty
Czech Rep. $20,000 18
Denmark $20,000 17
Ecuador No treaty
Egypt $ 400/ day 17
France $10,000 17
Germany $20,000 17
Greece $10,000 X
Hungary No limit 13
Italy $12,000 17(1)
Japan $ 3,000 17
Korea $ 3,000 18
Luxembourg $10,000 18
Mexico $ 3,000 18
Netherlands $10,000 18
Peru No treaty
Portugal $10,000 19
Russia No limit
Spain $10,000 19
Sweden $ 6,000 18
Switzerland $10,000 17
Turkey $ 3,000 17
Vietnam No treaty

Section 5 – Two Additional Notes About Taxes

If you do not win a prize we will not need to collect any personal information from you. For U.S. residents, this means you will not have to fill out a W-9. For foreign residents, it means that neither will you have to fill out an 8233, nor will you have to provide us with the information we would need to fill out a 1042-S.

Prize Money Break Down based on Number of Payouts - PDF