Pool tournament draws even more players to Quincy in second year

The tournament, filling the event hall at the Oakley-Lindsay Center, hosts the league tournament in 8-ball pool and an open tournament in 9-ball. OLC is also playing hosts to vendors selling everything needed for the sport, as well as food and drink vendors throughout the weekend.

"There's no charge to come in here," Pat McMullan said. "We play from 9 in the morning until 3 in the morning, and the public is welcome." McMullan is a player and an organizer of the Quincy tournament, as well as a board member for the ACS Illinois State Association.

"This place is one of the most awesome places to work with, not only in Illinois, but in the other states we do," McMullan said of the Oakley-Lindsay Center and the staff, headed by Chris Landwehr. "Anything we ask from these guys, they just do it."

McMullan and Messer both give full credit for getting the tournament to Quincy to Holly Cain, executive director for the Quincy Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"Holly is really the one spearheading this," McMullan said. "Without her, I'm not sure we would even be here."

Messer echoed that sentiment about Cain and the QACVB.

"They have been nothing less than stellar," he said. "They've opened a lot of doors for us. Holly Cain jumped into this with both feet. She didn't just wade into the water, she started swimming from the beginning. She's the one that opened up the doors to hotels, for food, to Chris (Landwehr), the director here. Once we made those contacts and they realized what kind of organization we are, very detailed and with a lot of history, they got onboard.

"Without everyone collectively working together, this doesn't go off in Quincy," Messer continued. "Once Holly opened the doors, from that point on, it's been nothing but cooperation. I met the mayor and his staff, they came in to see us. He's one of the most pleasant men I've ever met, and I talk to a lot of mayors, and state senators and governors. He's ready to do what it takes to keep this event here."

McMullan said because of the tight play schedule, players don't have a lot of time for sightseeing, but they do try to get out to restaurants and other nearby locations.

"We do try to get out, but we need to stay pretty close," he said. "Our numbers were down a little bit last year, because we were playing on Easter weekend. Our numbers this year are up somewhere around 45%, and we went from one hotel to three that we've booked out.

"I think Illinois is a good pool state," he continued. "I think that benefits us and lets us bring in national events. Everything's so expensive these days. This state event is bigger than some national events. So to get that national-tournament feel just a few hours away, that's a big draw for players."

One guest at this year's tournament, Tom Rossman, goes by the nickname "Dr. Cue." At this year's tournament, Rossman is hosting instructional sessions as well as giving performances of his award-winning trick-shot skills. He said he has fond memories of playing in Quincy.

"Years ago, I was in Decatur where I owned a pool room," he said. "We used to come to Quincy to play in tournaments. Back in those days, in the 70s, this was the number one place in the state for pool tournaments. And now here we are, 50 years later, and it's still a top spot."

Rossman said one of the benefits to the location in Quincy is having all the tables centrally located to make things easier on the players.

"When players don't have to travel all over the place, other buildings, things like that, it's always a benefit to the players. The way they have this set up here, the format, this just works perfectly. And there's a great staff here running this event. That makes a huge difference."

Following the success of the tournament in 2022, the professional players decided to bring a second event to Quincy even while this tournament was still in the planning stages.

"The Midwest Pool Players Association and the Billiard Congress of America, the governing body for pool in North America, have partnered to bring the US Open Junior Championship to Quincy from Las Vegas," Messer said. "We could have picked anywhere in the area, but it's all because of Holly, Chris, Mayor Mike Troup, and the cooperation we've had from Quincy."

Messer said that the tournament, slated for July, will feature the U.S. Open Juniors tournament along with amateur play. He also said the plan is to include trick-shot experts frequently seen on ESPN.

"We're also bringing in the ACS Pool Instructors Summit," he said. "These are some of the brightest minds in the sport who provide instruction. We selected Quincy over Las Vegas for that summit, also. We're going to have people from all over the country, and possibly other countries, as well. We'll have a full house again with different people."

"They've renewed the vitality of the city, and they've let us bring the game of pool into their home and allowed us to share this newer version of the game," Rossman said.

Funds from entry fees, as well as funds supporting the tournament through a Bring Entertainment to Quincy - or BET on Q - grant go into large cash awards, giving players a prize to play for beyond just the love of the game.

"Is the tournament recreational? Yes," Messer said. "Is it competitive? Hell, yes."