Whatever happened to Bryce Avila

70niner

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This youngster was destined for greatness. I remember being down at Hardtimes in Bellflower and Bryce and Amar were there looking for action, Fat Kenny challenged Bryce to the proposition game where you break open a one pocket rack and then see how many balls you can run before you miss. You have 5 chances to break and run as many balls as you can. Most people can run 9-12 balls. It gets real tough when the pockets are triple shimmed. Well Bryce agreed to the challenge for $100 that he could run 22. That got everyones attention, because the last guy to do that was Cecil Tugwell. It was late at night and by the 5th rack there was another $500-600 on the side. Bryce had 16 going into the last rack and when he broke he brought the cue all the way back up table and left himself frozen to the head rail with nothing but a straight in 8 foot combination shot or he was done. All his buddies, Amar, Brian Wilde, Tony Chohan and Jeff Gregory were betting on him and not liking it at this point. Well Bryce then jacked up and speared the combo in and ran another 6 balls from there to win us all the cash. That had to be the greatest pressure shot I had seen in awhile. He just jumped right out of the car just 20 minutes earlier so he had been driving for 3 hours. Not so easy to do. What ever happened to the kid?
 

gulfportdoc

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70niner said:
This youngster was destined for greatness. What ever happened to the kid?

70niner, I used to see both Bryce and Amar out west before I moved to Mississippi. Last Summer I ran into both of them in Mobile, and we had a nice little reunion chat. They're both basically real good young men, and I know Amar comes from a very fine family. They're both fearsome players, but I think Amar has the edge. I'm sure they're frequently on the road together. My guess is that they're each solid money players, but that Amar will play for the big cheese if it comes down to needing the better player. I also get the sense that Bryce is willing to stay in the background. Between the two of them, I'm sure they have in their arsenal many gambling gambits, along with the talent to back them up.

Doc
 

Lunchmoney

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Washington State
70niner said:
This youngster was destined for greatness. I remember being down at Hardtimes in Bellflower and Bryce and Amar were there looking for action, Fat Kenny challenged Bryce to the proposition game where you break open a one pocket rack and then see how many balls you can run before you miss. You have 5 chances to break and run as many balls as you can. Most people can run 9-12 balls. It gets real tough when the pockets are triple shimmed. Well Bryce agreed to the challenge for $100 that he could run 22. That got everyones attention, because the last guy to do that was Cecil Tugwell. It was late at night and by the 5th rack there was another $500-600 on the side. Bryce had 16 going into the last rack and when he broke he brought the cue all the way back up table and left himself frozen to the head rail with nothing but a straight in 8 foot combination shot or he was done. All his buddies, Amar, Brian Wilde, Tony Chohan and Jeff Gregory were betting on him and not liking it at this point. Well Bryce then jacked up and speared the combo in and ran another 6 balls from there to win us all the cash. That had to be the greatest pressure shot I had seen in awhile. He just jumped right out of the car just 20 minutes earlier so he had been driving for 3 hours. Not so easy to do. What ever happened to the kid?


For a while he was hanging out in the Seattle area (last winter/Spring). I had heard that he is or was dating Rich Geiler's daughter. Watched him play in a Tournament, plays real strong.

Lunchmoney
 

suki

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Bryce Avila

Bryce Avila

Bryce did not show up at the Pechauer tour stop at Fast Eddys in Capitola, ca. last week which was very unusual. I asked Amar(who was there) and Tony Chohan where he was and there answer was very indifferent so I do not know if there was a falling out. Bryce was at a couple of my weekly tournaments last month but have not seen him in several weeks.
Every time those 3 play at Fast Eddys tournaments they are usually 1/2/3
 

gulfportdoc

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suki said:
Bryce did not show up at the Pechauer tour stop at Fast Eddys in Capitola, ca. last week which was very unusual. I asked Amar(who was there) and Tony Chohan where he was and there answer was very indifferent so I do not know if there was a falling out. Bryce was at a couple of my weekly tournaments last month but have not seen him in several weeks.
Every time those 3 play at Fast Eddys tournaments they are usually 1/2/3

I talked with Tony Chohan last night at Breakers in Mobile. He did sound a little vague, but evidently Bryce is on the road in Chicago, or perhaps living there right now. Probably on a road trip :cool: Tony said that Amar is playing more cards than pool, which seems to be captivating him presently. There's no question that there is a jillion times more poker action than pool action in CA! I always thought Tony and Amar were either brothers or cousins, so perhaps Chohan is a pseudonym? I believe they're both East Indian.

Doc
 

JAM

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Got bit by the love bug!

Got bit by the love bug!

Hi, Doc! Tony and Amar are cousins. Amar and Bryce did travel a bit on the road together. They were here in D.C. about a year or so ago and hit all of the action spots.

I heard that Bryce got bit by the love bug, which may explain his intermittent absences on the tournament trail. I had thought he was from Texas originally, but I may be wrong.

Here's a picture I took a couple of DCC's ago of Keith and Bryce:
 

gulfportdoc

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JAM said:
Hi, Doc! Tony and Amar are cousins. Amar and Bryce did travel a bit on the road together. They were here in D.C. about a year or so ago and hit all of the action spots.

I heard that Bryce got bit by the love bug, which may explain his intermittent absences on the tournament trail. I had thought he was from Texas originally, but I may be wrong.

Here's a picture I took a couple of DCC's ago of Keith and Bryce:

Well hello JAM!! Glad to see you back on this site. I love the pictures, your reports, and of course your beaming feminine pulchritude ;)

Good for Bryce! I hope Amar stays in the game, but of course it's a brutally tough gig for a living. And there's no pension plan! I was surprised that Tony Chohan remembered my name after 5 years! I hadn't seen him since Buffalo Billiards in Cotati. I think I was the only one ever to tell him and his buddies to stay away from all the drugs, booze, and b.s. He has an interesting game. He's basically a mediocre position player (unlike Keith, Parica, Schmidt, et al), but a fearless shotmaker.

Looks like you and the Quakester won't make it to Dixie this Summer, but I certainly hope you're planning on Grady's event in Gulfport in December. Everyone is talking about it, so I'm expecting it to be a major jamboree.

Doc
 

JAM

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Tony and "Omar"

Tony and "Omar"

gulfportdoc said:
Well hello JAM!! Glad to see you back on this site. I love the pictures, your reports, and of course your beaming feminine pulchritude ;)

"Beaming feminine pulchritude"! I admit, I had to look it up! :eek: Thanks for the beautiful flowers!

gulfportdoc said:
I hope Amar stays in the game, but of course it's a brutally tough gig for a living. And there's no pension plan!

Amar -- I've always called him "Omar" -- has a good head on his shoulders. He really impressed me the first time I met him, and it is quite evident he's had a proper upbringing and comes from a good loving family. For such a young fellow, I couldn't believe his maturity level (comparing it to my own daughter, much older than he) and common sense. And he's got a lot of heart when it comes to games of stake and will step up to the plate with confidence and play on his own dough.

After last year's Open, he had a mini road trip with Billy the Kid and stayed in the D.C. area for a spell, leaving quite a good impression with the regional action players. Several months later, a D.C. stakehorse called Amar in California and said if he'd come to D.C., he'd pay him a lump sum just for showing up, as he had a game lined up for him. Amar came, the game never materialized, and the stakehorse renegged on his offer, leaving Amar empty-pocketed. Pool can sure be cruel.

gulfportdoc said:
I was surprised that Tony Chohan remembered my name after 5 years! I hadn't seen him since Buffalo Billiards in Cotati. I think I was the only one ever to tell him and his buddies to stay away from all the drugs, booze, and b.s.

It is easy to see that Tony and Amar are cut from the same cloth, very polite and well mannered. Tony has a zest for life and an enthusiasm for pool that warms my heart. Never hesitant to play, his one-pocket game was strong last I saw him, and he usually bets his own as opposed to a backers committee. He's also quite the ladies' man in some spots.

My favorite Tony picture is this one. Just look into Tony's eyes and check out his Elvis smile! (LOL)

Tony "Chaching" Chohan

JAM
 

suki

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Not Quite

Not Quite

Sorry to blow your bubble of Tony and Amar but, playing on their own money? They are always too broke to do that. What they win on pool goes directly to bookies or at the card table. I and friends of mine constantly get asked to back them. We have at times and won and lost at times. They would rather use your money. Does not mean they are not good guys, they always try to give that impression. I have known them for years and they are always welcome. My son is also a contributor to them and knows them well, in fact he is on the phone to Tony right now and if Tony is busted he will have no qualms to ask him to send money even if he knows the answer will be no. I have won and lost backing Tony.
 

JAM

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Can't bust my bubble!

Can't bust my bubble!

I haven't had seen "Omar" and Tony in their home court of California, but I have seen them many times on the tournament trail and on the road.

A while back, my road partner went busted in Virginia and came back to the hotel room to lick his wounds and deal with me! (LOL) :eek:

There was a knock on our hotel door, and in walks this kid from California, an old friend of Keith's. He peels a dime out of his bank roll and throws it on the bed and tells Keith to go back and get his dough, and that he did and paid back Tony the next day with interest! That was my first encounter with Tony Chohan.

How fortunate Tony and Amar are to have friends like you, Suki. Next time your son talks to Tony, please give him my best regards and Keith's, will you? And tell "Omar" to get off his butt and come to Virginia in September. I miss seeing his smiling face!
 

suki

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Lol

Lol

JAM said:
I haven't had seen "Omar" and Tony in their home court of California, but I have seen them many times on the tournament trail and on the road.

A while back, my road partner went busted in Virginia and came back to the hotel room to lick his wounds and deal with me! (LOL) :eek:

There was a knock on our hotel door, and in walks this kid from California, an old friend of Keith's. He peels a dime out of his bank roll and throws it on the bed and tells Keith to go back and get his dough, and that he did and paid back Tony the next day with interest! That was my first encounter with Tony Chohan.

How fortunate Tony and Amar are to have friends like you, Suki. Next time your son talks to Tony, please give him my best regards and Keith's, will you? And tell "Omar" to get off his butt and come to Virginia in September. I miss seeing his smiling face!
O.K. AND DONT GET ME WRONG THEY WILL PUT UP THE MONEY WHEN THEY GOT IT, ITS JUST NOT THAT OFTEN.
Tony is in Mobile now and losing from what I hear, for him and his backer.
He will be in Virginia but do not know about "Amar" but if you see Amar first ask him to send Randy the $450 from the Vegas loan. Been awhile. Does he know you as jam when i relay the message? Also I too thank you for those great pictures, what a gas. It was great to see what some of the players look like that never get out west. I am planning Kentucky again this year. Went a couple of years ago. That was exciting.
 

JAM

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Always a pleasure to see "Omar" AND Tony!

Always a pleasure to see "Omar" AND Tony!

I probably won't see Amar before you, Suki. I live in D.C. and only run into him on the road or at tournaments.

Tell him "Jennie" sends her regards, as does Keith McCready. Matter of fact, if you do talk to him, tell him to give us a call. He has our number. I'd like to hear from him.

Funny thing about pool players. When they're winning and have boodles in their pockets, they enjoy many friends and well wishers. Everybody wants to be in their company and enjoy the "high," while it lasts. But let them go broke and not make the money rounds in a few tournaments, they are looked upon quite differently.

Hope Tony regains his losses in Mobile. I've been reading good things about him on the Internet, knocking down many name-brand players in tournaments. And the kid ain't even reached his peak yet! :)

JAM a/k/a Jennie
 
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gulfportdoc

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sukiTony is in Mobile now and losing from what I hear said:
I don't believe Tony cashed in the Mobile event. He was also knocked out of the ring game. I don't know if he booked any winners in side action or not. He never seemed to hit high gear in Alabama, but I have nothing to compare it to.

Mobile was a grueling event: 128 players on 8 bar boxes. Top prize 4K, first calcutta 5K, second calcutta 2K. They played around the clock, with some unlucky players getting 5 A.M. match times. I left yesterday (Sun.) at 7:30, and they hadn't yet reached the final eight. Most of the marquee names were eliminated. Hopefully Vagabond will fill us in.

Ronnie Allen walked up to me at one point and said, "These bar box events are stupid. I'll beat you 9 to 1, then you'll beat ME 9 to 1!" He's right...

Doc
 

suki

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Lol

Lol

gulfportdoc said:
sukiTony is in Mobile now and losing from what I hear said:
I don't believe Tony cashed in the Mobile event. He was also knocked out of the ring game. I don't know if he booked any winners in side action or not. He never seemed to hit high gear in Alabama, but I have nothing to compare it to.

Mobile was a grueling event: 128 players on 8 bar boxes. Top prize 4K, first calcutta 5K, second calcutta 2K. They played around the clock, with some unlucky players getting 5 A.M. match times. I left yesterday (Sun.) at 7:30, and they hadn't yet reached the final eight. Most of the marquee names were eliminated. Hopefully Vagabond will fill us in.

Ronnie Allen walked up to me at one point and said, "These bar box events are stupid. I'll beat you 9 to 1, then you'll beat ME 9 to 1!" He's right...

Doc
That last quote got me, same old Ronnie. Last thing he said to me was he ain't never coming back to California, biggest nit gamblers in the world, this was as he walked out stiffing someone out of 500. It appears it aint much better in alabama.
 

SactownTom

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JAM said:
I haven't had seen "Omar" and Tony in their home court of California, but I have seen them many times on the tournament trail and on the road.
Jenny,

Tony will be there at the US Open in September, but I doubt Amar will. Both play out of HardTimes in Sacramento. I see them often, usually (but not always) I am handing them 1st or 2nd place tourney winnings or holding the poke for a match.

Amar took 1st yesterday in the Monthly 9 Ball event. Chris MacDonald took second. Amar came from the One Loss side and it went to hill-hill in the first set and then Amar took the second set rather easily.

Sadly, Sacramento is taking the same type of hits as is the rest of the west coast are, on the action. Not much to report. Only small change happenings.

Way too many casinos and card rooms that offer bigger chances to win and lose. Lots of pool players are spending their time at the card tables around here.

I look forward to seeing you in VA. next month.
 

suki

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Thats an understatement

Thats an understatement

Your right about the cards. Amar played in the Pechauer, got knocked out and only wanted to play cards. So sure enough the only action was at the card table. No action tonight either after the Monday tourney, but there is a card game. It is going nuts.
There was some action however at Calif. Billiard last night. About 5 decent games that I heard of.
 

jmorton

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70niner said:
This youngster was destined for greatness. I remember being down at Hardtimes in Bellflower and Bryce and Amar were there looking for action, Fat Kenny challenged Bryce to the proposition game where you break open a one pocket rack and then see how many balls you can run before you miss. You have 5 chances to break and run as many balls as you can. Most people can run 9-12 balls. It gets real tough when the pockets are triple shimmed. Well Bryce agreed to the challenge for $100 that he could run 22. That got everyones attention, because the last guy to do that was Cecil Tugwell. It was late at night and by the 5th rack there was another $500-600 on the side. Bryce had 16 going into the last rack and when he broke he brought the cue all the way back up table and left himself frozen to the head rail with nothing but a straight in 8 foot combination shot or he was done. All his buddies, Amar, Brian Wilde, Tony Chohan and Jeff Gregory were betting on him and not liking it at this point. Well Bryce then jacked up and speared the combo in and ran another 6 balls from there to win us all the cash. That had to be the greatest pressure shot I had seen in awhile. He just jumped right out of the car just 20 minutes earlier so he had been driving for 3 hours. Not so easy to do. What ever happened to the kid?

I heard it might have been love, too.

And I heard that he may have lost his front teeth over it.

Love can be fickle. :(

JM
________
PROBLEMS WITH PRILOSEC
 
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gulfportdoc

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I talked with Tony C. a few months ago. Evidently he and Bryce had a falling out. Probably over dough. I believe he said Bryce had quit pool to play cards, but don't quote me on that.

Doc
 
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