APA 8-ball featuring Greg Cordero

As I have mentioned before, I am a member of the Guys & Dolls APA 8-ball and 9-ball pool teams. Since I joined the teams we have won every season (except 1), and qualified to go to Las Vegas for the national competition. But that is because of the team effort.

While I have plenty of videos showing how I play pool, and explaining defensive shots, I am continuing to detail the other players on each on my teams. It is the combination of all our skills that have allowed us to dominate the Central New York region.

Today I will be focusing on Greg Cordero. Long-time readers will recall Greg from the interview I did with him back in 2008, discussing the mortgage and home buying markets. Greg is a real estate broker.

{Yes I know the audio is missing. Youtube pulled the music I had set. I will fix that soon.}



I still love that triple bank shot he does in the video. Greg is a 5 ranked pool player in 8 and 9-ball.

There are plenty of other pool videos, and others, at my youtube channel. Check them out if you have the chance.

Also, please remember to check out the online store World of Vass and my latest online store Alchemy at World of Vass. You might find something you like, and I appreciate the support.

APA challenge - can a rank 4 beat a rank 7 in 9-ball?

From time to time I have discussed the American Poolplayers Association league that I play in. Located in Endicott New York, I play in the 8-ball and 9-ball leagues.

Most notably I have commented on how my 8-ball team qualified and went to the Las Vegas APA National Tournamnet this summer. And I provided a bit of video of not only me but the rest of my team.

But I have not given my 9-ball team (playing out of Guys and Dolls Pool Hall in Endicott) as much attention. Because while I am good, no one player is a team. And while I am captain, and my team is currently leading the fall session, this would not be tryue without a great team.

So I decided to show a bit of video on some of the rest of my team. this one focuses on Gary Hinkley (the man in the video). He is ranked a level 4 - though he may go up a level after this game. he is playing a level 7 player (the woman in the video). This is the last rack of their match.



You can see why Gary is one of the leading players in the league, and a great asset to my team. And yes, Gary did win the match. 18 - 2.

More on the rest of my team soon.

Preview of 8-ball tournament play in Las Vegas

I'm still in Las Vegas for a while more, but I decided to put together a quick little video of the Endicott team (playing for the Guys & Dolls pool hall) arriving at Circus Circus, and playing at the APA National 8-ball Pool Tournament held in the Riviera.

This is a quick video, I will have several more once I have a chance to edit all the videos and pictures I have taken.

This video features several members of the team, including:

Gregg Cordero
Bob 'Panama' Grabow
Gary Hinckley
Gage Majka
Zachary Majka
John Miller
Robert 'Coty' Miller
Michael Vass

Video highlights - Team arriving in a stretch limo, Zach Majka finishing off a game, Panama in a match. (video taken by Claudia Miller in visitor stands)

Live from Las Vegas 2009 APA National Pool Tournament

Hey everyone. Well I arrived in Las Vegas Monday afternoon. A bit of jetlag and tired from the 3 planes we had to take to get here(the plane and room was paid for by the APA). The entire Guys and Dolls team from Edicott NY arrived safe and sound.

We got lucky and did not have to play until 8am today (tuesday). So I went out and played some craps in Circus Circus. So far I have been down, even, and back down a little. Which isn't too bad considering how fast craps can go. Hope to get comped and rated by the time we leave.

Enjoyed a nice buffett at Circus Circus, though the rooms in the manor are pretty poor - though large. I have a room (seperate of what was paid for) in the Sky Tower, which is far nicer.

The weather is great. About 105, dry, and sunny.

As for how things are going in the APA National Pool Tournament of 2009, things are even better. I played in the first match and won my games against a 6. It was a strong showing, 4 - 2, and helped my team win our first 3 games and thus the match. Gary Hinkley and Zach Majka also won their matches in the same manner.

Our next match will be at 6pm. We plan on continuing our winning streak.

I plan to have video of one of the games in my match up once Youtube loads the video. Quality is a bit low, but you can watch the whole game.

I also got to meet Jeanette Lee. I will have a picture of her shortly. She is great. There was a mentally disabled young man that came to have her sign a picture for her. He mentioned that she was his favorite. And Lee decided to do something special. She got one of her personal gloves, (which were not available for sale or signing) and signed it for the young man. Then took a photo with him. It was really swwet and everyone there cheered afterwards. She is really sweet, was talking to her fans and being very generous to us all.

Obviously I'm having a great time. I expect to speak with a few players, and have interviews for you soon. Most of it all will be after I get back.

Look for the video later. Need to eat and then go to my next match.

Interview with Zachary Majka about the Dick's Open Pro-Am Tournament

Recently a friend of mine, Zachary Majka (part of my APA 8-ball team and going to the Las Vegas Nationals with me), was able to have an experience that many golfers only dream of having. He was able to play in a Pro/Am golf tournament. This Pro-Am was the Dick’s Open Tournament at En-Joie Golf Course in Endicott, NY on June 25, 2009. I was able to get him to share a few questions about the experience.

Michael Vass: Tell us a little about you.

Zarchary Majka: I am 25 years old, married for 10 months now with a new house and 2 dogs. I have been golfing for about 8 years now and I love the game. I play in a league on Monday nights and also try to get out for another round during the week if time permits. I really can't play enough. I have one saying that sums it up



"Born to golf forced to work, so many courses so little time."



Michael Vass: How did you get to enter the Dick's Pro-Am Tournament?

Zarchary Majka: My employer was a sponsor in the Dick's Open Tournament and because of that they had an appreciation tournament for all sponsors. At that tournament they have a dinner and they randomly pick 8 players to play in the Pro-Am. I was the 8th player picked!!!!

Michael Vass: What handicap are you?

Zarchary Majka: My handicap was 17 for the Pro-Am

Michael Vass: How many days were you able to play?

Zarchary Majka: I played 1 of the days. Thursday June 25th 8am

Michael Vass: Who were you playing with?

Zarchary Majka: The Champions Tour Pro that I played with was Lonnie Nielsen

Michael Vass: How was the course?

Zarchary Majka: The course was in impeccable shape, thick rough, fast greens and lush fairways.

Michael Vass: Any difference from playing the course when the Pro's aren't there?

Zarchary Majka: I have played the course a few times when it wasn't prepared for the Open and yes, I most definitely see a difference in the grooming.

Michael Vass: What was it like to play with the pro?

Zarchary Majka: At first I was very nervous and scared that I would play bad. But playing with a pro was amazing. Lonnie made me feel at ease and gave helping advice when needed.

Michael Vass: Did you learn any tips, what kind of person was he, how was the caddy, ect.

Zarchary Majka: I was hitting the ball to the left often (slicing) and I asked him why am I doing that? He explained why and gave me a tip on how to hit the ball more straight on a consistent basis.

He said that I needed to bring my hips through before I make contact with the ball, and I am happy to say that he was right. It works because I did it at my golf league on Monday night.

Lonnie's caddy, Gipsy, was a funny short big bellied Italian who loved to talk and was very helpful with his reading of the greens and giving the distances of shots from the fairways, sand and/or woods occasionally.

Michael Vass: How did you score?

Zarchary Majka: In the Pro-Am our team shot 13 under and was tied for 9th place.



Michael Vass: What is it like for a normal person to have a crowd around you?

Zarchary Majka: It was very different that just playing in league or going out with your friends. It gave me a new appreciation for the pros on what they mentally have to deal with, and deal with it they do!!

Michael Vass: How did your pro ultimately do?

Zarchary Majka: Well its funny you ask because he went on to not only win the 2009 Dick's Sporting Goods Open but he did it with the lowest 3 round score on the Champions Tour (this year or in history not sure). He shot a 21 under.

[For the record it was a 195 3-day total for the win, beating Fred Funk by 3. The record was for the 3 year Pro-Am at En-Joie. In addition Neilsen’s 63 was the lowest final round score for a winner on the Champion’s Tour this year.]

Michael Vass: Anything else you would like to share with us regular duffers about the experience?

Zarchary Majka: It was just amazing and something that will be with me forever, an experience of a lifetime!!

Going to Las Vegas for the APA National 8-ball competition

Written by Black Entertainment USA

So some of my readers may be wondering where I was over the weekend. The source of my silence was linked to my American Poolplayer's Association pool league. As I have mentioned in the past, I play in the Central New York APA. My team in 8-ball and 9-ball represent the Guys & Dolls pool hall in Endicott NY.

Since my team has been formed, we have won the 2007, 2008, and 2009 season playoffs, which gave us the opportunity to play in the regional matches against all the season winners from the leagues in Binghamton, Ithaca, and the other surrounding areas for Central New York. The winner of this Championship Playoff gets a trip to Las Vegas to play in the National APA Pool Tournament. That takes place in August, and has some several hundred teams from across the nation competing for cash and pride.

Sadly, while my teams have always made the regional competition and gone to the final match, we had not won. Which is a tough feeling, as we have become odds on favorites to win every time we arrive. There is nothing like having to battle through multiple teams and hours of matches, to arrive at the key game and then not get to move forward.

That completely changed this year, as the Pandemic team out of Guys & Dolls for 8-ball won the Championship and will be going to Las Vegas this year, along with Dysfunctional Fighters who also qualified. I must admit that there was a good chance for the team to spend 10 days in Las Vegas and play both the 9-ball and 8-ball Nationals. But the week prior we had again played thru the pack right up to the final and missed the critical win.

Still I have no complaints. It was a long weekend, with massive competition. There were several very good teams, each with multiple great players, that we had to defeat. I commend every one of them. This was no cake walk, and any one of the teams could have gone to Vegas and represented our area with pride.

How well did our team do? Well we had one player moved up a rank before the final match. 3 out of 8 of team were at 67% in the competition, with another 3 that went 100%. So that gave the entire team an 83.5% win percentage over the competition.

So for a little heads up to our competition in Las Vegas, I give you the members of my team. [Yes we all look tired, it was a long weekend.]

Team Captian - Gregg Cordero




"Panama" Grabow




Gary Hinkley




Gauge Majka




Zachary Majka




John Miller




Robert Miller




Michael Vass


Oh, I am working on the video as we speak. It’s a lot to edit, and may wind up being several videos. But give me a little time for that.

Again I salute all the other teams we played. They gave it their all and we had a great time playing them all. I am sure that in next year’s competition we will see them all again.

Celebrating my birthday with a re-launch of clothes

Yes, as of 2:41am I broke the barrier on 41. I think I look decent for my age. Plus I wanted to talk about something different than the recent tragedy that stuck Binghamton.

So I want to celebrate my birthday with the re-launch of my online store - World of Vass - and the recent photo shoot at Guys and Dolls pool hall in Endicott, NY. For those that have not taken a look at the 19 different clothing lines and over 1500 designer products offered at the online store, now is a good time to look it all over.

What you will see are designer clothes with something for everyone. In particular if you look over my models section, or go to any of the clothing sections of this site, you will see how good the t-shirts, sweatshirts, and other items look on real people.

Here is a sample of some of the models and clothes:

Christina Blank


Dorian Whitehead


Dylan Miller


Juliana Coates


Shawn Kennedy - the male calender model of M V Consulting, Inc.


Tiffany Murphy


These are just a few of the fun, sexy, political, intelligent, flirtatious and uniques clothes that we offer. And yes I too am a model of my clothing - as well as owning several shirts for my own use.



So I ask you my readers, to take a moment and visit World of Vass and or my catalogue. Let me know what you think of the clothing lines, my models, or just wish me a happy birthday. And if something catches your eye, I won't be offended if you buy it.

Also I want to mention that the photographer was Todd Messinger of Talent House Advertising. I think he did a great job. And I want to thank Guys and Dolls poolhall in Endicott, NY for allowing me to use their location.

Model photo shoot - March 28th

I just wanted to take a moment to thank the models and photographer that came to the March 28th photo shoot on location at Guys and Dolls Pool Hall in Endicott NY.

The shoot was great. We got a lot of photos, in virtually all of the 19 different clothing lines found at World of Vass (the online store). The models looked great, and we had fun. Which is always the best of both worlds.

The models include:

• Christine Blank
  
• Juliana Coates
  
• Shawn Kennedy
  
• Dylan Miller
  
• Robert Miller
  
• Tiffany Murphy
  
• Dorian Whitehead
  

and photographer Todd Messinger of Talent House Advertising

The youtube video introducing some of the models will be out shortly.

We took a huge number of photos, which I am going through right now. I will be redesigning the catalogue page, and creating a page dedicated to the models that have worked for M V Consulting, Inc. So fans and those interesting in our models and photographers will have a way to check them out.

I am already planning my next photo shoot. I have several choices of models in mind already, but as always I love to hear back from my readers. I am also always interested to hear from models that would like to become part of our photo shoots.

And for those wondering who designed the graphic arts for the t-shirts and other designer clothes and goods, they are - Mark Lewkowicz in Florida and Heidi Baker in Pennsylvania.

Give me about a week, and I expect to have all the photos and designs up.

The Erasing of Black History

This post was written by C. Miller a contributing author to this blog.


I find myself at the end of Black History Month looking around to see what has been put out there for our young people to see of blacks in the U.S. To my disappointment not much different was done. All the same things as last year and the year before etc.

We see all the familiar faces of Black History such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X. This is just to skim the top. No one seemed to be interested in the fact that we are living in a moment in time where history is being made. Across the world many people of black decent are coming into positions of power. In the U.S. alone we have Barrack Obama fighting to become the Presidential nominee. We have Condoleezza Rice a woman of color occupying a high level government office and of course Colin Powell, who can forget this great man.

The winds of change are in the air to say the least. To my surprise some change happened in the high school my son attends. February 2007 I found that in Union Endicott High School of Endicott, NY that Black History Month has been erased from the curriculum and no one batted an eye. No one thought to fight for Black History to be kept on the school curriculum. No teachers protested this change and on one made a peep as it was silently removed. At this school Black History went into the night without so much as a whisper. Up until this point no one noticed that it was put to death.

My son, being of mixed African American decent, was unaware of the impact of this particular event. I had to explain to him what it meant to have Black History removed from school. I then stood to explain to my son the richness of his family history. Here is how I laid it out for him; from myself (age 40), to my mother (age 59), to her father (age 79), to his now deceased father who at the time of his death in 1998 was 104 years old. At this point I explained that his great great grand father was a sharecropper in Hawkins Ville Georgia on the same land his parents and grand parents were slaves on. This is a line in history that his school has now negated. Virtually saying to my son, “your history is unimportant and not worthy of the paper on which it would be written.”

He found this to be an unbelievable thing; he said it felt like he was being robbed. That the school had studies on the Holocaust and all kinds of other studies of people. So when did the history of blacks in the US become any less important. This is a question he will be asking his counselor at school to see what the answer will be. I told him not to be surprised if his counselor sweeps it under the carpet in the hopes that it just goes away and that my son forgets about it.

How can the American school system sweep away so many tragic moments in its history along with all the wonderful things that black invented and not even bat an eye? What repercussions will follow in the wake of this action being taken by a public school? Who was it that okayed such a thing being done in the school system? And why were no red flags raised among the teachers and faculty of the school over this?

As a result of asking my son at the beginning of the month what his project for Black History Month was going to be is how this conversation came about. I was excited to help him with whatever the project was going to be, but instead I find that the school has completely removed Black History from the roster.

Attending a Jeff Johnson talk at Ithaca College of NY, I had more questions to ask. I just happened to mention to Mr. Johnson what I thought was something that could happen in schools, the erasing of Black History. Only to come home and talk to my son the next day and hear from him that such a thing had taken place, right under the noses of everyone. It was slipped in nice and quiet so as not to cause a ripple.

Have parents become so complacent as to not notice when huge swaths of American History are being taken away? I have to say on some level yes, because it happened in Endicott, NY. I have to say yes because I was one of those parents. I have to say yes because I have not heard nor have I read of anyone responding to this on any level. The scary thing is that with this coming to light we are now sending our children of color out as sheep among wolves. Their futures hang in the balance and with the rippling effect of what has happened in Endicott NY. For something like this to take hold even on a small level, what can be expected for their futures?

What if they took away Black History Month? - 2.29.2008.1

What if Black History Month was removed? Would anyone have noticed? Would anyone complain?

It seems not.

Why would I say this? Because I just learned that the school system in Endicott New York has removed all Black studies in the curriculum. There was nothing discussed in this past month about Black History, not even Dr. Martin Luther King, because the entire subject was deemed unimportant.

Hello, stop and read that again. Unimportant and having no place in the minds of any of the children, including those that are African American. And this was all done without a single word to the parents, a single complaint from ANY of the students. It was just wiped out without a concern as if it was no more than a piece of errant string found on a piece of clothing.

Why am I upset? What if the school decided not to discuss the Holocaust, or Native American history? What if all the history about England was removed, or France, or Ancient Rome? What if history in schools forgot about President George Washington, just not ever mentioning what he did, or the Constitution?

People would be up in arms. Parents would be inflamed. Jewish communities would claim its anti-Semitic, Native American Indians would say it’s a slap in the face. Whole communities would demand a reason why their rich pasts were being denied their children. Cries that the fundamental based of what is America was being corrupted.

And I ask, in what way is this different? How are the lives and blood of the African Americans that helped build and shape this nation any less important than anyone else? I am not just talking about the Slaves that literally built the foundations of the nation, but the inventors that created thousands of items we use every day, like the stoplight, or save millions of lives, like blood transfusions. How can we value the lives of soldiers like the Tuskegee Airmen, or those that fought in the Civil War, or the American Revolution with any less honor than every other American.

I don’t know how we can equate those lives and contributions as less, but obviously this town in Upstate New York has. I’m willing to bet that they aren’t the only ones. What are the odds that kids in Montana, or Florida, or Ohio, or any other State have no idea about these inventions or people? How many believe that being a slave, less than a dog or piece of furniture, was no different than having trouble getting a job? I know there are more than a few as I’ve read comments that insist that the trouble the Irish had in getting a job was the same as working 20 hours a day for your entire life, with no days off or concern for your health, without pay, and with the reality that at any moment your entire family may be sold away from you and that you can be killed for no more than amusement or the crime of looking at the wrong person.

If we can allow these schools to just toss away a piece of American History, a history of an essential people that helped found and defend this nation, what will go next? Dr. Martin Luther King’s Holiday? A holiday that over half the nation fought from coming into existence, and many still ignore? Maybe the laws dealing with segregation could be next. And if we get that far, why not restate Jim Crow? Hell, just bring slavery back and make it national.

It’s not that crazy. Slavery was just 5 lifetimes ago for some families. Jim Crow was just 2 or 3. Segregation was just 1. And a people without a history aren’t really a people are they?

And this was so important an issue, that not one child mentioned it. Not one parent noticed. Not one meeting was held. It was just understood that it was ok. As long as no one spoke about it, and no one asked why.

So as long as no one asks you if you are Black, or Hispanic, or whatever color, religion, or background you claim, you are nothing. And you can’t hurt nothing. You can’t defend, offend, steal from, brutalize, rape, murder or anything to nothing. And in Upstate New York, that’s what they are equating being African American with. Perhaps the Jews will be next?

Are you nothing? Is your history, your family nothing? Are you sure?

“Don’t learn Black History because of what you know, learn it because of what you don’t know” – C. Miller

I don’t have children. I’m not a teacher or involved in the school system. Maybe that’s a cop out, maybe not. But I am now aware, and so are you. Part of my responsibility is to let you know, and ask for your comments. What will you do?

Contest winner talks about Instinct - 11.13.2007.1

The following is an email I received from one of the winners of the Dinner at the Instinct Restaurant contest. I have not altered this email in any manner, and present it to you verbatim.

I am happy to hear from my contest winners and glad to know when they enjoy the prizes I have provided.

Keep an eye out for my next contest which will award a prize before the end of the holiday season.

Michael Vass – President of M V Consulting, Inc.


I won a certificate to have dinner for two at Instincts in Endicott. I must say this the dinner was superb. We had an appetizer of Fried Calamari to start off with.....Then ordered our dinners I had Crusted Baked Salmon with snow peas and oven potatoes......my fiancé had Jamaican Pork Chops with snow peas and oven potatoes............they were both superb dishes. We had tried each others the Jamaican Pork Chops had a raspberry sauce and it was like when you took a bite it had all the favors come together but not over power each other.........very well blending together. For dessert we ordered Banana Fosters now that was a exploding treat. When you bite into a Banana Fosters it explodes in your mouth its warm, the flavors of inside blend so well with the whipped cream, and chocolate and other sauce believe its caramel that is drizzled on the edges of your plate that you rub your Banana Foster into before you bite into it if you wish..........the whole meal was beyond my expectations. The meal was like a meal from a five star restaurant. I would recommend if you want a superb meal go to Instincts..........We will be going again and soon. We drove a little over two hours away to go I am so glad we went..........Thanks very much Sophia

Dinner give away contest - 9.20.2007.2

In celebration of the 500th post on Black Entertainment USA (http://www.blackentertainmentblog.com), owned by parent company M V Consulting, Inc., a give-away contest has been created in association with the Instinct restaurant and nightclub.

Announced today by M V Consulting, Inc. president Michael Vass, the give-away contest will be open to all visitors of the blogs and websites owned by the Company. Mr. Vass stated,

"I wanted to give something back to all the repeat visitors that have helped the company and all the blogs grow. Without their attention, comments, and word of mouth there would never have been 500 posts seen in over 62 countries each month. That is impressive growth and repeat visits. It just seems to justify what I believe, that giving back to this community is the right thing to do."

The terms of the contest are as follows:

1. The contest will be providing gift certificates for a full meal, with a bottle of wine for those age 21 and older, for 2 at the Instinct Restaurant located in Endicott, NY valued at $75 each certificate.
2. For those that are not in the Greater Binghamton area, or not planning to be in this area to claim their prize, a donation can be made by M V Consulting, Inc. to the organization of the winner's choice (as allowed by the United States law) for an amount equal to the original prize.
3. Contestants need to send an email to Contest@vassconsult.com with the headline or body containing the words "I'm Hungry"

4. Contestants must be 18 years of age to be eligible, no purchase is necessary. Winners must be 21 or older to have any alcohol products.
5. Contest will run from September 24, 2007 to October 14, 2007 at 11:59pm.
6. All emails received must be valid email addresses.
7. Upon notification winners must provide an address where gift certificates can be received. Only 1 address per family is valid for this contest.
8. Winners of contest agree to allow the use of their first name, last name initial and state for promotional purposes by M V Consulting, Inc. and any of its websites.

President Vass went on to say,

"My thanks to all the visitors to all the sites of M V Consulting, Inc. (http://www.mvass.com, http://www.vassconsult.com, http://www.cafepress.com/nova68) including Black Entertainment USA. Good luck to all who participate."

**Review of Instinct restaurant**