As a youngster, Robert “Cotton” LeBlanc was introduced to the sport of billiards at a local bowling alley that owned one pool table in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. He was just 12 years old. A quick learner, he became skilled at the game and mastered it under the guidance of top billiards professionals in the state. After finishing school, he began traveling the billiards circuit across the country. During that time he learned new strategies and techniques from accomplished players like Buddy “The Rifleman” Hall, Wade “Boom-Boom” Crane, and Ronnie Allen. He soon earned the recognition and respect of the top pool players in the country by winning local, regional and statewide competitions. Some of Robert’s professional recognition includes:

AWARDS 

1st Place Awards

Billiard Congress of America, National 8-Ball Championship Open Men’s Mixed Team. 

Undefeated against 4,000 teams 

One Pocket Tournament, South Bay Billiards, South Bay, CA 

National Team Champions, McDermott US Team Open Championship, Las Vegas 

US Scotch Doubles Hueber Cup VIII (partnered with top-ranked Women’s Professional Play, Robin Bell), Laughlin, Nevada 

Miller Lite Regionals, 8-Ball Division, Chicago 

Miller Lite Regionals, 9-Ball Division, Chicago 

Miller Lite World Series of Tavern Pool Regionals, 8-Ball, Chicago 

Miller Lite World Series of Tavern Pool Regionals, 9-Ball, Chicago 

2st Place Awards

Western Division, McDermott US Team Open, Las Vegas 

Andy Mercer Memorial 9-Ball Classic, Las Vegas 

International Award

World One-Pocket Tournament, 5th Place, Reno, Nevada 

FILM AND TV

Lucky Strike Cigarette TV commercial, technical advisor and trick shots for Michael Stone (Actress Sharon Stone’s brother) 

Trick shot exhibition segment for MTV with host Carrie Wuher 

Body double and trick shots in movie, “Hot Shots” for Carey Elwes 

Technical Consultant for the movie, “Pool Hall Junkies” script; movie loosely based on Robert’s life 

TV sitcom, “Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” trick shots 

PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL 

Technical consulting for TV commercials and feature films. Working on sets with directors and actors. 

Technical consulting for pool room start-ups. Clients and career positions with the Hollywood Athletic Club (CA), Events Sports Bar (CA), Rack ‘Em Up (CA), National Sports Grill (American Restaurant Group, CA) 

House Pro, National Sports Grill (6 locations) 

House Pro, Hollywood Athletic Club 

House Pro, Jersey’s Sports Grill 

House Pro, Kelly McCue’s 

As the House Pro, responsibilities included running tournaments, technical consulting, private and group lessons, billiard sales, billiard maintenance, increasing sales.

League Director, National Sports Grill (6 locations) 

League Director, Jersey’s Sports Grill 

League Director, Kelly McCue’s 

League Director, Plush Pocket 

League Director, Yankee Doodles 

As the League Director, responsibilities included organizing leagues, weekly stat reports, organizing banquets, organizing All Star Tournaments and Team Championships, training assistant directors, providing league manuals.

SPECIAL SKILLS AND INSTRUCTION

Billiards instruction for private and group lessons 

Billiard league organization and supervision of more than 50 competitive leagues with more than 500 teams of 2,000 players 

Trick shot exhibition; Challenge matches 

Equipment evaluation/selection for billiards rooms, pros and students 

Private party consultant at large and small venues 

Casual poker fans may not be familiar with the online poker pro known as “Fox”, but Chris Wallace has been making a name for himself in the world of online poker for quite some time. Wallace isn’t simply an online poker player grinding away at the tables –although he does grind with the best of them—the name “Fox” is even better known for his theoretical work, insightful articles, and his terrific results as a poker coach.

Now the poker world will become even more familiar with Chris “Fox” Wallace. For his latest endeavor he has teamed up with Adam Stemple to author the new No Limit Holdem strategy book, No Limits: The Fundamentals of No-Limit Holdem.

At 227 pages, No Limits is broken up into 16 chapters with 3 Appendices and a Glossary, giving you plenty of material to digest. Each chapter also contains multiple sample hands, so you can see each concept in action. Although shorter than other poker primers, there is very little fluff in this book, and you’ll likely need to read the book multiple times, and will pick-up something new on each reading.

Before you even get to the quality of the advice, one thing you will notice immediately is the quality of the book itself. Little expense was spared in the printing process, including full-color depictions of playing cards in the sample hands, something I wish every poker book contained.

About the Author

George S. Howard, Ph. D. is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Notre Dame. He has served as Chairman, Department of Psychology and Director, Laboratory for Social Research at Notre Dame, as well as the Joseph Morahan Director of College Seminar. He served as President, Division of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology and President, Division of Humanistic Psychology of the American Psychological Association. He also was the 1998 winner of Notre Dame's Faculty Award. Author of 14 books and over 190 scientific articles and chapters, his specialties include philosophical psychology, research methodology, narrative psychology and environmental psychology. Elihu D. Feustel, J.D. is a professional gambler. He was an insurance lawyer for 10 years until he began sports-betting full time. He was an odds maker and consultant for Pinnacle Sports in 2004-2006. His primary focus is on winning at sports betting. He still has a minor involvement in law mediating internet gambling disputes. 

All manners of gambling are becoming increasingly popular in our society. Whether a person places a bet on sports or gambles on a stock, he is making a decision on risk. Most people need much more information than they have to make good decisions on either. A majority of the book focuses on sports betting. Four in-depth winning models are demonstrated for MLB, NFL, NCAA Football and WNBA. In addition to methods for handicapping these sports, there are explanations of a variety of approaches to exploit sports market inefficiencies and incorrect assumptions of bookmakers. The approaches to stock betting challenges commonly accepted knowledge. How important is diversification? Are investors in individual stocks just gambling? Is maximizing your portfolio growth worth taking on added volatility? Is sports betting a better investment than stocks for some people? The approaches offered to risk taking, especially sports betting are ground breaking, with more fresh ideas than ever seen in a single coherent publication. 

The authors present a lucid and comprehensive guide for developing a plan to succeed at sports gambling in an increasingly complex marketplace. Whether you're interested in becoming a winner at sports betting or simply fascinated by the role of risk in our society, 'Conquering Risk' is must reading. --Jeff Haney, Sports Columnist