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Police have been searching for a suspect as a pool hustler has been frequenting local bars and convincing patrons that playing pool might be a fun way to spend their time.
One regular at Salty’s Tavern, Joe Curtis, was taken in by the swindler and played nearly three games before realizing pool is a boring waste of time.
“I always see stuff about scam artists on TV and wonder how someone could get tricked so easily, but this guy was really good,” said Curtis. “He even convinced me that there’s complex strategy involved in what’s basically just hitting a ball randomly with a stick. How could I have been so stupid?”
Most witnesses corroborated Curtis’ assessment of the suspect as a “master con man,” many of whom admit to having been convinced to use little boxes of chalk on the tips of their cues—as if they had any idea what that even does.
“I just spent the whole time trying to not hit one specific ball,” said Alan Masters. “And then we spent like three minutes putting the balls in that triangle thing in a very specific order. Why were they in that order? Why are my hands covered with blue chalk? I’m still trying to comprehend everything that just happened.”
Though Curtis said he’ll never get those 40 minutes of his life back, he hopes that by telling his story, he’ll prevent the hustler from being able to pull his scheme over on any more victims.
“Next time you’re in a bar and someone tells you that pool might give you some measure of satisfaction at all, take a second and think twice,” Curtis said. “Don’t make the same mistake I did.”
