As part of their 40th anniversary this season, VNEA has been sharing emails with subscribers chronicling their history, starting with the 1980s in January and 1990s this month. They’ll continue with the 2000s in March and 2010s in April, leading up to their May 21-30 World Pool Championships at Bally’s Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
What were the ’90s like for the billiards giant? Pretty good! VNEA shared ads for their first annual National Junior Championships, held May 10-12, 1991, in Rochester, Minn. Then the 11th annual “International Championships” were held that year from May 25-June 1 at the now-demolished Riviera Hotel & Casino.
Other events highlighted from the ’90s: The American Amusement Machine Charitable Foundation’s board of directors honored Valley president and VNEA founder Chuck Milhem during the ACME convention on March 15, 1992; comedian/magician John Szeles, known as The Amazing Johnathan, performed at the 12th annual VNEA International Championships Awards Banquet on May 30, 1992; and the first five members of the VNEA Hall of Fame were inducted in 1994. They were Larry Martin of Gapter Amusement, Tony Liburdi of Town & Country Amusement, Dick Spitzer of Rushmore Amusement, Jack Dunbar of Derrick Music and Janene Hague of Dahlco Music.
Send a note to info@vnea.com to get on the email list or visit www.vnea.com to learn more about the organization’s history and current offerings.
