American Cue Sports’ 25th annual Illinois state tournament at Oakley-Lindsay Center expected to inject $1 million into local economy

QUINCY — Once hooked, it’s likely to be a lifetime companionship. After all, there’s no love quite like that first love — especially if it happens to be billiards.

“I have been drawn to the game and have been playing since a young age,” Elaine Taylor said. Taylor is one of about 700 participants who are in town for the American Cue Sports 25th annual Illinois state tournament, a five-day event taking place through Sunday at the Oakley-Lindsay Center. 

“I was 4-years-old when I started, and have been playing for years,” said the 52-year-old Taylor, whose husband, Don Taylor, is president of the American Cue Sports organization.

Cecil Messer, 72, is a longtime player and also one of the organizers of the event, having been involved with the tournament since its inception.

“It’s a non-gender thing, it’s a level playing field for (men and women),” Messer said. “Unlike basketball, it’s equal opportunity, like no other sport. It’s a game for everyone, and you don’t have to be great to enjoy it.”

Holly Cain, the executive director of the Quincy Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, is ecstatic the eAmerican Cue Sports’ 25th annual Illinois state tournament at Oakley-Lindsay Center expected to inject $1 million into local economy

“This will bring $1 million into the local economy,” Cain said. “This will have a major economic impact for the hotels and downtown corridor.”

Cain’s $1 million figure was arrived at by a formula the Quincy Area Convention and Visitors Bureau uses, involving attendance and primarily hotel/motel fees and projected revenues for local eateries.

“Quincy is a great venue,” said Taylor, surveying the spacious OLC that is housing 90 billiards tables for tournament play.

Traditionally, this time of the year is a slow period when it comes to local tourism, according to Cain.

“I hope they will be coming back,” Cain said. “I think we definitely have some selling points for them.”

Cain said the Quincy Area Convention and Visitors Bureau has been working with tournament organizers since late last summer. Messer said Quincy was selected from an original field of 15 cities seeking to host the the American Cue Sports event.

“We’re very happy to be here,” Messer said. “(Quincy) is a hidden gem, and is a good fit for us.”

There are competitors and visitors in town from at least five states — Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Missouri. Messer said age ranges for those participating are as young as 10 and as old as 89. One of the out-of-staters is Bob Ball, 71, of Hobart, Ind.

“This game is my ultimate relaxation,” said Ball, an engineer by trade who also assists organizers as a referee.

Ball said his attraction to the sport came in part through his engineering background. He enjoys “the physics and degrees of collision” involving the billiard balls. He was hooked for life as a teen-ager. Ball admitted he drifted away from the sport in his late 20s, but returned years later as both a player and official.

Ball wound up attending a school for billiards officiating and worked his way up the ladder to helping oversee events such as this weekend’s meet at the OLC.

“It takes time,” Ball said, referring to both learning the game and becoming a competent tournament official. The American Cue Sports event schedule includes more than 30 men’s, women’s and mixed events.

Competition resumes at noon Thursday and 3 p.m. Friday. Saturday’s starting times have not yet been determined. Sunday’s abbreviated schedule will begin at 9 a.m.