Straight Shooters

	Photo: Black Boar

In the song The Baron, Johnny Cash sings about a pool game between the baron and Billy Joe in which, down on his luck, Billy Joe bets his mother's wedding ring against the baron's "fancy stick."

In an unexpected and fortunate turn of events, the baron's long-lost wife shows up before the eight ball falls, and Billy Joe realizes that the baron is actually his father -- and inherits his pearl-handled cue.

Countless pool players, even the pros, can only curse Billy Joe's luck as they hand over their prized cues as payment in bets gone bad.

Many of the top pool players are hard gamblers who will wager anything of value when they get desperate, says cuemaker Anthony Sciannella, owner of custom cue outfit Black Boar. "People forfeit their cue and get out of town," jokes Sciannella.

The best cuemakers in the country, like the swordsmiths of ancient times, are hoping you won't have to hock their masterpieces of ingenuity. However, you can be assured they will fetch you a nice price if you do.

Eye Candy

Sciannella only produces eight cues a year for two exclusive clients, at around $20,000 for an eight-point cue. ...