Half-Million-to-One

Willie Hoppe figures the odds. On a three-cushion billiard shot, he gives himself a 50-50 chance. Last week in Boston's City Club, Willie made a 500,000-to-1 shot.

The onetime "boy wonder" clicked off 17 straight shots to tie the world's record for championship competition. Then he stretched the record to 20. After two legs of a thirteen-leg, city-by-city title tour, 57-year-old ex-Champ Willie had a slim 16-point lead over Champ Welker Cochran. He figures that the new confidence he has acquired from his record run is just the edge in odds he needs over his younger competitor.

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