CHRIS NITTI
2012 ICCS SPECIAL COLLECTION CUE
"THE ROULETTE CUE"
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This may be the best - and perhaps the most creative - cue ever made by Chris Nitti. It was his entry into the 2012 ICCS Special Collection at Las Vegas. The year's theme was "Gambler Cues", and from the look of this cue, when Chris thinks of gambling, he thinks of Roulette.
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| As you can see, the design of this cue is outstanding, and the work is incredible, especially considering that Chris does all of his inlay work by pantograph. One can only imagine the countless number of hours of work that went into this incredible work of art.
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He begins with a beautiful piece of amboyna burl of which the entire cue is constructed. Then, his idea was to recreate as much of a roulette wheel as he could on a cue. He accomplished this by wrapping the entire array of numbers from a wheel in a spiral fashion over the entire length of the cue. He manages to do this by including inlays of ebony, ivory wood, malachite and ivory.
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Each segment - or number - is meticulously separated by a thin bar of silver. The level of skill and the amount of effort to create this cue is unbelievable.
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To add to the intricate detail of this cue, he designed a ring pattern made up of small, delicately inlaid $100 black and white poker chips. He repeats the pattern thoughout the cue, including in the shaft ring collars and in the beautiful amboyna burl joint protectors.
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| The burl in this cue is beautiful - it's highly figured and was the perfect wood from which to begin this cue. As you can see in the adjoining picture, and others, he wasn't stingy with his use of expensive materials. The joint and the butt cap are both ivory.
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To add another flourish to this creation, he machined a special "display" joint protector as a replica of the spindle on a real roulette wheel. On top of that he placed a small ivory ball, just as they place it at the roulette table when the wheel's not spinning.
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Since the "display" joint protector isn't practical for everyday use, he also made a very elaborate set of matching amboyna burl joint protectors, all highlighted with the poker chip ringwork.
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As usual, Chris built this cue using a radial pin with a flat-faced joint - in this case, ivory. It comes with two 13mm shafts with ivory ferrules, and weighs just over 19 ounces. In order to get the necessary dimensions in the cue to make the math for the roulette wheel numbers work out, he made the cue about 3/4 of an inch longer than his standard cues. He added Kamui tips for ultimate playability. One of the best things about this cue is that it hits like other Nitti cues - great!
This cue could be used as a player, or put away as a collector's piece. Either way, it's a great investment. This is a one-of-a-kind work of art, and a great cue.
PRICE: $7200 plus shipping
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