Robins Airman pockets win at Las Vegas pool championship Published July 1, 2010 By Wayne Crenshaw 78th ABW/PA ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Two years ago, Senior Airman Davis Lastrapes and his wife went shopping for a dining room table, but instead they came home with a pool table. Lastrapes had played pool exactly once in his life, when he was a child, but they didn't find a dining table they liked. He came across what seemed like a good deal on a pool table, and bought it instead. It was a classic impulse buy of an unnecessary item and enough to make any money-management counselor cringe, but it paid off for Lastrapes. In May he won his skill division at the American Poolplayers Association National Championship in Las Vegas. The win netted him $12,000 in cash and another $3,000 in prizes, including a $1,700 ring, a $300 pool stick and a $200 breaking stick. He won the tournament with a $60 stick. It was his first major tournament win, but he isn't planning on it being his last. "It could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but hopefully I will be able to go again," he said. "It's unexplainable. It really hasn't set in yet." He has put his prize money in a savings account, and if he spends it on anything, he said it will be for a better pool table. The only time he played pool until two years ago when was one day when he visited his uncle's house as a child. He still remembers his uncle's wall lined with trophies. "I always liked the game but the tables are always in such odd places," he said. "The only place you really find them is in bars. I'm not the type of person to go to bars so I just never really got into it." He joined APA after buying his pool table, and soon started competing in tournaments and doing well. He won a regional tournament to qualify for the national championships. He formerly served in the Army and joined the Air Force Reserve as an active-duty member a year ago, and has been stationed at Robins since. He works as an aircraft loader in the 94th Aeroport Squadron. He often plays pool with friends at the Heritage Club. Lastrapes said he has "a whole lot of room for improvement" and hopes to go further as a player. Although it was his first time in the national championships, he went to Las Vegas with confidence. "I really thought I could win," he said. "I just went up there with a military attack mentality."