Eighty miles from Albuquerque, and the 3 a. Shapes jumble together in the parking lot: Cadillacs, pickup trucks, even a police cruiser, all squatting near a faded frame building whose rusty sign urges consumption of a local beer. A visitor knocks on the front door, mumbles a greeting and is ushered inside and down a long hallway. Another door opens, and for an instant the heart quickens and pupils contract at the sudden glare, the smell of money and the hint of violence.

Michaela Tabb born 11 December , in Bath, Somerset , England is a Scottish professional referee in the sports of snooker and pool. After she began refereeing professionally on the pool circuit in , Tabb established significant milestones for women officials in professional cue sports. After qualifying in to referee on the World Snooker Tour , she went on to become the sport's highest profile female referee, officiating on tour for 14 years. She became the first woman to officiate at a professional ranking snooker tournament at the Welsh Open and then five years later the first woman to referee a ranking tournament final at the Welsh Open. As of , she is the only woman ever to referee the World Snooker Championship final, doing so in both and

A trick shot also trickshot or trick-shot is a shot played on a billiards table most often a pool table, though snooker tables are also used , which seems unlikely or impossible or requires significant skill. Trick shots frequently involve the balls organized in ways that are unlikely or impossible to appear in normal play, such as balls being in a straight line, or use props such as extra cues or a triangle that would not be allowed on the table during a game. As an organized cue sports discipline, trick shot competition is known as artistic pool.