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Stefano Pelinga (born May 1964)〔 is an Italian professional pool (pocket billiards) player from Rome.〔〔 He is best known as a multi-year international artistic pool champion, as both an individual and team captain. He has also served as an officer for the ''Polizia di Stato'' (Italy's national police) for 27 years,〔 retiring from police work in 2011, then moving to Las Vegas, Nevada to play pool full-time.〔〔 Pelinga has served as a board member of the International Artistic Poolplayers Association (IAPA).〔 He was the featured player on the cover of the May 2010 issue of ''Billiards Digest'' magazine, which named him one of the world's best trick shot artists.〔 He has been nicknamed "Mr. Trick Shots" and "''Il Maestro''" ("The Master").〔〔 Aside from competition, Pelinga performs exhibitions, organizes competitions and raises funds for a variety of charitable organizations with his personal appearances.〔 He was invited to tour in the USA with Paul Gerni, Norway's Lars Riiber, and Japan's Yoshikazu Kimura, and nominated by Paul Gerni for a spot on ESPN's Trick Shot Magic, where he has been featured for over ten years. He won two Trick Shot Magic events, in 2005 and 2007, after a few second places. In addition to having won several international titles, Pelinga has also produced a series of instructional videos, and he was appointed on January 31, 2000, as official instructor of cue sports by the Italian Federation of Billiard Sports (FIBiS) and the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI).〔 He was also awarded the honorary title of Professor of Sport Games by the University of Kharkov (Ukraine).〔 Pelinga has a large repertoire of trick shots and is able to execute over 1,000 unique and "fancy" shots. He is recognized as one of the greatest trick shot champions in the history of the sport,〔 and has earned a spot in ESPN's ''Trick Shot Magic'' Hall of Fame. In 2012, Pelinga was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.〔〔 Pelinga is represented by (and in turn represents, as co-founder and Western & International Executive Manager) the booking agent Billiards Superstars Promotions, who also represent Paul Gerni, Allison Fisher, Mike Massey, Ewa Laurance and other top pool pros.〔 ==Early life== Pelinga began to play pool at age 12, drawing inspiration from his favorite singer and actor, Dean Martin, whom he emulates in various parts of his life. He has also stated and exhibited his Dean Martin memorabilia collection, which includes "every applicable book and record album, plus publicity photos, newspaper and magazine clippings, novelty statuettes, comic books, and even a copy of Dino’s death certificate."〔 He also cites Paul Gerni, Mike Massey and Yoshikazu Kimura as influences.〔 While he was a teenager, he "became a black belt in Kung Fu and then...switched to boxing...for several years."〔 During his years in university, he focused his studies on foreign languages, specifically English.〔 Pelinga began serving as a police officer in the beginning of 1985. He became a member of the Polizia di Stato (Italian Federal Police) for the Calabria region after six months of police training. A part of the ''Reparto volanti'' group, he continued to serve even while pursuing his billiards career until 2011, when he retired from police work with pension.〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Stefano Pelinga」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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