Joss pool cues, a labor of love

Robert Hamilton 6 Comments Maryland, The Baltimore Sun billiard, Color of Money, Dan Janes, Debbie Janes, Joss Cues, Minnesota Fats, Nicole Kidman, Paul Neuman, pool, Stephen Janes, Tom Cruise, towson

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Why would a man with the last name of Janes, call the pool cue company that he helped found, Joss Cues?

The name, Joss, came from the 1966 book “Tai-Pan,” by James Clavell that Dan Janes read while starting the company in a two-car garage with a partner in 1968. “In the book, ‘joss’ is a Chinese word that means good and bad fortune…happiness and unhappiness,” says Dan. “It’s a good overall word saying you are in charge, you are in control of your joss. And it seemed like a good name for a cue.”

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