Mailman's 'Rules of the Game' Delivers Success to Clayton Residents

After four years of trying, Robert Poole believes success is just around the corner for his sports trivia creation called"Rules of the Game."He says the road has been bumpy.

For four years, the veteran mail carrier has been been chasing a dream that has consumed his off-hours, and bits and pieces of his on-hours.

His mail customers appreciate the effort. Some of them are even benefitting from it, since the game went public. Investor Ree Lomax says when the stock rose to $1, her profits quadrupled.

Lomax is not alone. Many of Poole's mail customers, and friends back home in Clayton, helped get his dream off the ground.

Poole also has aWeb site, a CD-ROM version of the game, and negotiations are on for a TV game show.

Poole will be the first to tell you it has not been easy, and he is not out of the woods yet.

Family time is often mixed with nighttime game promotions. "It's been really tough on our family for the last four years," he says. He also credits his wife. "She's practically a single parent," he says.

The Pooles often wonder if they should have sold the idea, and left the hard work to a big company.

"But it's been worth it," Dee Poole says. "No one can do this board game the way Robert does. Nobody. It's been a strain but it's been worth it."

One day Poole hopes to park his mail truck for good, but he has learned it will take more than hard work.

"You can have the best product in the world, but you've got to catch a lucky break," he says.

Poole says his game has generated revenues close to a million dollars. All the money goes back into making more games to satisfy the demand.