My take on galveston

W

wincardona

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I enjoy posting on anything pool related, and I feel that I have something to contribute. Pool has been a large part of my life, and I am thankfull for the opportunities that it has provided for me. I'm 65 years old and my playing days are well behind me, and as I look back at the years that passed I can honestly say that I don't regret living
the life that I have chosen, in spite of the hard times and economics of the game.


Professional pool players have never been given the respect that they deserve simply because of the ecomomics of the game. If we were given the opportunity to play for large purses like golfers, tennis players, and other sports athletes, we too would be recognized as celebrities, and role models. Oh what a difference a few bucks make, somewhat of an injustice, but thats life.


I was fortunate because I have always had a good understanding about gambling, and just about all my decisions were based on risk against return, sometimes you can take the worst end of a proposition if your return is enough for you to justify it. With that said I would like to talk about the Galveston tournament, and tournaments of that sort.


I have read that there are people that choose not to support this tournament, and those people play our game and post on pool sites. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but to try and discourage other people from supporting something, that if successful, will advance the sport in every way, imo is selfish and short sighted.


I mentioned risk against return, lets put this in the right prospective. ( the way I see it ) First, from the professional pool players prospective. Just about all our playing years we have been playing for small rewards, why can't we have the opportunity to play for something substantial? ( this could be the start of something for them ) Yes I understand that this tournament doesn't have to be a success, but what do we have to lose in comparison to what we could gain. Support this tournament and give us a chance.

The possible prospective from the semi- pro and the amateur player.
Yes I would love to play in a tournament of this magnitude, it will be an experience and an opportunity to possibly play against the best players in our sport. And in addition to that I can use this as a valid excuse to
vacation, cool.

And that's the way I see it as well. So when you look at it from another prospective, I hope that you will support this tournament, and any other tournament that gives our sport a better chance of suceeding.

Thanks, Bill Incardona
 
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Hi Billy, I believe that many pros share you opinion. If everyone can just stick together, not just this tournament, but from the local level up, we might
be able to change the game as we see it now. At least I hope;)
 
Props Billy for a nice thread and some great thoughts that many AZers and pool players should take to heart
 
wincardona said:
I enjoy posting on anything pool related, and I feel that I have something to contribute. Pool has been a large part of my life, and I am thankfull for the opportunities that it has provided for me. I'm 65 years old and my playing days are well behind me, and as I look back at the years that passed I can honestly say that I don't regret living
the life that I have chosen, in spite of the hard times and economics of the game.


Professional pool players have never been given the respect that they deserve simply because of the ecomomics of the game. If we were given the opportunity to play for large purses like golfers, tennis players, and other sports athletes, we too would be recognized as celebrities, and role models. Oh what a difference a few bucks make, somewhat of an injustice, but thats life.


I was fortunate because I have always had a good understanding about gambling, and just about all my decisions were based on risk against return, sometimes you can take the worst end of a proposition if your return is enough for you to justify it. With that said I would like to talk about the Galveston tournament, and tournaments of that sort.


I have read that there are people that choose not to support this tournament, and those people play our game and post on pool sites. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but to try and discourage other people from supporting something, that if successful, will advance the sport in every way, imo is selfish and short sighted.


I mentioned risk against return, lets put this in the right prospective. ( the way I see it ) First, from the professional pool players prospective. Just about all our playing years we have been playing for small rewards, why can't we have the opportunity to play for something substantial? ( this could be the start of something for them ) Yes I understand that this tournament doesn't have to be a success, but what do we have to lose in comparison to what we could gain. Support this tournament and give us a chance.The possible prospective from the semi- pro and the amateur player.


Yes I would love to play in a tournament of this magnitude, it will be an experience and an opportunity to possibly play against the best players
in our sport. And in addition to that I can use this as a valid excuse to
vacation, cool.

And that's the way I see it as well. So when you look at it from another prospective, I hope that you will support this tournament, and any other tournament that gives our sport a better chance of suceeding. :thumbup:

Thanks, Bill Incardona
Click to expand...

A little easier for my old eyes to read now. :smile:
 
I hadn't read much about this tourney or the apparent negativity it must be generating from some camps.

What's the problem? Is it being put on by Dragon Promotions? J/K!

Good post Mr Incardona. I agree whole heartedly in your premise. If someone does not want to give a tourney a roll, there's no need to pee in others' Wheaties. Unfortunately, for reasons we have debated ad naseam, this sport does just that, all too often.

Well respected people in the industry such as yourself, do make a difference and more readily stand out as being special. We just need more like ya!
 
Thank you

I would like to thank you for sharing your insight into this. It is much appreciated. Topics like this need legends such as yourself to way in on things, I believe you give a perspective that most of us dont have.
 
Billy...Nice post! I'd have to disagree that just because you're 65 you "can't play anymore"! LOL You've got plenty of game left, and everybody here knows it! If you're playing in Galveston, I wish you the best of luck. Age and experience often overcome youth and enthusiasm!

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

wincardona said:
I'm 65 years old and my playing days are well behind me, and as I look back at the years that passed I can honestly say that I don't regret living the life that I have chosen, in spite of the hard times and economics of the game.

Thanks, Bill Incardona
Click to expand...
 
wincardona said:
I enjoy posting on anything pool related, and I feel that I have something to contribute. Pool has been a large part of my life, and I am thankfull for the opportunities that it has provided for me. I'm 65 years old and my playing days are well behind me, and as I look back at the years that passed I can honestly say that I don't regret living
the life that I have chosen, in spite of the hard times and economics of the game.


Professional pool players have never been given the respect that they deserve simply because of the ecomomics of the game. If we were given the opportunity to play for large purses like golfers, tennis players, and other sports athletes, we too would be recognized as celebrities, and role models. Oh what a difference a few bucks make, somewhat of an injustice, but thats life.


I was fortunate because I have always had a good understanding about gambling, and just about all my decisions were based on risk against return, sometimes you can take the worst end of a proposition if your return is enough for you to justify it. With that said I would like to talk about the Galveston tournament, and tournaments of that sort.


I have read that there are people that choose not to support this tournament, and those people play our game and post on pool sites. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but to try and discourage other people from supporting something, that if successful, will advance the sport in every way, imo is selfish and short sighted.


I mentioned risk against return, lets put this in the right prospective. ( the way I see it ) First, from the professional pool players prospective. Just about all our playing years we have been playing for small rewards, why can't we have the opportunity to play for something substantial? ( this could be the start of something for them ) Yes I understand that this tournament doesn't have to be a success, but what do we have to lose in comparison to what we could gain. Support this tournament and give us a chance.

The possible prospective from the semi- pro and the amateur player.
Yes I would love to play in a tournament of this magnitude, it will be an experience and an opportunity to possibly play against the best players in our sport. And in addition to that I can use this as a valid excuse to
vacation, cool.

And that's the way I see it as well. So when you look at it from another prospective, I hope that you will support this tournament, and any other tournament that gives our sport a better chance of suceeding.

Thanks, Bill Incardona
Click to expand...


I agree Billy, In very crude terms, $hitting where you eat is never good, and thats whats happening here, knocking anything in pool is bad for pool, and the related economics will for ever be, you have seen it for 50 years, I have seen it for just short of 25 years, I hope Landon dosent see it like this for the next 50 years,


I have a little something cooking, and because there are people here who dont like me, they will knock what I'm doing, it will hurt me-but more importantly pool as a whole. If I dont like something thats going on in pool I dont say anything, I never knock. If I ever have it was accidentail..


best
eric :)
 
Jason Koopman said:
Wonderfully said Billy, thanks for your comments.
Click to expand...
Great post. Your done done yet Billy, come on.... IMO the doubt and criticism stems from everyone getting their guts ripped out by the IPT and other tour failures.

I plan on going to the tournament and tell anyone who will listen about it. I just wish they would publicize it more.
 
this tournament looks good

This tournament has a lot going for it and obviously the people have some substance to put it on. As I said from the start about the IPT, the best hope was that KT was just using the pool players as window dressing and they weren't the target. Scum rises or settles to it's own level and when we deal with scum because they wave a little money around we always get burned.

While they haven't shown themselves to be perfect promoters as yet the people in Galveston have shown themselves to be people of good common sense and good business sense, not always the same thing. Too, we have had no reason to question their character and ethics. I think if the pool world gets behind them we may well see more and better things to come. The pool world needs to support people with real plans and ideas like these. Rumor has it that if this first event is reasonably successful they are considering multiple events a year.

Hu
 
wincardona said:
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but to try and discourage other people from supporting something, that if successful, will advance the sport in every way, imo is selfish and short sighted. Bill Incardona
Click to expand...


Maybe I missed it, but where has anyone been trying to discourage people from attending?

Certainly you cannot be saying that there is something inherently wrong with asking questions of the promoter (or their designated spokesmodel)!?

Or are you?

I think one of the central points being missed in this whole discussion is that at least some of the people asking questions (I certainly cannot speak for them all) do care about the sport and the success of this and all pool events. BUT they are not willing to do as in the past: shut up and color.

As you know first-hand, Billy, that's been tried for a long, long time in pool. And then what happens after the smoke has cleared, is that everyone licks their wounds and consoles themselves by saying such pithy things as, "Well, it was better than nothing."

I think the questions are a good thing and there is nothing negative about asking them. Just think if that had been the norm going back some time. Maybe the IPT would never had a chance to do what they did -- who knows. But for better or worse, it is now post-IPT in the pool world, and I think it is incumbent upon pool players, if they truly do care about the health of the sport, to ask the tough questions upfront. AND promoters, across the board, should be prepared to answer those questions and the concerns of those they are asking to invest time and money, to support their event.

In any case, if anything is going to help pool and support the game into the future, it won't be the questions anyway -- it'll be the *answers* the questions generate ;-)

Lou Figueroa
 
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lfigueroa said:
In any case, if anything is going to help pool and support the game into the future, it won't be the questions anyway -- it'll be the *answers* the questions generate ;-)

Lou Figueroa
Click to expand...

Lou,
I agree. Some people seem to forget that this is a FORUM for discussions about various POOL related issues.

I asked questions very early about this event and I feel these questions were finally answered when the WEBSITE finally got populated with the answers.

As far as I am concerned, there isn't a spokes person on AZ Forums for this event, it is just perceived that way. Only the WebSite has the final answers. And, there is a Forum and Q&A feature there. Finally, but it is there.

Perception dictates a lot of decisions. Players will come because what else is there to do Sept 11-23rd? and there is a lot of money to be won.

Spectators may think twice about the costs involved, but they do about any tournament when they have to travel and stay in hotels and such. No big change here.

Perception is reality until changed. So far, the perception is that players are knocking this event purely by asking questions. That is plain BS.

Most of us act like grown men, some of us think we are grown men, other know we are grown men.
It still amazes me that pool players think that because they can type and play pool that their opinion means more than anyone else.

Good luck to all the players.
 
great post Billy!! I enjoyed your post as much as your commontery in matches~

Hope to see you there!
 
Tom In Cincy said:
Lou,
I agree. Some people seem to forget that this is a FORUM for discussions about various POOL related issues.

I asked questions very early about this event and I feel these questions were finally answered when the WEBSITE finally got populated with the answers.

As far as I am concerned, there isn't a spokes person on AZ Forums for this event, it is just perceived that way. Only the WebSite has the final answers. And, there is a Forum and Q&A feature there. Finally, but it is there.

Perception dictates a lot of decisions. Players will come because what else is there to do Sept 11-23rd? and there is a lot of money to be won.

Spectators may think twice about the costs involved, but they do about any tournament when they have to travel and stay in hotels and such. No big change here.

Perception is reality until changed. So far, the perception is that players are knocking this event purely by asking questions. That is plain BS.

Most of us act like grown men, some of us think we are grown men, other know we are grown men.
It still amazes me that pool players think that because they can type and play pool that their opinion means more than anyone else.

Good luck to all the players.
Click to expand...


Tom, how can you dare to say Joey -- with all the phone calls and pom poms, isn't their designated spokesmodel ;-)?!

As you say, the dates are, generally speaking, good. So you're right: what else is there for a girl to do in the pool world that time of year, other than to twiddle and wait for the Derby. But regardless of the dates, what with entry fees, remote locale, $149 a night room (which, with tax, license and a full tank of gas will easily approach $165 a night), IMO, there is more than the dates involved when a player takes to considering this event. After all, all that is without touching upon outstanding questions concerning guarantees, payouts, paid entries to date, seeding, and the length of individual events (just for starters :-)

Your last points about the pool players who can type (and set up very handy straw men to knock down at their whim) is priceless.

Thanks for speaking your mind.

Lou Figueroa
 
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