pro players not paid

ha ha

I don't think you do. I beleive Scott "the Shot" Smith has been tournament director for the Open for years, albeit with lots of help.

MM

I never considered that. I have directed hundreds of tournaments, and was also the promoter. I thought they were one in the same. Barry probably got paid for his work, as did Mr Smith whom I have observed calling good hits at a few Pro events.

:mad::mad::mad::mad:

Rinky Dink 100 player $1500 added events. Not on a pro scale.
 
You mean like you're doing now. I only bashed the raffle and the way it was handled. I actually praised the tournament when a lot of people were knocking it. But it seems the "facts" mean little to your point of view.

Your words on that thread are there for all to see, unlike the facts regarding the Galveston raffle. Where is your indignation and scathing comments for Barry Behrman? You accused Bobby Rhone of being an outright crook.


jay helfert said:
Sorry Bobby, this explanation doesn't fly with me. You had Mitch's phone number. It was right there on the raffle ticket. He did "win" the furniture didn't he? Also, Mitch was not told he was responsible for having the furniture shipped until after the raffle. That was a nice punch line. I think you knew there was a good chance that the winner would have trouble getting the furniture shipped and might just say the hell with it. That didn't stop you from selling lots of raffle tickets though.

And you say someone offered Mitch $1,000 for the furniture. How generous! Seeing how it was only worth $8,000! By the way, I just got off the phone with Mitch (I have his number too and had no trouble reaching him). He is a very unhappy camper about this whole deal. He feels like he got screwed. I wonder why. I guess it's all his fault for buying that damn raffle ticket. How stupid of him.

What I will tell you sir is that Mitch Ellerman is a fine young man who I'm glad to know. He has some real issues in his life right now and the last thing he has time for is a hassle like this. He does not have the wherewithal to fight you for what is rightfully his. So you booked a winner on this one. I think you know exactly what happened to that furniture and are a willing accomplice in all this. There is more to this story then what you're telling us on here.

I actually liked your tournament, but based on what happened to Mitch I won't be coming back if you have it for the next ten years!
 
What's next?

Galveston won't add the guaranteed money?

World Ten Ball will delay payments for months while not responding to e-mails?

Oh, wait a second... Forget it...

Roy
-happy I was not blessed with enough talent to turn pro
 
Barry Behrman is the promoter and is responsible for all the $$$.

Scott Smith has been the Master of Ceremonies for the last 3 years... he only has limited ref duties and is mostly just the microphone guy

Jay Helfert co-directed with Ken Shuman for 2009's US OPEN.

Ken Shuman has been the US Open TD for the last 3 years.
Ken is also the TD at this year's Derby City Classic (and has been the TD there for the last 3 years)
Ken also was the TD at Galveston.
Ken also works the BCAPL/CSI/NCS tournaments.

Ken has a lot of respect from the Promoters and the Pros.
 
Barry Behrman is the promoter and is responsible for all the $$$.

Scott Smith has been the Master of Ceremonies for the last 3 years... he only has limited ref duties and is mostly just the microphone guy

Jay Helfert co-directed with Ken Shuman for 2009's US OPEN.

Ken Shuman has been the US Open TD for the last 3 years.
Ken is also the TD at this year's Derby City Classic (and has been the TD there for the last 3 years)
Ken also was the TD at Galveston.
Ken also works the BCAPL/CSI/NCS tournaments.

Ken has a lot of respect from the Promoters and the Pros.

It's all on BB, definitely not Jay, Scott or Ken, they are just paid to do a job
 
Top three in US Open were Mika, Ralph and Donny Mills. Donny posts here, and I am sure he could enlighten us if he wanted.

The problem is that players, regardless if its US Open, Makabentas 10ball championships or the IPT, normally are afraid to go public with anything and step on the promoters toes - perhaps gettting them banned from future events.

So they accept whatever payment schedule the promoter comes up with and swallow their pride.

Pool needs a strong players organisation, and commitment from the players. If we had that, then forcing promoters to put the added money in escrow - before the tournament - could be a realistic start..

That is EXACTLY what happened to Mika Immonen. He didn't get paid one year for his performance in the US Open. In the next year or the year after he asked for the money and was literally thrown out of the tournament venue.

But until the players stand up for themselves nothing will happen.

Edwin Reyes stood up for the players and died for it. That right, he was SHOT DEAD by people who didn't want someone being vocal and warning professional players about money issues in tournaments.

And what is the result? 2008 World Ten Ball Championship the players were stiffed for a LONG LONG LONG time.

2009 rolls around and we find out it's the SAME THING again.

And the MEDIA is AFRAID to tackle it - the WPA is AFRAID to tackle it - the player allow themselves to be run over.

I, for one, am tired of hearing about it. If players want to fly around the world and play for free then let them. It's their business and not ours. We here on AZ have expressed our outrage, our sympathy, volunteered to help in a pro organization and for nothing.

Mark Griffin steps up to bail out a promoter who stiffed the players and based on that decides to start something good for the pros and all he gets are roadblocks by the essentially defunct and impotent UPA.

So my conclusion is that the professional players of the world, as a group, just don't give a shit. They won't work together, they won't donate their time, they won't follow any leader. Individually they all want a successful tour with guaranteed payouts.

I guarantee I have a road map for success for professional pool. It starts with the players who are the foundation to build on. But from what I have seen it's impossible to get four pro players to agree on anything for long when someone comes along and waves a carrot in front of them.

35 Years and Barry hasn't figured out how to hold the event where everyone gets paid?

Yen Makabenta destroys the World 9 Ball Championship, which was successful under Matchroom for a decade in favor of his World 10 Ball and can't pay the players, can't even GET the top Filipino players with the event held in his own country?????

So professional players it's on you. If you like the status quo then fine. If you don't then get together and change it.
 
US Open and payouts

Although i do not IN ANY WAY condone the slow payment of the players, I believe they have always gotten paid.

But what I really wanted to say was that I admire the statement the Barry put out. I am sure it was hard - but necessary.

Not all things work out as planned - but the event has always survived and I think it will continue to do so.

I think his decisions are steps in the right direction.

By the way, the US Open 10-Ball (in May at the Riviera) will pay all the players on the spot. I also wish the WPA 10-ball would do the same.

I feel the players would prefer smaller payouts if they are paid in a prompt manner.

Mark Griffin
CSI
 
Thanks for clearing up the TD question. It's definitely not Jay's or the TD's fault. I was just pointing out that the Galveston tourny got slammed about a raffle and others get a pass (from some). I'm guessing that the Galveston tourny may not happen again and that's a shame.
 
Ok, i'll say it.

Why is everyone so surprised?

This IS Barry Behrman we are talking about, correct?

It's not the first time this has happened, and i highly doubt it will be the last time.

Sooooo...
Is there any particular reason that no one is mentioning the whole "Casino Parties at his house with lots of drugs" scandal that happened a few years back?

Sorry if bringing that up offends people, but seriously. Why does this stuff never EVER get talked about, when something goes wrong?

This is not to blatantly rip on BB as he has tried to keep this event going for years, and it is his baby, but at the same time, the man has had his issues. Issues that are directly related to his judgement.
How are we to know how much non U.S. Open related problems the man has, and how those problems might jam him up financially?
Answer is, WE DON'T.
Why? Because we have no way of knowing if or when BB might go off the deep end in his personal life again.
That is not to say that this is what happened in this instance. It is just brought up to shed some light on the fact that risks DO exist with this promoter.
With that being said, how does it come as a surprise for anyone who's been around for a while, if the money gets funny with him?

Seriously.
Anyone who enters the U.S. Open, who has been around, should really KNOW that this whole bouncing check scenario is a big time possibility, cause it's his M.O.

It's no big secret, and to me, is just another example of how anything BAD in pool, immediately gets swept under the rug, and no one talks about it, instead of talking about it all the time, and making sure EVERYONE knows the risks, so
a) People can make informed decisions in regards to possibly entering the U.S. Open. and...
b) Since everyone knows beforehand, more pressure can be put on BB to make sure he gets it right.

This is old news, and the statement by BB didn't surprise me at all.
 
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