pro players not paid

[JB Cases]

Stop talking and make it happen John!!!

This is constructive how? It's not my tournament. I am certainly not going to volunteer to make someone else's venture a success.

I have put a little money into the US Open kitty in the past by getting booth space, buying advertising in the program, sponsoring players into the event, buying tickets and merchandise.

I am not quite sure why I should be required to do more for an event that's not mine.

However, the people of this board can run qualifiers without ANY approval or communication with Barry Behrman. Run your weekly tournaments and put someone in every $500.

I can talk all I want to. Nothing is created without thinking about it first.

If I do decide to put the energy and time into making my ideas a reality then you can be damn sure I will make it a bottom up endeavor and enlist the grassroots in ways no one has seen before.

Look up Sal Livingston to understand where I am coming from. These ideas aren't new and they are PROVEN to work.

 

[JB Cases]

Larry Hubbart and Terry Bell also used to go to your tournament and get their start into the pool world because of it. It would be nice if the APA spent some of their millions outside of their own organization just one time.

Forget it. I proposed many times over the years that the leagues should fund pro pool with .25cts per week per player. They are all too fractured to come together on the common goal of popularizing pool with a steady diet of consistent professional events and tours.

The APA is especially contentious on this subject by flat out refusing to even think about working with their competition.

The math is there to support professional pool from the foundation of league and amateur tour players. No one can make it happen though.

 

[MikeM]

This is constructive how? It's not my tournament. I am certainly not going to volunteer to make someone else's venture a success.

I have put a little money into the US Open kitty in the past by getting booth space, buying advertising in the program, sponsoring players into the event, buying tickets and merchandise.

I am not quite sure why I should be required to do more for an event that's not mine.

However, the people of this board can run qualifiers without ANY approval or communication with Barry Behrman. Run your weekly tournaments and put someone in every $500.

I can talk all I want to. Nothing is created without thinking about it first.

If I do decide to put the energy and time into making my ideas a reality then you can be damn sure I will make it a bottom up endeavor and enlist the grassroots in ways no one has seen before.

Look up Sal Livingston to understand where I am coming from. These ideas aren't new and they are PROVEN to work.

I was trying to lighten things up with my post John, I guess I should've used an emoticon or two.:wink::smile:

I have many of the same ideas as you and I strongly believe you're right and the people to put them into action post here all the time.

I also believe that Barry does his best with the Open. Sure, he overextends sometimes but it is never to line his own pocket. I really think his intentions are in the right place - to make the best possible tournament for the players and fans. If he screws up, he deserves slack.

I looked up Sal Livingston on Google and got nothing to do with pool.

Have a nice day!:smile::smile::smile:

 

[JB Cases]

I was trying to lighten things up with my post John, I guess I should've used an emoticon or two.:wink::smile:

I have many of the same ideas as you and I strongly believe you're right and the people to put them into action post here all the time.

I also believe that Barry does his best with the Open. Sure, he overextends sometimes but it is never to line his own pocket. I really think his intentions are in the right place - to make the best possible tournament for the players and fans. If he screws up, he deserves slack.

I looked up Sal Livingston on Google and got nothing to do with pool.

Have a nice day!:smile::smile::smile:

Sal Livingston was a promoter in the 30s and 40s I believe (have to check the Billiard Encyclopedia) who barnstormed around the country setting up exhibitions for professional players. At one point he had as many as 20 players under contract and he would wire the instructions to them as to where to be and when. He worked tirelessly setting up hundreds of exhibitions a year.

The reason I use him as an example is that it shows that it is possible to get things done on the grassroots level and provide a living for the professional player AND the promoter.

 

[markpatrick]

good luck getting a dime from those two

This was much better than your original press release. Best of luck to you and here is another quote that you might be interested in 'Actions Speak Louder Than Words'. Your words are embedded now in this thread and you can be sure that the pool detectives such as myself will bring them out next year if 1-96 are not paid. Not a threat of any kind, just reality.

I have never met you but watched the stream this year and it is obvious you like to talk. I am sure that you will come up with some solid sponsorship for your event.

I am curious, if your event effects BCA player standings, do they give sponsorship to your event and if not, why? They should be first on the list within the industry. Larry Hubbart and Terry Bell also used to go to your tournament and get their start into the pool world because of it. It would be nice if the APA spent some of their millions outside of their own organization just one time.

Good luck getting a dime from Mother Hubbard or Terry Bell. You know how the league started and they ended up with it.
Perhaps they could donate a million in memory of Louie Roberts? One of the true creators of the APA and a US Open Winner.

 

[miplayerstour]

I wish you all the luck you need to succeed!

Barry, its so difficult to go through life without making mistakes, we all know this. if youre known to be an honest man, a lover and promoter of the game then your self admitted mistake is just that and shouldnt be taken as anything else. Most of us i would hope, learn from our mistakes and right the wrongs we've committed in our lives if at all possible to do so.
The US Open is a wonderful event and I think youve done far more good for players than youve hurt anyone. thats not to say not paying people is ok it isnt and I know that but i also know that when promoting something you love and doing it at no or little benefit to yourself, it can get you intoa hole at times and you cant always get out of it easily. Its far too easy for people to think you with held funds shame on you instead of thinking this man gave his all and came up short but is good for it because he always has been.

I tend to lean towards a thank you for trying to make it right and continuing your efforts with little or no rewards other than knowing what youre doing for pool and its players.
Thank you for being open and honest about all of this. You certainly didnt have to address all of us and it says a lot about you and your character that you chose to do it.

Good Afternoon everyone,

Thank you all for you response to my letter. Any and all criticism is greatly appreciated. I believe that no one is ever too old to learn a new lesson.

I have read each post 3 times and I appreciate your pros and cons on this matter. Your input gives me new insight and helps me to become a stronger person.

Yes, my past 2001-2003 was not so good, but I have been completely clean for 8 years now and dedicated to my business Q-Master Billiards, day and night. I purposely live 3 miles away and only put 5,000 miles a year on my car, as all I am doing is working and resting. But I am just fine with that. Being at my business keeps me on the straight road and away from trouble.

I will be 64 years old in April, and my Doctors tell me that I am in great condition, thank god! My little dog buddy, is always by my side and that surely does help me stay in control. I am going to fix and improve the financial aspect of the 35th Annual US Open, October 17-23rd, 2010. And that’s a promise that I will live up to!

As in my letter, every player 1-96 will be paid before they leave Chesapeake. My goal in the pool world is to be at the 50th Annual US Open. I will be 80 at that time, and it truly would be a dream come true for me to be there. So, the only way for that to happen is to first be alive, and secondly, do the right thing by paying everyone on time for the next 15 years. Taking it 1 year at a time.

I want the US Open to grow immensely but again that takes sponsors, inside and out within the billiard industry. I am already speaking with a huge sponsor who is outside of the industry and it sounds promising.

The US Open 9-Ball Championships has never been a money maker of any magnitude for me. It has always been about the players and the wonderful fans who attend year after year. Believe me, I am not a wealthy man, but I hope to be someday soon before I am too old to enjoy the fruits of my labor and love.

I have never been a man who quits. When I was wrestling as a junior in high school, there was a sign in the locker room that I will never forget. It read “a winner never quits and a quitter never wins” and I have tried to live up to that. Yes, along the way I have made a few mistakes. I am only human. But I feel as if I am making fewer mistakes each and every day. Now it is time to repair the US Open beginning with this year, and I will do it!

Again, thank you all for your replies an AZBilliards. My list of ideas is growing and I have a list for everything. Just ask my staff and daughter. My desk is never clean.

Sincerely,
Barry Behrman
Founder and Promoter
US Open 9-Ball Championships

 

[TimKrazyMon]

This was much better than your original press release. Best of luck to you and here is another quote that you might be interested in 'Actions Speak Louder Than Words'. Your words are embedded now in this thread and you can be sure that the pool detectives such as myself will bring them out next year if 1-96 are not paid. Not a threat of any kind, just reality.

I have never met you but watched the stream this year and it is obvious you like to talk. I am sure that you will come up with some solid sponsorship for your event.

I am curious, if your event effects BCA player standings, do they give sponsorship to your event and if not, why? They should be first on the list within the industry. Larry Hubbart and Terry Bell also used to go to your tournament and get their start into the pool world because of it. It would be nice if the APA spent some of their millions outside of their own organization just one time.

The APA is too busy supporting the WPBA & continuing their eons-long feud with Mark Griffin to give a flying f*** about the mens game. As for the BCA, they no longer sponsor pro events. They simply exist as a trade organization.

About the BB bashing, the man admitted his mistake(s) and has come out and given his personal guarantee that 1st through 96th will be paid onsite. I say give the guy an opportunity to follow through on this promise, because only two outcomes exist: 1) 1-96 is paid and BB is vindicated, 2) 1-96 aren't paid & BB will be vilified relentlessly.

 

[SUPERSTAR]

About the BB bashing, the man admitted his mistake(s) and has come out and given his personal guarantee that 1st through 96th will be paid onsite. I say give the guy an opportunity to follow through on this promise, because only two outcomes exist: 1) 1-96 is paid and BB is vindicated, 2) 1-96 aren't paid & BB will be vilified relentlessly.

Not to rain on your parade, BUT...

If i recall correctly, after the various BB "scandals" there was an article printed in one of the major pool publications where someone drove around with him doing an interview style report.
It's not the first time BB has come out and said he's made mistakes and how he is upbeat about the future, and his commitment to pool, and learning from those mistakes.

So for some of us, it's just a broken record.