Foreign Players-Why are they here?

cardiac kid said:
Watchez,

We're back to the same old wrong sanctioning body thing. BCA is the pool indusrtry mouth. The league and players are members of the BCAPL. The more I see this, the more I understand why Mark Griffin started the CSI brand. Hopefully he will shift the league away from the BCAPL moniker soon.

Lyn
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Actually Lyn I know this but thanks for pointing it out. I was making the point that some countries do help their players with their pool travels, it just so happened that my example was with the BCAPL tournaments. It could have been for a Seminole Tribe event or the APA if I had any knowledge on that.

I won't go into why Mark started the CSI brand fully. You seem like you are smart so you can probably figure it out.
 
beav99_4life said:
Its always being discussed how sad the state of pool is here in the United States. If this is so, why are so many foreign players moving here or at the very least spending a large amount of time here? I'm thrilled to have players such as Mika, Darren and others living here, just not sure what their reasoning would be if pool is so bad here.
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I think your question is mixing apples and oranges.

People in the USA (who are not pros) who complain about "pool being bad" usually complain about the following:

1. Not enough tournaments.
2. Not enough prize money in said tournaments.
3. Not enough sponsors.
4. Too many rooms closing.
5. Not enough (tables, music, food, drink, etc.) in their rooms.
6. Not enough action.

I think that while the economy has been rough and will continue to be rough for a while, and with pool halls closing here and there, people have been feeling a little down and out about pool as a whole. Add to that the lack of televised events and it might seem to some that "pool is bad" in the USA.

In my opinion, pool is picking up, at least in my state (Maryland). There are weekly and monthly tournaments everywhere…and action is available provided people are willing to step up. The era of the “pool room” may be dying, but there are quite a few places that operate as the bar/restaurant/poker/darts/pool franchise that seem to be doing quite well, and we all know that league-pool is going strong.

The pros you mentioned have money, no shortage of sponsorship, and can play in many big tournaments where the probability of them cashing is high.

Or perhaps I could just be one of the lucky ones, where I have access to at least 5 or 6 decent rooms within a 25-mile radius of my home.

I cannot speak for other states, or for other countries, but from what I have read on these forums, some countries sanction pool players while others struggle.

And let’s face it. People come to America for the same old reasons…a chance for better (or more) opportunities than where they came from.
 
One word..Curiousity !

They been seeing the Mexicans do it for years & they wanted to see what the fuss wuz about....lol:grin:....I really don't have anything against anyone coming over to our Country to try n better themselves...long as they do it the legal way !
 
inside_english said:
I think your question is mixing apples and oranges.

People in the USA (who are not pros) who complain about "pool being bad" usually complain about the following:

1. Not enough tournaments.
2. Not enough prize money in said tournaments.
3. Not enough sponsors.
4. Too many rooms closing.
5. Not enough (tables, music, food, drink, etc.) in their rooms.
6. Not enough action.
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Shall I pull up all of the threads about poorly run pro tournaments, pro tournaments that don't play the players what was promised or on time, or pro tournaments shutting down due to poor attendance and logistics? I appreciate where you're coming from, but I knew what I was asking with my post.
 
inside_english said:
Bigger than the Phillippines?
I always heard/read that they gamble against each other constantly and that is partly why their games are so sharp.
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They gamble alot over there, but not for the big money on a constant basis from what i've been told. I guess the standard bet is $250 US dollars over there between most of the top players. I could be wrong, just going on what I was told by players who have been there.
 
Joe_Jaguar said:
Among many things, they may not want to pay 30-40% in income taxes.
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FWIW, I live in NYC and between federal, state and city, pay over 50% in taxes. Not complaining, just saying.

As for the lure of US pool, I lived in London for a while and found the pool scene really wanting. I figured if anywhere overseas had a pool scene to rival the US it would be London. Not so, at least in my experience.

OTOH, in NY you have 28 well-maintained Gold Crowns at Amsterdam, and players like Mika and Tony Robles and Thorsten to watch and learn from, and 20-something Diamonds at Society, with pretty much the same crowd, and half a dozen other good rooms in the immediate vicinity. You can understand why a pool player would want to come here.

Europe has some great players, obviously, but for all the talk of the decline of US pool, I don't think anywhere else in the world has the culture of pool that we do. Snooker, definitely. Pool, don't think so.
 
beav99_4life said:
Shall I pull up all of the threads about poorly run pro tournaments, pro tournaments that don't play the players what was promised or on time, or pro tournaments shutting down due to poor attendance and logistics? I appreciate where you're coming from, but I knew what I was asking with my post.
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OK, so let me answer another way.

Pool may be bad for some, but maybe, for some pros, the USA is still a better place to be? How's that?
 
dsnake...That's easy! It's in the entertainment end. People are always willing to pay to be entertained. If you have some personality, some skill, some humor, some humility...and you're willing to travel (I'm "on the road" up to 200 days a year), you can make a six-figure income playing pool. It is out there...and you don't have to play as good as Shane or Archer! :D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

dsnake123 said:
So where is the money in pool? A person has to make $45,000 to be able to travel and live in the United States.
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Scott Lee said:
dsnake...That's easy! It's in the entertainment end. People are always willing to pay to be entertained. If you have some personality, some skill, some humor, some humility...and you're willing to travel (I'm "on the road" up to 200 days a year), you can make a six-figure income playing pool. It is out there...and you don't have to play as good as Shane or Archer! :D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
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Does it bother you to be on the road so frequently? It would bother me a lot- I don't how it would work in terms of relationships, family, etc.
 
Is there anyway to get a quick statistics on number of posts in a thread grouped by a user name? I hate a thread that is dominated by a single user, especially if that person is not an OP.
 
Hidy Ho said:
Is there anyway to get a quick statistics on number of posts in a thread grouped by a user name? I hate a thread that is dominated by a single user, especially if that person is not an OP.
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Let me accommodate you, my friend. I have 26 posts in this thread -- uh, make that 27 with this post! :grin-square:

Hope you get some brownie points with friends in "high" places with your post. :)
 
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inside_english said:
OK, so let me answer another way.

Pool may be bad for some, but maybe, for some pros, the USA is still a better place to be? How's that?
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For sure, that's it in a nutshell.

When I went to Allen Hopkins' Skins Billiard Championship, the first one in 2004, [subject to check] at the Hilton in Atlantic City, there were 16 pool players from around the world, including some Americans, of course. It was the first time I had the chance to speak with Thorsten Hohmann.

I took the opportunity to ask him why he enjoyed competing here in the States as opposed to Europe. At that time, he had just come on the American pool scene by storm and was playing in back-to-back American tournaments.

His reply to me was something to the effect of "There's more monetary opportunities here in the States than in Europe."

Today the BCA, the North American representative organization, helps our brethren of foreign players get spots in overseas tournaments, such as they recently did with Mika at a tournament in China.

I am assuming that since Mika spends the majority of his time living in the United States, he has lost his ranking with the European representative organization that helps European players get admitted to overseas tournaments, like this recent one in China. Of course, Mika's gain is Stevie Moore's loss, poor fellow. Mika got in, and Stevie flew all the way to China, only to be told that his name was not on the player roster. A BCA hiccup, I guess.

It is great to have such a diversified group of pro players representing the United States today, even if they aren't Americans. Thanks, BCA. :)
 
JAM said:
For sure, that's it in a nutshell.

When I went to Allen Hopkins' Skins Billiard Championship, the first one in 2004, [subject to check] at the Hilton in Atlantic City, there were 16 pool players from around the world, including some Americans, of course. It was the first time I had the chance to speak with Thorsten Hohmann.

I took the opportunity to ask him why he enjoyed competing here in the States as opposed to Europe. At that time, he had just come on the American pool scene by storm and was playing in back-to-back American tournaments.

His reply to me was something to the effect of "There's more monetary opportunities here in the States than in Europe."

Today the BCA, the North American representative organization, helps our brethren of foreign players get spots in overseas tournaments, such as they recently did with Mika at a tournament in China.

I am assuming that since Mika spends the majority of his time living in the United States, he has lost his ranking with the European representative organization that helps European players get admitted to overseas tournaments, like this recent one in China. Of course, Mika's gain is Stevie Moore's loss, poor fellow. Mika got in, and Stevie flew all the way to China, only to be told that his name was not on the player roster. A BCA hiccup, I guess.

It is great to have such a diversified group of pro players representing the United States today, even if they aren't Americans. Thanks, BCA. :)
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Stevie got flat out ROBBED. Period. He should SUE the BCA and the WPA. What he should sue for is restraint of trade and loss of income.

I don't know that this is even possible but he should try it.

After all these years you would think that the WPA COULD have some sort of confirmation system in place, you know like when you make a hotel reservation and you get a confirmation #???

This is straight up ridiculous that the BCA is handing out spots to foreign players when American players are left with no spot. Notice that Jerry Forsyth has NOTHING to say about this? Fran Crimi has NOTHING to say about this.

Don't get me wrong I am all for players without a country getting into these events any way they can when spots are available. But to deny Stevie in favor of Mika was ridiculous. Stevie was forced to play in a three man qualifier race to seven. Why wasn't Mika's name pulled out of the event and he made to play the qualifier? Mika's spot RIGHTFULLY belonged to Stevie Moore no matter what else you want to say.

And IF they had three players who were SUPPOSED to be in but didn't get in then let them play full races to nine to see who gets the spot on the board. Not a piddly race to seven. And then to add insult to injury they made them play on the practice tables with the shitty lighting and of course in the worst high traffic spot where everyone was walking by. These players who flew all the way to China thinking that they had spots aren't even allowed to play on the tournament tables. How utterly crappy is that?
 
JAM's Post No. 28, for those who are counting.

I drug my old computer with all the pool pics on it out of the garage, and I'm currently trying to move them to my backup hard drive. The problem is my USB plug is not sophisticated enough for my USB drive. So I have to do it via floppy disks. What a slow process.

Anyway, here's a cool picture of Keith and Mika Immonen, with Jose Parica in the background. I think this was taken in 2004. It was at a pool room in Pennsylvania called Planet Pool, which Mika was part owner of.

Mika's beautiful World Pool Championship trophy was on full display in an enclosed case with some other WPC memorabilia.

BTW, it was Mika's request, not mine, that he get his picture taken with Keith on this day. Contrary to popular belief, pool players don't really have any grudges against each other and usually have a great deal of respect for their peers when they're "off the record." ;)

However, on the record, on a field of green, they're combatants to the nth degree. :grin-square:
 

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PS, Jennie before you split can I get that fiffy since my man won last time? :-) I am down to Mikey Frost this session and I need to balance my books....
 
JAM said:
JAM's Post No. 28, for those who are counting.

I drug my old computer with all the pool pics on it out of the garage, and I'm currently trying to move them to my backup hard drive. The problem is my USB plug is not sophisticated enough for my USB drive. So I have to do it via floppy disks. What a slow process.

Anyway, here's a cool picture of Keith and Mika Immonen, with Jose Parica in the background. I think this was taken in 2004. It was at a pool room in Pennsylvania called Planet Pool, which Mika was part owner of.

Mika's beautiful World Pool Championship trophy was on full display in an enclosed case with some other WPC memorabilia.

BTW, it was Mika's request, not mine, that he get his picture taken with Keith on this day. Contrary to popular belief, pool players don't really have any grudges against each other and usually have a great deal of respect for their peers when they're "off the record." ;)

However, on the record, on a field of green, they're combatants to the nth degree. :grin-square:
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Right! For the most part they are all friends. This picture is great and rare for another reason.....it's one of the few where Keith isn't the one with a beer in his hand. Keith should be getting royalties from Budweiser for all the pix of him with a Bud in his hand. Just kidding Jennie, I don't think it's all that many.

And THANK you for all the pictures you have shared over the years. Some of us really really appreciate them.
 
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