I think Barry is making a mistake with the added money, based on what he's saying.
He should just advertise the prize fund as being whatever the entry fees are plus, say, a % of the gross profit of the event. Maybe say a minimum of $10k added + % of the GP. That will help the event become solvent and sustain most unexpected situations. It also creates an incentive for pros to post on FB and Twitter and get people out to the event - as they'll be playing for more money.
The breakdown here is simple: The pros want to play for big money and feel it's the promoter's job to provide the funding for that in advance (i.e. "It's Barry's problem, not mine." Although it's true that IS Barry's problem, I think Barry WANTS to pay the players what they want and doesn't want to go backwards in payouts -- even if bumps in the road might send him into the red.
There are two kinds of tournaments: Sponsored events (where someone is putting up the cash and if 1 person shows up to watch, the players still get paid) and Business Events (where the tournament relies on goods sold, seating, food, vendor, etc, income in order to add the money as advertised).
Therefore, Barry should advertise his tournament as such--- reduce the added to $10k (which is STILL good) and offer a fair % of the gross profit of the event back to the players --- as if the players who cash are co-owners of the event. If the event goes WELL, they might make more than they would otherwise. If the event goes to crap, they still make their $10k + entry fees that go into the payoff pool.
Either way, that approach makes the tournament solvent and makes both Barry and the players equally responsible for the success of the event --- outside of the logistics/management, which would be handled by BB. If there's a natural disaster (I was there in 2001 --- 9/11 definitely affected the event to no fault of Barry's and there's no doubt Hurricane Sandy affected this event, also to no fault of Barry's), all get paid but are affected equally.
Is it right that people are critical of Barry for that? I think so, actually--- because Barry put himself in that position. If he would restructure future expectations and payout models, he'd never find himself in a corner again. In fact, if the players had a piece of the action, they might put forth effort to ensure people show and that there is an actual audience.
Since BB doesn't have national league players to pack-up the bleachers during national events, he needs to operate differently and within his means. I think if he took an "ESOP" approach to his tournament, the players might welcome the chance to have a play in the success of a business (tournament) which could result in growing the event to an entirely new level.
Start by giving players commission on tickets sold on top of the above. Whether you pay a billboard, a place mat in a diner or a radio spot-- advertising costs money. Why not divert that money to the players? Each pro on FB has THOUSANDS of friends that can be leveraged. If a ticket sells for $300 direct from BB, allow the pros to sell them as an affiliate and pocket $100/ticket for their effort. Although that lowers the overall revenue on tickets sold (based on the previous year's #), it should sky-rocket the total revenue based on volume. Now, not only do pros make money from the prize pool, if they sell 50 weekly tickets, they can pocket $5k (paid up front, as the transaction is made) before the event starts.
There are a ton of pros who struggle to pay their way to the open -- many would love that kind of opportunity. Based on many of the FB accounts, many would have NO problem moving tickets.
Anyways, sorry for the long rant. Barry --- if you're reading this-- you can double the size of your tournament if you think outside the box. The 1980's bet-on-the-come method of running your tournament isn't the move. Regardless of what caused the shortfall, it's your fault as a business owner since you didn't structure your business to be more dynamic.
) and others I havent listed. have over many years provided 1000's of hours of great matches and pool history. This years tournment was among the better US Opens in terms of the matches and who went deep (Efren Parika). SVB DRILLING EVERYONE, and dedicating his win to Chad. It Dont get any better. The sad part is the $$$ isnt working out. That 's sad and I hope it does come rite soon for everyone.
