More Bonus Ball

[TomHay]

I just left the Tournament I sponser. Both Tommy Kennedy and Hunter Lombardo are playing and both still on the winners side, should be interesting. Sadly the owner of the Pool Hall we have used announced today they will be closing next week.

I got to talk to both Tommy and Hunter about the Bonus Ball. Both very excited and I think it is next week they will be leaving again for Vegas.

Bonus Ball will start Streaming around the first week in February. To stop further Billard establishments from closing I feel we should give this new game full support.

IMO it is like Poker, you never saw Poker played on TV. Now Texas Holdem a form of Poker is on TV just about daily. Maybe Bonus Ball will be our Texas Holdem. This is not to say not to play and be a fan of your favorite Pool Game but for bigger better Pool Halls to exist we must do everything we can to create a market. This will also be the one chance the Pros will have to make a good living in thier trade.

I will be signing in and watching. I hope many feel like I do, if its good for the game in general, its good for us.

 

[JumpinJoe]

It may work, but I have my doubts. But will give it a shot.

Don't forget, these guys are PAID (around $3,600 a month) to say they like it. I have not seen or heard of NOONE in any big bonus ball gambling matches. lol

 

[TomHay]

It may work, but I have my doubts. But will give it a shot.

Don't forget, these guys are PAID (around $3,600 a month) to say they like it. I have not seen or heard of NOONE in any big bonus ball gambling matches. lol

Well Joe, not arguing but on the same token many are paid through a form of sponsorship or something to say nice things even about other billiard products, Even Tiger. That does not mean they don't like them or it.

 

[JumpinJoe]

lol.
It's a little different.

Them players dump sponsors everyday, they are a joke to the hand feeding them, they think they are owed everything to them. Theres a reason pool is stuck in the gutter, most is due to the PLAYERS themselves.

 

[TomHay]

lol.
It's a little different.

Them players dump sponsors everyday, they are a joke to the hand feeding them, they think they are owed everything to them. Theres a reason pool is stuck in the gutter, most is due to the PLAYERS themselves.

Joe, I am quoting you as saying they are making less than a grand a week to be away from family and live way out of town. That is not any real big money for a pro of any other sport.

I remember when Tiger Woods came out of a hotel room, never hitting his first pro ball with his dad and mom, he had just signed a mega million dollar contract. Tiger and his dad were both wearing Nike everything. When the TV reporters asked Tigers mom why she wasn't wearing Nike her reply was " They aren't paying ME any money".

 

[JumpinJoe]

Joe, I am quoting you as saying they are making less than a grand a week to be away from family and live way out of town. That is not any real big money for a pro of any other sport.

I remember when Tiger Woods came out of a hotel room, never hitting his first pro ball with his dad and mom, he had just signed a mega million dollar contract. Tiger and his dad were both wearing Nike everything. When the TV reporters asked Tigers mom why she wasn't wearing Nike her reply was " They aren't paying ME any money".

Please. Please
They chose this path. It is not a sport by the way, it is a game.

I love this game by the way. I just call it like I see it.

 

[TomHay]

Please. Please
They chose this path. It is not a sport by the way, it is a game.

I love this game by the way. I just call it like I see it.

Joe, I am an older guy and remember songs, jingles. Take me out to the Ball GAME, take me ot to the park, buy me some ---------------

In school they tried to teach in Football, its not winning or losing its the GAME that counts.

All sports are games.

The path usualy is taken by the player. Hobby, amatuer, Profesional. Our pros make next to nothing which is a reason we no gotta.

You don't have to agree but please don't bash the players that help bring life to the game/sport. Freedom of choice, don't watch don't support.

 

[brophog]

IMO it is like Poker, you never saw Poker played on TV. Now Texas Holdem a form of Poker is on TV just about daily. Maybe Bonus Ball will be our Texas Holdem.

That variant of poker has been around at least since the 1960's, but never became popular until around the turn of this century.

Poker is fueled by the gambling addiction; fish feed everyone. When online poker hit the scene, money came pouring in. It's easy to gamble online. You never leave the house. You just deposit the money into an online account. Most importantly, you can play a lot of hands, often at multiple tables at the same time. Where there is money, there is industry. TV and publishing jump in and an industry was formed almost overnight. TV didn't create the industry (the WSOP has been on ESPN since the late 80's) but it knew how to package it with the idea that fish can become millionaires, aided by those online venues running commercials and sponsorships ubiquitously.

That's been changing. When those online poker sites were shut down in the United States, wagering plummeted. In the U.S. TV ratings dropped (saturation was already taking its effect), and fewer poker TV shows were produced (many proposed shows were canceled). The industry boomed for long enough though that more quality players were developed and that gobbled up the fish, leading to less action overall (a phenomenon present in any form of gambling, including pool).

That's a bit of a tangent on a topic that isn't about pool, but there is a commonality in most of these 'save pool' threads to compare to other games that allow pros to make money with the idea that if pros are making money then it has a trickle down effect. It wasn't as much the poker pros that were making money that drove the industry (gamblers have always been seen as having way more money than they actually have), it was the illusion that poker pros were making money that brought in the fish hoping to make money that drove the industry. As the fish left, so did the money.

And, of course, has led to many 'is poker dying' threads on poker sites. :smile:

 

[TomHay]

That variant of poker has been around at least since the 1960's, but never became popular until around the turn of this century.

Poker is fueled by the gambling addiction; fish feed everyone. When online poker hit the scene, money came pouring in. It's easy to gamble online. You never leave the house. You just deposit the money into an online account. Most importantly, you can play a lot of hands, often at multiple tables at the same time. Where there is money, there is industry. TV and publishing jump in and an industry was formed almost overnight. TV didn't create the industry (the WSOP has been on ESPN since the late 80's) but it knew how to package it with the idea that fish can become millionaires, aided by those online venues running commercials and sponsorships ubiquitously.

That's been changing. When those online poker sites were shut down in the United States, wagering plummeted. In the U.S. TV ratings dropped (saturation was already taking its effect), and fewer poker TV shows were produced (many proposed shows were canceled). The industry boomed for long enough though that more quality players were developed and that gobbled up the fish, leading to less action overall (a phenomenon present in any form of gambling, including pool).

That's a bit of a tangent on a topic that isn't about pool, but there is a commonality in most of these 'save pool' threads to compare to other games that allow pros to make money with the idea that if pros are making money then it has a trickle down effect. It wasn't as much the poker pros that were making money that drove the industry (gamblers have always been seen as having way more money than they actually have), it was the illusion that poker pros were making money that brought in the fish hoping to make money that drove the industry. As the fish left, so did the money.

And, of course, has led to many 'is poker dying' threads on poker sites. :smile:

Well, take away your weekly Football betters or Baseball and many would stop watching which would lead to less money from advertisers which would lead to less player pay which would lead to more reruns of 2 1/2 Men.

This is a Billiard forum, I think. Do people post in here because they like different forms of Pool or because they are hoping it will drop off the face of the earth?

Negativity only breeds negativity.

Much of the Gaming of Texas Holdem has been replaced by places like FaceBook, it is still alive and well and according to Comcast is on the air right now.

 

[sjm]

I just left the Tournament I sponser. Both Tommy Kennedy and Hunter Lombardo are playing and both still on the winners side, should be interesting. Sadly the owner of the Pool Hall we have used announced today they will be closing next week.

I got to talk to both Tommy and Hunter about the Bonus Ball. Both very excited and I think it is next week they will be leaving again for Vegas.

Why wouldn't they be excited? Pro pool players guaranteed an income is certainly new. Trudeau announced an intention to do this in the IPT's second year of competition, but the second year never came.

Bonus Ball will start Streaming around the first week in February. To stop further Billard establishments from closing I feel we should give this new game full support.

How exactly will the success or failure of the first Bonus Ball season affect the profitability of billiard estblishments? Personally, I don't think it will. The way to support the billiard estblishments is to play pool in them.

I will definitely give Bonus Ball a shot and intend to find a way to attend a session in Las Vegas. If I like it, I'll support it subsequently.

IMO it is like Poker, you never saw Poker played on TV. Now Texas Holdem a form of Poker is on TV just about daily. Maybe Bonus Ball will be our Texas Holdem. This is not to say not to play and be a fan of your favorite Pool Game but for bigger better Pool Halls to exist we must do everything we can to create a market. This will also be the one chance the Pros will have to make a good living in thier trade.

Televised poker is unusually dull and virtually unwatchable. Online poker has proven to be among the bigger frauds in recent years, and quite a few of the most elite players are under heavy prosecution for their participation in the defrauding of countless amateur online players.

I wish everyone associated with Bonus Ball the best of luck, but I hope Bonus Ball will be more watchable than poker and that those associated with it will be much more honest than some of those associated with poker.

 

[DogsPlayingPool]

I don't really see the analogy to Hold 'em poker. First off, Texas Hold 'em had little to do with the success of poker on TV. The game has been played as the main event at the WSOP since like 1971 and for years they couldn't pay people to watch it on television.

The thing that made poker on TV wasn't the game at all. It was a technological innovation that made poker much more interesting to viewers - the hole cards camera.

I wish BB all the success in the world. But I'd be cautious about expecting it to save pool.

 

[Fatboy]

I just left the Tournament I sponser. Both Tommy Kennedy and Hunter Lombardo are playing and both still on the winners side, should be interesting. Sadly the owner of the Pool Hall we have used announced today they will be closing next week.

I got to talk to both Tommy and Hunter about the Bonus Ball. Both very excited and I think it is next week they will be leaving again for Vegas.

Bonus Ball will start Streaming around the first week in February. To stop further Billard establishments from closing I feel we should give this new game full support.

IMO it is like Poker, you never saw Poker played on TV. Now Texas Holdem a form of Poker is on TV just about daily. Maybe Bonus Ball will be our Texas Holdem. This is not to say not to play and be a fan of your favorite Pool Game but for bigger better Pool Halls to exist we must do everything we can to create a market. This will also be the one chance the Pros will have to make a good living in thier trade.

I will be signing in and watching. I hope many feel like I do, if its good for the game in general, its good for us.

BB is the ONLY bright spot in pool for the pro's. PERIOD!!! So yeah ppl should give it a chance if they care about pool.

 

[Fatboy]

It may work, but I have my doubts. But will give it a shot.

Don't forget, these guys are PAID (around $3,600 a month) to say they like it. I have not seen or heard of NOONE in any big bonus ball gambling matches. lol

$104,000 been paid out and nobody has hit a ball yet(to speak of) thats stand up biz. Look at the US Open(RIP)-$ still owed. And BB is paying players who are waiting. Nuff said.

 

[Masirib5]

Real Estate is too expensive and when a property owner jacks the rent when a lease is up, sometimes it is more than it is worth to keep it open.

I wonder how long it will take for pool hall owners to buy sets of Bonus Balls (from Johnny) and I wonder how long it would take for people to start saying "hey lets play some Bonus Ball"? I also wonder how big the chart on the wall will be to explain the rules?

--Jeff

 

[TomHay]

Real Estate is too expensive and when a property owner jacks the rent when a lease is up, sometimes it is more than it is worth to keep it open.

I wonder how long it will take for pool hall owners to buy sets of Bonus Balls (from Johnny) and I wonder how long it would take for people to start saying "hey lets play some Bonus Ball"? I also wonder how big the chart on the wall will be to explain the rules?

--Jeff

I am only guessing but I would say the chart on the wall would be about as big as any other game in Pool.

 

[joelpope]

Well, take away your weekly Football betters or Baseball and many would stop watching which would lead to less money from advertisers which would lead to less player pay which would lead to more reruns of 2 1/2 Men.

This is a Billiard forum, I think. Do people post in here because they like different forms of Pool or because they are hoping it will drop off the face of the earth?

Negativity only breeds negativity.

Much of the Gaming of Texas Holdem has been replaced by places like FaceBook, it is still alive and well and according to Comcast is on the air right now.

I agree... Maybe there should be a haters forum so all the , "what's wrong with pool" ... "The pros are assholes" ... "I hate people in my pool room" ... "I hate the APA" posters can get together for a circle jerk

 

[joelpope]

$104,000 been paid out and nobody has hit a ball yet(to speak of) thats stand up biz. Look at the US Open(RIP)-$ still owed. And BB is paying players who are waiting. Nuff said.

Agreed, that is the way a serious business man protects his investment. I can only hope that there are enough positive indications on a potential for a long term return so the investors in Bonus Ball stick with it.

As savvy business people they will make an investment and behave in its best interest but they are not a charitable organization out to support pro players.

 

[RobMan]

I agree... Maybe there should be a haters forum so all the , "what's wrong with pool" ... "The pros are assholes" ... "I hate people in my pool room" ... "I hate the APA" posters can get together for a circle jerk

Well said! :thumbup:

 

[easy-e]

I love pool, but the players are my least favorite part of the game. There are certainly a few players out there that I respect, and I wish those ones success. The other ones can fall off the face of the Earth for all I care.

 

[RobMan]

Here is a copy of a post I made last summer on Bonus Ball. I believe it rings true:

If this is something that MAYBE can attract new young players, then MAYBE they might migrate to more conventional games as they age and take their disposable income to the halls. Let's face it folks, one day all the old timers are gonna die, and with it the last remaining pool halls. Sorry for being callous, but this is true IF you do not get NEW players. It is simple demographics.

The youth love fancy and fast. The scoreboard - streamed to a small flat screen is awesome. All the group of friends can see the interactive display. Think electronic scoring for bowling.

Seriously, it seems that many on this forum - not calling anyone out - are almost silently wishing for ANY new idea to fail. Kind of like all you APA bashers. I mean really, do you have any idea how much money is spent on our sport by some of these. Most of the very low handicappers on my team have spend hundreds of dollars each on equipment that otherwise would never have been spent. In addition, hundreds of dollars every week on food and drink at the facility. Sorry, off topic but relevant in my view for the success of our sport in the future.

ANYTHING that brings new players to the game is good. Not saying this will, but I certainly hope it does.