Bonus Ball

The reply doesn't make sense.

This rolling over and playing dead attitude makes it sound like Larry got himself duped on purpose for an easy exit out of this "sending his money out in chunks" venture. If this were legit, we'd be reading the charges filed against the con company and your CEO would be here fighting to the end.

If that was already posted, post the url to the thread so we can catch-up.


Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2
 
vpbb123 said:
Bonus Ball, the game is alive and well. New players are learning the game and playing the game, so it continues to grow daily. When I first started developing this game, it was only myself teaching people. Now I have many people taking part teaching others. It will continue to multiply like this for years.

As far as the WPBL is concerned, there are many rumors about things that are true and not true. What is true is the construction boon doogle has set this project behind. To announce and promote something would indeed make sense and is a very logical business suggestion.

Being burned three times on the starting date has set WPBL president, Larry Chiborak, into a holding pattern. After burning up so much money and having his dream come to an abrubt stop, has no doubt been taking a toll on him. There is not a doubt that he has had to sit back and wait while the city and the new contractor had many changes to the original design changed, that never made it to city hall because of the contractor fiasco.

Larry Chiborak has faced the music and blames himself for being duped. It is a hard lesson in life to learn. Although Larry has not involved me finacially in this project, I do hope he can get his ducks in order. Im not going to say that this was not avoidable, but I will say I saw first hand, the terror in his eyes when this whole contractor episode came down on him. Let's cut the poor guy some slack. He put up a lot of his own cash to give professional players a new beginning. A structured league and a state of the art film studio. This is something that many pool fans will appreciate once Larry get's this venue and league, up and running.

Go to www.playbonusball.com to learn more about the game of choice of the WPBL. It's a very strategic game to play. You can also go to www.wpbl.tv to see some pilots of the game. Enjoy some great billiards!
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I understand what you are saying but I can't understand that you can't rent a warehouse and make up a makeshift studio with riggings and lights and do the same green screen editiing you were planning on. I am no expert but I have seen enough hollywood documentaries to know that they they have essentially empty spaces ready to fill with whatever fantasy they want to create.

I just don't get the whole construction delays stuff because I think you could find a space and do your thing. After all the porn guys manage to do it by renting a nice house for the week. I feel that if you did that then no one would care what was happening inside the warehouse.

Then again, whatever, if it goes off then I will watch some of it and if not, well, we have seen this story before plenty of times in the billiard industry in the past twenty years.
 
lfigueroa said:
oh, crap. I think I'm going to pass out.

Lou Figueroa
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I don't see why? When you make sense, which is often, then I agree with you. When you don't, which is often, and I feel like I have something to say in response then I do.
 
Here is a recent exchange (on one pocket.org) between my good friend Fast Lenny and I...He is set do do the streaming for Bonus Ball (when/if)...He thinks its going to happen, hope for his sake it does ???


Wishing you luck, at "Bonus Ball" Lenny,..but I do hope you are getting some cash up front.. Compared to the the way B.B. is going thus far, Kevin Trudeau had a far better business model, with the IPT !...But at least you are not dealing with thieves...I think you are dealing with well-meaning idealists, like yourself..and I sincerely hope my gloom and doom is wrong !..But, they are trying to 'invent' a new game, along with a new team concept..and building a dedicated Arena for it (or trying too)...in a town that has a jillion ways to capture the entertainment $$$...Seems like too much at once...Reminds me a little of the Galveston group, and their big plans, (only BB seems to have a MUCH bigger investment)..We all know how Galveston turned out..don't we ? When reality set in, they had to lower their promised prize fund about 70%...(Once was enough for those guy's)

For the last 60 years, I have always thought pool has needed LESS games, not MORE...Name one other sport/game, that has a hundred different ways of playing a game, on about 10 different size tables, with an infinate number of pocket sizes, and shapes ? Our best game, (and my favorite) has NO chance of EVER being televised !...Its as if they are TRYING to confuse potential fans...It's much the same, as many years ago, they even went so far as to build a table, WITH NO POCKETS. (with only about 10 different ways to play those games)...One can only assume, that effort, was for people who couldn't pocket a ball in the ocean ! ....Thankfully, THAT game didn't last long !..That was a bit 'tongue in cheek', (but, not necessarily wrong !

Hopefully 'Bonus Ball' will be the answer to 'drawing a crowd'.. As we are running out of options, at trying to generate a successful product, for capturing a TV audience for pool !...Just stop and think, it took about a century, for people to become familiar with 8-ball..I'm not sure fan's are ready to learn a brand new concept. And lets throw in a confusing NEW set of rules, with DIFFERENT color balls...Myself, I would have given the BB promoter's, a far better chance at success, if they had just made their game, good old, tried and proven EIGHT BALL ! You can stop ANYBODY on the street, male or female, and they know how to play 8 ball. And with a little minor tweaking, it ain't a half bad game, when played by pro's. The BB guys, with their new, unfamiliar game, time and scoring clocks and all, may be biting off a bit much. And its asking a lot for the "Team Concept" to save it, when all their games, are AWAY games ???..:confused:

SJD
 
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Instead of playing in one venue in Vegas, why don't they do like every other sport and play a given match at the pool hall of the home team. This would draw the fans of the local teams. The Internet streaming seems to be the main focus of the current format. However, I think it would gain more momentum this way. The excitement is generated from fans being fans and getting the fans of teams together rooting for their team. Witness the mosconi cup. If that were an Internet only format, it wouldn't be nearly as good. Sure, the play is fantastic, but that is not enough. It is the partnership with the FANS that generate the energy and excitement!
 
Nitrous said:
Bonus Ball is most definitely one of the silliest games you can play on a pool table. Why promote it? :confused: Can you imagine a Bonus ball league? :eek::confused:

It's not one of those games that you can play by yourself or even practice by yourself. To be a good player in this game you have to be a decent player to begin with, whether it be in 14.1, 9 ball, whatever.

failboat :thumbup:
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The game has had the smartest pool minds in the country developing it over the past four years, including Johnny Archer, Darren Appleton, Shane Van Boening, Nick Varner and many others. The game only seems silly to pool players that don't want to see merit in the game. The game has merit, just as One Pocket and Straight pool have merit.

It is not a break and run game so yes, playing it by yourself is not as easy. It is a game of substance which is more fun to play against an opponent. Kinda like playing One Pocket against yourself. Playing Eight Ball against yourself is kinda lame to. I agree, trying to run a nine ball rack is more of a practice game.

As far as renting a warehouse to jump start the WPBL, that can be done as quickly as Larry produced the three pilots in a make shift arena. That is not how Larry envisioned starting the league. I agree with that. It matters not when he starts the league, it matters that he starts the league and has his studio and team producing a professional calibre product. I guess he will live or die by that. I do know his vision and I believe in it. Im tired of seeing Orcullo soft breaking and creating runable patterns game after game. I'd prefer to see him play a fast game that requires amazing shots and strategic play that the three pocket game of Bonus Ball forces out of payers. I'd rather wait for this new state of the art venue to get completed. There are many streams out there that I can watch until then. www.playbonusball.com has video of this new game and you may print out the amateur rules. There is also a novice version of six-pocket Bonus Ball that plays similar to eight ball.

Play the game and have fun. It's simply billards played with three pockets. Nothing more than that other than it has a lot more challenging shots and strategy compared to what your used to. I must warn you though, you got to think a lot more and faster playing the three-pocket game. I find that far more entertaining, each to their own.
 
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Shermanscs said:
Instead of playing in one venue in Vegas, why don't they do like every other sport and play a given match at the pool hall of the home team. This would draw the fans of the local teams. The Internet streaming seems to be the main focus of the current format. However, I think it would gain more momentum this way. The excitement is generated from fans being fans and getting the fans of teams together rooting for their team. Witness the mosconi cup. If that were an Internet only format, it wouldn't be nearly as good. Sure, the play is fantastic, but that is not enough. It is the partnership with the FANS that generate the energy and excitement!
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I had a test league in Canada that was amazing. It had drama and excitement and all the players had a blast. It is my plans to launch more amateur leagues in the future and I have some amazing new software developed for the new leagues. I personally am disappointed that the WPBL has not lauched because it was to be my main advertising of how great this game plays.

Ideally, building venues in each city to house these professional teams would seem logical but the enormous finacial cost of doing such a project is twelve times larger than one main venue to start. I would estimate that cost would be approximately 40 million. Anyone want to invest that type of money in ten ball, never mind a new game. I didn't think so. Larry Chiborak has the right idea and now he needs to execute. That is something that only he can control, at this time. I am very much in his corner. I love the concept!
 
Shermanscs said:
Instead of playing in one venue in Vegas, why don't they do like every other sport and play a given match at the pool hall of the home team. This would draw the fans of the local teams. The Internet streaming seems to be the main focus of the current format. However, I think it would gain more momentum this way. The excitement is generated from fans being fans and getting the fans of teams together rooting for their team. Witness the mosconi cup. If that were an Internet only format, it wouldn't be nearly as good. Sure, the play is fantastic, but that is not enough. It is the partnership with the FANS that generate the energy and excitement!
Click to expand...

The biggest reason they aren't doing that, in my opinion, is that they want to make it a video production, in addition to getting fans involved. And going to bars around the country isn't going to allow them to set up the kind of video environment that they are envisioning. (Space constraints, and literally having to truck the high end equipment around the country.)

Again, all of that is just a guess on my part, but I believe it to be accurate. PPV is the main initial goal, methinks, and the one thing they certainly have done right is the video production. Thus the need for the controlled studio environment.

I'm not a believer in the whole concept, though I wish them well and hope that I am wrong. We shall see.
 
vpbb123 said:
The game has had the smartest pool minds in the country developing it over the past four years, including Johnny Archer, Darren Appleton, Shane Van Boening, Nick Varner and many others. The game only seems silly to pool players that don't want to see merit in the game. The game has merit, just as One Pocket and Straight pool have merit.

It is not a break and run game so yes, playing it by yourself is not as easy. It is a game of substance which is more fun to play against an opponent. Kinda like playing One Pocket against yourself. Playing Eight Ball against yourself is kinda lame to. I agree, trying to run a nine ball rack is more of a practice game.

As far as renting a warehouse to jump start the WPBL, that can be done as quickly as Larry produced the three pilots in a make shift arena. That is not how Larry envisioned starting the league. I agree with that. It matters not when he starts the league, it matters that he starts the league and has his studio and team producing a professional calibre product. I guess he will live or die by that. I do know his vision and I believe in it. Im tired of seeing Orcullo soft breaking and creating runable patterns game after game. I'd prefer to see him play a fast game that requires amazing shots and strategic play that the three pocket game of Bonus Ball forces out of payers. I'd rather wait for this new state of the art venue to get completed. There are many streams out there that I can watch until then. www.playbonusball.com has video of this new game and you may print out the amateur rules. There is also a novice version of six-pocket Bonus Ball that plays similar to eight ball.

Play the game and have fun. It's simply billards played with three pockets. Nothing more than that other than it has a lot more challenging shots and strategy compared to what your used to. I must warn you though, you got to think a lot more and faster playing the three-pocket game. I find that far more entertaining, each to their own.
Click to expand...


BB may have had the smartest pool minds in the country developing it, but the guys you name are professional pool players. And their requirements for a demanding and/or exciting game is far, far removed from what the average fan (your potential customers) might find appealing to watch and play, IMO.

Lou Figueroa
 
I'm just wondering what the expiration date is on a project like this? By that I mean at what point do the carrying costs simply break your back. The bills come every month whether your company is selling something or not. Thinking about eating six months of expenses with nothing to show for it would make me insane. There eventually has to come a point where you either run out of money or just cut bait and save what you can.

I'm guessing its 50/50 at best if the doors open at this point. I can see it just fading away quietly with a press release saying "Due to circumstances beyond our control....." I say that because even if the studio is finished and all the hurdles jumped through there still has to be about two million dollars left to run a season at the numbers that have been thrown around.

Who knows though....maybe everything will work out. I just havent seen the world work like that too often. I genuinely hope they get the thing open and all the guys come to Vegas. If it somehow becomes a success then everyone goes to Sizzler. Even if it doesnt work long term it would be an interesting period of time.
 
Players will dance to any tune as long as they are being paid. Who can blame them? What happens, though, when the music stops?

GIFSoup
 
I for one could care less about bonus ball but I also don't like see people burned for trying to do something positive for pool. I'll watch a little just to give it its fare shake and try to contribute back a little. I do agree with most of the posters here; I would be promoting it now; even if its just small money matches etc and do some streaming just to get the word out. If the players are that into it why not do a couple exhibition matches with some local streamer?
 
Bonus Ball may or may not happen as a professional league at this point in time. That much we know. I have absolutely no business advice to offer Larry. It's his money and he is free to spend it as he choses, "He who has the gold makes the rules." Fatboy can relate!

I sympathize with Larry and do not put him in the same category as Trudough by any means. I believe his intentions are good and he is not out to deceive anyone. I can't same the same for Trudough. IMO he used the pool players and discarded them when his scheme failed.

Larry went in his pocket and paid all these guys three grand who came out to Vegas in December, a big chunk of change. I admire his tenacity and wish him well in the future. We need people like Larry Chiborak involved in the billiard industry. It's men like him that will ultimately make a difference in the future of this sport. He is not sitting on the sidelines and b-tching and moaning, he is on the playing field fighting the good fight. I don't even know the guy but if I ever meet him I will shake his hand and say thanks! :thumbup2:
 
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Kevin Trudeau gifted each BCA Hall of Famer $30,000 for showing up in Orlando, Florida, to shoot in the King of the Hill Tournament in December 2005. Some of them never played another game on the IPT Tour, but I am sure they enjoyed receiving the $30,000. The other players were given $6,000 to show, win or lose. The money payouts were extra. Not everybody has a bad view about the IPT and Kevin Trudeau that were involved in the tour.
 
JAM said:
Kevin Trudeau gifted each BCA Hall of Famer $30,000 for showing up in Orlando, Florida, to shoot in the King of the Hill Tournament in December 2005. Some of them never played another game on the IPT Tour, but I am sure they enjoyed receiving the $30,000. The other players were given $6,000 to show, win or lose. The money payouts were extra. Not everybody has a bad view about the IPT and Kevin Trudeau that were involved in the tour.
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Yeah it started off with a bang and ended with a thud. He built up everyone's hopes and then dumped them when the show was over. Keith got off easy, selling his winnings at a discount. He didn't have to wait over two years to get paid!
 
The $30,000 that David Matlock pocketed in Vegas was sweet for him and his lady. They said they were going to use it to put a down payment on a house.

It's a shame you didn't get to see the IPT tournament in Vegas that Thorston won. It went to the hill. What was it for first place? I can't remember. $350,000? Life-changing money: real money, real rules, and real pool. :cool:

It was the next IPT tournament in Reno that the players got the news that the check would be in the mail, which in some cases did take 2 years. Keith had $5,000 coming to him, as I recall, and he sold it for 90 percent to another player friend.

Anyone interested in a cool pool read, check it out ---> HERE
 

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So, seeing notes from multiple Bonus Ball players on Facebook that the new start date is May 2nd.

No idea how long the season is going to run, but even if it only runs 12 weeks then it would step on...

World 8-Ball Championship
China Open
World 10-Ball Championship
Ultimate 10-Ball
Southern Classic
US Open One Pocket
US Open 8-Ball
US Open 10-Ball


I would like to see Bonus Ball succeed as much as the next guy (anything that makes pool better, is better for pool), but when is someone (any of the top players?) going to step up and say that it is not right for Bonus Ball to schedule with no concern for what they are scheduling on top of?

The game of professional pool struggles enough as it is. It does not need a promoter doing a "bull in the china shop" routine and stepping on already established promoters.

I completely realize that Bonus Ball is probably backed into a corner as far as scheduling, and the second half of the year is much busier as far as other events. But that is not the player's or the other promoter's faults.

If all of the above listed events have to proceed without all of the contracted Bonus Ball players, it could be really bad for the pro pool scene.

Just a thought.

Mike
 
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