I just picked up the phone and called Top Hat.
The employee who answered said that Top Hat is in talks with the people who run the MD 14.1 event,
(I guess that would be Peter) and it's still being decided if they will host or not.
Where did you hear that top hat would NOT host it?
I don't think that's 100% definite.
I like Big Daddy's, it's a great room, but Top Hat is just a nicer place.
Bigger, high ceilings, multiple places to sweat matches from, great lighting, top notch equipment, etc.
I have attended this event in both places and my experience at Top Hat was better.
It's just plain crowded at Big Daddy's, you have to fight for a place to sit, and your view
is often obstructed for any particular match. Top Hat is just a big old aircraft hangar,
no columns or rows of chairs or lines of people blocking your view.
You can see the difference in these pics:
BD's:
Top Hat:
For what it's worth I think the move to the other room was reluctant and possibly
was supposed to be temporary. The story I was told originally is that they delayed it a day because
there was a chance Efren and Busty could fly out. But later I was told it was delayed
because a bunch of players were returning from the Qatar tournament and they wanted
those players to be able to participate. In any case, it was delayed so that more top players could attend.
The weird part, if I understand it right, is that Big Daddy's could not host it, if they delayed until Sunday,
because of some stupid liquor law (?!). So that's why they moved to another room.
Now it looks like the move could be a permanent thing, and I won't object if that happens.