Jay Helfert resigned as Tourney Director at the US Open

It's been a long day and I just returned home. I was not happy to leave the U.S. Open but I had no choice. To continue as TD would be to compromise my principles and I won't do that. I strenuously objected to Allen Hopkins being put into the field a day after the tournament flow chart had been posted. Barry asked me to find a player we could remove (paying them off if necessary) and insert Allen into his spot on the board. I refused to do this and made it clear to Barry that it was cheating. This went on all day Sunday with Barry making every attempt he could to find someone who would drop out. He posted flyers to that effect by the tournament board and asked me to make announcements, which I wouldn't do.

All the while he continued to send me derogatory text messages, with liberal use of profanity. I ignored them and just hoped he would eventually drop this very bad idea. I was kept busy doing the work of three men, since Barry had not seen fit to hire any of the assistants that I requested. Saving money takes priority with Barry at all times. He was all too anxious to get rid of me when he saw that I would not go along with his unethical program.

I spoke with Allan directly and told him that this was a bad idea. His name had never been on any players list that Pat or I had seen. It turns out that Barry and Allan made some back room deal that if Allan brings a plaque honoring Barry's 40 years, he will get a spot in the Open. None of this was ever conveyed to Pat or myself. Barry neglected to mention this "deal" to either of us. It must have slipped his mind (or what there is left of it).

I talked to Allan on Sunday morning, explaining to him that the field was full and the board had been posted last night. If I had known about this a day earlier, before we did the draw, then I may have been able to get him in. Allan understood and told me he didn't care if he played or not. I then sent this message to Barry and his response was a mere, "PUT HIM IN! I DON'T CARE HOW YOU DO IT!?" I responded to Barry that I would not put Allan in under any circumstances.

The tournament continued with the day matches and I did my job (under some duress I might add). I started the day at 8 AM and at 5:30 pm I finally had a 45 minute break to eat some dinner. When I returned to the tournament area, I noticed that Lee Steelman's name had been whited out and Allen Hopkins name inserted in his place. For me this was the last straw. I had put up with two days of Barry's incoherent and often abusive ramblings and now he decided to manipulate the tournament board. He had NEVER before touched the tournament flow chart in any Opens I had previously worked. I let Barry know that I would be withdrawing as TD effective on Monday (today). I finished working the evening rounds, updated the flow charts and scheduled the next two days matches. Hopefully that will be enough for Scott or whoever to finish the event. I assured the players that the money was good and they didn't have to worry about that.

Several people tried to convince me to stay, but I felt that by staying I was tacitly condoning what had just happened. Basically we had cheated as a favor to Allen Hopkins. I couldn't in good conscience overlook this and continue to do my job. In over 30 years directing tournaments I had never allowed anything like this happen and I wasn't about to start now. I had no choice but to withdraw as TD and I did. I gave all my materials to Scott and hopefully he will be able to handle it okay. The U.S. Open is not the easiest tournament to run and it takes some expertise to make the schedule work on time. If they follow my lead for the first three days I think they can do it. I wish them luck. I got to bed at about 1:30 AM, a seventeen hour day, mostly on my own. I was bleary eyed from fatigue and stress, but agreed to wait until the morning to see if cooler heads could prevail. My bottom line was that Allen could not play in the tournament. I awoke at just after 10 AM and walked out of my room just in time to hear them announcing Allen's match with Warren Kiamco, on the TV table no less. I went back inside, packed my bags and left for the airport. I finally got back home at 9 PM California time.

I have no regrets. I feel that I made the right decision for me.

You did the right thing.

I will order More Pool Wars to help offset the extra cost you must have incurred changing your flight. :-)
 
Sorry you had to deal with that Jay, thanks for keeping (or trying to keep) some sanity in the tourney.
 
It's been a long day and I just returned home. I was not happy to leave the U.S. Open but I had no choice. To continue as TD would be to compromise my principles and I won't do that. I strenuously objected to Allen Hopkins being put into the field a day after the tournament flow chart had been posted. Barry asked me to find a player we could remove (paying them off if necessary) and insert Allen into his spot on the board. I refused to do this and made it clear to Barry that it was cheating. This went on all day Sunday with Barry making every attempt he could to find someone who would drop out. He posted flyers to that effect by the tournament board and asked me to make announcements, which I wouldn't do.

All the while he continued to send me derogatory text messages, with liberal use of profanity. I ignored them and just hoped he would eventually drop this very bad idea. I was kept busy doing the work of three men, since Barry had not seen fit to hire any of the assistants that I requested. Saving money takes priority with Barry at all times. He was all too anxious to get rid of me when he saw that I would not go along with his unethical program.

I spoke with Allan directly and told him that this was a bad idea. His name had never been on any players list that Pat or I had seen. It turns out that Barry and Allan made a back room deal that if Allan brings a plaque honoring Barry's 40 years, he will get a spot in the Open. None of this was ever conveyed to Pat or myself. Barry neglected to mention this "deal" to either of us. It must have slipped his mind (or what there is left of it).

I talked to Allan on Sunday morning, explaining to him that the field was full and the board had been posted last night. If I had known about this a day earlier, before we did the draw, then I may have been able to get him in. Allan understood and told me he didn't care if he played or not. I then sent this message to Barry and his response was a mere, "PUT HIM IN! I DON'T CARE HOW YOU DO IT!?" I responded to Barry that I would not put Allan in under any circumstances.

The tournament continued with the day matches and I did my job (under some duress I might add). I started the day at 8 AM and at 5:30 pm I finally had a 45 minute break to eat some dinner. When I returned to the tournament area, I noticed that Lee Steelman's name had been whited out and Allen Hopkins name inserted in his place. For me this was the last straw. I had put up with two days of Barry's incoherent and often abusive ramblings and now he decided to manipulate the tournament board. He had NEVER before touched the tournament flow chart in any Opens that I had previously worked. I let Barry know that I would be withdrawing as TD effective on Monday (today). I finished working the evening rounds, updated the flow charts and scheduled the next two days matches. Hopefully that will be enough for Scott or whoever to finish the event. I assured the players that the money was good and they didn't have to worry about that.

Several people tried to convince me to stay, but I felt that by staying I was tacitly condoning what had just happened. Basically we had cheated as a favor to Allen Hopkins. I couldn't in good conscience overlook this and continue to do my job. In over 30 years directing tournaments I had never allowed anything like this happen and I wasn't about to start now. I had no choice but to withdraw as TD and I did. I gave all my materials to Scott and hopefully he will be able to handle it okay. The U.S. Open is not the easiest tournament to run and it takes some expertise to make the schedule work on time. If they follow my lead for the first three days I think they can do it. I wish them luck. I got to bed at about 1:30 AM, a seventeen hour day, mostly on my own. I was bleary eyed from fatigue and stress, but agreed to wait until the morning to see if cooler heads could prevail. My bottom line was that Allen could not play in the tournament. I awoke at just after 10 AM and walked out of my room just in time to hear them announcing Allen's match with Warren Kiamco, on the TV table no less. I went back inside, packed my bags and left for the airport. I finally got back home at 9 PM California time.

I have no regrets. I feel that I made the right decision for me.

Tap tap tap!

Sucks that you had to deal with BS, but you know you did the right thing. ;)
 
You did the right thing Jay. Hopefully Barry will sell or give up the rights to the us open as he's lost some more credibility by running the open into the ground with this kind of crap. It's to bad because I was pulling for him since Pat, yourself and other's got involved and tried to get the credibility back in this once great event and move forward to better day's.
 
Good job Jay... Thx for setting president here. A main problem in pool is the wrong values people bring 'into it'.

Randy
 
[/QUOTE]I have no regrets. I feel that I made the right decision for me.[/QUOTE]



Jay,

You absolutely did the right thing by taking the action you did.

In our daily lives as well as in our work, if we do not have credibility and integrity, we have nothing.
You took the correct (and only) posture for this situation. I regret the taint which has been added to this year's Open by modifying the bracket.
Disappointing and regretful.

You are appreciated by many. Thanks.

Will Prout
 
It's been a long day and I just returned home. I was not happy to leave the U.S. Open but I had no choice. To continue as TD would be to compromise my principles and I won't do that. I strenuously objected to Allen Hopkins being put into the field a day after the tournament flow chart had been posted. Barry asked me to find a player we could remove (paying them off if necessary) and insert Allen into his spot on the board. I refused to do this and made it clear to Barry that it was cheating. This went on all day Sunday with Barry making every attempt he could to find someone who would drop out. He posted flyers to that effect by the tournament board and asked me to make announcements, which I wouldn't do.

All the while he continued to send me derogatory text messages, with liberal use of profanity. I ignored them and just hoped he would eventually drop this very bad idea. I was kept busy doing the work of three men, since Barry had not seen fit to hire any of the assistants that I requested. Saving money takes priority with Barry at all times. He was all too anxious to get rid of me when he saw that I would not go along with his unethical program.

I spoke with Allan directly and told him that this was a bad idea. His name had never been on any players list that Pat or I had seen. It turns out that Barry and Allan made a back room deal that if Allan brings a plaque honoring Barry's 40 years, he will get a spot in the Open. None of this was ever conveyed to Pat or myself. Barry neglected to mention this "deal" to either of us. It must have slipped his mind (or what there is left of it).

I talked to Allan on Sunday morning, explaining to him that the field was full and the board had been posted last night. If I had known about this a day earlier, before we did the draw, then I may have been able to get him in. Allan understood and told me he didn't care if he played or not. I then sent this message to Barry and his response was a mere, "PUT HIM IN! I DON'T CARE HOW YOU DO IT!?" I responded to Barry that I would not put Allan in under any circumstances.

The tournament continued with the day matches and I did my job (under some duress I might add). I started the day at 8 AM and at 5:30 pm I finally had a 45 minute break to eat some dinner. When I returned to the tournament area, I noticed that Lee Steelman's name had been whited out and Allen Hopkins name inserted in his place. For me this was the last straw. I had put up with two days of Barry's incoherent and often abusive ramblings and now he decided to manipulate the tournament board. He had NEVER before touched the tournament flow chart in any Opens that I had previously worked. I let Barry know that I would be withdrawing as TD effective on Monday (today). I finished working the evening rounds, updated the flow charts and scheduled the next two days matches. Hopefully that will be enough for Scott or whoever to finish the event. I assured the players that the money was good and they didn't have to worry about that.

Several people tried to convince me to stay, but I felt that by staying I was tacitly condoning what had just happened. Basically we had cheated as a favor to Allen Hopkins. I couldn't in good conscience overlook this and continue to do my job. In over 30 years directing tournaments I had never allowed anything like this happen and I wasn't about to start now. I had no choice but to withdraw as TD and I did. I gave all my materials to Scott and hopefully he will be able to handle it okay. The U.S. Open is not the easiest tournament to run and it takes some expertise to make the schedule work on time. If they follow my lead for the first three days I think they can do it. I wish them luck. I got to bed at about 1:30 AM, a seventeen hour day, mostly on my own. I was bleary eyed from fatigue and stress, but agreed to wait until the morning to see if cooler heads could prevail. My bottom line was that Allen could not play in the tournament. I awoke at just after 10 AM and walked out of my room just in time to hear them announcing Allen's match with Warren Kiamco, on the TV table no less. I went back inside, packed my bags and left for the airport. I finally got back home at 9 PM California time.

I have no regrets. I feel that I made the right decision for me.

Jay,

Without question you made the right decision. I have never posted something like this.....but we are talking about BB. Barry is a real stain on the game. He is a disgrace on too many levels to list. I am so nausiated by him, the stories, the lies and dishonesty, that I have zero interest in watching or even following the US Open. He is a poster child for the "Whats' Wrong with Pool" threads. Think about this; BB apparently owns the name US Open for 9 Ball. However he can not be trusted to pay out so a third party must control the funds. Without you and Pat, I think his event would implode. I would like to see Pat pull out as well. Nothing GOOD can happen being associated with the likes of Barry.

Someone needs to run a North American Open concurrent with Barry's fiasco and kill it.

I am sorry for your misfortune.
All the best,
Phil
 
Now if nobody gives Barry the time of day for the next year, maybe him and his 9 ball tournament will just fade away. No press releases, no interviews, no magazine ads. Barry is a nobody with nothing left but a tainted 40 year old tournament. If everyone ignores him, he can work on losing QMasters. Johnnyt
 
There are two sets of posters here. There are the Naysayers and there are The Blind Leading The Blind.
Over the past few weeks each of them has had their Place in the Sun.
Now the clouds are beginning to clear for the NSs and they will have the last say in this turbulent matter as more 'skeletons' emerge.
Even Allan Hopkins' credibility has taken a knock by virtue of the fact that he endorsed this cheapskate arrangement. How would Warren have viewed the situation in the unlikely case of him being beaten by Allan. Notwithstanding all this, unless some legitimate players have been left out of the draw then once it is made public then it shouldn't be altered.
Once that tenet had been broken then they could do anything unethical. They knew that Jeremy Jones was not coming. So why wasn't Hopkins given that spot. But don't even go there, can you imagine Darren Appleton standing for that. Everything would have ground to a halt.
Vietnam's Quan did not show up for his first match and was rightfully scrubbed out. But two days later he is back in the event playing Petroni. The Italian should be into the $300 paid for 65th= place
but who can he complain to when there is no TD.
No use complaining to the promoter because he probably gave Quan a Get Out of Jail card because he took so long to pay him two years ago.
Come On all you BLTBs what about -
The Cue Ball controversy
The lack of referees ( and will those present get paid}
Rack cheaters (goes with the territory).
Poor Publicity and lack of information
Excessive Parking Fees

It ain't over until SOMEONE SINGS. Get Obama to perform his excruciating AMAZING GRACE then expect Barry to try and top it.
Beam Me Up Scotty
 
I simply do not understand why men who are supposed to be so "street smart" and wise to the ways of pool players can keep on swallowing the bait, and allow themselves to get involved in business dealings with this Barry guy. :shrug:
Cartoon of one of Barry's marks posted below.
cartoon man asleep in chair.jpg
 
There are two sets of posters here. There are the Naysayers and there are The Blind Leading The Blind.
Over the past few weeks each of them has had their Place in the Sun.
Now the clouds are beginning to clear for the NSs and they will have the last say in this turbulent matter as more 'skeletons' emerge.
Even Allan Hopkins' credibility has taken a knock by virtue of the fact that he endorsed this cheapskate arrangement. How would Warren have viewed the situation in the unlikely case of him being beaten by Allan. Notwithstanding all this, unless some legitimate players have been left out of the draw then once it is made public then it shouldn't be altered.
Once that tenet had been broken then they could do anything unethical. They knew that Jeremy Jones was not coming. So why wasn't Hopkins given that spot. But don't even go there, can you imagine Darren Appleton standing for that. Everything would have ground to a halt.
Vietnam's Quan did not show up for his first match and was rightfully scrubbed out. But two days later he is back in the event playing Petroni. The Italian should be into the $300 paid for 65th= place
but who can he complain to when there is no TD.
No use complaining to the promoter because he probably gave Quan a Get Out of Jail card because he took so long to pay him two years ago.
Come On all you BLTBs what about -
The Cue Ball controversy
The lack of referees ( and will those present get paid}
Rack cheaters (goes with the territory).
Poor Publicity and lack of information
Excessive Parking Fees

It ain't over until SOMEONE SINGS. Get Obama to perform his excruciating AMAZING GRACE then expect Barry to try and top it.
Beam Me Up Scotty

Yay! Peteroni is in the house! Love that Italian Stallion.

Believe me, Allen Hopkins would not have cared one way or the other if he was put in or not put in. Allen just loves to play pool, always has. He will always be a pool player at heart. He actually enjoys competing, win or loses. It is a shame that he is caught in the cross-hairs. I know he would have been okay to just sit it out. Allen is *not* a trouble-maker, by any means. One of the most easygoing pool peeps I know.

Barry, on the other hand, felt that he had a right to make a so-called "executive decision," even if it meant breaking the rules or exerting favoritism. I do disagree with this. Same thing happned to Keith in 2004 at the Open. He was supposed to get a bye, coming in third the year before, but Grady Mathews complained to Barry and Scott behind closed doors that the senior citizens who competed in only one senior tournament that year should get the byes. They removed Keith's name and gave the byes to Grady, Dave Bolman, Charlie from Carolina, who received a bye.

As well, I never liked the fact that the European players were allowed to come to the tournament 2 days after it commenced, saving them expenses. Their names were put on the chart so they di dnot hvae to play their first match until Day 2. Everybody else had to attend an *mandatory* players meeting on a Sunday, but the Europeans were exempt from these extra 2 days of expenses.

I give Jay credit for standing by his principles. It is awful that he had to go through what he did with the mean-spirited texts. Barry was wrong.

I remember Mike Zuglan telling me that when he used to compete professionally that players were given favoritism with byes, free perks, et cetera. It always bothered Mike. He was a world-class player at the time, played strong, so he decided he had had enough of the favoritism hanky panky. Instead of talking, Mike started chalking and started the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour with Dan Janes, where favoritism will never raise its ugly head. You gotta respect a guy that does that. Joss is the longest-running tour in the States and continues to enjoy a sterling reputation in the industry. Long live Mike Zuglan. :)
 

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AzBilliards Gold Star of the Day goes out to who can name the place where this photo was taken. :D
 

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Best finals I've ever seen in my life was Ginky v. Allen Hopkins at Snooker's on a Joss Tour event. Allen had this one-punch short stroke, and Ginky was a long stroker. It was a bloody battle all the way to the end, and neither player made any mistakes. It was pool at its finest and was eye candy for a pool aficionado like me. It came down to the breaks, who made balls and who didn't, and Ginky came out on top. It was first-class pool all the way. I'll never forget it.

Joe Tucker came in third, then there is Steve and Regina Goulding (hosts and owners of Snooker's in Providence), first place winner Ginky, and second place winner Allen Hopkins. Oh, it was a Joss event, of course, a fair and honorable tour that never shows favoritism.
 

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Unfortunate situation.
Jay did the right thing -

The rules must be enforced on everyone equally - no favoritism.
Not sure how this could be allowed to happen.

It is wrong on so many levels.
(If a player could be ''allowed' to enter late, it has to go to the next name on the waiting list).

Mark Griffin

It is always, always great when an industry member posts on AzBilliards. Of course, you are right. Don't let the meanies drive you away. Those of us who know you are, most definitely, aware that you are an honorable person who gives way more than you receive when it comes to pool. I sometimes wonder why you do it, but I know your passion for pool is strong. Thank you for keeping pool alive. Without you, pool in America would suffer greatly. :smiling-heart:

When running tournaments, sometimes things happen that are beyond anyone's control. I remember Scotty Boggs giving me a "what-for" because of the long wait times at the Maryland State Championship, a tournament I ran in 1986. I covered as much as I could think of in a two-page rule sheet that I gave to each competitor, but unfortunately, I did cover time. I don't even think anyone had heard of a shotclock back then. The slow players held up my charts, and those who had to wait were really upset. It's a thankless job, running pool tournaments. You get more flack and complaints than you do thanks and compliments. That's for sure. :o
 
It's been a long day and I just returned home. I was not happy to leave the U.S. Open but I had no choice. To continue as TD would be to compromise my principles and I won't do that. I strenuously objected to Allen Hopkins being put into the field a day after the tournament flow chart had been posted. Barry asked me to find a player we could remove (paying them off if necessary) and insert Allen into his spot on the board. I refused to do this and made it clear to Barry that it was cheating. This went on all day Sunday with Barry making every attempt he could to find someone who would drop out. He posted flyers to that effect by the tournament board and asked me to make announcements, which I wouldn't do.

All the while he continued to send me derogatory text messages, with liberal use of profanity. I ignored them and just hoped he would eventually drop this very bad idea. I was kept busy doing the work of three men, since Barry had not seen fit to hire any of the assistants that I requested. Saving money takes priority with Barry at all times. He was all too anxious to get rid of me when he saw that I would not go along with his unethical program.

I spoke with Allan directly and told him that this was a bad idea. His name had never been on any players list that Pat or I had seen. It turns out that Barry and Allan made a back room deal that if Allan brings a plaque honoring Barry's 40 years, he will get a spot in the Open. None of this was ever conveyed to Pat or myself. Barry neglected to mention this "deal" to either of us. It must have slipped his mind (or what there is left of it).

I talked to Allan on Sunday morning, explaining to him that the field was full and the board had been posted last night. If I had known about this a day earlier, before we did the draw, then I may have been able to get him in. Allan understood and told me he didn't care if he played or not. I then sent this message to Barry and his response was a mere, "PUT HIM IN! I DON'T CARE HOW YOU DO IT!?" I responded to Barry that I would not put Allan in under any circumstances.

The tournament continued with the day matches and I did my job (under some duress I might add). I started the day at 8 AM and at 5:30 pm I finally had a 45 minute break to eat some dinner. When I returned to the tournament area, I noticed that Lee Steelman's name had been whited out and Allen Hopkins name inserted in his place. For me this was the last straw. I had put up with two days of Barry's incoherent and often abusive ramblings and now he decided to manipulate the tournament board. He had NEVER before touched the tournament flow chart in any Opens that I had previously worked. I let Barry know that I would be withdrawing as TD effective on Monday (today). I finished working the evening rounds, updated the flow charts and scheduled the next two days matches. Hopefully that will be enough for Scott or whoever to finish the event. I assured the players that the money was good and they didn't have to worry about that.

Several people tried to convince me to stay, but I felt that by staying I was tacitly condoning what had just happened. Basically we had cheated as a favor to Allen Hopkins. I couldn't in good conscience overlook this and continue to do my job. In over 30 years directing tournaments I had never allowed anything like this happen and I wasn't about to start now. I had no choice but to withdraw as TD and I did. I gave all my materials to Scott and hopefully he will be able to handle it okay. The U.S. Open is not the easiest tournament to run and it takes some expertise to make the schedule work on time. If they follow my lead for the first three days I think they can do it. I wish them luck. I got to bed at about 1:30 AM, a seventeen hour day, mostly on my own. I was bleary eyed from fatigue and stress, but agreed to wait until the morning to see if cooler heads could prevail. My bottom line was that Allen could not play in the tournament. I awoke at just after 10 AM and walked out of my room just in time to hear them announcing Allen's match with Warren Kiamco, on the TV table no less. I went back inside, packed my bags and left for the airport. I finally got back home at 9 PM California time.

I have no regrets. I feel that I made the right decision for me.

Yep....a no brainer from this Midwestern raised boy. That east coast attitude is somethin'. I'll never forget when I attended the last call for 9 ball event at the casino in Jersey, it was the one Sigel won forty K. The entire staff at this casino had ZERO people skills and they all hated their jobs. But, I did run into one Jersey bartender that was cool, but here's what he said. All I wanna do is get injured on the job and collect and get outta here. WOW
 
Vietnam's Quan did not show up for his first match and was rightfully scrubbed out. But two days later he is back in the event playing Petroni. The Italian should be into the $300 paid for 65th= place
but who can he complain to when there is no TD.
No use complaining to the promoter because he probably gave Quan a Get Out of Jail card because he took so long to pay him two years ago.

Quan is well within his rights to still be in the tournament....he is not the first player to go
straight to the B-side in a DOUBLE KNOCKOUT tourney 'cause he missed his first match. Every player gets two chances.

I totally agree with Jay's decision, however.
 
I'll give it to you straight, Jay.

When you walk out on a major tournament like that to save your reputation, you are hurting all the players you leave behind. If Barry wanted to make the change, you should have told him that you're against it and he would have to make it himself. Then you just tell all the players that it wasn't you who made the change and although you wanted to leave, you didn't want to walk out on them.

Everybody knows how Barry is and they wouldn't have held it against you. The players needed you and your expertise in running the event. You not only walked out on Barry, but you walked out on them as well.

And THAT is my east coast attitude, Bill Meacham.
 
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All things considered, I think it was the right thing to do for Mr. Helfert. Once people start tampering with the tournament in this fashion, it has been tainted, and from then on anyone staying connected with the tournament will IMO be tainted as well. It is the duty of the tournament officials to protest against such breaches of proper protocol and integrity, and if unheeded to take direct action against it. Mr. Helfert didn't have much of a choice, really. Good to see that there are still people with integrity in American pool. Maybe there's hope after all, but then again the people that are actually calling the shots (promoters) have no scruples what so ever...so there is that.
 
Allen runs the expo, he should know how bad a move that is. Taking the spot is the same as giving him the spot. A sad day for pool. Kudos Jay
 
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