ABR 2Nite: Vivian Villarreal + Team USA Pool Party

Industry-

SUPERSTAR said:
Do people even bother to read?
"Maybe Viv could take some pointers from Mike..."

Sorry. I didn't realize that telling a trainwreck to take some pointers from the guy running THE TIGHTEST ship in the country was a bad thing.
But that's OK.
You keep right on freaking out about it
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At least one head of Industry approached her to offer assistance last year.
It was ignored/declined.
 
Maybe you should reread your own post. You implied that VV should 'stand up like Mike', and take no shit from anybody. That's complete baloney, as she was completely in the wrong...all the way around.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

SUPERSTAR said:
Do people even bother to read?
"Maybe Viv could take some pointers from Mike..."

Sorry. I didn't realize that telling a trainwreck to take some pointers from the guy running THE TIGHTEST ship in the country was a bad thing.
But that's OK.
You keep right on freaking out about it
Click to expand...
 
There's a lack of business acumen and customer service that manifested itself from the moment this event was announced this year - I had direct interactions with her TD prior to the event and walked away with a very sour taste in my mouth. I'm now very glad that occurred prior to the event as it made my decision not to participate an easy one.

If you're going to promote a "world class" event, then you need to hold yourself to a certain standard of professionalism, enforce rules fairly for both players and spectators alike, adhere to a set cancellation policy, ensure that the added money stipulations are clear and understood and leave any personal bias you have at the door.

My group organizes over 18 events per year with attendance ranging up to 1,000 people - you have to have structure, understand and manage expectations and at the end of the day deliver a quality product - if any of those items are missing - you end up with a world of problems.

Just my .02.
 
BeiberLvr said:
See, Barry Behrman RIP
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And they all came back year after year.

But, Barry did have a good way to smooth things over for those that did well that he owed money to.

You know.
An after party with drugs and hookers goes a long way to shutting men up.
 
SUPERSTAR said:
And they all came back year after year.

But, Barry did have a good way to smooth things over for those that did well that he owed money to.

You know.
An after party with drugs and hookers goes a long way to shutting men up.
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Plus it's always better " I'd rather owe ya than cheat you out of it "! lol
 
Yeah,that was pretty bad.The "they", "those pool players","I would have paid them full but....","I don't need them,they need me",and "**** that guy (by name)" was hard to listen to.
 
Tin Man said:
I think VV did mean well, and she feels quite victimized because in her view she tried to help the players and they were whiny and unappreciative. The reality is that while I knew nothing about this before, this interview only put the nail in the coffin that not only were many things mishandled, she personally continues to mishandle the situation. Things that stood out:

1. She spent 15 minutes talking about a $15 badge to one player. This was a very small issue, yet it was an issue that she has a legitimate point on. But to focus on one trivial issue in light of the major issues all around seemed like misdirection to me.

2. Disrespecting players. She continuously calls players out by name, calling them whiny babies, profanity, saying she wished they'd get the f*** out, she won't invite them back again, they need her she doesn't need them, and on and on. She kept repeating that she hasn't read anything online because she 'knows the truth' and that she doesn't care what anyone else says, and she is trying to feel smug about it because we are just 'making her famous' by our criticism.

3. She is a bully. It was clear that even the interviewers were afraid of her. The one that was supposed to be 'playing devil's advocate' was so scared of being attacked he spent the majority of his questions walking on eggshells and trying to find a way to ask her the question that didn't get him screamed at, when the man was literally only trying to give her a platform to clear her name. Then he couldn't even ask the question because she was so bent on her point of view she would jump in on something and keep running her same spiel until everyone agreed with her. It was disturbing.

4. She was plain wrong. One legitimate concern was that the 'guaranteed prize money' wasn't added as advertised. Her defenses were 1) While it didn't disclose the conditions on FB or the flyers, it said 'based on full field' on the website, and players should have read that too, and understand that flyers are 'just marketing', and that they were put together by a multi-billion dollar company so they are right, 2) Pool players should just know that 'guaranteed' means 'based on full field' because that's how most tournaments work, 3) pool players are just wrecking pool because they are whiny and pathetic, and 4) she would have made sure all the money was added but didn't because of how the players acted. She acted like it was outrageous that pool promoters would have to disclose the conditions of added money on every flyer in the future.

I haven't even made it through yet but didn't want to lose my train of thought. All I can think is IMMATURE and UNACCOUNTABLE. I used to manage a team of 22-24 year old fresh college graduates, and they didn't make excuses, point fingers, take things personally while making personal attacks, escalate the hostility level, and come across this poorly.

I know she is a real person and is really hurting as a result of this. I wish that she would learn from her pain, grow some humility, stay within her ability in the future to avoid further injury to herself or anyone else, and quiet down until this blows over and she can move on. It won't undo what was done to the players, but that is all she can do. Unfortunately it seems she is determined to keep on her path, so I guess all we can do is stay out of the way. Now I know why she is called the Tornado.
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Hey Tin Man, I am the person you was playing Devils Advocate and who you mentioned in point #3. Just to clarify for you, I have done these kind of interviews before where we see all the threads and posts here on AZB and on Facebook. I like to give the accused a chance to speak for themselves and explain the situation while being fair and unbiased. So we can all hear it from the horses mouth so to speak. As far as me being scared or bullied by Vivian that is simply not the case. I am not sure if you think I should have yelled at her or been plain rude but that's not the way to get it done. I tried to get the answers to many questions in a polite and professional manner. I don't go into these interviews looking for a fight. I can understand how you might think that I was "Walking on egg shells" but it was just a purpose effort to be civil and not disrespect. I think we got quite a few answers from Vivian and maybe could have got more but its not as easy as you might think. Like the answers that Vivian gave or not we at least got to hear her point of view and not speculation on her thoughts. I hope you understand my position better now and why I conducted myself the way I did,
 
ABR said:
It's a Pool Party and you're invited!
Coach Mark Wilson shares the exciting details of this year's all-day-long festival in St. Louis. More info can also be found on the Team USA facebook page.

Vivian Villarreal speaks candidly about the confusion and disappointment surrounding her recent Tornado Open at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Florida.

Listen now: www.americanbilliardradio.com
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I get "Website expired" when I go there. Is there another link?
 
So...um...yeah what about that pool party. Woo.
lol

I kid.

Hope you all come out and join us, we're gonna burn down St. Louie :cool:
 
Abr

bfdlad said:
Hey Tin Man, I am the person you was playing Devils Advocate and who you mentioned in point #3. Just to clarify for you, I have done these kind of interviews before where we see all the threads and posts here on AZB and on Facebook. I like to give the accused a chance to speak for themselves and explain the situation while being fair and unbiased. So we can all hear it from the horses mouth so to speak. As far as me being scared or bullied by Vivian that is simply not the case. I am not sure if you think I should have yelled at her or been plain rude but that's not the way to get it done. I tried to get the answers to many questions in a polite and professional manner. I don't go into these interviews looking for a fight. I can understand how you might think that I was "Walking on egg shells" but it was just a purpose effort to be civil and not disrespect. I think we got quite a few answers from Vivian and maybe could have got more but its not as easy as you might think. Like the answers that Vivian gave or not we at least got to hear her point of view and not speculation on her thoughts. I hope you understand my position better now and why I conducted myself the way I did,
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Thank you for the reply. First of all, I appreciate what you are doing for pool. It is a lot of work and shows a tremendous passion for helping the game and it's followers.

I definitely agree it wouldn't do any good to be confrontational. I liked the way you framed things in terms of being neutral, and even by being on her side a bit, like "hey VV, I want to give you a chance to address some of the things that are being said by others". That is all good. And I certainly retract my statement about you being scared, clearly you were doing a good job navigating a difficult situation.

My main point is that VV was very defensive and offensive at the same time, and even with a very diplomatic approach it was very difficult to get a question in because she was pretty reactive and emotional. You definitely gave her the chance to speak for herself, it isn't on you that she mishandled this opportunity.

I apologize if my comments came off as critical towards your program. On the contrary, this is a hot topic for pool and for you to secure an interview and report on it in such a timely way is pretty impressive. Keep up the great work and thank you again for your feedback.
 
Tin Man said:
Thank you for the reply. First of all, I appreciate what you are doing for pool. It is a lot of work and shows a tremendous passion for helping the game and it's followers.

I definitely agree it wouldn't do any good to be confrontational. I liked the way you framed things in terms of being neutral, and even by being on her side a bit, like "hey VV, I want to give you a chance to address some of the things that are being said by others". That is all good. And I certainly retract my statement about you being scared, clearly you were doing a good job navigating a difficult situation.

My main point is that VV was very defensive and offensive at the same time, and even with a very diplomatic approach it was very difficult to get a question in because she was pretty reactive and emotional. You definitely gave her the chance to speak for herself, it isn't on you that she mishandled this opportunity.

I apologize if my comments came off as critical towards your program. On the contrary, this is a hot topic for pool and for you to secure an interview and report on it in such a timely way is pretty impressive. Keep up the great work and thank you again for your feedback.
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No worries Tin Man, I figured that it could come off as me or Mr Bond being a bit on our heels so wanted to explain. Like I always say in these situations with interviews about controversial topics. I can give people a chance to explain, defend or accept blame for themselves. What they do with that opportunity is up to them. Some may like the answers and some may not. That part isn't my problem. Thank you for the kind words though. Take it easy man.
 
Ya know, I listened to the whole interview this morning and frankly, I didn't have a problem with what she said and how she said it.

Without parsing every issue: the badge thing was because players were ripping off the gate, passing badges back and forth for free entry -- hence the $15 replacement badge policy. And yup, most pool players are savvy enough to know that "added money" is based on a full field and if two folks show, there ain't gonna to be no $25K added. (I'm guessing she will spell that out for future iterations.)

For a variety of reasons, they used bad tournament software that was recommended to them. They're not going to use it again. She called out SVB because she'd been told he was organizing a player boycott and when confronted he said not so and would do whatever he could to help her. And for me, if a "pro" player is drunk, can't walk, hung over, and has to forfeit a match as a result, I have absolutely no problem with the tournament promoter calling them out.

Having said all that, I was not at the venue and other things may have happened and things may have looked differently up close and personal.

But from what I heard: big babies, idiots... I think she nailed it.

Lou Figueroa
 
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I thought it was pretty amazing that she said people were complaining so she told the casino to cut the added money.
 
I wonder how much she made as a promoter.

I'm assuming none, since she stated she did this for the players. Right?
 
She never would have done tournament #2 if no money was going in pockets. Johnnyt
 
PocketSpeed11 said:
I wonder how much she made as a promoter.

I'm assuming none, since she stated she did this for the players. Right?
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And the pro pool players would meet up and play each without the prize money. Right?

Just to see who is the best.
 
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