Is the National Billiards League legit, or a scam?

[realkingcobra]

NEVER sponsored ANYTHING. LAST thing i'd get involved with would be pool. Do you have ANY idea where Matchroom's biggest source of funds comes from????????????? GAMBLING(currently PartyPoker). Always has been. Keep dreaming. BTW, there are NO laws in Vegas regarding gambling and pool. DCC(not DDC meathead) is under the auspices of the Indiana Gaming Commission. There are NO universal laws pertaining to pool and gambling in casinos. If you think major corp's are going to get involved with pool you're delusional. I'd love to see you pitching this trainwreck to a major co.'s advertising manager.

Further more, there's only 2 states in the United States that have passed internet wagering, in case you didn't know, thats placing bets via the Internet, and neither of them have legalized paramutual wagering on pool events! And furthermore, in order to wager ANY kind of bets in Vegas, you must first be IN the state to do so! If betting in Washington State, any betting across state lines is a CLASS C FELONY! So keep thinking you know something about betting on pool in this country! Can't bet on pool though any online wagering site either like Fan Duel or Draftkings, or any Tribal casinos either for that matter. So, how would gambling support pool again, you lost me, please explain how that would work!!

 

[iusedtoberich]

Problem is most(if not all) are run by complete butthurt lefty douchebags. I wouldn't want them anywhere near my events, $$ or not. I doubt the person(s) in charge of their ad budgets have ever heard of pool much less want to get involved. IMO you've got a WAY better shot at getting gambling(casinos, on-line,etc.) and weed $$ than ANY top corporation.

Money is money. Would you not gamble with a hippie, or a pool room bum, or a drug dealer, or a hooker, or devout Christian, or a gun nut, etc. I have gambled with all of them, and the only thing that matters is their money is green.

 

[realkingcobra]

Money is money. Would you not gamble with a hippie, or a pool room bum, or a drug dealer, or a hooker, or devout Christian, or a gun nut, etc. I have gambled with all of them, and the only thing that matters is their money is green.

Only thing this sport as to promise to the sponsors, is that the PLAYERS won't embarrass them!!!!!

 

[JusticeNJ]

Only thing this sport as to promise to the sponsors, is that the PLAYERS won't embarrass them!!!!!

I can see it now. McDonalds comes out with the 9-Ball 9 piece nugget special in a diamond shaped box, and the pool players ask if they can get it for free because they go to that McDonalds frequently. Then get pissed and threaten to go to another McDonalds when they get told where to stick it.

 

[realkingcobra]

I can see it now. McDonalds comes out with the 9-Ball 9 piece nugget special in a diamond shaped box, and the pool players ask if they can get it for free because they go to that McDonalds frequently. Then get pissed and threaten to go to another McDonalds when they get told where to stick it.

Ir maybe, just MAYBE Domino's runs a promotion worldwide letting everyone around the world know by way of their website and all other social media outlets they advertise through, that if you purchase an XL pizza, take your receipt and enter the receipt number into their website to get your free viewing pass code. Then when you sign up for the live streamed round robin event, go ahead and register you information to watch, and when you get ready to click on the check out box, and pay the $10.99 membership fee, a question pops up, asking you if you have any coupons to apply, and you enter that DOMINO'S pass code, and what do you know, you're registered to watch the world round robin event, for FREE, and you still get to watch the VOD for free for the rest of the month too!!!!

Kind of makes you go hmmmmmmmmmm??

 

[lfigueroa]

Wrong sponsor's, and trust me, there's PLENTY of billion dollar sponsor's just waiting to jump on board, because if we provide eyeballs, they'll provide the dollars. The key thing you're missing out on, is that the sponsor's products MUST be affordable to all who view, NOT the select minority!!!

duh.

I cited those as an example of what would be needed, Somewhat obviously a sponsor would need to match the demographics of the available audience. And other than a beer company (which has been tried and failed) I'm not sure who that would be.

Lou Figueroa

 

[sjm]

duh.

I cited those as an example of what would be needed, Somewhat obviously a sponsor would need to match the demographics of the available audience. And other than a beer company (which has been tried and failed) I'm not sure who that would be.

Lou Figueroa

The demographic that pool has always failed to attract has to do with age more than income. It is the coveted 18-49 year old consumers that pool has consistently failed to attract, and that's why advertisers never wanted to purchase spots on pool telecasts or streams. ESPN data has consistently shown that the demographic that pool telecasts always attracted were chiefly the over 50 crowd.

 

[realkingcobra]

The demographic that pool has always failed to attract has to do with age more than income. It is the coveted 18-49 year old consumers that pool has consistently failed to attract, and that's why advertisers never wanted to purchase spots on pool telecasts or streams. ESPN data has consistently shown that the demographic that pool telecasts always attracted were chiefly the over 50 crowd.

And which demographics would that be, in America or around the world?

 

[sjm]

And which demographics would that be, in America or around the world?

That's in America only and refers only to American-based events telecast on ESPN, chiefly in the 1995-2010 period. I suspect that pool could attract the desired demographics in the Philippines, Taiwan and some other markets, but I have no first hand knowledge on these markets.

 

[realkingcobra]

That's in America only and refers only to American-based events telecast on ESPN, chiefly in the 1995-2010 period. I suspect that pool could attract the desired demographics in the Philippines, Taiwan and some other markets, but I have no first hand knowledge on these markets.

At what age was Fedor Gorst and Joshua Filler, and Kaci when they were first viewed? And from which countries? The demographics of the American viewership in no way represents the rest of the world viewers.

How old was WU when he won his first world title? From which country?

 

[realkingcobra]

That's in America only and refers only to American-based events telecast on ESPN, chiefly in the 1995-2010 period. I suspect that pool could attract the desired demographics in the Philippines, Taiwan and some other markets, but I have no first hand knowledge on these markets.

The sooner people start realizing pool isn't an American sport anymore, the sooner they'll realize their no longer the ONLY players, or country involved anymore too! People have to stop thinking America only, and realize its a BIG world, filled with players and viewers all over this planet!!!!!!!!

 

[sjm]

At what age was Fedor Gorst and Joshua Filler, and Kaci when they were first viewed? And from which countries? The demographics of the American viewership in no way represents the rest of the world viewers.

How old was WU when he won his first world title? From which country?

Of those questions, I can only answer the last one, Wu was 16 and was living in Taiwan at the time.

I can speculate that Filler's first major exposure came at the 2017 China Open, played in December of that year, at which time he was 20. Gorst and Kaci I can't say, but both had exposure in Europe by the age of 20. All three of them have had exposure in the Mosconi Cup, too.

 

[sjm]

The sooner people start realizing pool isn't an American sport anymore, the sooner they'll realize their no longer the ONLY players, or country involved anymore too! People have to stop thinking America only, and realize its a BIG world, filled with players and viewers all over this planet!!!!!!!!

Agreed 100%. Not only has America become a less important market for pool, but American players as a group have been shying away from worldwide participation in pool for many years. I'd say I have been posting this same thought for over ten years.

 

[realkingcobra]

Of those questions, I can only answer the last one, Wu was 16 and was living in Taiwan at the time.

I can speculate that Filler's first major exposure came at the 2017 China Open, played in December of that year, at which time he was 20. Gorst and Kaci I can't say, but both had exposure in Europe by the age of 20. All three of them have had exposure in the Mosconi Cup, too.

Gorst won the world 9 ball championship at 17, so did Filler. Kaci took second in the US Open 9B behind Jason Shaw when he won it, Kaci was 17 at the time. Point is, where's all the great American players at that age? Again, you have to look at this as a world sport, and NOT an American one. That means there's a world viewing audience just waiting for the live streaming to come along so they can watch all the time!! I have no faith in the American viewership which is why I'm not counting on them.

 

[realkingcobra]

Agreed 100%. Not only has America become a less important market for pool, but American players as a group have been shying away from worldwide participation in pool for many years. I'd say I have been posting this same thought for over ten years.

America's pool players moto is pretty simple, "we may not be able to beat anyone in world tournaments anymore, but if you come here and gamble with us, we'll rob you blind.....if you give us enough weight playing one pocket"!!!!!

 

[sjm]

Gorst won the world 9 ball championship at 17, so did Filler. Kaci took second in the US Open 9B behind Jason Shaw when he won it, Kaci was 17 at the time. Point is, where's all the great American players at that age? Again, you have to look at this as a world sport, and NOT an American one. That means there's a world viewing audience just waiting for the live streaming to come along so they can watch all the time!! I have no faith in the American viewership which is why I'm not counting on them.

This is misinformed. Gorst, born in May 2000, was 19 1/2 when he won the world 9-ball in December 2019. Filler, born in October 1997, was 21 when he won the world 9-ball in December 2018. Kaci, born in January 1999, was 18 when he lost the US Open final to Jayson Shaw in October 2017.

I agree that that pool's viewership is largely Asia-based, and has been for quite a while. Anyone trying to appeal to the American market alone is missing a big opportunity. I also agree that there is a scarcity of world class players at present and also on the horizon in America.

 

[iusedtoberich]

It doesn't matter the country. Pool is boring to watch whether its a Taiwan viewer, American viewer, Canadian viewer, etc. Thats the crux of the problem. If pool were exciting to watch, then people (from any country) would watch it, and then sponsors would add money so those watching it may eventually become a customer of the sponsor. That would have a snowball effect, as the sponsor money would lead to better production values and more advertising, which would in turn lead to more viewers, and more payouts for "real" professional players.

The root problem though is its boring to watch.

Sorry Glen, but your idea of a special rack, a "ghost" rating to only ensure the elite play, standardized Diamond tables, a big venue in the middle of the county, etc, etc, don't change the fact that the game is boring to watch.

Having it live streamed FOR FREE on Netflix, 24/7, and Dominos throwing 20 million dollars at it still doesn't change the fact that its boring to watch.

You could have all your wishes come true, Dominos plus Netflix plus your game rules idea, and after one year, they would both pull out, because the game is boring and no one would watch.

 

[realkingcobra]

This is misinformed. Gorst, born in May 2000, was 19 1/2 when he won the world 9-ball in December 2019. Filler, born in October 1997, was 21 when he won the world 9-ball in December 2018. Kaci, born in January 1999, was 18 when he lost the US Open final to Jayson Shaw in October 2017.

I agree that that pool's viewership is largely Asia-based, and has been for quite a while. Anyone trying to appeal to the American market alone is missing a big opportunity. I also agree that there is a scarcity of world class players at present and also on the horizon in America.

I wasn't 100% sure about their ages, but I knew I was close. My point was, where's the American players at? The American players do not support each other, they for the most part want to do nothing more than gamble with whom ever they can get to a table. Players from other countries support and push each other to do better all the time. The major differences is in America its a "ME" attitude, whereas the rest of the world its more of a "WE" attitude.

 

[btal]

The problem with calcutta money, at least in the calcuttas I have seen, big spending gamblers get to come in and bid. In one respect it sounds like their bid is adding to the calcutta but when the top four or five players are bought by outsiders it is almost a given that these outside bidders are going to take the sweet top of the calcutta. They inflate the cost of the bids so then a top player may have to pay three or four thousand for half of themselves. To even get a shot at the calcutta money increases these players entry about $3000 give or take. Now the entry fee is at the nose bleed level with no guarantee of cashing. Of course many players simply don't have the cash to buy their half and either leave it on the table or use a backer to buy their half so their part of the Calcutta is down to 25%

Calcuttas are one of the best deals in gambling so outsiders are the ones that profit most! I believe that outsiders take more out of a calcutta than they put in, especially in bigger events. Do we limit calcuttas to players only? Maybe sidepots where each player that chooses to get in pays the same amount and only players are allowed in these side pots, of course no way to tell if they are using a backer.

The first calcutta I ever saw was at a match track for horses. It was ran different than I have ever seen since. Each horse, with four to six in a race, sometimes only two, was auctioned turn after turn. The auctioneer knew the horses and owners he was dealing with so this affected where the betting started at, maybe twenty or fifty a horse. If they couldn't get a bet on all horses the bet size went down. Around and around it went until nobody was betting or not enough people. The odds were the number of horses in the race minus the one you were betting so with five to one odds it could make sense to bet on a dog so you could keep getting money on the horse you wanted to bet. Would this work in pool? I don't think so because all players performance is too well known. Might give it a try though.

I don't know about this horse style calcutta. Can't hardly be worse than spending five or six hours running the calcuttas we have now.

Hu

Calcuttas unfortunately don't always result in the best performing player at a major (or many non-majors) event winning. It's called, as we all know, chopping - a far to regular occurrence. One glaring case in point? Dennis and James at the Derby. I understand the sad reasons "why" it happens. But it's not a good look to further the game. That said, I personally feel that there shouldn't be calcuttas in pool - at all. Because of this reality.

 

[realkingcobra]

It doesn't matter the country. Pool is boring to watch whether its a Taiwan viewer, American viewer, Canadian viewer, etc. Thats the crux of the problem. If pool were exciting to watch, then people (from any country) would watch it, and then sponsors would add money so those watching it may eventually become a customer of the sponsor. That would have a snowball effect, as the sponsor money would lead to better production values and more advertising, which would in turn lead to more viewers, and more payouts for "real" professional players.

The root problem though is its boring to watch.

Sorry Glen, but your idea of a special rack, a "ghost" rating to only ensure the elite play, standardized Diamond tables, a big venue in the middle of the county, etc, etc, don't change the fact that the game is boring to watch.

Having it live streamed FOR FREE on Netflix, 24/7, and Dominos throwing 20 million dollars at it still doesn't change the fact that its boring to watch.

You could have all your wishes come true, Dominos plus Netflix plus your game rules idea, and after one year, they would both pull out, because the game is boring and no one would watch.

So are you representing your own views, or the views from around the world? China's CCTV has a viewing audience of over 150M watching snooker, and even more than that watching on cell phones! WU has 247,000 digital followers IN China, and he don't play snooker!