Ben Taylor-Fuente from England and Marcel Eckardt from Germany were the other referees. Marcel is a well-known snooker ref. I noticed, however, that he seems to be head referee for last event. I had thought Brendan Moore was the referee director for Matchroom Pool now. He had retired from being a snooker referee in 2023, to became referee director for Matchroom Pool at that time.
A Midwest location with good facilities, clean and financially affordable, would be great for the next U.S. Open. Texas does have a strong pool community, but August in Texas is hot as Hades.
It is also important to have the venue near airports since there will be many people, hopefully, flying in.
I never liked Las Vegas or Atlantic City for pool events because of the distractions, and Vegas in particular has become extremely expensive. Atlantic City just ain't what it used to be, sad to say, but I do think the Harrah's venue from a railbird's view looked very nice.
St. Louis would be a good place if a venue can be located that meets all the requirements needed for an event of this size.