You raise some good points, but it is very far from as easy as it sounds...
Theoretical questions;
What venue do you know of that lets you take money from their food and drink sales?
The ones where you can invite private catering.
Very few places will let you make the money from concessions, it's their business, they want the money
How much is it going to cost you to pay for the legends to appear?
Good point, but if the players are loyal and know the tournament director it could be as cheap as room and flight.
You want to pay the legends to show up? Where is this money going to come from? Most players are lucky just to have good enough events to play in where 3/4th place might cover their expenses. getting to 3/4th is not easy.
How much is the tournament staff going to cost?
$8k at the low and $15K at the high
Again, where does this money come from? Promoters pocket, whether 1000 tickets are sold or 50.
Promotion and advertising isn't cheap either, how much will that cost.
A few ads in different publications less than a few thousand.
ONE full page ad in major billiards publication, sure.
How many tables will you need? and how much do you think it will cost to have them delivered, set up and made playable?
High Cost over 20K
Don't forget renting the venue and setting up all that seating for your 1000 spectators. You're going to also need some good lighting, which typically involves some extra scaffolding, etc... Not many players are set up to host pool tournaments.
Who is going to clean those tables and balls in between rounds?
Players mostly.
Mostly not.
What about the Streaming? that costs also.
A young guy with a computer and internet charges could be as low as $1K.
Rely on the talented people already doing this in the industry. They know how it's done, they're good at it, and they bring their own "following" of fans. Cutting out people who rely on this work for income so you can hire some "young guy with a computer" is part of the problem in this, or any other industry. To get good work and reliable service, you have to pay for it. People deserve to make money when they are good at what they do.
The above costs for the 6 day tournament can run as low as $15,000 and has high as $25,000 depending on the quality of your production.
what if the Legends don't show up?
That is a primary concern of a tournament director.
Yes it is, and what's your entry fee? Doubtful that 24 unknowns are going to post any decent amount to play when 10 legends and 10 rising stars are already in. You need a lot of top players to draw 1000 spectators. Getting players to show up is not as easy as one would think.Bigger prize money all the way down the line (not just one big bubble for first place) would fix this problem, and getting that money is the problem.
Also, don't forget your "added money" to the prizepool. Many top players will not show up unless at least 20K is added... Of course you could just promise that a ton of money will be added, and then just not pay it out citing that you just never made it as planned, that seems to be a trend.
Without adding the money, which gets the top players, you will have nowhere close to 1000 spectators.
Tournament directors do not make huge profits, especially not enough for people to speculate whether they should start "sharing" how much they make after they break even. It's a business, like any other. There are many hard working devoted people out there doing it just because they love the game and want to see it succeed. And hopefully make a living along the way. A successful director should earn money, he or she is also helping bring money and attention to the players and the game, their profit is their paycheck for their work. It's a win-win situation actually, the players can play for more money and the promoter can enjoy financial success and stability doing something they love.
If directing/promoting big pool tournaments was extremely lucrative and simple, you would have a lot more big pool tournaments, believe that.
Unlike a traditional job, if the event does not bring the spectators, or there is a snowstorm, or another event gets scheduled at the same time (pulling players away), or any other various factors occur, the promoter loses out. Not the players - well, if the promoter doesn't pay them, then yeah, them too. The fans might miss out on a good event, but they don't share the financial,mental, and physical drain either.
Hope this helps shed some light on some of your questions. In theory it sounds simple enough, but it is a lot harder than selling soda and popcorn to 1000 thirsty fans.
