Super Expo Review???

Rich R.

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Since this was a new venue and it seems like many of us were unable to attend this year, how about some reviews from the attendees?

How was the show itself?
I heard there were more vendors than last year. Is that true? How was the floor plan?

How was the new venue? Please give pros and cons.
Last year there were issues with lighting, or the lack of lighting, in the amateur tournament area, and concrete floors. Were those issues addressed in the new venue?

How was the pro arena?
From the stream and still pictures that have been posted, it looked really bad. Comments please?

Does anyone know if this will be the new home for the Expo or is Allen still looking for a new permanent home?
 

mr8ball

Active member
Since this was a new venue and it seems like many of us were unable to attend this year, how about some reviews from the attendees?

How was the show itself?
I heard there were more vendors than last year. Is that true? How was the floor plan?

How was the new venue? Please give pros and cons.
Last year there were issues with lighting, or the lack of lighting, in the amateur tournament area, and concrete floors. Were those issues addressed in the new venue?

How was the pro arena?
From the stream and still pictures that have been posted, it looked really bad. Comments please?

Does anyone know if this will be the new home for the Expo or is Allen still looking for a new permanent home?

It was great as far as I am concerned. Great layout for all. It seemed to have more vendors. Myself I did not see anything wrong with the Pro area. It seemed a little cool to me but I wasn't playing in it :D

They handed out the paper work for next year and it is going to be at the same place which I thought was great.

Over all it was great for me. The food was great and they did not gauge you on that.

I wish it was carpet and they could lock up the booths like in VF but I can understand its hard to find a place as good as that was.

Great Job for the Expo crew and I am looking forward to next year :thumbup::thumbup:
 

cleary

Honestly, I'm a liar.
Silver Member
I think this was the best one yet. I liked the layout. Only thing I would change is the "practice tables" need to be laid out in a way that makes one or two tables easier to sweat action. Or maybe separate the tables a bit with some bleachers.
 

poolguy4u

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I was surprised that the lighting on most tables was okay. I mean there were no lights except for the lights 50 feet up in the ceiling.

It was a lot of walking which is good for me. Had to park far unless you had patience or got there early.

I thought the pro area was okay. Would of been better with real bleachers that were higher up.

I was surprised to see Bob Meucci there and Mike Massey helping him out.

Kind of felt like something was missing. I just didn't feel excited like I did back 10 years ago.

I really don't have any ideas to make it better and don't have any complaints. Would be cool to have some kind of high balcony to take pictures and see the whole event from high up.
 

mia

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It was great as far as I am concerned. Great layout for all. It seemed to have more vendors. Myself I did not see anything wrong with the Pro area. It seemed a little cool to me but I wasn't playing in it :D

They handed out the paper work for next year and it is going to be at the same place which I thought was great.

Over all it was great for me. The food was great and they did not gauge you on that.

I wish it was carpet and they could lock up the booths like in VF but I can understand its hard to find a place as good as that was.

Great Job for the Expo crew and I am looking forward to next year :thumbup::thumbup:

I think you're off on the vendors. There were definitely less vendors that in years past. Now admittedly, I skipped last year. But every year prior at the VF convention center, there were way more vendors. And bigger booths. I noticed Cornerstone Cues wasn't there. Neither was New2YouQs. Some of the cuemakers opted out as well. Meuller's was a fraction of the size it used to be. Predator wan't even there.

Overall, the convention center was decent. Layout wasn't too bad either. The pro arena was kinda sh*tty and right out in the open with minimal seating. And parking was horrific but I suppose that's gonna be the case almost anywhere.

Overall, I'd say it wasn't bad. Its not VF... but then again, I never liked change. lol :thumbup:
 

Kevin Lindstrom

14.1 Addict
Silver Member
Here are my thoughts.

The venue was pretty decent. Size was good and spacing between tables was more than in the past. I liked the pro event and that it was included in the price of entry to the show. I think they should continue this feature.

Downsides to the show which is always the case is the available parking. I went on Saturday and had to park a couple of blocks away from the expo.
A true sign of just how many people attend this event on a yearly basis.

I was disappointed in the lack of vendor turnout this year. Seems it gets to be less and less vendors attending each year. The big boys including Muellar Products were there on a super small scale. Viking cues had no booth and I needed their help with a cue. I thought Grassley (Cornerstone Cues) was the biggest cue dealer on the planet, he or more importantly his booth was nowhere to be found (Sad). Same deal with NewCues2you, nowhere to be found, dissapointing to say the least.

I am happy with this location but if it has to move again I would vote for Atlantic City or possibly somewhere in Virginia. I think that Hopkins does a great job with this show every year and I will continue to attend each and every year as long as it is being held on the east coast.

Thanks to all of the vendors, players, specatators, pros, pool enthusiants and anyone else who attends and continues to support Hopkins and this wonderful event.

Keep up the great work Hopkins and thank you for doing this event each year.

Kevin
 
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ckm122

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
NOT GREAT but not unbearable

Layout - It was good with TAP on one side and the Open on the other. The practice table layout was fine except the stuffy confines like the previous poster mentioned. The Pro arena was definitely weaker than previous years but it's tough to match valley forge. Higher stadium seating and a more enclosed area would've been better.

Vendors - less vendors than previous years.

Food - Awful and not a lot of options nearby. We left to grab lunch only to find no parking when we returned. Late night food was pulled pork for $16.00. Are you serious???? We did find a nearby diner that was ok.

Parking - As previously mentioned, the parking was not suitable for the event. How many times did that crazy women yell "the tow trucks are coming?". Well if there was adequate parking then people wouldn't have to park illegally. Not a big deal as the attendance seemed down this year but if they plan to grow then this can be a problem.

Hotels nearby - not enough and most are dumps!

Overall I was not impressed but I'm there to play pool so I don't care as much but those are the things that bothered several folks in my party.

Personally I think they downgraded from last year (concrete warehouse to another concrete warehouse).

I think Atlantic City is a great idea but Oaks was just fine. They didn't upgrade so what was the point.

It used to be a spectacular event when it was at valley forge but i think its losing steam.
 

franko

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Like

Here are my thoughts.

The venue was pretty decent. Size was good and spacing between tables was more than in the past. I liked the pro event and that it was included in the price of entry to the show. I think they should continue this feature.

Downsides to the show which is always the case is the available parking. I went on Saturday and had to park a couple of blocks away from the expo.
A true sign of just how many people attend this event on a yearly basis.

I was disappointed in the lack of vendor turnout this year. Seems it gets to be less and less vendors attending each year. The big boys including Muellar Products were there on a super small scale. Viking cues had no booth and I needed their help with a cue. I thought Grassley (Cornerstone Cues) was the biggest cue dealer on the planet, he or more importantly his booth was nowhere to be found (Sad). Same deal with NewCues2you, nowhere to be found, dissapointing to say the least.

I am happy with this location but if it has to move again I would vote for Atlantic City or possibly somewhere in Virginia. I think that Hopkins does a great job with this show every year and I will continue to attend each and every year as long as it is being held on the east coast.

Thanks to all of the vendors, players, specatators, pros, pool enthusiants and anyone else who attends and continues to support Hopkins and this wonderful event.

Keep up the great work Hopkins and thank you for doing this event each year.

Kevin

It had a great run in Valley Forge PA,I would hope if it moves it would move to a less congested area,somewhere closer to Pittsburg would be nice.
 

EL'nino

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
You need GPS and a tour guide if you want to find somewhere decent to sit and eat (miles down the road):angry: Closest hotel miles down the road:angry: This place is not a convention center it's a warehouse in the middle of nowhere. I'm sure Allan did his level best but it ain't makin it. I'm sure if you're a young kid it's great but I'm an old man and would like to sit and relax once in a while. My back still hurts from standing for 3 days straight.
 

Fatboy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Food - Awful and not a lot of options nearby. We left to grab lunch only to find no parking when we returned. Late night food was pulled pork for $16.00. Are you serious????

Had I went there and saw that, I might not be Fatboy anymore, I might be "Kinda Overweight Boy". I would starve before I send in $16 for pulled pork.


still fat,

Fatboy:thumbup:
 

poolguy4u

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
For Next Year....

Once you get to know your way around, it really isn't that bad. Route 1 is not far away and has everything need. Not everyone will speak English but it is fine.

Then just a little North on, I think Route 287 in the next town there are lots of Motels and not expensive. This was always one thing I did when I used to play and travel...get to know your way around first and talk to someone that lives local.
 

ckm122

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Fatboy

Love your post. When its late and you want to keep gambling you don't want to leave so you are trapped and there is only one game in town. If it was good then I wouldn't have mind but it sucked!!! I was drunk and it still tasted awful. Is it too much to ask for room temperature food?
 

cardiac kid

Super Senior Member
Silver Member
Rich,

Didn't have a problem with the venue at all. Managed to park out front every day. Was kind of tough to get seating in the pro arena. Three cushion event was great. Didn't get across the hall to the trick shot area but honestly, it's not my cup of tea. The main arena lighting was a problem for me. Saw way too many reflections in the cue / object balls. Guess nothing is perfect. Got to play a few racks on the Diamond ten footer. No problem with that lighting! Wow, what a table. Wish I had the room. Then again, I'll take a small Pro/Am for my house :p .

Food was kind of questionable. Me and some of my friends got sick after eating the steak sandwiches. There was a great variety of breakfast items right at the front door to the exhibition hall. Stopped by every day. For those who couldn't find something decent to eat close by, you missed a real treat. Harold's New York Deli was right next door to the Edison Hotel. Less than a mile away. Unbelievable!!!! Of course $23 for a regular Pastrami sandwich might be a little steep to some.

There were fewer vendors this year. Guess Predator was most notable. Not sure if it's the economy in general or the pool world specifically that kept some away. Still an awful lot of vendors made the trip. My friend Dan Heidrich displayed on one of the main aisles. Last time he was buried way in the back and nearly invisible. Hope he did well. Beautiful work from a "new" cue maker.

Didn't see the information about next year mentioned earlier in the thread. Like to make my reservations ASAP. Perhaps next year we can get Allen to allow AZ to set up a meet and great area. Still met lots of great AZ people.

Hope to see you there next year.

Lyn
 

JAM

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Did they have an action table? I have not heard a peep about any action.
 

cardiac kid

Super Senior Member
Silver Member
Had I went there and saw that, I might not be Fatboy anymore, I might be "Kinda Overweight Boy". I would starve before I send in $16 for pulled pork.


still fat,

Fatboy:thumbup:

Eric,

If you'd have found Harold's, we'd be calling you "Really Fatboy"! $23 for a "small" sandwich seemed just right. Think you would have agreed. Hope to see you in Vegas.

Lyn
 

tank69

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This was my first SBE and I really enjoyed it. The pro arena was really cold at times and although not a lot of seating, when there early, we got great seats. Had a blast watching the 3 Cushion event....A lost game IMO. Vendors were everywhere, couldn't believe how many repair guys were there and the prices were "OK". Not exactly a place to go find a deal, but you had to beat them up and even then, the deal was SO-SO. I had a bunch of $$$ and only spent less than $1000.

Thought I'd walk out with a Justis, but, and this may offend some, I'm not a big fan of the arrogant "we don't care if you buy it or not". After talking to John Barton, I tried hard to buy one of his cases, better interior and price, but he didn't have anything at the expo I was "in love" with. He treated us like normal people, didn't try to sell us anything. I did end up buying one of his "fabric" cases, of which I got a great deal.

The guys at Unique were AWESOME! I spent a bunch of my money there on cue making/repair supplies. They gave me some good info, great prices and the owner was so down to earth that I was amazed. I stopped by again, looking for a few things I had forgot on Saturday, and it was "Hey Tank". WOW, they remembered me and for that, I'm going to buy as much from them as possible.

I spent some time with Bassel from Custom Cue Lathes. Again, down to earth guy even after I told him I didn't buy one of his lathes. He gave me a good deal on some tooling, some lathe pointers and we shot the breeze about CNC and lathes. Great guy!

Prather rocked it as well, talked to him for quite some time, gave me some great info and I ordered some stuff from him.

Some vendors could've cared less I was there...it was like I was intruding on their time even though their booth was a ghost town. I was ready to go off on some high dollar cues $4k to $6k range, but arrogance totally turned me off. I mean really, it's Sunday and I offer you $300 less than the already high asking price and you tell me "I'd rather keep it"...PISS OFF. It was a $4000 TAD, nothing over the top and even $3700 was high, but I wanted one...not to be this year!

The Raritan Bakery was AMAZING! Had fresh pastries, muffins and donuts...incredible cannoli and always fresh coffee. The owner and his wife were so friendly and polite. I hope that business thrives, they were very much into it and its customers.

Bathrooms could've been kept up a little better and the café kinda sucked and was overpriced, but that's normal for most places of this nature. The amateur tournament, I felt, was run very well. I don't know how it compared to VF, so I can't give any info on that, but for my first SBE, I thought it was fine. There are going to be some issues, but that's life. I'll be there next year.

Oh yeah, Sandcastle Billiards and their owner Ed totally made my friends and I feel as if we had been regulars their for years. We went every night and had a great time.
 
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Perk

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I had fun but try not to get picky about alot of things.

Layout issue--Straight pool challenge had zero walk room around the tables and had people walking in the way of the players. Unlike the boxed in area of years past.

Practice tables--I enjoyed how many they had but it would be a good touch to still have one sort of isolated as it draws a crowd and the other tables become useless. Love the cost--cant beat a quarter.

Pro Arena--absolutly horrible design of the bleachers. Climb to the top row which was a pain and then have to crawl on top the table to get back to the seats. No way in/out of most of the seats. Loved the free aspect as it was nice to be able to come and go. Would be nice to be able to pay for VIP seating since so many just hoarded the seats. Also, after the vendors close it was a pain in the ass to weave in and out of the expo to a side hallway to then walk around to the pro arena--this should be fixed somehow.

Tourneys--great as usual. Communication from tourney staff is top notch including updating of the boards.

Bathrooms---there were two. Disgusting and very dirty by mid day. Unusable late in the evening/night. Friday night the one in the back was running over each stall and the floor was flooded to the point you couldnt walk in. To have that many people in this location for 4 days its unacceptable IMO to have conditions like this.

Parking---hike it in but I felt safe coming/going no matter the time.

Food/Drinks---prices are standard I guess. They did present different items late into the night via a snack trays. Not a ton of variety. The yogurt snack I had on Wednesday wasnt made the rest of the time I was there. Beer bar was very close to the practice area which was a bonus.

Overall I will be back as its an awesome event with such a variety for anyone that loves pool. I am still disappointed with people in general though. Its amazing how disgusting pool players really are. Nobody puts their own trash in the trash bins (which there were plenty of). By the end of each night every table looks like something from the tv show hoarders.

-Perk
 

EL'nino

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I agree with that 100%... the guy at Sandcastle billiards made you feel like you were old friends and made you happy you were there. Great room:cool:
 

classiccues

Don't hashtag your broke friends
Silver Member
Loved the new place. There is good food very close by if you know where to go. The places food was weak except for the bakery staff, they did very good on pastries, but I didn't like the coffee. (Keurig coming with me next year :) )

JV
 

wigglybridge

14.1 straight pool!
Silver Member
were you guys at the same event as me? what are you talking about $16 for pulled pork, it was $7 and a large amount, i know because i looked forward to having one each day except the day that i had 2, one for lunch and one for dinner.

this venue was Waaaaaay better than that pit last year. hotels were a mile or 2 away, not a big deal.

i was there Thu-Fri-Sat-Sun, never had a problem parking, even getting there at 10a.

look, it's not perfect, but don't make stuff up to make it sound bad.
 
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