Hey Jude,
I believe the AZ King of <insert state here> was started in a thread a while back with a set of rules pre-defined for what the challenge should be. Check this thread:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=106733
The idea was that players in certain areas could get together and play other forum members locally and declare themselves "the AZ King of ...", and the sole purpose was to just have some fun and get to know people here on the forums. That is why you are seeing little to no betting on these challenge matches. BVal and Fast Lenny played for 50, which was the standard bet for the "AZ King of ..." challenge.
What was kind of crazy was that all these challenges were starting to happen before and after the BVal/Fast Lenny match in a couple of threads... and most of them just happen to be people that lived in Arizona (since Lenny is located here in Arizona now, and he can live stream the challenge matches). So, basically this is the reason you are not seeing more money being bet on these matches. What you are proposing is a good idea (I especially like the round robin thing), but is different than the "AZ King of ..." concept that was started a few months ago. If you are just looking for some good old plain action, from other 8's in Arizona, I'm sure you can find some on here. I'm just trying to give you the background here so you can have a better idea of the context in which you are posting. Most of the people challenging each other are doing so in the "AZ King of ..." fashion, not a simple money match challenge.
As for the topic of having to play for money to play your hardest... I think that varies on a person by person basis. Some people feel that they simply cannot play their best (or just would rather not) if there is nothing on the line. While others will play their heart out for nothing more than the pure competitive spirit of it. Nothing is wrong with either viewpoint, in my opinion. Personally, I fall into the latter category. I am an EXTREMELY competitive person and I will play every game/match with the same intensity and focus as if I was playing Cory Deuel in the Desert Shootout. With nothing on the line, I will still show you ALL my heart. I just don't care. I want to win, money or no money. But I may be in the minority when it comes to this issue. I can certainly understand the other side of the story as well. Some people need to see something at the end and be rewarded for their efforts... nothing wrong with that.
But I will say that playing on a live stream definitely increases the intensity and desire to win, regardless of what is on the line. The idea of having hundreds of people watching you play over the course of say 5 or 6 hours, is a strong motivation to not look like an ass (trust me, I know
)... and most certainly will add a level of pressure to your match. I've personally felt this pressure playing on live streams and playing in spectator-paid tournaments where the level of play is expected to be very high. But I've also experienced similar pressure in playing five hundred dollars a set. To me they are of different types, but nonetheless, it is all still pressure. I guess it's relative to what is most imporant to the person playing.
Good luck with whomever you match up with.
Ray