I am on the fence with this one. I support both sides of the fence here.
Barry:
He has produced the US Open for years and years. He has strived to make it better each and every year which makes it more and more stressful every year. He has handed out free rolls for past champions and has turned a major tournament into an event. He has also bitten off more than he could chew year after year. Late paying is unacceptable. I certainly understand how he ends up that way considering that he goes through great expense to make this tournament as much about the fans as it is about the players. Hopefully it does get air time and he cannot only pay the players on time, but walk away with cash for himself as well. My suggestion to him is to scale back past champs free rolls to 1 = 2 years, 2 = 5 years and 3 = lifetime and scale back expenses.
ABP:
I have a lot of respect for these guys/gals. It would take a lot of convincing for me to give up a guaranteed paycheck at work for the uncertainty of professional pool and I absolutely love this game. They have made a life of playing this game. With everything that goes wrong in traveling to tournaments, staying in hotels and playing in the tournament itself the one thing that should go right is being paid if you get in the money. At the same time I feel that the ABP should have gained standing through sponsors, a tour or both before making demands on an independent event. The idea is to have leverage before you try to gain leverage.
At any rate I hope the dust settles and everyone is happy.
Barry:
He has produced the US Open for years and years. He has strived to make it better each and every year which makes it more and more stressful every year. He has handed out free rolls for past champions and has turned a major tournament into an event. He has also bitten off more than he could chew year after year. Late paying is unacceptable. I certainly understand how he ends up that way considering that he goes through great expense to make this tournament as much about the fans as it is about the players. Hopefully it does get air time and he cannot only pay the players on time, but walk away with cash for himself as well. My suggestion to him is to scale back past champs free rolls to 1 = 2 years, 2 = 5 years and 3 = lifetime and scale back expenses.
ABP:
I have a lot of respect for these guys/gals. It would take a lot of convincing for me to give up a guaranteed paycheck at work for the uncertainty of professional pool and I absolutely love this game. They have made a life of playing this game. With everything that goes wrong in traveling to tournaments, staying in hotels and playing in the tournament itself the one thing that should go right is being paid if you get in the money. At the same time I feel that the ABP should have gained standing through sponsors, a tour or both before making demands on an independent event. The idea is to have leverage before you try to gain leverage.
At any rate I hope the dust settles and everyone is happy.
