TO JASPER AND CHEESEMOUSE
I want to address this directly to you two, so there is no mistake about my position in regard to the IPT. No accusations by innnuendo or insinuation. Just straight talk, man to man.
Initially, I was just as excited about the IPT as anyone else. I thought it would be great for Pool and the pro players. I accepted Kevin Trudeau as a well heeled businessman who saw an opportunity with professional pool and wanted to make it into something great. I supported him and his efforts, going out of my way to befriend Deno and Kevin. I offered my support, both as a Tournament Official and as a sponsor of players.
I did not quite understand how the original 150 were picked, but that was not a major issue with me. I was surprised by the high price to pay in the Qualifiers, but went along with this as well, going so far as to sponsor a couple of players. I will get back to this in a minute.
It began to bother me when I saw KT stepping on established events and promoters, including Matchroom, who had done some great big money tournaments. And then the IPT dates starting changing, with the schedule being moved back dramatically, and dozens of new high priced Qualifiers being announced. That is when I first became alarmed. It began to look like a money grab to recoup on his investment. And it was working, with upwards of 100K coming in each weekend.
Nearly 600K was contributed by poolplayers and their backers in the first round of Qualifiers, and the numbers were going up, with no payouts until July. This seemed like a lot of money to me, considering very little was going back out to the players. I was becoming distrustful of the whole operation. KT was not so benevolent as he appeared initially.
Then one of my players won $5,500 in Qualifier. Great, right. Not so fast. After sending all the necessary paperwork to the IPT offices in late February, I found myself waiting for the promised payment weeks later. My e-mails and phone messages were not being responded to. After one month, I went online here with a thread entitled "IPT Slow to Pay". This is when the sh-t hit the fan. Deno called me and ripped me a new one for being so bold as to go public and embarass them. I said no problem, pay me and I will go away. Two weeks and many posts later I got my money.
I was beginning to wonder if the first event would even come off. Maybe KT would take all the Qualifier money and head South. By now, I knew he was a bad egg. I went to the Venetian out of curiosity, to see what kind of job they were doing and how it was all shaping up. I was in town for the World Series Of Poker anyway. Frankly, It looked damn good and I was happy when all the prize money was paid. Biggest payday ever for pro pool.
Now there was another month of high entry fee qualifiers and on to Reno. By now, I saw the big money qualifiers as merely a money making tool, but
realized this was part of the game plan for the IPT. Let the players pay their share this way. After all, the money raised here would pay all the operating expenses for the tour. Easily, I might add.
Then we come to the Reno fiasco. The biggest IPT event of all, $3,000,000 in prize money. Oops! KT can't or won't pay. And that is where we are at today. I will not be quiet in the face of this insult to Pool and the professional players. Insult is a mild word to describe my indignation. Criminal is more apt.
So you can go on spouting the wonders of the IPT. I choose not to.
I want to address this directly to you two, so there is no mistake about my position in regard to the IPT. No accusations by innnuendo or insinuation. Just straight talk, man to man.
Initially, I was just as excited about the IPT as anyone else. I thought it would be great for Pool and the pro players. I accepted Kevin Trudeau as a well heeled businessman who saw an opportunity with professional pool and wanted to make it into something great. I supported him and his efforts, going out of my way to befriend Deno and Kevin. I offered my support, both as a Tournament Official and as a sponsor of players.
I did not quite understand how the original 150 were picked, but that was not a major issue with me. I was surprised by the high price to pay in the Qualifiers, but went along with this as well, going so far as to sponsor a couple of players. I will get back to this in a minute.
It began to bother me when I saw KT stepping on established events and promoters, including Matchroom, who had done some great big money tournaments. And then the IPT dates starting changing, with the schedule being moved back dramatically, and dozens of new high priced Qualifiers being announced. That is when I first became alarmed. It began to look like a money grab to recoup on his investment. And it was working, with upwards of 100K coming in each weekend.
Nearly 600K was contributed by poolplayers and their backers in the first round of Qualifiers, and the numbers were going up, with no payouts until July. This seemed like a lot of money to me, considering very little was going back out to the players. I was becoming distrustful of the whole operation. KT was not so benevolent as he appeared initially.
Then one of my players won $5,500 in Qualifier. Great, right. Not so fast. After sending all the necessary paperwork to the IPT offices in late February, I found myself waiting for the promised payment weeks later. My e-mails and phone messages were not being responded to. After one month, I went online here with a thread entitled "IPT Slow to Pay". This is when the sh-t hit the fan. Deno called me and ripped me a new one for being so bold as to go public and embarass them. I said no problem, pay me and I will go away. Two weeks and many posts later I got my money.
I was beginning to wonder if the first event would even come off. Maybe KT would take all the Qualifier money and head South. By now, I knew he was a bad egg. I went to the Venetian out of curiosity, to see what kind of job they were doing and how it was all shaping up. I was in town for the World Series Of Poker anyway. Frankly, It looked damn good and I was happy when all the prize money was paid. Biggest payday ever for pro pool.
Now there was another month of high entry fee qualifiers and on to Reno. By now, I saw the big money qualifiers as merely a money making tool, but
realized this was part of the game plan for the IPT. Let the players pay their share this way. After all, the money raised here would pay all the operating expenses for the tour. Easily, I might add.
Then we come to the Reno fiasco. The biggest IPT event of all, $3,000,000 in prize money. Oops! KT can't or won't pay. And that is where we are at today. I will not be quiet in the face of this insult to Pool and the professional players. Insult is a mild word to describe my indignation. Criminal is more apt.
So you can go on spouting the wonders of the IPT. I choose not to.
Last edited:
(note the smiley). 
