Wow, this thread has really taken off. I had seen it yesterday and was totally surprised when I heard the names mentioned in the brouhaha.
I do not know Stevie Moore, but have heard great things about him in recent times from others who do know him. Besides, in my book, he's from the South, which gives him a gold star, because you know what they say about those Southern gentlemen!
However, I do know Bob Maidhoff and have seen him many times in the past few years, mostly as a pool room owner of Drexeline Billiards in Drexel Hills, PA. He opens his room up on weekends and hosts MANY regional tournaments. Drexeline Billiards is actually one of my favorites, no alcohol, low-volume and easy-listening music, excellent equipment and lighting, ambrosial food, CLEAN bathrooms, and incredible pool paraphernalia on display for all to enjoy.
I have seen him compete in tournaments on a couple of occasions, and he can play, doing fairly well in a Joss event at Turning Stone one year.
He is kind of a quiet, unassuming-type guy, and is definitely one of pool's greatest supporters. Of course, I was not there to see this "incident," but I cannot imagine Bob Maidhoff fouling and not calling it on himself. He is a gentleman's gentleman, if you will, and has integrity, something that I don't see in all pool players. Though this alleged foul incident is sad, one way to look at it is that there can be a Lessons Learned here to be had for future events.
As a suggestion on the referee situation, at the IPT event in Vegas, they had a huge field, I think 200 players. In the beginning, they assigned one referee to four tables, which actually seemed pretty effective. I did witness some players receive fouls, point penalities, and even disqualifications on various rule infractions.
I only have a few pictures of Bob in my collection. One of my all-time favorite tropheys came from Bob Maidhoff's pool room, Drexeline Billiards, at a Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour event. Here's a picture of Keith McCready, Drexeline Billiards owner Bob Maidhoff, and Allen Hopkins!
Long live Bob Maidhoff. His contributions to this pool world is phenomenal, and pool definitely needs more folks just like him!
JAM