Hi, everyone! This is my first post here. I joined this forum mainly so I could make a comment about Chuck Bobbitt and the Desert Shootout fiasco. Before I do that, however, let me point out that I am aware I have no post-count muscle here, or any other reason for any of you to care what my opinion may be other than to assure you that I have been involved with pool in just about every aspect of the game, and have done so for maybe longer than some of you have been alive.
Let me start off by saying that I was at the Desert Shootout last week with an associate of mine so that we could compile stats on the pro players. The tournament was extremely well run by Jay Helfert, but Chuck Bobbitt was also there making people feel welcome throughout the event.
Now my comment is this: I've known Chuck for several years, and he has never impressed me as the type of person who might try to cheat anyone out of anything at any time. Instead, I've always viewed Chuck as being one of those people who are so in love with pool that they are willing to do anything they can to be accepted by the "upper-eschelon" players. In the past, he contributed money out of his own means to many local events here just so they could be called successes; even though anyone with any experience knew they were surely money losers. But that never kept the small-time promoters around here from always coming back and asking Chuck for more. I guess they thought Chuck's resources would never run dry; or else they just didn't care what his own problems were as long as the feeding trough was still open.
Now we come to the Desert Shootout. I believe this was not an idea hatched by Chuck alone. I believe he had a lot of encouragement from his closest friends and associates. I believe they enticed him with the old "Build it, and they will come" routine. It was obvious that Chuck was very optimistic about the whole thing, as he told me in February that he thought he would have to cut the field off at 128. That's the kind of response he was anticipating! But that was in February when Chuck's business was probably in better shape, as I know my own business was in better shape at that time. Then comes April and the player turnout is only half of that anticipated; which means hotel bookings would be half, gate receipts would be half, and any other expected revenues would be only half. But did that mean Chuck's expenses were cut in half? Probably not. I would be pretty sure he didn't walk away from that hotel deal without having to pay something, even though the hotel was never used. And I'm pretty sure he wasn't able to have those Diamond tables and their set-up crew brought in without having to pay something, even though they were never used. And I'm pretty sure there were a lot of other last minute expenses that had to be covered just so the event could still be run, and not have to cancel it with a bunch of out-of-town players standing there with their cues in hand.
Yes, Chuck Bobbitt made a big mistake. But his mistake was not in trying to do something positive for pool; no, I believe his mistake was in taking some bad advice from his friends and associates here in Arizona. These "friends and accociates" know who they are, and they know what I'm talking about. Where are they now that everyone (except JAM) is wanting to lynch Chuck without a trial? Are they on here defending him? No, they aren't. Are they out trying to scare up funds to help Chuck out of this mess? Somehow, I doubt that, too.
Chuck Bobbitt tried to be a champion to the "champions." He gambled, and lost. But he's still a champion in my book. I believe he's going to do everything in his power to try to make this right by everybody. But if he can't, I'm sure he'll take whatever punishment is coming to him. He wasn't trying to run off with anybody's money, and he won't run from the consequences of his mistake.
Thank you all for hearing me out on this. And thank you, JAM, for showing your own champion's heart.
Roger Long
