DCC BETTER THEN OR NOW?
- Thread starter Biloxi Boy
- Start date
I went in '07 and loved every crazy minute of it. One big drawback at the EW was security. Getting robbed either in the hotel itself or in the parking lot was an issue. You really had to be aware around the elevators or out in the lot. The security at the casino is far better. The 'gambling carnival' atmosphere WAS incredible though.
Agree on the security aspect. My car got broken into one year while at the EW. Never had that issue at the casino.
Yes, it should still be on every pool player's bucket list. I regret not having gone to Johnston City during its time. I was in Illinois on and off 1967-70.
I was blessed to have been at the Executive from the very first event to the last event there. I will say, there is no comparison. It is unfortunate that the tournament had to be moved. As we know, all good things to come to an end. I am not around pool much at all anymore but if there was ever a time machine and I could go back to those fun days in January at the Executive West there wouldn't be a single thing in the world that could keep me away.
I went to DCC for 15 years in a row, and all but the first event at the EW. The two events (EW and HS) are very much the same in some respects (action! action! action!) and very different in others. The EW was right by the airport and easy to get to. The HS is in the middle of no where, a long and expensive ride from the airport. The food choices both in and around the EW were fairly extensive and not expensive either. The food choices at the HS are very few and almost all overpriced, except for the breakfast court in the lobby. It's a long, long walk from your room to the tournament area at the HS, or you can wait around for the shuttle which can be a few minutes to a half an hour wait. I never felt like I was getting ripped off at the EW (although you did have to be on your guard there) but I do feel that I am being gouged at the HS. The Accu-Stats arena at the HS is a great venue for watching high level pool, but there is little in the way of seating to watch other matches. In summary, I liked being at both events but the cold Winters, difficult travel, high cost and remoteness have finally soured me on this event.
Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
Is there a problem sitting down to watch matches? I had not heard this before, although someone has mentioned less space at the casino venue. This would certainly be significant for me, especially if such a problem remains after so many years.
Yes, this is accurate. There are three types of matches:
Accu-Stats Arena
Seating for these matches is ample, including a balcony from which those who haven't purchased seats can often view. Feature matches for the core events, including the last few rounds of all events, are played here. All ten ball matches are, similarly, played here.
Matches on the Main Level but not in the Accu-stats Arena
For these matches, there typically aren't more than about a dozen good seats from which to view any given match. Speaking as a fan that likes to move around a lot from match to match, I can confirm that I must often stand when I have to sweat a tasty matchup on an outer table on the main level.
Matches Upstairs
About half of about forty-two tables used in the DCC are on the upper level. These matches are very rarely the feature matchups but getting a decent seat is usually not very difficult.
Still, has there ever been a 42 table tournament that had ample seating with good viewing at every table? I've been going to pro tournaments since 1976 and I've never seen one.
Here’s something I posted back in 2015 that some might find interesting.
www.onepocket.org
Stopped at Crowne Plaza (Executive West) @2015 DCC
While at the Derby I dropped someone off at the airport and thought, hell I'll check out the old Executive West for kicks and memories. I parked at the back (the outside is the same) and walked in the door and whoa! They did a really nice job remodeling everything. The old bar is completely...
Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
Thanks for the reply. I understand, too well, the mindsets "doing the best we can" and "we are as good as anyone else", but these are the attitudes that will root anyone or anything dead center in mediocrity. I have lived many years hoping for so much more for this languishing sport I so dearly love. If folks such as Greg Sullivan will not step up and provide pool with an imprimatur of excellence through first class events, then I guess pool will remain a second class sport. But as long as somebody's making some money . . . (It's incredible to me that our sport relies upon movies for its survival.)
There was a time when many people cared very much for billiards -- you can feel it emanating from the old newspaper articles and newsreels. Old pool rooms in the middle of nowhere tell of it also -- like the old domino parlor/pool halls I used to run up on in the rural West). Memphis once had a grand old pool room, truly a ghost of billiards past. At the very rear of this relic, almost tucked away, was an area of featured tables surrounded by pull out gymnasium seating. Whenever I went in, I would always go to the back and look at this area with a heavy heart while considering the time when public interest in cue sports was so great that all of these seats would be pulled out and filled to capacity. I could almost hear the click of the balls and the buzz of the crowd echoing from the past and feel the energy of past confrontation lurking in dusty shadows.
My simple misfortune was to have been attracted to a pool hall instead of a golf course.
Last edited:
We could do what the modern hippies do: rent out multiple acres of farmland for a week. Set up
Nice read! At the end of that thread it is stated the Horseshoe contract is through the year 2022, and 2023 would be the first year eligible for a venue change. I wonder if Diamond has talked to anyone yet. They would have already had to start the conversations if they were going to change venue. I'd bet they will stay put.Here’s something I posted back in 2015 that some might find interesting.
Stopped at Crowne Plaza (Executive West) @2015 DCC
While at the Derby I dropped someone off at the airport and thought, hell I'll check out the old Executive West for kicks and memories. I parked at the back (the outside is the same) and walked in the door and whoa! They did a really nice job remodeling everything. The old bar is completely...
From what I understand DCC gets a portion of the casino revenue while they are there. Tough for any other venue to match that.
And at this tournament there is good seating for ONE table! If you don't like standing to watch matches then it may not be for you, although you can count on one good match after another in the Accu-Stats Arena. If some of the existing tables were eliminated there would be room for risers and more seating, but the problem is the fields are so large that they need every table. That's the Catch-22 here. The DCC is too successful as a players event to have room for spectator seating. The reality is that they need an even larger space to hold this event in, where they can install 45-50 tables and bring in some bleachers for spectators. A string of three to five level high bleachers along the rail (on both sides) would be a great addition if they could create room for it. Then it would become more attractive as a spectator event, and they could sell a lot more tickets.
It would be nice to have a high def camera on a table or group of tables for people who are in their rooms.
The Executive West was a toilet. The scuffs loved it because you could have 10 people in a room and no one said anything, unless you got stupid. Which many of them did . The parking lot was home to several robberies, the 300 pound hookers were abundant, There were nickel and dime thieves everywhere and almost every year I went there I started my visit by finding a dirty pair of underwear in the bathroom when I first walked into my room. I did still manage to enjoy my visits there, because I am such a pool fanatic.
Next screen, The Casino. Everything is at least double what it should be , everything to eat besides Paula Deens and the ice cream was inedible.
I had a steak at the steak house one year and it was 40 or 50 dollars, I decided about 2 bites in, that it wasn't worth getting food poisoning over, and swore I would never go back. The tournament is great, no complaints, the venues , have sucked mightily.
I would still choose the filthy EW over the casino, all day long.
I live in New Albany and attend every year. I've been about 16 times. It is fabulous. I am not a smoker and the Executive West left me with a sore throat every year. Yes, there is gambling, but it is not parimutual. You see a match you like you offer odds to the guy sitting next to you. It's that simple. I've never seen gaming commission people, but just to be safe I'd keep it on the down low. I went to both Derby style events in Tunica as well, but due to conflicting schedules they couldn't attract enough players so they stopped. I recommend DCC to anyone who loves pool.
Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
I am guessing, Indiana -- suburb of Louisville and 20 minutes to the Casino? You are fortunate. The way I look at it is, the further one must travel, the better the event must be. I have never heard any serious criticism of DCC/EW. To a person, everyone I talked to said go, go, go. About two years before I went in 2006, my one pocket partner began to tell me about Johnston City and DCC -- DCC was, he urged again and again, a once in a lifetime, cannot afford to miss, and do not miss, and when are you going . . . It got to the point that it was either go to DCC or find a new 1P partner, lol. So I went, and despite some nit issues and a few minor hassles, DCC supplied what my buddy promised -- the time of my life. I am so glad I went.
Now, I am told that if I go and sweat different matches, I can expect to stand up. I don't think so. Failing to provide your guests with adequate seating sends a clear and unmistakeable message.
Here is what I keep considering -- Johnston City was out in the woods. The facilities do not sound like they were all that great. But you know what keeps resounding to me across the ages? Atmosphere, and personalities, and fans everywhere. Over the top to the point that who shows up but Wide World of Sports. Now, if you are too young to remember "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat" then get someone to explain '60s TV to you so you can know how fundamentally HUGE such exposure was. The rest of you know how big it was. (Has there been anything like this since?) Exposure is the key to moving a sport forward -- The Hustler and TCOM are all the proof you need. I do not know why TV/Media did not find DCC/EW, but it was a missed opportunity.
When I was young, if three of four players were hanging/not shooting, the subject of conversation would often be "when is pool going to get the respect it deserves/why isn't pool treated as good as golf/money, money, money". I guess we all got wise and gave up, because I do not hear such conversations anymore. However, for old time's sake and in hopes for the future, I ask, once again, "Doesn't pool deserve an event on a par with the Masters?"
Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
Crossroads
The Legacy of the Janscos
Story By R.A. Dyer
"It was in a nothing poolroom 300 miles from nowhere, a nothing poolroom with concrete walls, bleachers and overshot with the mingled odors of beer, cigarettes and desperation. For respectable pool players, the 1961 tournament at Johnston City's too-hopefully named "Show Bar" must have felt like the end of hope, a tournament where players not only come to lose, but go to hide.
But perceptions deceive . . ."
The Legacy of the Janscos
Story By R.A. Dyer
"It was in a nothing poolroom 300 miles from nowhere, a nothing poolroom with concrete walls, bleachers and overshot with the mingled odors of beer, cigarettes and desperation. For respectable pool players, the 1961 tournament at Johnston City's too-hopefully named "Show Bar" must have felt like the end of hope, a tournament where players not only come to lose, but go to hide.
But perceptions deceive . . ."
I went to JC four years in a row from 1964-67. The tournament was held in a meeting room in the Show Bar, where they had seating for about 200 people, which was adequate for the tournament crowd. There were only two tournament tables with bleacher seating around three sides. Tickets to watch the matches cost two or three dollars. The "practice room" was where all the action took place. It was in a separate building just behind the Show Bar. They usually charged a small admission to get in there as well, maybe a dollar or two. There were two rooms. The front room had three tables and bleachers on one side that maybe would seat 50-60 people. Everyone else stood along the wall all the way around the room. The back room had two more tables and also had some bleacher seating. People lined the walls in here too. The crowds were so thick with people that it was difficult just to work your way through to get from one room to the other. If you could find a bleacher seat you were wise to keep it.
The big money games ($500-1,000 bets) usually took place in the front room and the nightly Ring Ten Ball game ($20-50 a man) was in the back room. I spent many nights weaving my way from one room to the other watching the best players on the planet battle it out for supremacy. I took it all in and always felt bad when I had to leave after a week or so because my money had run out. JC lasted three weeks and the longest I was ever able to stay may have been ten days.