Final thoughts on Galveston.

mnorwood

mnorwood

Moon
Silver Member
My biggest problem with the tournament is my work schedule. I was only able to go two days this week.

I offer the following positive thoughts.
1. The venue is great with plenty of side attractions for someone's family
to enjoy.
2. The field was just incredible. The Europeans and Chinese did not turn
out but that was made up by the strong Pinoy showing.
3. The tournament organizers provided great services for the players and
genuinely want to do something for the game.
4. Video quality aside the commentating for the streams were hands down
the best ever. Joey, hillbilly, double j and Nick among others did a great
job.

The two biggest things that could be improved is the video quality of the live stream and Houston area marketing. However, these two items cost $$$$$ this will improve as sponsors are added. Some other small things I would add is a snooker tournament, opening the door to more streamers as bandwith allows and arranging more opportunities for pros to interact with fans.

All in all I had a great time, I will never forget it. Hope this thing happens next year and I see more AZers there.
 
mnorwood, i am from manval, was there any coverge in the paper or tv about the tournament????? you are from pearland we might know each other!!!!!!
 
I didn't think that the turnout was all that great. There wasn't but like 100 people in the building this evening. After all the amateurs cleared out, there wasn't hardly any spectators. I was at one of the cue vendors kiosk and they were complaining about the lack of marketing for the tourney. It was fun as hell and I really enjoyed watching all of the pro's play. But their lack of exposure of this is what is going to affect it's outcome.
 
I thought they, the promoters, did a great job for a first year venture. I'm sure a lot was learned and I will attend next year... or watch it every day like I did this year. JoeyA was a real treat to listen to. Picture wasn't very good but not much choppiness and virtually no breaks in the feed. I was happy and thought it was dammed well done, especially considering it was the first time out.
 
Galveston was very good to all

For the promoters to put together this event CONGRATS
You all have done something for pool today that will be remembered forever, despite the competition in the buss. today with soo many things going on, the venue was and will be always excellent.......the attendance was good but could have been better and the idea to let the players vote in the payouts was good and no body could complaint.
You guys have passed the hurdle and things will roll nice and easy from this year on, I now will plan to attend next year and put my grain of sand in your castle
Thanks to the sponsors that allowed this venue to be seen in the internet free, I know there is nothing free now days and therefore I really thank you all for a job well done........Thank you
Willy Hermoza:smile::smile::wink::grin::smile:

Ps. Help the homeless
 
Well

they lost my interest quickly. me being just online and not there.

the old saying goes if you don't have anything good to say don't say anything.

they had alot of good players !
 
My take on it...JMHO !

As was obvious, the guys at Taylor Road, did things "their way". And rightfully so... it was their $$$$$$$ on the line.

The unanswered questions, (in many areas) and their failure to promote and advertise the event, well ahead of time... took its toll on the bottom line.

Many knowledgable people tried to forewarn them of the impending financial implications of such a late, somewhat disorganized start. I hope the lesson wasn't too painful. The vendors were also dissapointed by the body count.

We applaud them for putting on a first class tournament, nothing was done on the cheap, and it was a great venue. I hope the City of Galveston was very appreciative and supportive of the event.

However, the high quality of the short field, was due to the fact that only the top guy's were in attendence. There were not enough A-, or B+ players competing, to round out (or boost) the entree count, OR the prize fund.
Adjustments ($$$$) had to be made across the board.

I'm sure they were less than thrilled with the empty stands. Seating for well over a 1000, and I don't think their peak day, brought in more than a few hundred PAYING customers.

The comparative remoteness, and the high cost of attending, were real negatives, to many who would like to have gone.

We all hope next year will be better for them, and that they will learn from their mistakes. Too bad about the early stream problems, but once JoeyA and company, got up and running it was very enjoyable for most of us.

Unless Taylor Road Productions wants to become a permanent philantrophical entity, in support of pool player's, I hope they learned from their somewhat naive approach (i.e, burning up a lot of $$$ in meaningless exhibitions)

It would be easy to become discouraged and cave into the financial realities of major tournaments. I would hate to see their bottom line for this one.

Again, I applaud them for their outstanding effort, and lets all hope, with a better head start, that next year will be a rousing success.

SJD
 
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Dick said it well. I know there were mistakes....but I APPLAUD them for putting this together. We need more Taylor Road organizations putting together first-class events.

I think the economy had a lot to do with the bad turn-out. Even our local fair here in PA that usually has THOUSANDS of people walk through and buy sausage sandwiches, funnel cake and freak shows.... had a HUGE drop-off in attendance. So, if people won't pay $1 to see the 29" midget inside of the box.... maybe people didn't wanna fork-out the $300 airfare, hotel and food to get to the event?

For me, if they run it again next year--- I won't miss it. Sounded like a hot event.
 
I wonder if there is not an opportunity here. Given so many internet viewers and so few in physical attendance perhaps there is a way to address the financial problems. It is possible that pay per view with some sort of fee for the week would help out. Perhaps the sponsors could be accommodated by placing internet ads and links to their products that could be ordered only at the tournament web site for some sort of discount.

Multiple “live cams” on several tables and conversations with players, coaches, etc might contribute to more internet viewers.

I don’t know but it seems to me that there is an opportunity here for integrating the net with a tournament. Apparently many of us had an enjoyable time. There is much to be said for JoeyA’s work and the artful way he and others made this one of the better tournaments I attended on line or off line.

There are many possibilities to be considered and some creative people could make the integration of the net and a tournament a new way for entertaining, supporting the sport and making a few bucks. Having been through the on-line experience I now know that I would pay for access to something similar.

Perhaps a few “free” tournaments such as we have just seen that are then followed by pay per view would generate a sufficient amount of interest to make it worth while to the promoters.

The top players are attracted by the prize fund and perhaps enhancing the prizes with some sort of add on from the internet gate would bring in more players and more viewers especially if they knew the players would contribute to the sports casting and or interviews.

Fargo Billiards comes to mind as a possible candidate for something along these lines.

Here is one for instance. Let's say it cost $100.00 for a full week of internet access and that the internet viewer could get a 20% discount on any of several products purchased at the on / off line tournament. The discount could be limited to the first $1,000.00 or so. There is a possible win win win situation here. The viewer could recover the cost of vieweing with a sufficent purchase. The sponsers get their products out there and the players get paid !
 
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JoeW said:
I wonder if there is not an opportunity here. Given so many internet viewers and so few in physical attendance perhaps there is a way to address the financial problems. It is possible that pay per view with some sort of fee for the week would help out. Perhaps the sponsors could be accommodated by placing internet ads and links to their products that could be ordered only at the tournament web site for some sort of discount.

Multiple “live cams” on several tables and conversations with players, coaches, etc might contribute to more internet viewers.

I don’t know but it seems to me that there is an opportunity here for integrating the net with a tournament. Apparently many of us had an enjoyable time. There is much to be said for JoeyA’s work and the artful way he and others made this one of the better tournaments I attended on line or off line.



There are many possibilities to be considered and some creative people could make the integration of the net and a tournament a new way for entertaining, supporting the sport and making a few bucks. Having been through the on-line experience I now know that I would pay for access to something similar.

Perhaps a few “free” tournaments such as we have just seen that are then followed by pay per view would generate a sufficient amount of interest to make it worth while to the promoters.

The top players are attracted by the prize fund and perhaps enhancing the prizes with some sort of add on from the internet gate would bring in more players and more viewers especially if they knew the players would contribute to the sports casting and or interviews.

Fargo Billiards comes to mind as a possible candidate for something along these lines.

Here is one for instance. Let's say it cost $100.00 for a full week of internet access and that the internet viewer could get a 20% discount on any of several products purchased at the on / off line tournament. The discount could be limited to the first $1,000.00 or so. There is a possible win win win situation here. The viewer could recover the cost of vieweing with a sufficent purchase. The sponsers get their products out there and the players get paid !
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All good thoughts Joe. Some very far-sighted and worthwhile ideas.

Taylor Road Productions main focus, should be on recognizing that there are people out there, that are very skilled at just what you are suggesting, (TAR is learning the ropes VERY fast in that area) and will involve those people more, in future events.

The fact that they chose not to involve TAR, and their lack of exposure on AZB...just shows how much they were out out of touch with the mainstream of the pool world, at the crucial stages of their planning.

They had a beautiful website, and I guess they thought that would suffice. But, it lacked any real substance. Dozens of major questions, (and issues) went unanswered to anyone's satisfaction, right up until the tournament actually began.
The reality factor set in, and major changes had to be made.

Again, lets hope they learned from their shortcomings, in those, and other areas, and trust they will put things in a better perspective...i.e. get the professional promoter's and PR people on board NOW, for GWC II.

Go T.R.P.....we're all pulling for you.
 
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I enjoyed the tourney and my wife enjoyed checking out galveston island. It was theyre first year and look at the field they drew. Ive never heard of so many of the top filipinos in one place at one time. Not even the us open. I saw a guy get a picture with Efren. Busty,Parica,alcano,pagaulayan,kiamco and orcullo at the same time what other tourney is that even possible at? And this was only theyre inaguaral event. The have stated that they plan to do this for a couple of years at least. This thing only has the potential to get bigger.

They may have been to grandiose in there plans but at least they payed up right after the event was over. Unlike the IPT which took up to 2 years to get everyone their money. DCC didnt go off without a hitch its first few years either.

With more exposure this thing could be bigger than DCC and in much better weather too.


So thanks to taylor road productions for putting this thing on and as long as they continue to have it ill continue to attend and spend money and try to keep this thing alive. I had a blast and will definately be back next year.
 
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brock said:
mnorwood, i am from manval, was there any coverge in the paper or tv about the tournament????? you are from pearland we might know each other!!!!!!
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The tournament made it into the houston chronicle on Friday and again on Saturday last weekend.

I think a press release in the weeks prior to next will boost the attendance.
 
mnorwood said:
The tournament made it into the houston chronicle on Friday and again on Saturday last weekend.

I think a press release in the weeks prior to next will boost the attendance.
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mnorwood,

That was exactly my point. A public relations firm will cost a little money up front, but they are well worth it. A good PR firm, will have the necessary contacts, and they WILL alert the media, and they can find ways to promote ANY event.

A good local PR firm, would have capitalized on the fact that the WGC was trying to help Galveston recover from the destructive hurricane of last year. (Us AZBers, and the mayor of Galveston.. may have been the only ones who knew that)

In their rolodex, they have TV and Radio personalities, who would jump at the chance for a story like that. I would almost guarantee they would have had local (if not some national) media focused on the event. All they would have needed was a few months lead time.

Having Charlie (Hillbilly) Bryant, talk it up amongst the top pool players, is OK, but it will not fill the stands.

It isn't just about pool, it is the human interest factor that could have made the GWC a "big show" right from the start.

I have sponsored a few "Golf Cart" Races, at local retirement communities, where many local TV and radio celebs (and their cameras) showed up to participate...strictly because there was a benefit, or a charity involved. I would never dream of going into it, without the help of a PR firm.

Small time stuff you say, but it generated thousands of dollars, and most up front costs were sponsor absorbed, and it was attended by thousands of people.....spending major $$$$ with vendors, and at concession stands. And yes, the participants paid an entry fee to race, and the spectators paid to watch. (Not much different than DCC, eh ?)

Plus...PR costs can easily be taken "off the top".(if you create a "top").....I wish I could convey that to Taylor Road Productions.

Tell me the efforts of TRP would not have been percieved as an effort to help put the City of Galveston back together ?

Bottom line is, ANYTHING can be successful, with proper promotion, and a good cause don't hurt either...look at the PGA !

SJD
 
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I just watched the video of Efren beating Shannon in the one pocket finals. It's a strong statement about Efren's game that even when by his own admission he can't run balls like he used to he was still able to beat one of the strongest one pocket fields ever.

It was also interesting to see the interview afterward where he talked about feeling the pressure. He does a good job of hiding it during the match.
 
Watching the pool all week long has really spoiled me. It's like I don't have anything to watch now. More and more of us are getting hooked on streams and now, we can't wait till the next one.... U.S. Open...

I absolutely commend Busty for nearly coming back on Warren Kiamco. He put a six pack on him and could've won that 7th and final game had it not been for a bad roll.

I also want to commend Warren for his spirited come back through the losers bracket. His endurance and superb consistency is something that can be admired by everyone. Had he beat Mika, it would've been the talk of the century. He dang near did beat him too!

Jeremy Jones was by far the best, most level headed, and over all best commentary with the greatest foresight I have ever heard bar none. Mike Sigel was pretty good, but he had too much interest in the 'beginners at home'. Double J was simply a pro commenting like a pro knowing he was talking to pool players, not hacks. It helps when you have someone like Joey sitting in the booth!

Mika was nearly invincible throughout the tournament. I believe that his excellent play over the recent years is because of his excellent physical shaping. His cardiovascular endurance and overall mental stamina is what keeps him consistently in the winner's seat. I believe guys like Busty are better than Mika, but look at Busty's belly..... because he must be a hamburger/hot dog and spicy noodle eatin mofo, he misses balls when he runs outta gas. (actually I don't know what he eats, just a poking a little fun... don't roast me for that! I know how some of you guys can be.... )

Hillbilly's commentary was great, but I though he was a little bit too proud of his hillbilly accent. Hillbilly could learn a thing or two from JJ's commentary.

Nick Varner was a real treat to listen to. Just hearing him talk about Buddy, and other stuff like that, was rare stuff. On the last day, he was feeling feisty and told Joey that he might get called into the board room and get 'fired' from Donald Trump! Seriously though, Nick is the man. Hearing him talk about his line of cues, the way people play position, some bits and pieces of history, you could tell you were listening to a true legend, no mistake about it!

Last but not least, I want to commend Joey Aguzin. His apparent prominence of endurance to stick with it and represent is something to be admired and hard to duplicate for a long time. This man loves pool. He loves AZ, he loves the community. Most of all, he loves his wife who surely loves us, otherwise she wouldn't let his ass come to Galveston! I think the volunteering spirit of Joey and his remarkable ability to mesh with anyone in the booth is something we can all admire and learn from. I can tell that he was more than anything backing up the pro's commentary with his humility and grace. I'm sure he wanted to go off on Nick when he said he would get fired, but he bit his tongue. There were several instances where Joey was put in an awkward position by Hillbilly and he didn't say a word even though it would've been natural to compete knowledge. I think listening to Joey is very comforting knowing that he is from the Az community. Also, cmbwsu, trigger, and beav did a great job moderating the chat as well. I can't go out with saying a huge thanks to Cristina Delagarza for being beautiful as always, and making it great for us to connect with this tournament and it's players.
 
I believe that if they had an action area with live steaming like the DCC tourny they would have had twice as many people tuned in to the stream. Maybe it was best they did't because I would have not got any sleep at all. I watched all the streaming and enjoyed it very much.
 
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