Galveston BIG MONEY TOURNAMENT

jay helfert said:
There was supposed to be some news coming as of May 1. We'll just have to wait and see. Today is May 4 and no news yet. Not a good sign. Sorry to be "cryptic" here, but my source has asked to remain confidential. I'm sure I will hear more soon, one way or the other.
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As Cristina mentioned in the Bogies stream, The press release will be at the BCA Nationals. There IS a tournament director hired and there have been talks with numerous league systems concerning teams.

You can hear Cristina discuss this in the Bogies stream under Bogies 3-4, You will also see SVB win the hotseat and then get double dipped by Hillbilly. The final three included "old school" player James Christopher.

Ray

www.ustream.tv/channel/bigtruck
 
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This event has all the earmarks of being A HUGE TEXAS tradition in the making.

I hope the details are announced soon. If I recall correctly, the Diamond table contract for the event is due this week or very soon. That would be a great sign that the event is for SURE.

Looking forward to a National Press Release any day now.

The TD is nationally known. He told me he was offered the job a couple of weeks ago.
 
Inside Pool Magazine Ad

A really large ad was placed by the promoters on PAGE 1 of the May/June issue.

We inch forward. :D

The ad is a nice step forward and shows that the promoters are quite serious about this tournament. Now if we can just get a few more additional details provided. :)

The interview by Cristina De La Garza is another big plus. Thanks for keeping us informed BigTruck!

JoeyA
 
You can advertise all you like...the guaranteed added prize money in escrow will tell the tale. The next step will be whether they pay the upfront table contract costs, which are due pretty soon. I agree with Jay here. The 'wait until the last minute' attitude of the promoters is very difficult to understand. People plan for events like the BCA, Derby City, and U.S. Open events a whole year in advance, in terms of time off, travel arrangements, etc. Don't get me wrong...I'm all in support of any pool events that help promote the sport. However, that said, there have been many so-called 'events' like this, that didn't come off because of poor planning, no money, or any of a dozen other reasons.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
Scott Lee said:
You can advertise all you like...the guaranteed added prize money in escrow will tell the tale. The next step will be whether they pay the upfront table contract costs, which are due pretty soon. I agree with Jay here. The 'wait until the last minute' attitude of the promoters is very difficult to understand. People plan for events like the BCA, Derby City, and U.S. Open events a whole year in advance, in terms of time off, travel arrangements, etc. Don't get me wrong...I'm all in support of any pool events that help promote the sport. However, that said, there have been many so-called 'events' like this, that didn't come off because of poor planning, no money, or any of a dozen other reasons.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
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Ah, the proverbial 5 p's. "Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance". LOL Words to live by.

Ray
(and don't forget to let the players know)
 
After being able to sit down the organizers of this event I am MUCH more encouraged about the potential success of it. Now that I know who they are and what they do I am very confident that they have the resources (financial and otherwise), experience and connections to pull this off. They also have a much larger vision for this that I had realized that reaches far beyond this one Galveston event.

Contrary to what many (including myself) have thought on this post, they ARE, in fact, reaching out to many of the reputable individuals involved in other major tournaments and including them in the planning process or hiring them for on-site logistics. I haven't posted anything specific about my interview with them because I promised that I would let them see it before publishing it anywhere to make sure I don't have any of the details wrong. I also understand they are putting out some press releases sometime before or around BCA Nationals in Vegas this week or next so I don't want to be redundant. I believe we will be doing some type of video piece on the event (including interviews with the promoters/organizers) for InsidePool while on location at the BCA Nationals but that is just one of our many story ideas so far so I dont' know if it's "made the cut" yet.
 
If I'm not mistaken, I believe many people have been trying to tell you that the organizers of this tourney were legitimate and very serious about executing this tourney. I'm glad your own research led you to be more confident and encouraged in the future of this event. Just fyi, scrutiny of EVERYTHING unless it involves you is getting old. Actually reminds me of another poolplayer's chick...hmm. Peace!;)
 
akaMe said:
If I'm not mistaken, I believe many people have been trying to tell you that the organizers of this tourney were legitimate and very serious about executing this tourney. I'm glad your own research led you to be more confident and encouraged in the future of this event. Just fyi, scrutiny of EVERYTHING unless it involves you is getting old. Actually reminds me of another poolplayer's chick...hmm. Peace!;)
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The ENTIRE pool community is hungry for details on this event. None have been forthcoming.The latest info was that there would be a press release with ALL the details at or before the BCA Nationals. The BCA Nationals is underway. Still no info.

What information do you have about this event that leads you to believe that all this secrecy is the way to promote an event?

Ray
 
still not too excited

I went to their website again. It doesn't format properly when I am running the latest version of IE so I still don't know when each event is being held. With ten major events knowing the schedule would be nice. (checked later, formats OK with Firefox)

They seem to have commitments from some top players now and they are supposed to make a major payment to Diamond for tables in a few weeks I believe. They are under contract with the venue, something we know only through the efforts of Cris.

The rules seem largely cut and pasted with some editing. One glaring issue is that the opposing player can practice on the table during a time out if it is between games in the opening statements of the rules and this is forbidden in the detailed rules. Which is it?

Also looking at the guaranteed first place payments, entry fees, and typical breakdowns of payouts, it looks like there may be an unusually big gap between first and second place payouts. Not a real issue as long as players are aware of the possibility before entering but it will be a nasty surprise at payout time if this blindsides players.

I'm still very hopeful but I also still feel a lot like a mushroom.

Hu
 
Update

I just found out last night from Ken, the head BCA ref, that he was hired along with Scott "the shot" Smith to run the tournament. Scott Smith is of course the TD for the US Open and many other major events. He also said that the deal on the tables was made with Diamond AND there was prize money in escrow!!

Ray
 
Bigtruck said:
I just found out last night from Ken, the head BCA ref, that he was hired along with Scott "the shot" Smith to run the tournament. Scott Smith is of course the TD for the US Open and many other major events. He also said that the deal on the tables was made with Diamond AND there was prize money in escrow!!

Ray
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UCNDOIT

Better and Better and Better. :)

JoeyA
 
These are the things we want to hear!

Ray,

These are the things we want to hear and should have heard months ago!

Tables, first place monies in escrow, and people who know their business handling the nuts and bolts of the tournament make it look very good. Now they need to get the word out which will be much easier now that there are real indications that the event won't be a fiasco.

Still need to fix the website so that it works with Internet Explorer though.

Hu


Bigtruck said:
I just found out last night from Ken, the head BCA ref, that he was hired along with Scott "the shot" Smith to run the tournament. Scott Smith is of course the TD for the US Open and many other major events. He also said that the deal on the tables was made with Diamond AND there was prize money in escrow!!

Ray
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Wow, what a huge thread. :o

They do every thing big in Texas, and it looks like this is no exception.

Can't wait to read all about it! I'm sure there will be a lot more buzz now that the dates are approaching.

This might be the premier event of the year! :)
 
They do know how to party over at our little sister state!

JAM said:
Wow, what a huge thread. :o

They do every thing big in Texas, and it looks like this is no exception.

Can't wait to read all about it! I'm sure there will be a lot more buzz now that the dates are approaching.

This might be the premier event of the year! :)
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They do know how to party in Texas and Galveston was once one of the biggest party towns on the coast. Don't know how it is now but certainly good times could be had by all!

I started reading the rules and for the most part they seem like good common sense. I was especially impressed with the dress code. Not trying to put players in monkey suits but expecting a reasonable level of dress so that people don't look ridiculous at the table.

Hu
 
Ya know?...

It seems a little odd that a couple folks would go all the way to Louisville earlier this year to promote the event, but they can't type a few words for us here on AZ without even having to leave the house?

C'mon guys, throw us a frickin' bone here already! :D
 
JAM said:
Wow, what a huge thread. :o

They do every thing big in Texas, and it looks like this is no exception.

Can't wait to read all about it! I'm sure there will be a lot more buzz now that the dates are approaching.

This might be the premier event of the year! :)
Click to expand...

Jennie,
Do you know anyone who might be interested in coming to this tournament?

I will be there whether I'm doing either commentary, playing OR BOTH! :D

Unfortunately, I will have to invest some of my funds in staking Efren for all of the mini-tournaments each night of this extravaganza and am saving money right and left for this occasion. I made that committment to the KING and will not disappoint him even if I have to send the money via courier. :thumbup:

I am now beginning to wonder how I will be able to make the whole tournament.

Let's see:
For each day, I will wake up, shower and shave and eat a great breakfast buffet, then off to the tables to watch, play or do commentary. That will take the majority of the day so I will carry lots of energy bars from Whole Foods with me. At night, I will be sweating Efren's mini-tournaments and playing in some of those too and it will probably go on to the wee hours of the morning. If I throw in a few hours of gambling and sweating some of the gambling matches, I may not have to sleep at all. I can just shower, shave and eat breakfast all over again day after day. :dance:

Just last night I was able to squirrel away a couple of hundred due to some ver nice young WSOP contributors who were in town at Harrah's Casino and looking to get away from those lucky cards and good card players.

Some of the players who win these disciplines in Galveston, TX will be adding some serious dough to their bank accounts.

It's looking better all of the time. I really like the report about money in escrow and Scott Smith as tournament director. Scott does a pretty remarkable job wherever he goes.

I am going to suggest to Scott that he use Liberty Spikes for his hair instead of the usual staid spikes that he is know for. He has plenty of time to grow his hair longer for the Liberty Spikes. If he gets a few color tips from Samm Diep, he can make a really grand entrance. :D

If Jay had made the cut, I would have suggested some polishing cream to make him shine even more. :)

JoeyA
 
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