memikey said:
Unlikely that anyone can tell you the outcome of that hypothetical scenario with any confidence as no-one knows exactly what the ownership/funding structure of IPT is.
However,a fair guess would be that individual players or companies owed money would have to go to the courts to obtain a judgement,paying all their own legal expenses to do so,with the very posible end result of recieving a favourable judgement against an organisation which has no tangible assets from which to pay the awarded amount.Getting a judgement is one thing,getting any money is quite another.
It is inconceivable that a company such as IPT will have been structured in any way which exposes any individual's personal assets to potential attachment by the courts.
There will be no judgment in the favor of any player. The players have nothing except a verbal commitment from Kevin Trudeau. The IPT is a business entity and has made no promises to the players. There is nothing in writing. As it stands right now, there isn't anything set up that protects the players legally. Nothing. This means that if the IPT went away tomorrow, there is very little that could be done by anybody. If realizing that and pointing it out makes me a negative naysayer, so be it. Its the truth. Unless any of this changes, the players have no leverage or legal recourse whatsoever.
As far as the payments for Reno. I think its ridiculous to have the players wait this long, but I do think that they will be paid eventually. I think all the discussion about it is a bit much. I think the real issue is the fact that this tour has lost momentum. To get it back they need to back up and reasses their strategy. They can start by making amends with the rest of the international billiards community instead of walking around with their nose in the air. There are many people that have the ability to assist and guide them in the right direction if they want this tour to grow.
What is at stake is pool's future, not just the IPT. I do not wish this tour to fail. I hope it makes some changes (for the player's sake), but I have too many friends in the IPT to say something or feel something so cold. There is more to the pocket billiards community than this tour and its 150 players. There is our industry, table and cue manufacturers, leagues, players, regional tours, fans, all can be affected by the failure of this tour. That's not being negative, that's called seeing the big picture. Some of you can't see beyond the prize money. I have said for years that for a pro tour to be successful, money is not the only ingredient necessary. The entire industry has to work as a cohesive unit. At the moment the IPT does not offer that, in fact they are going in the opposite direction by excluding themselves from the rest of the billiards community. If they continue in that direction they will suffer the same fate as those that came before them. Is that doom and gloom? No. I call it "realistic analysis".