IPT - I am almost ready to give them another chance

[Str8PoolMan]

Deny, Deny, Deny...

...why hasn't KT personally gone out on a limb, not a financial one but on a personal level telling others in the public eye that he can and will be different in the future....

For one reason: he doesn't believe he did anything wrong. Listen to what the man says anytime anything goes wrong or anytime anyone criticizes his actions. He has an excuse for everything. It's always someone else's fault. Or it's just a big misunderstanding. That was the excuse he used when he tried to deposit forged checks totaling $80K in his bank account, claiming he was a doctor. The bank just misunderstood (yeah, that's it).

It was the naysayers and "prophets of doom", the lack of appreciation from the players, someone in the office forgetting to check "Saturday delivery", the foreign players not filling out their tax exemption forms, the government "sneaking" that anti-gambling law through Congress, Ho Interactive backing out on the "big deal" (this just weeks after his "pop the champagne" letter to all the IPT members).

No, no, not his fault at all.

 

[ironman]

Steve, you are the first guy to figure out the real deal and share it with the forum. It was all about the Chinese Billionaire buying the IPT and having internet pari-mutuel betting on pool matches, with KT keeping a smaller piece of the action. When they snuck that bill through banning internet gambling nationally, it queered the deal. Now since they are still playing poker in the US on Poker Stars and other sites, the interest is being rekindled. The story that he planned on screwing everybody from the beginning would only make sense to a moron. That anybody would invest a couple million in front to try to take off the pool world is the real oxymoron.

the Beard

I'm reminded of what Dr Ho"s response about the IPT acqusition, "what is IPT"?

 

[ironman]

How many people on here have been burned personally by KT besides Jay?

I was too. It didn't costme much out of mypocket, so, I got lucky.

I went down and ran two of his qualifiers, and he just took the money and put it in his pocket. The SOB!

When I run a tournament, everyone knows, the money is there. Anything less, is just plain criminal no matter how you dress it up.

 

[ironman]

In another thread I said that I could not support the IPT, till IPT have paid all their players, the players who won Tour Card Qualifiers and the players who entered Tour Card Qualifiers but didn't make it.

I have got confirmed now that players who both entered Tour Card Qualifiers and didn't make it, and players who won Tour Card Qualifiers, are now getting their money back.

They haven't got it all back yet, but this is promising, IMO.

IPT knows that if they are ever gonna get support from the poolworld they have to pay everyone back.

Yes, KT screwed everyone up. I even encouraged friends to join the qualifiers because I believed in the tour, and I have felt ashamed since cause they wasted their money. Lots of money. But right now they are actually getting them back.

I have talked to so many different players about the IPT, and they all want it to come back in some kind of format. The IPT put up all the best tournaments and the best format, and the pros enjoyed being there.

I will stand by my word, and if IPT starts with tournaments again (not just the Challenge-matches) I will be ready to give them another chance as long as they have paid the players in full.

Why??????????

 

[memikey]

Find it hard to believe some on here have resuscitated the contention that online gambling legislation caused failure of the business model. That bird has been comprehensively slaughtered, plucked, basted, roasted, carved and eaten long ago. That contention has no credible basis whatsoever, none, zero......on the contrary, it is not even remotely possible for it to have been the reason.....and such a contention doesn't somehow magically gain credibility by the simple passage of time between then and now. It was 100% b/s then and is 100% b/s now.

That being understood, we can all kid ourselves that what matters now and in the future is how the top professionals might now view IPT or how the dyed in the wool pool enthusiasts might now view IPT or any other potential Tour. However the bottom line is that neither of those two very small groups of people actually matter very much at all, least of all the top pros. If for the sake of argument the IPT had had a genuinely workable business model the first time round and if say for some reason most of the top pros at some stage had then gone into dispute with IPT, including for example withdrawing their playing services, the IPT would have had absolutely no problem whatsoever in dropping those top pros like hot potatoes and continuing the show with others.

What in fact really matters is how (a) potential sponsors/advertisers and (b) the non-dyed in the wool pool enthusiasts and general public...would view any Tour. All information to go on so far suggests that it is well nigh impossible to garner enough sponsorship money or advertising revenue or enough interest from the public to make any really big prize money Tour viable.

I hope the IPT or anyone else finds a way to bridge that huge gap. If a small modest Tour is the initial way for someone to start on that ladder towards a bigger goal and if it is run transparently and honestly, good luck to them.

 

[Da Poet]

The IPT is like the superhot ex-girlfriend who dumps you and then after a while, you start running into her again and now she's interested in getting back together.

Do you?

1) Forgive her and start all over again?

2) Go out with her for the sex until something better comes along?

3) Keep things clean and simple and stay away from her?


I would understand folks taking option two. Folks seriously considering option one would be best advised to take option three.

 

[Str8PoolMan]

Find it hard to believe some on here have resuscitated the contention that online gambling legislation caused failure of the business model. That bird has been comprehensively slaughtered, plucked, basted, roasted, carved and eaten long ago. That contention has no credible basis whatsoever, none, zero......on the contrary, it is not even remotely possible for it to have been the reason.....and such a contention doesn't somehow magically gain credibility by the simple passage of time between then and now. It was 100% b/s then and is 100% b/s now.

That being understood, we can all kid ourselves that what matters now and in the future is how the top professionals might now view IPT or how the dyed in the wool pool enthusiasts might now view IPT or any other potential Tour. However the bottom line is that neither of those two very small groups of people actually matter very much at all, least of all the top pros. If for the sake of argument the IPT had had a genuinely workable business model the first time round and if say for some reason most of the top pros at some stage had then gone into dispute with IPT, including for example withdrawing their playing services, the IPT would have had absolutely no problem whatsoever in dropping those top pros like hot potatoes and continuing the show with others.

What in fact really matters is how (a) potential sponsors/advertisers and (b) the non-dyed in the wool pool enthusiasts and general public...would view any Tour. All information to go on so far suggests that it is well nigh impossible to garner enough sponsorship money or advertising revenue or enough interest from the public to make any really big prize money Tour viable.

I hope the IPT or anyone else finds a way to bridge that huge gap. If a small modest Tour is the initial way for someone to start on that ladder towards a bigger goal and if it is run transparently and honestly, good luck to them.

Good post.

Due to the apparent lack of potential "big money" sponsors, I think a modest men's Tour would be the way to go (the women seem to be doing ok with the WPBA). Growth will be slow and tough. No one should expect pool players to become millionaires overnight or a meteoric rise in pool popularity. That rarely, if ever, happens in the modern world. And if it does, it is just a fad that blows over quickly.

Golf didn't become big overnight, nor did poker. It just seemed that way due to the recent rise in popularity. And, in my opinion, that is due to two things: 1) anyone can "play" poker on the internet, and 2) the success of Chris Moneymaker, the internet poker prodigy.

I do think the potential is there for pool. It won't ever make it to NFL, NBA, Tennis, or Nascar status. But it can do as well or better than bowling and maybe even poker. It can create an environment for professionals to make a decent living. But it's going to take a concerted effort from people who are interested in more than grabbing a quick buck, or hustling up a score. Until all the involved parties are willing to make the sacrifice for the good of the sport, pool will end up the way it always has, scraping the bottom of the barrel.

 

[trueblu8]

so true...

almost ready to give them another chance?

pool sucks. anyone who puts any money into it should be openly welcomed by the entire comunity.

Lol. This is so true. One of the best posts ever.