I thought I'd post this since I had never seen this here (found on another forum).
It takes a second for the video to load and you have to watch a commercial.
ABC7Chicago.com: Bad Breaks
Bad Breaks
WLS By Ben Bradley
April 23, 2007 - You may have seen him on late night infomercials. Kevin Trudeau has connections to Chicago and a criminal past. He is now under scrutiny for owing pool players almost $2 million. ABC7's Ben Bradley has been looking into the complaints.
Trudeau has a No. 1 best selling book on so-called "natural cures." But last year he announced he wanted to "cure" professional pool by turning players into stars. Think of it as the PGA of the pool world. Players spent thousands of dollars and devoted hours of their lives to be in Trudeau's tournaments. Now these pool players say they got a bad break. Professional pool players feel they've been snookered.
"He has betrayed me and a lot of pool players I know," said Jeff Beckley, pool player.
Indiana pool player Jeff Beckley and nearly 200 of his peers say Kevin Trudeau and his International Pool Tour, based in Elk Grove Village, broke major promises. In 2005, Trudeau recruited players from around the world and told them, if they signed-up, he would pay up in the form of big prize money.
At first, players were cashing in; then:
"There was no money there," Beckley said.
Beckley and others say, when it came time to collect their latest prize money, Trudeau and the International Pool Tour scratched and left them with barely enough money to cover their expenses.
The tournaments and the company were created by Trudeau. He is best known for late night infomercials on "natural cures" that claim to help with everything from arthritis to allergies. Trudeau spent two years in prison on a larceny conviction and has settled several federal trade commission lawsuits related to other businesses.
In an audio recording of a pitch to pool players, Trudeau said the top 100 would be entitled to big bucks this year. "If you are on the IPT tour I'll just guarantee that at the end of the year you earn 100,000 dollars minimum," Trudeau said to applause.
But that hasn't happened. Many who spent thousands of dollars on dues and travel for tournaments have yet to see all of their winnings. The IPT owes $1.7 million in prize money from its last tournament in September and future tournaments have been postponed indefinitely. Beckley says he is owed about $3,500 and Rodney Morris says he is waiting on $100,000.
"The ground fell out from under the pool players," said Rodney Morris, pool player.
Morris lives near Tampa and is one of the top 5 pool players in the world.
"It put us in a strain. We're still struggling and reeling from that," Morris said.
Some of these pool players gave up careers so they could practice full-time and enter these tournaments. Now they are wondering if these are legitimate business setbacks or if they have been snookered out of their full cash prize.
"I totally sympathize with them and this is a horrible situation that quite frankly we are all very embarrassed about," said Deno Andrews, IPT tour director.
The IPT tour director is speaking for Kevin Trudeau, who declined to be interviewed on camera. In an e-mail, Trudeau says players are receiving small amounts of their prize money every month.
The IPT says it is suffering from a bad break and that the bottom dropped out when advertisers failed to sign on.
"It's a different style," said Andrews. "My style is promise less over deliver. If it were up to me that's how I would have done it. It was not up to me; it was up to Mr. Trudeau."
The International Pool Tour's director says he wants to rebuild the business and hopes players give Trudeau the chance to get out from behind the 8-ball.
"You can fool me once, but that's about it. I am not going for it again," said Morris.
The IPT insists that Kevin Trudeau has lost money, not made any, from these tournaments. They claim he has put in $10 million. But considering Trudeau's past, some players are skeptical. Critics say, if Kevin Trudeau is as rich as he has publicly claims to be, then he should pay all of the prize money he promised without delay.
It takes a second for the video to load and you have to watch a commercial.
ABC7Chicago.com: Bad Breaks
Bad Breaks
WLS By Ben Bradley
April 23, 2007 - You may have seen him on late night infomercials. Kevin Trudeau has connections to Chicago and a criminal past. He is now under scrutiny for owing pool players almost $2 million. ABC7's Ben Bradley has been looking into the complaints.
Trudeau has a No. 1 best selling book on so-called "natural cures." But last year he announced he wanted to "cure" professional pool by turning players into stars. Think of it as the PGA of the pool world. Players spent thousands of dollars and devoted hours of their lives to be in Trudeau's tournaments. Now these pool players say they got a bad break. Professional pool players feel they've been snookered.
"He has betrayed me and a lot of pool players I know," said Jeff Beckley, pool player.
Indiana pool player Jeff Beckley and nearly 200 of his peers say Kevin Trudeau and his International Pool Tour, based in Elk Grove Village, broke major promises. In 2005, Trudeau recruited players from around the world and told them, if they signed-up, he would pay up in the form of big prize money.
At first, players were cashing in; then:
"There was no money there," Beckley said.
Beckley and others say, when it came time to collect their latest prize money, Trudeau and the International Pool Tour scratched and left them with barely enough money to cover their expenses.
The tournaments and the company were created by Trudeau. He is best known for late night infomercials on "natural cures" that claim to help with everything from arthritis to allergies. Trudeau spent two years in prison on a larceny conviction and has settled several federal trade commission lawsuits related to other businesses.
In an audio recording of a pitch to pool players, Trudeau said the top 100 would be entitled to big bucks this year. "If you are on the IPT tour I'll just guarantee that at the end of the year you earn 100,000 dollars minimum," Trudeau said to applause.
But that hasn't happened. Many who spent thousands of dollars on dues and travel for tournaments have yet to see all of their winnings. The IPT owes $1.7 million in prize money from its last tournament in September and future tournaments have been postponed indefinitely. Beckley says he is owed about $3,500 and Rodney Morris says he is waiting on $100,000.
"The ground fell out from under the pool players," said Rodney Morris, pool player.
Morris lives near Tampa and is one of the top 5 pool players in the world.
"It put us in a strain. We're still struggling and reeling from that," Morris said.
Some of these pool players gave up careers so they could practice full-time and enter these tournaments. Now they are wondering if these are legitimate business setbacks or if they have been snookered out of their full cash prize.
"I totally sympathize with them and this is a horrible situation that quite frankly we are all very embarrassed about," said Deno Andrews, IPT tour director.
The IPT tour director is speaking for Kevin Trudeau, who declined to be interviewed on camera. In an e-mail, Trudeau says players are receiving small amounts of their prize money every month.
The IPT says it is suffering from a bad break and that the bottom dropped out when advertisers failed to sign on.
"It's a different style," said Andrews. "My style is promise less over deliver. If it were up to me that's how I would have done it. It was not up to me; it was up to Mr. Trudeau."
The International Pool Tour's director says he wants to rebuild the business and hopes players give Trudeau the chance to get out from behind the 8-ball.
"You can fool me once, but that's about it. I am not going for it again," said Morris.
The IPT insists that Kevin Trudeau has lost money, not made any, from these tournaments. They claim he has put in $10 million. But considering Trudeau's past, some players are skeptical. Critics say, if Kevin Trudeau is as rich as he has publicly claims to be, then he should pay all of the prize money he promised without delay.
