I have read carefuly this entire thread. It weems to me that there are two totally different perspectives here.
I have been a pool plyaer my entire adult life and I'm well aware of wha I expected from a room when I went to a tournament. What I wanted and what I got were at times two different things altogether. Supervising the day to day operations of room/club and running a tournament are two different things. I learned this very quickly. That is the reason for tournament directors.
We went to Big Lew and Fat Eddies ownership 7 1/2 years ago with an idea of mine about a tour irhgt here in Texas. Big Lew liked the idea and thusly the Tour was born. Iniatially Fast Eddies put up all the added money and then I promised him that if he would hang in there with us for two years, I would find the sponsors to make up the added money and then all we would need from them, was a place to play. He hung in there and the promise was kept.
Today the add-on money comes from two sources, Olhuasen BIlliards and from S&S cues. This is why the cue raffle is important to us because if the raffle doesn't go well, the add-on money comes straight from myself and Paul.
As Melinda pointed out, most get the feeling that the venue OWES something to the players and in this situation, the venue feels it has ponyed up quite well over the years and they have. They are still in the business of making a profit and some seem to lose sight of this.
I'm not sure whose idea the UFC thing came from, but from a business point, it has turned out to be just short of genious. From a pool players vantage it is intruding and makes no sense at all.
The problem is simply this, I make up the schedule each October for the following year and submitt it to Big Lew in November. The ball is rolling. Big lew has granted me lots of leverage with this and him getting the schedule had become really a formality.
The problem is simple. I have aimed most events towards the 2nd weekend of each month. It seemed the best time for most to get away. Well, the UFC likes these weekends as well and certainly did not consult me about their schedule. As I have learned to understand it the UFC gives about 30 days notice for the next viewing. AThey chose the same target dates as I did.
The solution to this is to track the UFC tnedancies of scheduling and try to avoid these dates next year. It is really that simple. But for the remainder of 2009, I'm quite sure they will conflict. Fast Eddies will not tell 350-500 people that they are not showing the UFC becasue of a pool tournament and if one looks at the revenues, that is very understandable.
Now, when they do cnflict, we must aim at being done by 7pm on Saturday. This will mean a one hour earlier start on Sunday at some locations. In reality the only time this becomes a real issue is in Austin where we have 128 players pretty consistently. At all other locations we are averaging in the area of 64-75 players. When this happens we come back on Sunday with about 48-64 players. Quite a difference from 128. Thusly we should be done on Sunday anywhere from 8-11PM. I have always wanted to be done by 9 PM on Sunday and sometimes that works out and often does not,,,that is pool playin!
Now, the air conditioning. In Austin on Saturday the temperture rose to about 105. Now with 128 players and about another 250 spectators, no unit in the world is goint to keep it chilly inside. That folks is just pool playin and the way it goes. The units are running and cranking as hard as they can.
The tables?? It has been my experience that anyplace and there aren't that many which house app. 32 tables,,,, well, there are going to be a couple of problem tables. Nothing is perfectly level or perfectly straight. I have been looking for one for 30 plus years and have yet to find it. That is just pool playin. Fast Eddies spends an enormous amountt of money on these tables and they want very hard for them to play well. How often though has there been a problem table and we have taken it out of play for the weekend. It is usually only one table though. That IMO, is pretty lucky for us. Remember when we started this tour and the tables had the shag carpet Mali cloth which played so badly and so very slow?? I do! COmplaints came in and now that cloth is a thing of the past. Fast Eddies listened and responded.
The issue with the red dircle cue balls was mine and mine alone. I bought 220 of them in two years and got all but 7 of them stolen. I will never buy another as long as I live. That ain't pool playin, that is just life.
We are 7 1/2 years into this Tour and it has been great. Not perfect, but just great. The results go to the credit of two groups, IMO. Firstly to all the members of the tour and the players. your support is so very appreciated and we love ya for it.
Secodly the credit must go to Big Lew and the Fast Eddies ownership. Lew has repeatedly asked why he contnues this and he always has the same answer,,,"it just weems like the right thing to do"!
Fast Eddies has grown at a meteoric pace. It is now a very big chain. That has happened becasue of a lot of creativity and some very shrewd business decisions. They should be applauded for their support of pool and the players. Nothing else makes sense at all. I for one am truely grateful.
There are two different perspectives as in most things in life. I hope they continue to profit and continue to "let us play".
This is just my lone opinion of this matter and does not reflect the stance of anyone else involved.
Lewis Jones
