My first thought is that Kevin Trudeau's contribution to the sport made the cover story on all three major pool mags when he first introduced the IPT to the pool world. The $1-million purse payout is the largest purse of any pool payout that I am aware of, not to mention the tour itself.
Thus, the mention of his presence at any pool-related event, especially the Mosconi Cup, was right on cue. The same panning of the audience is done at most high-profile boxing events.
He also sat in the "general" seating at the KOTH in Orlando most likely to check out the experience from every vantage point, I would assume.
Interestingly, at the KOTH in Orlando, excluding the Sigel-Reyes final, the audience members remained relatively quiet, with only an occasional polite applause. There was very little cheering openly, maybe because of the amount of money on the line. Who knows!? The Mosconi Cup audience, however, is very vocal, full of electricity, and exciting, something pool on TV needs, IMHO. The players' personalities come through in this setting, as opposed to robotic men/women going through their mechanical strokes in dead silence.
BTW, it is sometimes uncomfortable making any positive statement about the IPT and/or Kevin Trudeau on this forum, especially in recent days. This especially holds true for those who are current members or who are affiliated with current members in one form or another. However, I made the above statement because, in reality, those are truly my thoughts about Kevin Trudeau's attendance at the Mosconi Cup.
I do have personal reasons why I hope the next IPT tournament will NOT be in Las Vegas, but in the words of Mick Jagger, you can't always get what you want.
JAM
