AuntyDan said:
It is clear that anyone who is prepared to invest a few million dollars for a few years can OWN Pro Pool. You don't have to be either smart or honest. The thing that still isn't clear is whether a Pro tour can be created that would both re-coup that investment and be reasonably self-sustaining over time.
Great post, Dan.
In the midst of the crumbling IPT were several of us that were doing our best to keep professional pool from flatlining. I had several conversation with a lot of people within the industry, to include Eydie Romano, Charlie Williams, Mark Griffin, and Frank Alvarez. In speaking with all of these people about forming a self sustaining tour, the one topic that was discussed more than any other was MONEY, not pool.
Without going into intricate details, we knew the amount of money it would take to sustain the tour for the first three years. This number came from doing research and creating a business plan to go along with the numbers. From there we would have had to constantly reevaluate the numbers and adjust according to the success of the plan we were trying to execute. We also had to financially prepare BEYOND that 3 years. We had to look at cost of venue, marketing, licensing, prize funds, etc.
Sadly, the numbers that I pushed around were not much higher than the purses offered today by many of the current tours.
Kvenin Trudea and his IPT did not do this, and if they did, they did not do it correctly. Kevin's business model was this -
A) I am rich, therefore I am in a position to toss my money around
B) All I have to do is impress the pool players bytelling them how rich I am
C) All I have to do is lie to the players, the industry, and the fans because I think they are all morons that would believe anything as long as a buck is attached to it.
D) I'm a liar and lying is what I do best, so reeling 'em in will be easy, and funny as hell and I intend to laugh at them behind their backs.
E) I will aggressively brand anybody that sees right through my bullshit as negative, sore, and a failure without vision. Agree with me or be ostracized.
F) If this doesn't work, I'm gonna bail just like I've bailed on every other scam I've been involved in over the past 20 years. I won't feel bad because I have no conscience - never had one to begin with - so who cares if I shatter their dreams? This is all about me anyway, tough $hit.
That was Kevin's plan from day 1. This was a write off for him. He never had any intention of committing himself to the IPT. Go back and listen to some of his players meeting speeches and you can hear the subtlty in his voice when he talks about the long term.H He never wanted it for the long term.
When creating a tour, there are 3 major areas that need to be taken into consideration:
Venues
Venues cost money. They are not cheap. They don't allow pool tournaments to be held in their buildings for free. The venue availability will affect your schedule.
Prize money
Prize money doesn't fall from the sky or grow on trees. It comes from sponsors, entry fees, and sometimes the promoter's back pocket.
Marketing and Advertising
This isn't cheap either. Advertising can cost just as much as the venue. Marketing products such as T-shirts and other items are costly to produce. You also have to ensure that your event draws players and fans - sometimes this doesnt work out as well as you want it to.
I left out paying yourself, employees, hotel fees, licensing, and about 200 other obscure costs that people never think of or take for granted. Its not easy to put on an event, and the IPT put on some of the best, so I know it cost a pretty penny to produce the Kevin & Deno Show.
My idea has been quite simple from the start. Instead of tournament format, promote pool in a challenge format like this for example - Main event - "Keith "Earthquake" McCready challenges Lil John Macias, 9 ball - 10 ahead for $25,000 - Atlanta, Georgia - Open challenge table available for minimum challenges of $10,000 - event starts with 3 ring games in all disciplines - $5K buy in - must bring your own backer or your own cash to participate". Produce this, record it on dvd, and then market the hell out of it in every way possible.
The players can be sponsored privately or corporately. It's up to them to work up the dough. After a while (if it is successful) we can have advertising sponsors put up the prize funds. This would add excitement to the game and give pool the "anything can happen at any given time" appeal that Vince McMahon markets with the scripted WWE. People can place bets on the matches - the house keeps a percentage of all bets - or they can charge a fee for placing them. It's not rocket science to produce something like this, events would last 1 night - you could broadcast it on cable and people would watch it. Take the veil off of pool and market it the way that it is played throughout the world by the best players. That excitement is what drew us all to pool, why not bottle it up and market it?
