letter from KT

J

jamesroberts

"Unheralded Amateur"
Silver Member
anyone else get this


Dear IPT Player,

Thank you all for participating in the IPT World Open. It was truly the
greatest tournament in the history of billiards. I would like to
express my
sincere apology for the delay in sending you your tournament winnings
checks. This delay has been unavoidable due to a multitude of factors
most
notably the finalization of the IPT acquisition by Ho Interactive. I
want to
assure you that your checks will be issued very soon and simultaneously
we
will be formally announcing the exciting merger/acquisition with Ho
Interactive. I want to especially apologize to the 30 players who
stayed at
the Reno tournament to pick up their checks.

The IPT is a new major business enterprise. In building the IPT
business
starting from nothing, the IPT like all new fast-growing businesses has
and
will experience growing pains. Your support and patience is important
as the
IPT develops and grows. As with all new businesses, challenges,
changes,
adjustments, and modifications will occur as the business grows and
matures.
The IPT is solid and is committed to growing. The Ho Interactive
corporate
merger is a massive and complex business transaction which will give
the IPT
world-wide credibility and financial stability more quickly than having
the
IPT stand alone. This deal will also provide IPT players, as well as
IPT
supporters, additional financial opportunities as our intention is to
go
public with the enterprise.

All new businesses have naysayers. The IPT from its inception has had
its
share of people who enjoy spreading false negative gossip about the
IPT.
These prophets of doom look for anything that they can point to as
negative.
The fact is the IPT in a little more than a year has been more
successful
than virtually all other billiard tournament promoters and associations
combined. To date, we have paid out more than $3.5 million dollars in
added
prize money to players. We have Prime Time television coverage on a
major
network with a weekly timeslot. We have heavy promotion via our
broadcast
partners that is unprecedented. Our tournaments are broadcast live on
Eurosport with repeat airings in Prime Time. The IPT has attracted
major
sponsors including Vonage, Dish Network, Emerson, with more in
negotiation
now. We have produced a world-class website with the highest quality
live
broadcasting of tournaments as well as on-demand viewing of dozens of
matches. We have treated the players with more respect than they have
ever
received before. In the last two tournaments, we have provided free
food,
massage therapists, and other amenities at a cost to the IPT of over
$700,000. We have listened to the players and continue to improve each
tournament based on your suggestions and recommendations.

The IPT is poised for a spectacular event in Chicago as well as our
2007
Tour Card Tournament and the King of the Hill Tournament. We are
currently
planning and organizing the 2007 & 2008 tournament schedule. Your
continued
support and patience is needed and appreciated.

I am looking forward to seeing you all again in Chicago for another
exciting
tournament. Thank you again for your understanding and alliance.

Very truly yours,

Kevin Trudeau, Founder IPT
 
about time

Although it isn't payment, it's about time somebody received something from IPT or KT.......Still hoping for the best
 
Blah, blah, blah, blah. Maybe there is hope for the players. At least Ho really is a billionaire.
 
jamesroberts said:
anyone else get this


Dear IPT Player,

Thank you all for participating in the IPT World Open. It was truly the
greatest tournament in the history of billiards. I would like to
express my
sincere apology for the delay in sending you your tournament winnings
checks. This delay has been unavoidable due to a multitude of factors
most
notably the finalization of the IPT acquisition by Ho Interactive. I
want to
assure you that your checks will be issued very soon and simultaneously
we
will be formally announcing the exciting merger/acquisition with Ho
Interactive. I want to especially apologize to the 30 players who
stayed at
the Reno tournament to pick up their checks.

The IPT is a new major business enterprise. In building the IPT
business
starting from nothing, the IPT like all new fast-growing businesses has
and
will experience growing pains. Your support and patience is important
as the
IPT develops and grows. As with all new businesses, challenges,
changes,
adjustments, and modifications will occur as the business grows and
matures.
The IPT is solid and is committed to growing. The Ho Interactive
corporate
merger is a massive and complex business transaction which will give
the IPT
world-wide credibility and financial stability more quickly than having
the
IPT stand alone. This deal will also provide IPT players, as well as
IPT
supporters, additional financial opportunities as our intention is to
go
public with the enterprise.

All new businesses have naysayers. The IPT from its inception has had
its
share of people who enjoy spreading false negative gossip about the
IPT.
These prophets of doom look for anything that they can point to as
negative.
The fact is the IPT in a little more than a year has been more
successful
than virtually all other billiard tournament promoters and associations
combined. To date, we have paid out more than $3.5 million dollars in
added
prize money to players. We have Prime Time television coverage on a
major
network with a weekly timeslot. We have heavy promotion via our
broadcast
partners that is unprecedented. Our tournaments are broadcast live on
Eurosport with repeat airings in Prime Time. The IPT has attracted
major
sponsors including Vonage, Dish Network, Emerson, with more in
negotiation
now. We have produced a world-class website with the highest quality
live
broadcasting of tournaments as well as on-demand viewing of dozens of
matches. We have treated the players with more respect than they have
ever
received before. In the last two tournaments, we have provided free
food,
massage therapists, and other amenities at a cost to the IPT of over
$700,000. We have listened to the players and continue to improve each
tournament based on your suggestions and recommendations.

The IPT is poised for a spectacular event in Chicago as well as our
2007
Tour Card Tournament and the King of the Hill Tournament. We are
currently
planning and organizing the 2007 & 2008 tournament schedule. Your
continued
support and patience is needed and appreciated.

I am looking forward to seeing you all again in Chicago for another
exciting
tournament. Thank you again for your understanding and alliance.

Very truly yours,

Kevin Trudeau, Founder IPT
Click to expand...


Well if this is true it is good news for the players. But lets cut through the doublespeak. What they are actually saying is they didn't have the money to pay off and may have had to go to Mr.H with a last minute sweetheart deal to get out from under. Good for Mr.H, good for the players and although KT may not have come out as well as he would have liked, it seems he might have wiggled out of a very sticky situation. Lets hope it doesn't happen again, at least they will NOT be dealing with a phony bust-out, posing as a businessman, but a guy with REAL money.
 
Last edited:
You guys are tough action!!!!
I am pulling for a strong tour for the up and coming players, guess I am not as rough as you all ..............I remember my background.......I refuse to throw rocks.
I am pulling hard for the Star once again, "Pool" she deserves her place on the map. For Pools sake, enough already.
 
Well communication is a good thing but given the circumstances, the attitude is quite unbecoming to say the least.

It looks like it all depends on HO now and If i were a player I wouldn't be running up the Credit Card yet.
 
Today I watched 3 hours of the Midwest Classic finals and now I am watching the Bears. This Bear team is really good. Much better than the '85 Bears. Watching football is much more fun than watching pool.

The letter sounds like a stall.

I really don't care about the IPT anymore. Or watching the pros play.

I think I am burned out on pool.

Time to go and buy a new car. Most likely a Honda this time.

Good luck to all the IPT hopefuls.

Jake
 
Make sure they tell you how to turn off that " Service Required" with a big-ass wrench picture. I have an 06 Acura and i cant get that friggin thing off and it's really gettin to me. If i have to have Acura turn that off- it will be the last one i buy and im on my 3rd.

Other than that, I have about 350K on on 5 different Honda/Acuras without a single penny spent on mechanical repairs.
 
If in fact, the letter turns out to be truthful, then it explains only one thing to me. London was cancelled for the same reason as why reno to date, is unpaid. The ipt doesnt have any money. It is all smoke and mirrors.

I just hope to God that Ho is really buying (bailing out) the ipt.

Back in May, when kt told me ( and several pro players) that he had sold 51% of the ipt for 50 million dollars to a european inteest, I told John Schmidt that this would be the greatest news possible. I figured then, as I figure now, anyone owning the ipt is better than present ownership. If someone had actually spent (or in Ho's case may spend in the future), any REAL money to save the ipt, it wouldn't be for the purposes of folding it.

Regardless of how much Ho buys the ipt for, I am sure it will include the debt incurred at reno. For the players, it is good news and bad news. The good news is that the players will get paid. The bad news is that it may take MANY months to finalize this sale.

I wouldn't be surprised to see, in the wake of this revelation, that the ipt will soon announce that Chicago will either be cancelled or suspended. They can call it whatever they want, but they don't have the money to host that event either.

Best case scenario is that HO buys this thing quickly, and the players get paid, soon. After that, everything else is gravy. As long as the players are atleast even (not owed any outstanding prize monies), then this thing can still be a success.

I hope to see the ipt's 2006 season end on a positive note, and giving momentum for the future, under new ownership.

Now that the players have been warned, and have seen the potential for disaster for themselves, they had better unite into/under a comprehensive players association. This shold be the worst thing that happens throughout this ordeal. It would be a lesson well learned.


rg
 
jjinfla said:
Today I watched 3 hours of the Midwest Classic finals and now I am watching the Bears. This Bear team is really good. Much better than the '85 Bears. Watching football is much more fun than watching pool.

The letter sounds like a stall.

I really don't care about the IPT anymore. Or watching the pros play.

I think I am burned out on pool.

Time to go and buy a new car. Most likely a Honda this time.

Good luck to all the IPT hopefuls.

Jake
Click to expand...
Why did you change your tune? I thought you argued in favor of the IPT all along... :confused:
 
So the IPT had time, finally after 3 weeks, to send out 200 letters but still hasn't had time to issue checks. I'm curious, what was the date on the letter, what was the postmark, and how long did it take to get to you with that slowwwwwwww Chicago mail.

Also, in other words the IPT ran out of money and sold it to Ho. I, KT, am going to get my money first before the players even think about getting any of theirs. Cya in Chicago.
 
Last edited:
These prophets of doom

"These prophets of doom"..... Oh that made me all tingly inside. What about FedEx mistake and they were to busy to get them out?

Communications. Good start but the patient may be a corpse already.

So what is wrong with a simple....We are sorry for any inconvenience and we are sending out all the checks on _____________.
 
Maybe a relevent story

Very interesting, but taking into consideration the signature at the bottom of the page, also very predictable.

Don't know how many of you have ever been really close to anyone like KT, but they are truly amazing individuals.

I used to work with/for someone similiar to KT, they weren't involved in the informercial gimmick business but were very much of the same type of personality.

My friend would find businesses that had a "hook", clone them with the intention of eventually taking them public, make lots of money with his stock options and didn't really care what happened to the business, its employess, or clients after that. Most shortly failed. Was very successful at this for quite a while, didn't allow anything or anybody get in his way, everyone was expendable, including family, friends, investors or employees.


While the going was good, the people close to him that were smart enough to make themselves valuable, and had the stomach to deal with him made out pretty well, the others never did. But when the going went bad, everyone, without exception, became nothing but wreckage in his wake. Lies, deceit and manipulation were his primal instincts, done with an ease that was simply amazing, was able to pass lie detector tests without even trying. Even more amazing was the never ending stream of people wanting and willing to ride his coatails, thinking that they would end up benefitting by his apparent success, whether it was investors knowing that the prior investors lost money, employees that knew prior employees were not paid, or vendors that knew their predecessors never saw a dime. But they were still lined up wanting to go along for the ride.

When one story would not materialize, another would immediately replace it. Lists of partners that never finalized the deal, huge clients that were just about to sign major contracts and innovative business models that sounded too good to be true and usually were. All this in one fluid motion. Truly something to behold.

And even more amazingly, these people usually would wind up with a fairly long shelf life, much longer than most would ever imagine. But when the end would eventually arrive, and it always does, it's hardly ever pretty. The final chapters are usually written in prison and sometimes even worse.

So, while I truly hope that everyone sees their payments shortly and I do wish only the best for the sport of pool, I share my experience only with the best of intentions and a message of cautious optimism.
 
watchez said:
So the IPT had time, finally after 3 weeks, to send out 200 letters but still hasn't had time to issue checks. I'm curious, what was the date on the letter, what was the postmark, and how long did it take to get to you with that slowwwwwwww Chicago mail.
Click to expand...

It was an email. :p
 
Last edited:
Long overdue, would have been better to get this out 2 weeks ago, but he may have thought the deal or any deal to gain more funds would have been done by now and could have had the checks out. Time seems to fly by, especially when you owe money, and it seems like just yesterday that many thought the KOTH wouldn't even happen, some thought the Jones and Sigel match would be the last. It wasn't the last and the IPT has outdone what most expected so hopefully in a few weeks people will be paid for the last tournament, and people will have to wait for the next bump in the road to mark the doom and gloom.

The way things look, KT was "is" trying to gain funds from outside investors to help continue the IPT without throwing more millions of his own money in if he can help it, all startups go through this and I can understand it. But agree he should have had better contact with the players about the delay, and should have known in only the first year he may not be making what he thought he would. It will take 3 years to really know if this can work or not, it would be sad if the funding dries up sooner.

Better now to step back, slow down and make sure it can continue, and nothing wrong with looking for outside money either. But I hope the IPT makes more changes, like smaller purses, and less money spent on extras and less extravagant venues, put what you can into marketing and PR and the website.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top