Local Tournaments with big prize $$

J

Jason Robichaud

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I would like to ask everyone on here for ideas on generating prize money for local tournaments. It is very difficult next to impossible to get businesses to add cash for pool tournaments.

I have seen event posters using $10,000 in prize money $5000 for 1st guaranteed. The problem is when you continue reading it always has based on a full field of 128 players. The full field never shows maybe half so the 1st place guy walks home with 5 biggies and third doesn’t get enough to cover his trip.

They only thing I could come up with to have $$ that is truly guaranteed other than finding someone to sponsor the cash and relying on entry fees is the following.

Selecting 2-3 pool rooms in 5-7 cities and see if they would pony up $1000 each. Each room would be allowed to hold qualifiers for 10 weeks qualifying 2 people per week totaling 20 spots per venue. The room can charge an entry or allow people to play for FREE. The cities selected go into a lottery and the winning city will host the event. The number of players will be divided into groups among the rooms in the winning city with another lottery to select the final day room.

The main tournament would have no entry fee and no option for a direct entry. You must enter through one of the hosting rooms. This would insure people would play the qualifiers since it is the only way to get in. No entry fee would allow people to have money to travel and get a room during the main event so possibly people that wouldn’t normally travel would.

I was also thinking about getting businesses to donate prizes…DVD, CD, MP3 players, Tvs, CD’s jackets, shirts…anything really and selling them on eBay to help get more prize money. (for the people out there that owns a company with promotional items…how would you feel if the item was sold on eBay for extra prize money).

That is about it really for my brain storming...looking foreword to hear success stories or horrors that would help create a great event.
 
The best way other than entry fee's or donations is to have a calcutta. I had to quit bowling but my dad runs an eliminator bowling tourney with a max field of 120 bowlers. The calcutta alone usually brings between 15,000 and 20,000 dollars. In all honesty though, that is the only calcutta tourney i've ever seen bring that kind of money. For the purpose of just having a different incentive to play in a tourney i think that's the better option.

You can try all you want when it comes to getting sponsors to put money up but they are just like we are. If they dont feel like they are getting a return then they wont return either.

For smaller tourneys you could do like most dart tournaments where the bar matches whatever entry money comes into play. Entry fees will have to be smaller though or the bar will laugh you right out of there.

If you are wanting a 10,000 dollar payout it is sad knowing that you cant get 128 players to spend 100 on an entry.
 
I think many of the room owners watched the field of dreams too many times (build it and they will come). If you want people to use your product, you need to promote it. Name me a soft drink, beer, or a fast food joint and I will bet I see the commercial today. A pool room should promote pool. A $1000 dollars wouldn’t be a lot of money. It is $100 a week to hold qualifiers. I am not a room owner so I am basing this on ignorance and best guess; 30-40 people at a tournament surely would cover the $100 weekly expense for the 10 weeks. Players have no way to know which rooms are for pool players (not many) and which have tables in a sports bar. If we travel to another city we have to check AZ to see where to play. Do we look at room ads on AZ…I don’t think so…no…we are asking the players. We like to play in a multimillion dollar secret society. You gotta be in the pool loop to even hear about pool. Pick up the local paper and find me something about pool…find an ad for a billiard store, pool hall or tournament results…I think it is a shame that a hand full of great room owners are the only thing keeping this game going. We need pool room police traveling inspecting a location for player friendliness and when the place fails, make them take out he tables so the good guys can have the business. I would gladly drive an hour to walk into a pool hall that welcomes players and are glade we are there. Instead I have to grab a rack of chipped cheap balls and play on old crappy unleveled tables and do a scavenger search for piece of chalk not drilled to the bottom. And all of this for a mere $10 hr
 
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