Looking to the future

[Island Drive]

Of course you need someone honest to head a tour. But the IPT actually did NOT fail because it was headed by a dishonest man. Even if KT was honest (which he's not), the IPT still would have failed.

The IPT failed simply because it ran out of money. It ran out of money because it didn't grab the sponsors it expected it would. It didn't nab any sponsors because there was not much of a viewing audience. And here lies the true failure of the IPT...the IPT didn't get much of a viewing audience because it created such crappy, low-quality TV broadcasts of the pool tournaments, starting with the Sigel vs. LJJ match.

KT actually did succeed in giving the IPT the initial TV exposure. Trudeau fronted the money to hold and film the Sigel vs. LJJ match. I believe his greatest achievement was that he convinced (which means paid) FSN to broadcast the match numerous times on their network, hoping to grab some attention and a future audience.

Yup, KT succeeded in casting the hook...but unfortunately KT neglected to put any bait on that hook. Because the TV broadcast of the Sigel vs. LJJ was such crap, it evidently didn't get much positive response from the TV viewers. Did anyone else besides me wonder why FSN didn't pick up the KOTH series? Simple answer, FSN was disappointed by the feedback it received from the Sigel vs. LJJ program. Sure, OLN eventually picked up the KOTH series. OLN who?...my point exactly.

I'm not trying to say that KT being a liar is inconsequential. Of course not. The reason the IPT players are currently unpaid for Reno is BECAUSE KT is a liar. An honest man wouldn't have held the Reno event in the first place. He would have said, even before the NA Open, "Sorry folks, we're not bringing in enough income for this tour to keep going. So although I can guarantee you prize money for the NA Open, I cannot guarantee prize money for Reno. So I guess it's all over after the NA Open. Thanks for your support."

My point is that you can't blame IPT's failure on KT's dishonesty. Nope. What you should do is blame IPT's failure on KT's stupidity. I actually thought that the IPT had a great chance of succeeding, provided KT produced a high quality television show. He didn't do it, thus no audience, no sponsors, no money, and no tour.

So for the peeps looking to start your own tour, learn from the big mistake of the IPT. It's all about how well you package it on TV. The IPT failed because of this.

I like your points but I wonder why he went ahead if he could not pay. If he knew this up front why did he go ahead with it ? Regardless of him not planning on paying the players, why would he spend so much time, effort and I'm sure some money when he knew the outcome anyway? There must be something else going on, and the way he operates I am sure there is....but what? Time may tell.

 

[Andrew Manning]

I agree Andrew but the points I raised are related. You can't simply have a tour that is funded by a sugar daddy, it needs to be sustainable so that it survives on its own if that person ver pulls the plug. IMO what he did wrong was fix the prize money at excessive amounts without a clue what they would be able to raise via qualifiers. If the WPA and the IPT hadn't let ego's get in the way then maybe the IPT could have used the current pool structure to fund the prize money and also maybe build on the relationships and sponsors that pool already had. I think the WPA was as much to blame as KT for this btw.

True, a tour needs to become self-sustaining if it's to survive in the long run. What I'm saying is that I think the IPT had a very good chance to become self-sustaining by building TV ratings and gaining commercial sponsorships, right up until the moment that KT ran out of the money he claimed to already have set aside. If he'd had the funding to continue running the tour and developing sponsorship relationships, we wouldn't be having this conversation. But the money stopped before the tour ever had enough time to get off the ground. I'm just trying to say there wasn't necessarily anything wrong with the IPT's business model or practices; it's just that for it to really come to fruition, it needed the amount of money KT claimed to have, not the amount he apparently actually had.

-Andrew

 

[Island Drive]

Give it up guys, it won't work. It is a stupid idea. You already have three people who want to run it their own way.

Now I am your first naysayer. And I will haunt you like you guys did the IPT until it failed.

None of you would get behind the IPT is why it didnt' work. When you face that fact then you can plan for the future.

You want to do something positive for the next couple of years then get behind a tour like the Seminole Florida Pro Tour. Or whatever tour is up north or out west. Start with an existing tour and build from there. Back that tour. Hell, we can't even get any info on that tour. No brackets. Nothing.

There are a lot worse crimes than being a con man. Like murderer, child predator, rapist, wife beater, robber, drug dealer. How many pool players have commintted those crimes? How many have gone to jail for those crimes? You didn't like KT because you were jealous of his money, plain and simple.

Forget the tour. It will never work. Pool players will not pay to watch pool so why should the general public? As for collecting $20 entry and paying out only $10 that is a pipe dream. The players would never do that.

What the hell, at least the Hall of Famers and a few other players made out okay.

Pool is dead. You guys just don't want to admit it.

Jake

Jake, if it wasn't such a great game I would agree with you. It's kinda like the cold war, eventually the U.S.A. social barriers and society will change and the barriers will fall, maybe not in our lifetime, but it will happen.
I have said for years, it will happen overseas first, then through it successes will return back to where the rest of the world believes it came from. Those over here will see how its been successful and take it up a notch. Its no different than the japanese cars, they changed how our manufacturers did their business, why not in billiards too.

 

[jsp]

I feel like there's an 800-lb gorilla in the room that nobody's talking about: the IPT was going great until KT STOPPED PAYING THE PLAYERS!!! Most of the posts in this thread say "the IPT failed because of x, y, and z", but the more accurate thing to say would be "I think the IPT wasn't as good as it could have been because of x, y, and z." The IPT failed BECAUSE KT DIDN'T HAVE THE BUDGET he claimed to have! If everyone had been paid promptly at Reno, and the next umpteen tournaments KT claimed to ALREADY HAVE THE MONEY FOR had gone off as scheduled as well, this thing really would have had time to gain TV exposure, improve on some shortcomings, secure some more main-stream sponsorships, and maybe really be the tour the pool world has waited for. But it failed, not because of the concept, or the approach, or who they alienated, or any of the reasons mentioned. It failed because KT was LYING THE WHOLE TIME about HOW MUCH MONEY he had to get this thing off the ground. If he'd had the money he claimed, we'd still be excited about this tour's potential instead of trying to figure out what to do about its failure.

-Andrew

Andrew, you are correct to an extent. If KT truly had the funds that he claimed, then the IPT should still be around for the next 2-3 years.

However, in that time period...if nothing has changed in terms of quality of the TV broadcasts and exposure, the IPT would still be destined for failure. It would just be more long and drawn out.

Yes, there would be the possibility that in that time period the IPT smartens up and actually starts putting decent stuff on TV, such that more major networks would pick it up (Let's face it, OLN/Versus is not going to provide the IPT the necessary audience to become self-sufficient).

But the IPT ALREADY had that chance...when FSN agreed to air the Sigel/LJJ match numerous times. The IPT aired crap, and they blew their shot (it also didn't help that the KOTH series was garbage as well). Even if KT funds the tour from his own pockets for the next 2-3 years, if they continue to air garbage, then the IPT will still fail.

 

[TheOne]

True, a tour needs to become self-sustaining if it's to survive in the long run. What I'm saying is that I think the IPT had a very good chance to become self-sustaining by building TV ratings and gaining commercial sponsorships, right up until the moment that KT ran out of the money he claimed to already have set aside. If he'd had the funding to continue running the tour and developing sponsorship relationships, we wouldn't be having this conversation. But the money stopped before the tour ever had enough time to get off the ground. I'm just trying to say there wasn't necessarily anything wrong with the IPT's business model or practices; it's just that for it to really come to fruition, it needed the amount of money KT claimed to have, not the amount he apparently actually had.

-Andrew

Quite possibly in two years we'd have a lot more sponsors on board, but his model never was to back it himself, thats clear now. His "business model2 was to fund it via qualifiers and I disagree that there wasn't anything wrong with this as it was unrealistic and its ultimate failing.

If however by business model you mean the tournament structure, online presence and all the other great things they did then yes I would agree.

 

[Island Drive]

Other tours have failed miserably because they have tried to sell pool as something that it isn't. We aren't golf. We aren't tennis. Stop trying to market it as such. Its pool. What drew you to the game? Guys in nice suits playing high dollar 8 ball? Not likely. Would you rather watch the same guys going at it playing a mundane, restricted form of tournament 9 ball, or would you rather watch Keith McCready talking major $hit in the pit and putting a game together against Lil Jon? What would you watch? Why must we televise "structured tournament 9 ball"? Think outside the box. Think about what drew you to the game and what would hold your attention. What spectacle would cause you to stay at the pool hall and miss dinner? 8 Ball in a lavish hotel with KT flapping his jaws about Shawn Putnum's appetite for pizza? Doubtful. That format couldn't draw flies. It never has and it never will.

Over the past several years I have told everybody that I have talked to that we keep trying to gold plate a turd. Gold plate it all you want, but when you crack it open, its still a turd. I am proposing that we present pool in its barest, true naked form. Pull the veil off of it. Show the pit. Show the backers. Show the winner and the loser - the side bets - everything. That's what makes poker so exciting. Poker is fueled by the human emotion and suspense of the atmosphere. That is what makes them successful. They present it for what it is. We are always trying to portray pool as something that it isn't. Nobody is going to watch or sell a TV program with a bunch of quiet spectators watching people play pool as if they are holding in a fart. Its boring. It doesn't capture your attention. It causes the non-fan to avoid it. Put everything that you have seen in the past and leave it there. That is where it belongs. It has failed miserably every single time.

I am not going to discuss the intricacies of the business model publicly. Unlike others in the past, there will be no dictatorship. No king, no queen. Just because I say something doesn't mean that its my way or the highway. There are people that know more about things than I do. I don't know everything and I won't pretend to. Openmindedness is the key here. The biggest hurdle is trying to get enough people on board to make this a reality. Within our industry people protect their interests at all costs. I am asking us to pool them together. That won't be easy. It requires trust. It also requires people putting past disagreements aside to move forward. Egos need to be checked in at the door. Progress can only be achieved if we abandon this sect mentality and get off of this treadmill we have created for ourselves.

Its not just about money. KT had more money than anyone has had in the past - I said it a long time ago - internal problems would implode his little bubble. It takes more than money. The players have to realize that they will only get out of it what they put into it. Being a billiard professional is a full time job, not a bi-monthly occasion where you show up, hit some balls and pick up a check. It is my long term goal to have an event every week. I know it can be done. Several regional events are doing it now. Attract the right people, employ the right people, the job will get done correctly. Initially, the events should be test marketed in cities like Baltimore, Los Angeles, Chicago, TAIPEI, TOKYO, and MANILA. That's the hot marketbase for pool. Not Reno. Please, stop me when I start making sense.

TV exposure should be directly proportional to the interest generated by the tour. That means that there must be a demand for the product. In the past, tours have done it backwards. Develop a fan base, market the tour and the players and THEN take the product to the media. It should be a well calculated, slow, and deliberate process.

That's basically what I have in mind. Some might hate it. Some may love it. It might not have the $$$ that KT had, but over time it can grow into something comparable to that. I am confident that if the right people come together, this can work. If everybody continues to sit around and watch and wait to see what the IPT is going to do, I'm fine with that too. I'm not trying to compete with them. I'm trying to develop something from within the billiards industry - something that the IPT decided to isolate themselves from.

Your description sounds allot like BB's U.S. Open, the cornerstone of American competition, everything should flow into and around it.

 

[Klopek]

These are the guys who are playing with your $2000.00 custom cue, 6 tables over, when you come back from the men's room. They dont even know that people take the game serious or have their own cues. All sticks are house sticks. They are oblivious to it as a Sport at all. Most are not potential fans Im afraid. Ive never understood it.

Yeah, ummmm, sorry bout that, honest mistake. It was clipped into that weird holder that appears to be clamped onto the table so I thought it was for anyone. Thought it was weird that only one house cue had a leather wrap. Won't happen again, let me buy you a beer and make it up to you?. How about we play some $2.00 sets?. Do you play pool often?. Is that a dufferin or cuetec?.

 

[PoolSharkAllen]

Yeah, ummmm, sorry bout that, honest mistake. It was clipped into that weird holder that appears to be clamped onto the table so I thought it was for anyone. Thought it was weird that only one house cue had a leather wrap. Won't happen again, let me buy you a beer and make it up to you?. How about we play some $2.00 sets?. Do you play pool often?. Is that a dufferin or cuetec?.

Let's stick to the topic on Looking to the Future.

 

[Blackjack]

Your description sounds allot like BB's U.S. Open, the cornerstone of American competition, everything should flow into and around it.

I definitely agree.

 

[ironman]

This was an eight week series that has been airing on INHD TV. It is the number one HD channel in North America. Only available on cable tho, not on dish.

It is a Reality show based on a group of players who make the U.S. Bar Table Championships their final destination. They began shooting at Derby City, went to Magoos in Tulsa, Ultimate Billiards in Conn., Clicks in Houston, and finally the Sands in Reno.

I am negotiating with them to make the series available in a two set DVD. Regular and HD format. You can still see these shows on INHD. Featured players included Danny Basavich, Charlie Bryant, Vivian Villarreal and Jason Kirkwood. Many other familiar faces on here too.

FWIW, it was Fast Eddies in Houston.

 

[ironman]

I like your points but I wonder why he went ahead if he could not pay. If he knew this up front why did he go ahead with it ? Regardless of him not planning on paying the players, why would he spend so much time, effort and I'm sure some money when he knew the outcome anyway? There must be something else going on, and the way he operates I am sure there is....but what? Time may tell.

I have to agree with JSP and to me if you listen t KT and his ramblings, it seems simple. He honestly thought that players were so anxious and excited that all the starving pool players were killing each other to get in these qualifiers. If each had filled at 64 as he had been bulshtted into believeing, things might not be perfect right now, but not nearly as desperate as he is today. It wold have bought him time and time he could have used to sustain the whole project.

No matter how we slice or dice it, in KT"s eyes, I believe, the qualifiers were a complete failure from day one and that is what deleted his piggy bank.

Therefore I agree with JSP, it was his stupidity that cost him so much. It was a plan sold to him by his COO.

 

[Island Drive]

I have to agree with JSP and to me if you listen t KT and his ramblings, it seems simple. He honestly thought that players were so anxious and excited that all the starving pool players were killing each other to get in these qualifiers. If each had filled at 64 as he had been bulshtted into believeing, things might not be perfect right now, but not nearly as desperate as he is today. It wold have bought him time and time he could have used to sustain the whole project.

No matter how we slice or dice it, in KT"s eyes, I believe, the qualifiers were a complete failure from day one and that is what deleted his piggy bank.

Therefore I agree with JSP, it was his stupidity that cost him so much. It was a plan sold to him by his COO.

I'm going on a limb here, but if he promised 20% of what he initially said he could of pulled it off. Wonder why Deno is so quiet?

 

[ironman]

I'm going on a limb here, but if he promised 20% of what he initially said he could of pulled it off. Wonder why Deno is so quiet?

Why is Deno so quiet?

I think, and I will go out a limb here, but, he talked to Insde Pool and showed his stupidity. Now, he is exhibiting some intelligence.