$Million Dollar Shootout Turnout and Schedule

Stopped by the TAR both tonight to say hello to BigNasty and these guys have a NICE setup (first time I saw it). Guys were great to meet, and then I got to watch some great shooting.....

Man SVB had to jump a ball to make i think the 6 in the side....he don't even break out a jump cue!!! He raises his shooting cue, fires away, makes the shot and DRAWS back half the table to the pocket for the scratch......either way that was some serious stroke...

and T-Rex had to fire a ball in go 4 rails to break open a cluster with the 7/9 on the bottom rail....he hit it perfect!! This is what I go far...the awe jaw dropping shots!!!
 
eaglesfan44 said:
Great point Fatboy there is not question about it. Pool and Poker are totally different. Way more luck in poker and much more skill in pool. Good post!
Click to expand...

I used to think the same thing. And while it's true that poker has more luck in it it's also true that the same poker players keep rising to the top of the tournaments they play in. So there must be some pretty good amount of skill there or else they are just the luckiest people living.

The way forward for pool is NOT to make it so that there is more luck needed to win.

The way forward is to provide a path that decent players can get in a play the pros and have a shot at going as far as their game will take them.

The system as it stands right now IS BROKEN.

We have the means to fix it and encourage more people to try and become better players.

And WE as a community can do this without outside sponsorship. We already have our own Benny Binion willing to provide the platform at his expense. Allen Hopkins is willing to finance the location, the tables, the staff etc... with a plan in mind for those expenses to get paid for in the future. Benny Binion didn't ADD any money to the prize fund it was all player financed. No casino adds money to poker tournaments - they are all player financed - in fact they take money out.

But it's the sheer numbers that make the whole thing attractive.

No, right now I don't have a shot to beat Archer, SVB, Busty, etc.... But I know several no name amateurs who do. I know one who beat Santos Sambojon with a 9 Pack. And I guarantee you that you don't know his name. Another friend put a 10 pack on Cliff Joyner and he would rather be playing softball. These two guys are complete unknowns and would definitely be the kind of players who would jump at low and medium level satellites.

Myself, I am going to rededicate myself to getting better this year to see if I can win a spot through the satellites I am going to hold here in China. The beauty of this is that I don't need the Hopkin's permission to hold my own satellites. I don't need to use whatever systems they have thought up although I probably will want to. If I win then I will spend money and time preparing myself to get better so I can try and finish high in my group when I get there.

I figure that a great majority of poker players who get in these hundreds of tournaments trying to win a spot in the WSOP are studying how to be better poker players and aren't relying solely on the luck factor. They are buying books, watching tapes, reading blogs and forums.

So I can only imagine that perhaps something like this will spark the same interest on the pool side.

We did see that with the IPT there were in fact players from around the world willing to get in qualifiers to try and get a spot in the IPT tournaments. Granted, the difference there is that the money was supposed to be "guaranteed". However the people who are trying to get into the WSOP know that there are millions there that are definitely guaranteed. So no smoke and mirrors here. More players equals more money simple as that.

I predict that Europe will put fifty players into this, Asia will put 30 or so, and the USA will put 120 players in it. If we can't get 200 players out of the three hundred thousand or so who play fanatically worldwide then there really isn't any need for a pro class of pool player.
 
JB Cases said:
I used to think the same thing. And while it's true that poker has more luck in it it's also true that the same poker players keep rising to the top of the tournaments they play in. So there must be some pretty good amount of skill there or else they are just the luckiest people living.

The way forward for pool is NOT to make it so that there is more luck needed to win.

The way forward is to provide a path that decent players can get in a play the pros and have a shot at going as far as their game will take them.

The system as it stands right now IS BROKEN.

We have the means to fix it and encourage more people to try and become better players.

And WE as a community can do this without outside sponsorship. We already have our own Benny Binion willing to provide the platform at his expense. Allen Hopkins is willing to finance the location, the tables, the staff etc... with a plan in mind for those expenses to get paid for in the future. Benny Binion didn't ADD any money to the prize fund it was all player financed. No casino adds money to poker tournaments - they are all player financed - in fact they take money out.

But it's the sheer numbers that make the whole thing attractive.

No, right now I don't have a shot to beat Archer, SVB, Busty, etc.... But I know several no name amateurs who do. I know one who beat Santos Sambojon with a 9 Pack. And I guarantee you that you don't know his name. Another friend put a 10 pack on Cliff Joyner and he would rather be playing softball. These two guys are complete unknowns and would definitely be the kind of players who would jump at low and medium level satellites.

Myself, I am going to rededicate myself to getting better this year to see if I can win a spot through the satellites I am going to hold here in China. The beauty of this is that I don't need the Hopkin's permission to hold my own satellites. I don't need to use whatever systems they have thought up although I probably will want to. If I win then I will spend money and time preparing myself to get better so I can try and finish high in my group when I get there.

I figure that a great majority of poker players who get in these hundreds of tournaments trying to win a spot in the WSOP are studying how to be better poker players and aren't relying solely on the luck factor. They are buying books, watching tapes, reading blogs and forums.

So I can only imagine that perhaps something like this will spark the same interest on the pool side.

We did see that with the IPT there were in fact players from around the world willing to get in qualifiers to try and get a spot in the IPT tournaments. Granted, the difference there is that the money was supposed to be "guaranteed". However the people who are trying to get into the WSOP know that there are millions there that are definitely guaranteed. So no smoke and mirrors here. More players equals more money simple as that.

I predict that Europe will put fifty players into this, Asia will put 30 or so, and the USA will put 120 players in it. If we can't get 200 players out of the three hundred thousand or so who play fanatically worldwide then there really isn't any need for a pro class of pool player.
Click to expand...


you ever play a champion in pool, not a house pro but a champion?
 
JB Cases said:
I used to think the same thing. And while it's true that poker has more luck in it it's also true that the same poker players keep rising to the top of the tournaments they play in. So there must be some pretty good amount of skill there or else they are just the luckiest people living.

The way forward for pool is NOT to make it so that there is more luck needed to win.

The way forward is to provide a path that decent players can get in a play the pros and have a shot at going as far as their game will take them.

The system as it stands right now IS BROKEN.

We have the means to fix it and encourage more people to try and become better players.

And WE as a community can do this without outside sponsorship. We already have our own Benny Binion willing to provide the platform at his expense. Allen Hopkins is willing to finance the location, the tables, the staff etc... with a plan in mind for those expenses to get paid for in the future. Benny Binion didn't ADD any money to the prize fund it was all player financed. No casino adds money to poker tournaments - they are all player financed - in fact they take money out.

But it's the sheer numbers that make the whole thing attractive.

No, right now I don't have a shot to beat Archer, SVB, Busty, etc.... But I know several no name amateurs who do. I know one who beat Santos Sambojon with a 9 Pack. And I guarantee you that you don't know his name. Another friend put a 10 pack on Cliff Joyner and he would rather be playing softball. These two guys are complete unknowns and would definitely be the kind of players who would jump at low and medium level satellites.

Myself, I am going to rededicate myself to getting better this year to see if I can win a spot through the satellites I am going to hold here in China. The beauty of this is that I don't need the Hopkin's permission to hold my own satellites. I don't need to use whatever systems they have thought up although I probably will want to. If I win then I will spend money and time preparing myself to get better so I can try and finish high in my group when I get there.

I figure that a great majority of poker players who get in these hundreds of tournaments trying to win a spot in the WSOP are studying how to be better poker players and aren't relying solely on the luck factor. They are buying books, watching tapes, reading blogs and forums.

So I can only imagine that perhaps something like this will spark the same interest on the pool side.

We did see that with the IPT there were in fact players from around the world willing to get in qualifiers to try and get a spot in the IPT tournaments. Granted, the difference there is that the money was supposed to be "guaranteed". However the people who are trying to get into the WSOP know that there are millions there that are definitely guaranteed. So no smoke and mirrors here. More players equals more money simple as that.

I predict that Europe will put fifty players into this, Asia will put 30 or so, and the USA will put 120 players in it. If we can't get 200 players out of the three hundred thousand or so who play fanatically worldwide then there really isn't any need for a pro class of pool player.
Click to expand...

I agree with the last statement and really hope that there are many players.

However, comparing skill in poker to skill in pool is night and day different.
Poker has set plays and set standards that many Pros play by. Good pros are very good at staying the course and following the guidelines. In doing so they allow themselves to be taken out of hands because its the right thing to do in the long run. AMs though dont do this as well. They try crazy things and get away with bad calls. That actually helps them along
the way in tournaments. Examples Moneymaker and the guy that won last year.
Rolls in pool can help when two even players are playing. I can
go all in against a Poker Pro and beat him. I can get several rolls and never have a chance against the top players.

My thought is that we need to stop having the Pros play with AMs. After all they are Pros.

Hopefully it will work out.
 
Fatboy said:
you ever play a champion in pool, not a house pro but a champion?
Click to expand...

As a matter of fact I have and do. You aren't in the pool business but I am. In the last 15 years I have played with, pal'ed with, sponsored, drove to tournaments with, solved personal problems of, given room and board to and been soundly beaten by many professional players.

So don't call my experience into question.

I know exactly what I am talking about here.

Do you think that each year 9000 saps who only played yahoo Poker show up at the Rio to play in the WSOP?

Of course most of these people are playing a LOT of poker. I would bet a huge amount that most of them are TRYING to learn to be better poker players.

But beyond that, how do people get better? They play better players for one thing. How are they gonna play better players under the current system? Easy, they will THROW away 50/60 bucks once in while to jump in regional tour stops and HOPE they DON'T draw one of the few pros who are forced to play in those small tournaments.

Oh, I know, you are grounded in reality right? The champions are untouchable and mere mortals have no shot right? Well buddy I am here to tell you that there are in fact players out there who hold down day jobs , play leagues, could care less about "going pro" and still play just under pro speed. Just because you don't know them doesn't mean they don't exist.

Ever heard of Robert Ray? He's a blue collar champion. Ever heard of Damond Lemoine? I didn't think so. I have plenty of others as well that play lights out and don't seek the spotlight.

Beyond that there are thousands of players who know that they don't have a chance to beat Archer in a long race. However they know that they do have a chance to beat anyone else their speed or just a ball higher on any given day.

This is essentially a "what do you have to lose compared to what do you have to gain" issue. I look at it this way as a B player. If I happen to win my way into the Million Dollar Shootout then my goal is to finish as high as I can and maximize my winnings. I know I am not going to finish first and I am pretty sure that most of the poker players getting into the WSOP know that they are NOT GOOD ENOUGH to end up at the final table. However if I do my best, practice diligently, and give it everything I have got then I am sure I won't finish dead last. And IF I do then it's no big deal because I got to play 150 games amongst the best in the world.

Now, would I pony up 5000 dollars for this experience? No I wouldn't. Would I spend up to 1000 trying to get a spot through qualifiers? Yes I will.

To some people however who have a lot of money $5000 for such an experience is like me spending $100. I am sure that there are a few folks in pool who will spend that money and jump in when they see that the field will be there to support the prize fund.

The point of all this is that there WILL be opportunities at many levels to get into it. Who cares if the people getting in have a LEGITIMATE chance to win or not. I guarantee you that NO ONE is checking on whether the people in the WSOP have the requisite skills to win. I further guarantee you that Daniel Negraneu would play 90% of the field in the WSOP heads up all day and night and have the stone cold nuts while doing it.

I made the EXACT same argument to Allen and Allen about the skill vs. luck issue. - you're not the only one with a brain - they agree that it's not going to be like poker where some completely unknown player is going to win it. However Allen Jr.s point is that lots of relatively unknown players have a shot at finishing high enough to make it profitable for them.

This is why the IPT was so exciting, players didn't need to finish in the top three to make a living. This is one reason why poker thrives, if a player happens to finish in the middle of the pack then they earn plenty of barrels to get in more events. It feeds on itself and is self perpetuating. Pool could be the same. In fact IF the money is there you might see a whole new crop of CHAMPIONS due to the incentive to get to championship level.

Stop being a whiny baby and help to make this happen. Yes, you are or were a millionaire. Fine, then you know the power of making things happen. Find a way to make it work, find a way to inspire all those players who aren't pro speed to throw their hat in the ring.

Greg Sullivan found a way and fills up multiple tournaments at the DCC each year. Now another HIGHLY respected member of our billiard community is trying to take it to another level. Get on board or get out of the way.

If your contribution is going to be slapping down wannabe's with your dose of a reality check on skill levels then I ask you respectfully to just stay out of it altogether. If you don't have anything positive to bring to the table then just stay quiet on the sidelines.

I will however be happy to play you for a spot in the tournament. The loser puts both of us in the event. That way there are two more guaranteed paid spots. Since I have no clue how good a champion is you ought to wipe the floor with me, easiest 10 dimes you ever made.
 
JB Cases said:
As a matter of fact I have and do. You aren't in the pool business but I am. In the last 15 years I have played with, pal'ed with, sponsored, drove to tournaments with, solved personal problems of, given room and board to and been soundly beaten by many professional players.

So don't call my experience into question.

I know exactly what I am talking about here.

Do you think that each year 9000 saps who only played yahoo Poker show up at the Rio to play in the WSOP?

Of course most of these people are playing a LOT of poker. I would bet a huge amount that most of them are TRYING to learn to be better poker players.

But beyond that, how do people get better? They play better players for one thing. How are they gonna play better players under the current system? Easy, they will THROW away 50/60 bucks once in while to jump in regional tour stops and HOPE they DON'T draw one of the few pros who are forced to play in those small tournaments.

Oh, I know, you are grounded in reality right? The champions are untouchable and mere mortals have no shot right? Well buddy I am here to tell you that there are in fact players out there who hold down day jobs , play leagues, could care less about "going pro" and still play just under pro speed. Just because you don't know them doesn't mean they don't exist.

Ever heard of Robert Ray? He's a blue collar champion. Ever heard of Damond Lemoine? I didn't think so. I have plenty of others as well that play lights out and don't seek the spotlight.

Beyond that there are thousands of players who know that they don't have a chance to beat Archer in a long race. However they know that they do have a chance to beat anyone else their speed or just a ball higher on any given day.

This is essentially a "what do you have to lose compared to what do you have to gain" issue. I look at it this way as a B player. If I happen to win my way into the Million Dollar Shootout then my goal is to finish as high as I can and maximize my winnings. I know I am not going to finish first and I am pretty sure that most of the poker players getting into the WSOP know that they are NOT GOOD ENOUGH to end up at the final table. However if I do my best, practice diligently, and give it everything I have got then I am sure I won't finish dead last. And IF I do then it's no big deal because I got to play 150 games amongst the best in the world.

Now, would I pony up 5000 dollars for this experience? No I wouldn't. Would I spend up to 1000 trying to get a spot through qualifiers? Yes I will.

To some people however who have a lot of money $5000 for such an experience is like me spending $100. I am sure that there are a few folks in pool who will spend that money and jump in when they see that the field will be there to support the prize fund.

The point of all this is that there WILL be opportunities at many levels to get into it. Who cares if the people getting in have a LEGITIMATE chance to win or not. I guarantee you that NO ONE is checking on whether the people in the WSOP have the requisite skills to win. I further guarantee you that Daniel Negraneu would play 90% of the field in the WSOP heads up all day and night and have the stone cold nuts while doing it.

I made the EXACT same argument to Allen and Allen about the skill vs. luck issue. - you're not the only one with a brain - they agree that it's not going to be like poker where some completely unknown player is going to win it. However Allen Jr.s point is that lots of relatively unknown players have a shot at finishing high enough to make it profitable for them.

This is why the IPT was so exciting, players didn't need to finish in the top three to make a living. This is one reason why poker thrives, if a player happens to finish in the middle of the pack then they earn plenty of barrels to get in more events. It feeds on itself and is self perpetuating. Pool could be the same. In fact IF the money is there you might see a whole new crop of CHAMPIONS due to the incentive to get to championship level.

Stop being a whiny baby and help to make this happen. Yes, you are or were a millionaire. Fine, then you know the power of making things happen. Find a way to make it work, find a way to inspire all those players who aren't pro speed to throw their hat in the ring.

Greg Sullivan found a way and fills up multiple tournaments at the DCC each year. Now another HIGHLY respected member of our billiard community is trying to take it to another level. Get on board or get out of the way.

If your contribution is going to be slapping down wannabe's with your dose of a reality check on skill levels then I ask you respectfully to just stay out of it altogether. If you don't have anything positive to bring to the table then just stay quiet on the sidelines.

I will however be happy to play you for a spot in the tournament. The loser puts both of us in the event. That way there are two more guaranteed paid spots. Since I have no clue how good a champion is you ought to wipe the floor with me, easiest 10 dimes you ever made.
Click to expand...
If you play Robert Ray's speed, I need the eight. I have played him since we were both knee high to a duck. And you are right. There are a thousand players that can and would play almost anybody that noone has ever heard of.
 
crawfish said:
If you play Robert Ray's speed, I need the eight. I have played him since we were both knee high to a duck. And you are right. There are a thousand players that can and would play almost anybody that noone has ever heard of.
Click to expand...

I don't play Robert's speed. I was using him as an example of an "unknown" player with a day job who plays just under championship caliber. I could play Robert's speed with a little more dedication though. Which I might find while making it my goal to get into the million dollar challenge through qualifiers.
 
JB Cases said:
I don't play Robert's speed. I was using him as an example of an "unknown" player with a day job who plays just under championship caliber. I could play Robert's speed with a little more dedication though. Which I might find while making it my goal to get into the million dollar challenge through qualifiers.
Click to expand...
For fifty a set, he might beat Earl. As bad as I hate to admit it, he's solid. Very solid. I used to rob ol' Robert. But, I haven't liked it the last couple of times.
 
hi im from the new jersey area.
my dad is saw the event 2day and saw that he could have sponsored a player. he was angry he couldnt do it bcuz he just found out about it 2day. next year he plans on going back home to the philippines and bringing a player or 2 back from our home town 2 play in the event next year. and im already saving up 2 play in quilifiers.

i dont have much 2 say but those that have the heart 2 play plz play. as of right now i play the speed of a C+ maybe b but i have the heart 2 win and from now till the next event i plan on improving 2 become an A speed.
so everyone lets just play.
 
JB Cases said:
I predict that Europe will put fifty players into this, Asia will put 30 or so, and the USA will put 120 players in it. If we can't get 200 players out of the three hundred thousand or so who play fanatically worldwide then there really isn't any need for a pro class of pool player.
Click to expand...


Thanks John, for all of your great inputs and discussions...

Sorry I have not been able to address everyones bulletins, some of these posts get pretty lengthy to reply to...

I am reading though, and we apprecaite all the feedback and suggestions. I do believe that we will get this event to 100-200 players within 5 years, and that will be awesome. I also believe that when we do this, more than half of the field will be playing in it for well less than $5000, which is even better....

I play a lot more poker than pool, but I have been around it for a long time, and obviously my dad has been around pool quite a bit :) I think the answer lies somewhere in between the two. the payouts in poker are huge, but they are way too top heavy IMO. yes, its great to win a huge sum of money, but NO ONE can bet that they will win a large field event. If anyone wants to try, feel free to unload. Its such a crapshoot its not even funny. The rewards are great, but you can spend a lot of time and money and reach the end of a poker tourney and get a ridiculous small payout compared to 1st. Its even worse because so much luck is involved. Why do you think everyone is so eager to "chop" at the end of an event... they know skill is minimal at that point, and the payouts are distorted relatively... I have been in an event where the last 17 of us chopped... And it makes sense sometimes. If more players got paid further down the line, then the regular poker players would make more money, and the consistent money finishers would have some money. Lots of them are broke. Besides an occasional huge finish/payout, most of the big names make their big money through all the other stuff they are involved in right now. Think books, websites, products, all these other things they are getting paid regularly from. None of them will bet even money that they can win a large field event. They might take some ridiculous odds and bet it, but not straight up.

Pool is different in that way for sure. the talent level is so high and it is required. However, we can follow the structures of large buy ins and high payouts, because that works, and that attracts attention. No one would care to watch poker tourneys with $500 buy ins and 64-128 players. Pool can have big buy in events, and more playing time (the WSOP has 2 hour rounds, local tourneys have 20 minute rounds) As most of you know, this reduces the luck factor in poker, and it does the same in pool. With our satellite system, luck plays a little more because an amateur could draw another amateur, and never play a pro until round 3 or 4 (if the event was big enough). thats great. Or, he might draw Archer in round 1 and get crushed. Thats tough luck, for him. Same in poker, you could save all year, enter the WSOP and end up at a table with 5 bracelet holders. Or, you could end up with 9 slugs and be the table star... thats luck. If our event gets big enough, satellite winners might have a chance. And the pros get a nice overlay on their money because the amateurs don't figure to take down the big money. But everyone can be happy, the amateurs have a great time and a decent chance at winning some pretty damn good money (for an amateur especially) and the pros get the "added money" effect from all the satellite winners. We fund ourselves. Yes, a pro could buy in directly and wind up playing another world champion in round 1. Thats luck. Luck goes both ways...

Anyway, still here onsite and have some work to do... some people suggested posting leaderboard and match info on our website, so I did it...
you can see it here:
www.milliondollar9ball.com

thanks again for all your feedbacks, sorry if there are some issues I havent addressed, Im trying...
 
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As a pool hall owner we did sponsor a player this year, Stevie Moore and win or lose we are just happy to be a part of what promises to be one of the very best tournaments world wide ! Thankyou Allen and Allen Jr. as we all know this is not an easy job. We will see you next year!!
 
Seems to be a lot of suggestions about how to get more people to play in the event, I think a lot of people missed the part about how to qualify? You can hold any type of qualifier you want as long as there is enough money to pay for the entry, flip coins, play poker, or play pool, you can do what ever you want, what I am wondering is? why was none of this done? There was plenty of time?

Look, I know probably 10 people who think they could go really far possibly win the WSOP, I don't know 1 person who thinks they could make it to the top 30 of the shoot out, why are we comparing the two?

Pool is much harder and there is really no luck involved in a longer race.

Are there going to be DVD'S of this tournament and the matches? I would love to buy some when they come out.

Nate.
 
akaTrigger said:
Anyone one else think any savers might be going on for this last rournd?
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no the pay out schedual dosent lend it self to savers, winning it is only 4 to 1 on the $$$, so even a saver for the entry fee is 25% of the wimmer purse-it makes no sence, and who is gonna dump for, say $1000 when they were staked for $5000. It makes no sence. Unless i'm missing something cause i'm sleepy. I also have first hand knowlege about alot of these guys I wont go into, and i'm positive there are no savers. There are alot less savers than you might think.
 
NateSchoepf said:
Seems to be a lot of suggestions about how to get more people to play in the event, I think a lot of people missed the part about how to qualify? You can hold any type of qualifier you want as long as there is enough money to pay for the entry, flip coins, play poker, or play pool, you can do what ever you want, what I am wondering is? why was none of this done? There was plenty of time?

Look, I know probably 10 people who think they could go really far possibly win the WSOP, I don't know 1 person who thinks they could make it to the top 30 of the shoot out, why are we comparing the two?

Pool is much harder and there is really no luck involved in a longer race.

Are there going to be DVD'S of this tournament and the matches? I would love to buy some when they come out.

Nate.
Click to expand...

I think that none of it was done because there really wasn't much in the way of marketing this thing beforehand. There was also no real concerted effort among the world's pool community. Hopefully this coming year will be different. I just talked to people at one of my local pool rooms and they are all over it trying to send one or two people through low-buy in qualifiers that run 3-6 months.

I think a lot of people are still reeling from the IPT and very leery of Million Dollar blah blahs.

Plus there is the whole promoter disappearing with the money thing.

But I think that Allen Hopkins has proven that he is solid. He has taken the hit as far as staging this event this year and proved that he is committed to it.

I have dealt with him and Dawn for fifteen years and have no problem whatsoever sending them as many $5000 checks as I can arrange by this time next year.
 
NateSchoepf said:
Seems to be a lot of suggestions about how to get more people to play in the event, I think a lot of people missed the part about how to qualify? You can hold any type of qualifier you want as long as there is enough money to pay for the entry, flip coins, play poker, or play pool, you can do what ever you want, what I am wondering is? why was none of this done? There was plenty of time?

Look, I know probably 10 people who think they could go really far possibly win the WSOP, I don't know 1 person who thinks they could make it to the top 30 of the shoot out, why are we comparing the two?

Pool is much harder and there is really no luck involved in a longer race.

Are there going to be DVD'S of this tournament and the matches? I would love to buy some when they come out.

Nate.
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter. When the time comes you can be in or out. If you are out then you can buy the DVDs. If you are in then you can be on them.

Tonight I went to play, I felt rusty, but I felt good and motivated. I feel good about starting weekly tournaments that have a pot of gold at the end, that have something to show up and shoot for. I feel good that I can show up each week and try really hard because the possibilities are really open.

Why are we comparing the two? Because they are comparable. Yeah any person with a chip and a chair has a shot to get real lucky and go far in the WSOP. But IF the WSOP ONLY accepted people who put up their own $10,000 then how many would show up to try their luck? Not 9000 that's for sure. Satellites built the WSOP into what it is today.

Can you seriously say that there are not 200 players on the planet earth who think that they could this event? I bet there are twenty in Taiwan alone who think that they can. I know that there are at least 10 Brits who have a legitimate chance. 20 at least - probably more - from the Phillipines who can beat any breathing human on any given day. At least 50 in the USA that we know of who play world class speed. Snooker just lost some major sponsorship and we know Snooker players can play if they try - so add at least 50 who think that they could win or go far against any pool player at 9-ball if they apply themselves. Germany alone has a league full of bona-fide world beaters, so give them 20 players with a legitimate shot. The netherlands has at least five world class players +5 for them, Even Hungary has a couple 2 more. Russia has at least five world class players +5, Malta has 1. What are we up to now 180ish???

These are all players WHO COULD win or place VERY HIGH.

Now throw in all the shortstops who play just under them? Why couldn't these players also have a chance to place high?

Here is a list of players where at least 100 of them have a great shot to place high - or with a little luck - even win the event. http://www.internationalpooltour.com/Players/

Where is the list of people who signed up for the 50 qualifiers at $2000 a pop to try and get a spot in this? How many players was that on average? about 15 per qualifier or so, so 750 players trying for 50 available spots.

Mike Janis ran a week's worth of low buy in qualifiers just to win spots in the official IPT qualifier and they filled up. So the model is a proven one that does indeed work.

So let's get back to that local APA 7 who is a decent player but far from a champion. If the local league runs a promotion where the highest performing league member gets an entry into the Million Dollar Shootout then bam there is another entry right there and incentive for all the best shooters in the league to try their best to finish first. That player who wins a spot this way isn't going to go with any illusions that they will win it. But they may think that they can get a round or two into it and they may be right. But who cares, they got in through the fact that their entire league contributed to send the player who did best. No one person in the league felt any financial pain from sending this player to the big show.

And it doesn't take 9000 players at 10,000 a pop to make this happen. It takes 50, 100, 200 and well, however many show up. Because once it gets going then THERE WILL BE PLAYERS who want to be a part of it and more than 200 for sure.

Maybe, just maybe, if this thing really does get going then POOL will have something that is not contrived, not diluted, not a joke, that SOME NETWORK will want to pick up and run with.

Seriously, maybe you don't know anyone who thinks that they can win this. I don't either among the locals but I do know many of them who want to play in it. Will they spend $5000 to satisfy that desire? Never.

Will they spend $10 a week to try for it? Certainly. Will some of them spend $50 or $100 a couple times a year to try to win a spot? Absolutely.

Will you be among them?
 
Allen Jr why did you guys bring TAR in to cover your event and not work with them to at least put the marquee matchups on the feature table? Seems like such an easy thing to help support TAR who are there to also support your tournament.
 
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