Roger,
After reading your post, i certainly had to respond, as i feel it was directed at three people in particular, (myself, Jimmy Mendoza, and Ron Merseal), and i hope i am wrong! Please forgive me if I am. But, sometimes it's a good idea to let everyone know who your post is directed towards, so that people don't feel like you are targeting them, when in fact, you may not be.
If it were directed and me and Jimmy, my response is:
While i have not known Chuck as long as you have, I have known him for a few years, and yes i have come to learn that he is in love with pool and is willing to do anything he can to help support it, not just do it to be accepted by the "upper-echelon" players. I would agee, he would never try to cheat anyone out of anything.
The only events he currently supports locally are the Desert Dust Off (ran by Ron Merseal), as well as the Arizona Desert Classic Tour (ran by myself and Jimmy Mendoza). Just to clear it up a bit, neither the two of us "small-time promoters" on the Tour, nor Ron Merseal, view Chuck Bobbitt as a feeding trough! As for the tour, I have several sponsors, not just one. The majority of which do it for the love of the game and to support the pool scene here in the Phoenix area, just as Chuck does. Chuck decided he wanted to be part of the Arizona Desert Classic Tour, as did the other sponsors, when we approached them. Typically, as a sponsor, you assist a tour by offering whatever services you can. In Chuck's case, he offered to be the title sponsor and give up cash at each event.
As far as the Desert Dust Off, this is undoubtedly, the largest and most successful pool event ever put together in Arizona in the ten plus years i have been here. Ron Merseal does great things for pool in Arizona. I challenge you to find one other person in this state who supports every player in this state the way he does. I'm not saying that others don't, but not on the scale that he does. Sorry, it doesn't happen.
I sense this is all about the two camps that have always existed in Arizona when it comes to pool. You know just as well as i do, that it exists. Again, probably out of jealousy, for each other's successes. If everyone would work together, this state would be much more successful. That's a fact! Jimmy and I do our part, why can't everyone else?
To my knowledge, neither Jimmy nor I, have gone back to Chuck and asked for more. Many of the additional sponsors, including Jimmy and I, do not view the tour as "a money loser". While it is done NON Profit, we don't do it for the money. We all do it for the love of the game and to give back a little something to the sport. It is nice have an organized tour/tourney here in the state of Arizona, despite what others think. Quite frankly, I think a lot of the people who have become our critics (and their aren't many), are jealous of the success it has had at such an early stage.
As for not caring what Chuck's problems are, i would disagree. I know Chuck on a personal level and have always considered him a friend. On many occassions, he has asked me to help him with things, and vice versa, and I'm sure Ron and Jimmy have done the same.
I agree with you in that I don't think this was an idea hatched by Chuck alone. I will be the first to tell you that as one of his friends, i did encourage this event, as did just about every player, spectator, promoter, and room owner in the valley. Why wouldn't someone encourage a tournament of this magnitude for the Phoenix area. I can tell you why. Because the people who wouldn't, are the same ones who sit around doing nothing to promote pool in Arizona. The same ones who scam the ratings system to put the odds in their favor, so they can make money in local tournaments. The same ones who don't want players to get better, for fear they may never have a chance in a tourney. The lazy ones who do nothing for pool.
I talked to Chuck about this Shootout many times. I'm not quite sure you did, but i could be wrong. From what i was told, this was Chuck's idea and it was a great one. I don't believe that any of his friends and/or associates knew the financial state of his business, nor did they ever consider that the funds were not available for the tourney. Perfect example, Jimmy and I ponied up our entry fees for the tourney. Furthermore, as i posted in another thread, it cost me over $1600 dollars to play due to time lost at work. I did it to support the tourney and pool in Arizona. Do you think i would have played, not knowing the funds were not available? or Jimmy? or any other friends/associates who were in attendance. I think you know us better than that? Are you saying that his friends and associates were wrong for encouraging this event, not knowing the financial situation? If so, that would be ridiculous!
Chuck did make a mistake by not cancelling this event, if in fact, he knew for sure the funds were not available. I don't have all of the facts and I am not taking sides here. The upsetting part is that he has led the players on a wild goose chase and has been avoiding Jay's calls, and/or making excuses. That is the part that irks the people the most. If other people were involved and removed the money from his account, without him knowing, that is a simple explanation that would be understood by many. The fact is, this is not happening. I believe that is a much larger mistake on Chuck's part. Blaming him for taking bad advice from his friends and associates is not where he made the mistake. What bad advice? Had he revealed that the money was not available (if that is the case), i KNOW for a fact that I would have encouraged him to cancel, as would Jimmy and Ron, and any other person he calls a friend. That's common sense. I would never let a friend fail at such a huge feat. I think you know me and I'm not that type of person.
Your last comment is right on track. I also believe he is going to do everything in his power to try to make this right by everybody, although is should have never happened in the first place. Checks and balances should have been put in place to ensure the money was available. And you are correct, Chuck would never try to run off with anyone's money, and he won't run from the consquences of his mistake.
Again, if this post was directed at others, then i apologize. Thanks for reading and sorry for the length of the post.
Dennis Orender
