Mark Griffin said:
I am looking for some input on something that is confusing to me. There are 2 'major' events going on this week; GSBT 10-ball and 1-pkt PLUS Viking tour events in Atlanta.
As I can best tell, here are the number of entrants.
GSBT 10-Ball $20,000 add/$100 entry had 72 entries
GSBT 1-pkt $ 5,000 add/$???? entry had 59 entries
Viking 8-Ball $5,000 purse/??? entry had 67 entries
Viking 1-pkt $ 2,300 purse/???entry had 40 entries
(This was 'amatuer only' - I believe)
Both had mebership card requirements.
So, does anyone else find these numbers interesting? I do not understand why $20,000 add only gets 72 players. I find it ridiculous that both events were on the same days and only 500 miles or so apart.
Comments are welcome - actuall they are encouraged.
(I am aware of the 'relationship' between the two promoters.
Mark Griffin
I went out shopping yesterday, and I was shocked at the number of businesses with signs in their front windows that read "Closed," "Going out of Business Sale," or "Bankruptcy Sale."
In particular, one sign that was a shocker to me was a sign on just about every corner in Rockville, MD announcing the closing of Champion Billiards and Supplies, a going-out-of-business sale, closing their doors after 31 years of doing business. :sad:
In the Metropolitan Area of Washington, D.C., as one example, work has literally come to a standstill for some entities until the new administration gets in. The majority of Congress is out, except for emergency hearings, until February. :boring2:
The grapevine or rumor mill, if you will, as it pertains to the economy in my area is that it is going to get worse before it gets better, but that after a year or two, things will get back to "normal," whatever normal is. Unemployment rates are at an all-time high right now, and will continue to rise, but I fear some folks' jobs may be in jeopardy. :frown:
My postman told me they are laying off 10,000 in the U.S. Post Office, and since he has less than 10 years in, he thinks he will be one of them. And some banks, I have read, are currently laying off 50,000 employees. The three big American auto makers are in deep doodoo, and if they go under, so too will those small industries that support the auto makers, the delivery guys, repair men/women, parts makers, steel producers, et cetera, et cetera.
Though I have a great deal of passion for pool, it would be difficult for me to come up with $2,000-plus to attend a week-long pool tournament at this time in my life. I'm not sure how it is for others, but if they're in the same boat I'm in, they too may be trying to keep their head above water until the economy gets better. :shrug:
So, since the OP said comments are encouraged and welcome, those are my first thoughts, but there's one more thing.
As far as pool players only playing pool if they have stakehorses, there is a ring of truth in that. I am pretty sure the majority of TAR matches, as one example, couldn't happen if it weren't for stakehorses. Though TAR has expenses traveling around the country to put on these challenge matches extraordinnaire, so too does the pool player who has to compete in them, with the usual travel, food, and lodging expenses, et cetera. :wink2:
Pool has been suffering for a long time, but there are a few gems in the industry like TAR, like AzBilliards Run-Out Radio, Pat Fleming's Accu-Stats, Mike Griffin's Qlympics, Greg Sullivan's annual Derby City Classic, Barry Behrman's annual U.S. Open, and the various regional tour events. The $25,000-added Joss Tour Turning Stone Casino tournaments come to mind, as well every single person who pours their heart and soul into these regional events, such as Shannon and Marge, Mike Janis, Tommy Kennedy, Tony Robles, Cece and Andy, Jose of Blaze fame, the Michigan Tour folks, just to name a few who come to my mind at the time of this writing. I know I am forgetting a couple. I'd venture to guess that none of the above-referenced are getting rich doing it either.
Pool today in the U.S. is a recreational game, to be played by bar bangers, social shooters, and serious-minded league players. Professional pool is dying a slow death in America. We desperately need some new blood to enter the arena. Hopefully, the CSI structure that Mark Griffin has promoted in recent times will be the change agent for this to happen. It will foster competition and allow the sport, if I may call it that, to become self-sustaining. :help:
Until then, pool is what it is, and those who can afford to travel the country or the globe to attend these events, whether it be on their own dime or a stakehorse's dime, are, indeed, fortunate.
BTW, next time you see Tom Gearhart or Eydie Romano, who promoted the annual Glass City Open and Windy City Open, give them a handshake or a thank-you for all that they were able to contribute to the sport. Though today, these fine annual pool events are only a distant memory, they will always be remembered by those of us who participated in them.
God bless professional pool players around the world. :smile:
