Please...

Essentially, this is a request for somebody to make an investment that has a very small chance of success.

The truth is that those that have a lot of money have it because, as a rule, they have managed to steer clear of such investments. Kevin Trudeau was, somehow, talked into such a meritless investment by Mike Sigel back in 2006, but like any other successful businessman stuck in an unprofitable business venture, Trudeau knew to pull the plug very quickly at the moment he saw that the prospects for making money were bleak, with the IPT Tour not even completing its inaugural season. Astute businessmen don't persist with losing ventures, they get out.

Pool must undergo a huge transformation if it is ever to prove itself worthy of big investment dollars. If it does, everything will change. This is why what Matchroom is doing is so important in our sport. In marketing circles, what Matchroom is doing is called "product development" and if done well, the demand for pro pool as a form of entertainment will increase. No doubt, it won't happen overnight, but building demand through improvement of the pro pool product may be pro pool's only shot at delivering a greater income to its star players. Matchroom isn't prefect, or even close to it, but they are innovative, and in the last seven months, they have given out $225,000 at the Mosconi Cup, $85,0000 at the Predator LCP event, $100,000 at the World Pool Masters, and $250,000 at the World Pool Championship. That's $660,000 paid out in seven months, or nearly $100,000 a month. Things are moving in a good direction for those trying to derive their income from pro pool competition.

On the other hand, if pool's only hope is to look for charity, its goose is probably already cooked. With no disrespect to the sport we on AZB love, there are countless worthy causes far more deserving of charitable contributions than pro pool.
 
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DustinMetzger said:
Can we get a billionaire to fix our sport PLEASE!!!!
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It wouldn't be entirely frivolous for you (or the moderator) to change/expand the title of this thread . . . so that it reads exactly as your first sentence does: "Can we get a billionaire to fix our sport PLEASE!!!!" (but sensibly omitting the groveling "PLEASE".)

I'll explain:
While most folks wouldn't be aware of it (or even care) just about anyone moderately active in our country unknowingly has -- in the vein of the Kevin Bacon "6-degrees of separation" thing -- less than 3 or 4 degrees of separation from the wealthiest billionaires in America.

One never knows what beneficial ripple effect a clearly-expressed single voice or entreaty or idea can set in motion. A century-old advertising world adage nicely conveys all the above: "Someone who doesn't advertise with clarity is like a man winking in the dark at a pretty girl -- he knows what he's doing, but no one else does."

Arnaldo (and yes, in advance, billionaires daily deluged with supplicants, don't read pool forums, but our ideas when well-expressed, can easily reach any of them via helpful conveyors in a few carefully chosen steps.)
 
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BeiberLvr said:
I think a lot of top (European) pool players got their start in snooker, and then when they couldn't cut it, moved to pool.
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That’s the same with Chinese 8 ball. If a Chinese player doesn’t make it to Snooker Q school in Sheffield, UK then they may concentrate on Chinese 8 ball. All the top Chinese female players started in Snooker.
 
BeiberLvr said:
I think a lot of top (European) pool players got their start in snooker, and then when they couldn't cut it, moved to pool.
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I think this is slightly outdated. If we look at the top Europeans, the vast majority are pool players who may also dabble in snooker. I don’t think many of the current top European pool players made a concerted effort to qualify for the main tour. On the Fargo list, we have to scroll down to Mark Gray before we get to a player who was originally a snooker player. My understanding is that Jayson Shaw never dedicated himself to being a snooker player and started out in English 8 ball.
 
MitchAlsup said:
And why would they ?

We do not have one set of rules
We do not have a dress code
We do not have a single sized table to play on
We play games the audience does not comprehend

And if we had all of the above fixed, we would still want to bet on each other and the games in general; contrary to the general rules of sportsmanship.
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I hope you don't think I disagree with you.
 
I posted youtube and IG and FB posts using some of the old pool exhibition shots.

The first step to acquiring investment is showing data that is attractive to investment.

Money cant fix people losing interest in it.
 
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sjm said:
Essentially, this is a request for somebody to make an investment that has a very small chance of success.

The truth is that those that have the a lot of money have it because, as a rule, they have managed to steer clear of such investments. Kevin Trudeau was, somehow, talked into such a meritless investment by Mike Sigel back in 2006, but like any other successful businessman stuck in an unprofitable business venture, Trudeau knew to pull the plug very quickly at the moment he saw that the prospects for making money were bleak, with the IPT Tour not even completing its inaugural season. Astute businessmen don't persist with losing ventures, they get out.

Pool must undergo a huge transformation if it is ever to prove itself worthy of big investment dollars. If it does, everything will change. This is why what Matchroom is doing is so important in our sport. In marketing circles, what Matchroom is doing is called "product development" and if done well, the demand for pro pool as a form of entertainment will increase. No doubt, it won't happen overnight, but building demand through improvement of the pro pool product may be pro pool's only shot at delivering a greater income to its star players. Matchroom isn't prefect, or even close to it, but they are innovative, and in the last seven months, they have given out $225,000 at the Mosconi Cup, $85,0000 at the Predator LCP event, $100,000 at the World Pool Masters, and $250,000 at the World Pool Championship. That's $660,000 paid out in seven months, or nearly $100,000 a month. Things are moving in a good direction for those trying to derive their income from pro pool competition.

On the other hand, if pool's only hope is to look for charity, its goose is probably already cooked. With no disrespect to the sport we on AZB love, there are countless worthy causes far more deserving of charitable contributions than pro pool.
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Well said!
 
snooker is hard.. much harder than pool. It is organized and everyone knows how the game is played, and don't have different flavors of it like pool.
Pool pro's can try playing snooker but they won't go far.
 
Bob Jewett said:
I agree with two small corrections. Since he retired it's now his son and/or Emily. And it's not charity as the OP suggests, it's decades of work to make something better.
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Right, Barry or anyone isn’t just going to put a million of their own money into the game. They want a model that is self-sustaining and scaleable.

We’ve seen rich benefactors propping up events like Charlie’s 14.1 events, and it’s nice to see, but it can only last as long as the benefactor is willing to essentially donate the money.
 
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CocoboloCowboy said:
Well as I said to gentleman yesterday if I was young loved Pool, I would switch to PGA. Get Tour Card, as most PGAEve nuts pay like First Place $1,000,000.00, and most Tour Pro's have sponsor who cover expenses. Finish in top 25, pay day is like $25K.
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Try $106,000 for 25th place in the just completed US Open golf championships.
 
Well, Covid not withstanding, we could never even get the very people who are already involved in the business of pool to pay proper attention to it. I am referring to the room owners; let's just talk pre Covid- I moved here to South Florida three years ago and the state of pool rooms down here is just horrible. Tables that have not been recovered in years, filthy dirty pool balls, heavy drinking encouraged way more than any aspect of recreational or meaningful competitive pool organization.

Yes, there are a few good rooms - none in my neck of the woods, but the vast majority are run down beer and shot dens, nothing that would make the sport attractive to any young person of decent taste or standing. I don't know what has to come first- the chicken or the egg- but I have been active in pool for the two great pool booms - one in the 1960s and the one starting in the mid 1980s - in both cases the vast majority of folks opening rooms did nothing to keep the interest in pool alive and expanding - many just looked at it as a quick buck - look at golf and tennis pro shops across America- most of them do everything possible to keep the game alive, inviting, respectable, up -to -date, etc. etc. - and even with all that going for them; golf had been struggling pre- Covid.

Most golf and tennis shops offer instructions across all age groups, they promote and help manage member tournaments, they have clean, inviting facilities, their food and lounge accommodations are inviting and relaxing- true social settings.

I am not so naive to think that pool would become the same social setting as golf and tennis in all respects; but those who want to make a dollar from this sport need to invest in more than just pool tables and a round of drinks.

Folks here talk about huge payouts in golf, tennis -- there is a reason why corporate America has chosen to put their money in those sports- it all has to do with image- image draws a certain crowd - that crowd spends a lot of money- no real reason on earth, in theory, why pool needs to be excluded from all that corporate money - times for pool will change when the right people step up and demand image accountability and are willing to offer big bucks to those who will be willing to get it right for once.
 
I've said it before, I'll say it again now, and I'll probably say it again in the future... We need to start high school billiard leagues. Inter-school competitions just like we have with baseball, football, and basketball.

There is one huge difference with this... And that's all kids can participate. Does not matter if you're tall or short, thin or fat, male or female... It just does not matter. Everybody can play.

And here is where the major changes can take place... If you start them off young enough, and start them off correctly, you can avoid most of the problems associated with pool. Yes they're still will be bad apples, but for the most part you can mold the future players. If you don't start these kids off early, then there will be a death of pool. We need multiple Generations getting in.

And from the school standpoint, it will be a multi-season activity, will be cheaper then maintaining a football field or baseball diamond, and can be done in existing facilities. Each school would only need two to four tables, depending on participation. I think there would be enough kids interested to make a go of it. Especially the kids that are left out because they are not athletic.
 
buckshotshoey said:
I've said it before, I'll say it again now, and I'll probably say it again in the future... We need to start high school billiard leagues. Inter-school competitions just like we have with baseball, football, and basketball.

There is one huge difference with this... And that's all kids can participate. Does not matter if you're tall or short, thin or fat, male or female... It just does not matter. Everybody can play.

And here is where the major changes can take place... If you start them off young enough, and start them off correctly, you can avoid most of the problems associated with pool. Yes they're still will be bad apples, but for the most part you can mold the future players. If you don't start these kids off early, then there will be a death of pool. We need multiple Generations getting in.

And from the school standpoint, it will be a multi-season activity, will be cheaper then maintaining a football field or baseball diamond, and can be done in existing facilities. Each school would only need two to four tables, depending on participation. I think there would be enough kids interested to make a go of it. Especially the kids that are left out because they are not athletic.
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Juniors is where it's at. Need that to build a better pool community in the US ;)
 
Chili Palmer said:
Juniors is where it's at. Need that to build a better pool community in the US ;)
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I wish I had about $100,000 to donate. I can set up six of my area schools with four brand new Valley tables each.

And as a side note, just think of all the math, physics, and geometry can be taught using the game of pool. There are so many angles and forces that could be calculated. It kind of boggles the Mind.
 
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buckshotshoey said:
I've said it before, I'll say it again now, and I'll probably say it again in the future... We need to start high school billiard leagues. Inter-school competitions just like we have with baseball, football, and basketball.

There is one huge difference with this... And that's all kids can participate. Does not matter if you're tall or short, thin or fat, male or female... It just does not matter. Everybody can play.

And here is where the major changes can take place... If you start them off young enough, and start them off correctly, you can avoid most of the problems associated with pool. Yes they're still will be bad apples, but for the most part you can mold the future players. If you don't start these kids off early, then there will be a death of pool. We need multiple Generations getting in.

And from the school standpoint, it will be a multi-season activity, will be cheaper then maintaining a football field or baseball diamond, and can be done in existing facilities. Each school would only need two to four tables, depending on participation. I think there would be enough kids interested to make a go of it. Especially the kids that are left out because they are not athletic.
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Yes, this is where it should take place if it is to work long term. Something inside me tells me that someday in the future someone with influence is going to realize that kids today need some alternatives to this crazy whirlwind techno society that they are all now drawn into from a very early age. Pool is one of the more perfect avenues to address this- At one time in our history the Boys Clubs of America and the Colleges of America both had very good foundational billiard programs. All of that has fallen apart, it seems.

I agree that grades 7 through 12 would be the ideal time to introduce our youth to pool in a way that can help assure lasting success for the sport- but everyone else connected to the sport for profit needs to also participate properly as well.
Brunswick's biggest failure in the first pool bust in the 1960s was that they thought having Mosconi and company doing exhibitions at night in pool rooms was enough to keep folks interested in the game- it surely was not.
In the second big pool bust after the COM hey- day--- everyone involved with the game got greedy- each person, each pool related company, and most room owners were all just looking out for themselves. The quick buck won and all of pool lost in the end.
 
"times for pool will change when the right people step up and demand image accountability"

That would be about like herding cats.....or stacking BBs.....or pushing a rope. The problem with pool is that everybody who has ever picked up a stick instantly thinks that they know everything there is to know about everything. Like they used to say, "You can always tell a Yale man, you just can't tell him anything."

Pool as a sport has a lot in common with motorcycling.
 
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