Road Player wins tour stop but wants to remain anonymous

Just thought I would give this a little bump. Here is the anonymous road player at the IPT tourney.
 

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breakup said:
Just thought I would give this a little bump. Here is the anonymous road player at the IPT tourney.

Wow, some people are so,so cruel !!!!!!!!!!!!:D
On another note Gary and his P.Mottey cue look really good in this photo................:)
 
I know everyone has their opinions, so here's mine. I have known Gary for quite a while and he has always been a gentleman to me. He's welcome at my house anytime he's in town.
 
AzHousePro said:
Hey gang, I have one that I really want to get off my chest. I received the usual slew of tourney results from this weekend and received the following picture from one of the tour events.

It seems that the winner is a road player and doesn't want his picture on the internet (presumably because it will kill his action).

The room owner and sponsors of the tour added money and/or product to make the event a success and they do that in exchange for the promotion from the event. I assume this player didn't offer to give the money back that he won since he was not allowing the tour to promote those sponsors properly.

Am I wrong at thinking this sort of thing is very 'dark ages' and is doing nothing at all for the game of pool?

Mike

Seems pretty clear cut.

If the subject is identifiable and the picture is going to be used commercially, the odds are very high that a model release is required in order to legally use the subjects likeness. If the subject doesn't sign the release, you can't use his likeness. It doesn't matter what the subjects reasons are.

Sure, nothing may come of it if you do use the picture, but it is a whole lot cheaper to file a lawsuit than it is to defend oneself against one.

If the picture is that important, the model release should be required in order to compete.
 
Michael Webb said:
I know everyone has their opinions, so here's mine. I have known Gary for quite a while and he has always been a gentleman to me. He's welcome at my house anytime he's in town.
I haven't read this whole thread since it's inception but I can say that I never had a problem with him and I don't really recall anyone else having a problem with him and the kind of person that he is.

I, along with some others found his original request to be amusing considering the circumstances. Back in the day, some great players refused to play tournaments... they didn't want their name known or their face known. If that's what you want, that's what you do. Playing in a tournament, esp a regional event that's usually pro-am and does website updates, be it here or their own, or both, has to know that if they finish in the money, it's going to go online. It's a risk that they take. That's all... nothing against the guy, he just made a bad choice in playing in a regional event if he wanted to remain unknown. ;)
 
jay helfert said:
Mike my feeling is, if you want to hide in the bushes, so be it. But if you want to come out and play tournaments you're going be "outed". You can't have it both ways.
The greatest hustler of all time was Jack Cooney. He didn't show his face around a tournament for over 25 years. Even some top players did not know what he looked like. He knew that when he finally came to tournaments like in Olathe and Louisville, his charade was over. He hid himself from public scrutiny for a long time and then made the decision to come out in the open.


I think greatest hustler title should go to the great one who NEVER played in a tourney. This would be Vernon Elliot. He has been mentioned many times on this board.
 
defend him(gary abood) all you want but he is a thief in the night, and will slide in anywhere under an assumed name! in early 05 i was playing in a Kings Bay amateur event at Fatso's in Tampa when who tries to sign up for this amateur event but Gary Abood! lucky as it was I had just seen his picture on the cover of a magazine for playing in an IPT qualifier in HOLLAND, needless to say there was a little ruckous, oh well all thieves get caught now and then!..............jeremy
 
For anyone interested Gary Abood qualified for The IPT North American 8 Ball Open via winning a 30 man double elimination qualifier which included Johnathan Penegar, Jeff Beckley, Frankie hernandez, Ronnie Wiseman, Jamie McWhorter, Michael Schmidt, Danny Hewitt and Jimmy Mataya.

After Qualifying for the actual IPT event he got as far as round 3 ,winning $ 10,000 and his results were - played 13 , won 7 lost 6, as follows:-

Won......

Kelly Fisher 8-2
John Kutcher 8-3
Wayne Catledge 8-5
Alison Fisher 8-2
Floyd Barger 8-3
Jeff Beckley 8-4
Marko Lohtander 8-5

Lost.......

Denis Orcullo 7-8
Karl Boyes 6-8
Ivica Putnik 7-8
Earl Strickland 5-8
Raj Hundal 7-8
Efren Reyes 5-8
 
This mentality makes me sick.

bobroberts said:
I will chime in here with my 2 cents.If a guy is playing on a pro level then he has no right playing in a local tournament.Most local tournaments are for decent players who play on a weekend and want to match up with a likewise player not some guy who is looking at it as a easy paycheck.
And thats MHO
Tournament is a tournament is a tournament. You want to include only the few that are similar, then make a list of only the people invited. Otherwise, if there's money involved, eventually a real player will hear about it and show up. Play and practice more and these guys won't intimidate you. If you don't take pool serious, why are you playing in a tournament? You want to get better, then play better players. I get flack for playing in quite a few bar tourneys, also. Hey, what else is a player to do? Sit around and hear "Six, seven and the break, you got me!" all night. Or should everyone who is not quite a pro, but better than a bar beater, just give up the game? Hey, what about poker? Yeah, that's the ticket. Poker. That's why pool is where it is today. Nobody wants to take the time and effort to be a "player." They can pick up a deck of cards and jump right in. I was a c, then a b, and now that I can make a few balls, pool dies. That is just my .02.
 
Where's the tour promotion signs? It looks like a poor promotional skills to me on the T.D. part. Just my opinion..
 
CrownCityCorey said:
You don't want to be known, stay out of the tournament scene!

That's my view. Tournaments and results of tournaments are meant to be posted, including any pictures. Just like the TheBreak or OnTheWire pool papers have pictures/results sent in and posted. If he doesn't want to be known he should stay out of the tourneys and go gamble. Because he took a weekend jaunt to make a quick grand in a tourney makes him fair game for having his picture posted, especially when he posed for it with trophies.
 
If we want our sport

to be better, then every tournament should require that a proper I.D. is shown when entering, especially when a Calcutta is involved.

The person's real name and place where they are from should be recorded.

But that is only if you want deception out of the sport, and raised to a higher standard. Besides, if they play that good, they shouldn't be afraid to play anyone anyway.

What I have a problem with is player's from out of town playing in a handicapped tournament, and the TD lets them in at the handicap they
were 3 years ago even though they currently shoot 1-3 balls better.
 
How it could be done

Tournaments should have a photo ID and photo taken before or during the tournament. Results posted to the net. If you get caught with false ID it is broadcast to everyone who may refuse you entrance to a tournament or a room.

This would improve the game because it needs to be improved.

I think the room owners should publish a room ladder. I designed and wrote one for BCA. It was published with several others as co-authors.

If you don?t want to play on the ladder, the room owner will place you there at his discretion, with your name and photo.

In this way the sleazy players and the sleazy rooms can all group together. The rest of us enjoy the sport, not the hustling.
 
Some solutions can be simple:

If you really want a photo of the finalists:
1. Have the payout be contigent on the photo. Take the photo first, when acceptable, then pay the money. (has been mentioned)
OR
2. Take photos while they are at the table. This would be especially true for the finals match. With digital cameras it's very easy to take lotsa pictures, delete the bad or uneeded ones, and take more. Then if they don't take a legitimate trophy picture, you still have photos you can use.

Of course, for any major advertising, may need to sign waivers accordingly...
 
I agree with you 100% If I won a tournament I would want my pic with my winnings. But this from a amateur point of view. What is the point in playing in something and winning if you don't want to be recognized.
 
2 Questions

If he was making so much money as an anonymous road player, why did he need to play in the tournament?

If he didn't want them to use his picture, why did he pose in front of the camera?

He seems to be hypocritical of both his finances and his need for attention.
 
I think we're missing the real opportunity here. Has anyone ever watched Mexican Pro Wrestling? They wear those real crazy looking masks. Then no one would know who they were. This guy is just out there on the cutting edge.
The pros could start body slamming each other in the middle of the match. (You know what they say a good defense is better than a good offense.)
 
buzzsaw said:
I think we're missing the real opportunity here. Has anyone ever watched Mexican Pro Wrestling? They wear those real crazy looking masks. Then no one would know who they were. This guy is just out there on the cutting edge.
The pros could start body slamming each other in the middle of the match. (You know what they say a good defense is better than a good offense.)
Awesome thought! Here are my picks, given GARY ABOOD'S IPT matchups:
Won......

Kelly Fisher 8-2 Abood wins
John Kutcher 8-3 Abood loses
Wayne Catledge 8-5 Abood loses
Alison Fisher 8-2 Abood wins
Floyd Barger 8-3 Abood loses
Jeff Beckley 8-4 Abood loses
Marko Lohtander 8-5 Abood loses

Lost.......

Denis Orcullo 7-8 Abood wins
Karl Boyes 6-8 Abood wins
Ivica Putnik 7-8 Abood wins
Earl Strickland 5-8 Abood loses
Raj Hundal 7-8 Abood loses
Efren Reyes 5-8 Abood wins
 
FWIW, at one time I would criss-cross the country playing for money and playing in tournaments. I was out on the road to win money and to survive. Playing pool was what I did for a living. Sometimes I would enter tournaments under assumed names and aliases. Some call it stealing, I called it survival. Forgive me, but I was hungry and I used the skills that I had to work with in order to make it on a day to day basis. This may not set well with people that may judge the morality of such conduct, but I can't change the past. I don't do it anymore. I could if I wanted to. As a matter of fact, looking back, it was a hell of a lot fun and I wouldn't trade the memories for anything. Call me a two-bit scumbag hustler. I don't care. I am not the only one to have done this and I won't be the last. I am not the same person that I was 20-25 years ago.

Life is all about experiences and conquering our shortcomings. I went through some major lifechanging experiences that enabled me to turn my back on that type of lifestyle. This does not mean that now that I refrain from this behavior, that I will pass judgment on those that choose to do this. I know what its like to be stranded in BFE with no money, no food, no gas, nowhere to turn to except the pool hall. I know what its like to exist at the bottom and the top of the food chain in pool. Gary just did what he thought was in his best interests. I respect that.

In closing, I would like to say that we all have things in our past that we are not proud of. It is very easy for people to sit back and judge and call each other names without fully understanding the dynamics of each individual's personal situation. Looking back, I don't think I turned out half bad. Having gone through all of that made me smart about those players I see trying to pull it off today. Today I no longer have the luxury of anonymity at all - which is probably payback for all of the stuff I did back then.
 
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