SBE 2012 Constructive Criticism
- Thread starter Shermanscs
- Start date
Do you have idea what is would cost for a hotel for friday and saturday in ac? More than double what it costs in valley forge. Bad idea.
Bathrooms were terrible. Having the cue repair guys in that area was a great idea. Players did not have to travel all over the place to get a tip on, and the repair people work late.
There was a lounge area. I wonder if it would be possible to have some upscale food in that room? Nothing too fancy, just something more that sandwiches.
Bathrooms were terrible. Having the cue repair guys in that area was a great idea. Players did not have to travel all over the place to get a tip on, and the repair people work late.
There was a lounge area. I wonder if it would be possible to have some upscale food in that room? Nothing too fancy, just something more that sandwiches.
I asked the hotel if they were going to have table games and they said yes. Not just electronics...
JV
Once the casino goes into operation the hotels in the area will adjust ($$$$$) anyone that thinks they won't are kidding themselves.
Bathrooms had lines but I didn't notice it to be any different than the other venue. But the outside was another story, 5 gallon spackle pails for garbage cans.. lol good move.. every one was overflowing and not emptied on a regular basis...
JV
From another vendor's perspective the show was fine. A few hiccups but all in all the show was fine. If you don't want to go next year then I am sure that those who are there will be happy to scoop up the money you might make.
We felt that the traffic was ok, the snack bar food was decent. Load in and out was super easy.
On my scale from 1-10 and going AGAINST previous SBE shows and against the Vegas shows this was a solid 8.
At the old SBE there was no "vendor" parking so no signs there either. So you didn't get "hosed" on the parking.
It's a new venue and you can't really know how things will shake out until the show happens at the new venue.
As for the security Allen had those people have been with him for a long time. Several of them are retired police.
Did you lose anything? As far as I know no one lost anything during the time the vendor area was blocked off and being watched by Allen's security.
Vendors didn't have to pay to get to the pit, nor did they have to pay to get into the main room. I went in and out with no problem from all doors.
For you to claim that Allen was in any way dishonest is out and out ridiculous. You're a nit pure and simple who can't figure out that this is a new venue where things have to be figured out.
As far as the "pit" goes and whether or not the "gamblers" will be there when the casino opens doesn't matter. at .25cts a game Allen isn't making bank on those tables. There was a MAXIMUM of 12 games an hour being played or $3.00 in revenue per hour per table. I can guarantee that 95% of the people who were playing the $10-20 challenge tables will still be there.
Allen, Allen Jr. and their crew put on the best show they can for 20 years and all you can do is call them dishonest.
Really classy. Expected nothing less from you.
John,
As far as vendor parking, there was no need for vendor parking for a ton of reasons, all of them are obvious. So don't try to make this a non-point. For those who's items cost more than 15 dollars and a bowl of rice to make, its a problem.
Did I lose anything? No, but I didn't give them the chance either. When I found out that there was gambling on a table inside the vendor area on Friday night, I had all I needed to know.
As far as paying to get into the pit, wasn't necessarily talking about me.
To give out an exhibitors parking pass and not have parking assigned, I guess thats a move you'ld also do, so I get your position.
When you have a YEAR to figure it out, you figure it out. Now it might of been 8 months, but get your sh*t together its not rocket science.
Seems like your pool player mind cannot overcome the good business side of your mind.
JV
Ron,
I know you'll bring it up, I know you're one of the staffers that really takes the whole event seriously. As I said, IMHO its the premier event of its kind, and hopefully this will be a learning experience for those in charge.
Next year we'll get the sniper and put him in the rafters..
JV
Did it EVER occur to you that there was a reason for giving out the FREE vendor parking signs? Maybe there was a vendor parking area or one planned on, maybe they were going to charge for parking and the vendor parking signs were for that. I don't know but I do know that we were not charged for them so no harm, no foul.
You act like such a whiny nit. Why didn't you just stay home?
Let us know when you do a show. Then you can get criticized and called dishonest by nits like yourself and I look forward to hearing how you tell us all about the things behind the scenes that you had to deal with.
Because we all know this is SO EASY right?
As far as securing your stuff goes? Ever heard of gridwall? Stop being such a cheapskate and buy some. Invest in some locking displays like other people did years ago.
For those of us who have done many shows per year these are all NON-ISSUES.
You sell cues and cases for many times their original value. A $50 Palmer becomes a $2500 cue in your hands and you are getting super nitty because YOU FAILED to plan on how to protect your merchandise.
Guess what genius? It's a new venue....... in a new venue experienced vendors know that nothing is set and they plan accordingly.
You know John, where was all this name calling this past weekend? You had the opportunity, so you wait until its over. You never learn, you're a keyboard commando and nothing more.
The parking permits were for vendor parking which never materialized. BUT should have since there was NO lockout of hall A, which BTW is supposed to be the case and was stated as such. So when you have people that have QUALITY merchandise that cannot be out in the open, you need to make sure that that part of the agreement is honored. (Look that last word up, I know you don't know what it means)
Why should I buy anything when its supposed to be provided? Again, typical pool player mentality. You advertise something and don't provide it, I guess again, for you that is ok. It has nothing to do with me not wanting to buy some, or how about tell me in advance you cannot live up to the agreement and I will make the necessary arrangements. So the only failure was in the notification that something that was supposed to take place did not happen.
I get it, if you lost a case or two, its no big deal. Other vendors don't have that luxury, pal. Why don't you look at the website that clearly indicates after 800 pm there is NO ACCESS to hall A. NO ACCESS.
JV
TAP Canada
Registered
The TAP Tournament has gotten much bigger over the years and will be even bigger next year.
For clarification TAP had 90 tables, TAP paid for those 90 tables to be there, if we didn't pay for them tables they wouldn't be there
There is 3 parts to the Expo center A B and C all that was used was A and B, this venue has huge potential for growth for everyone if/when Allen opens up section C of the center
Remove TAP and I believe the event would also lose quite a few vendors. The true amateur players are the ones that spend quite a bit of money at these events, without our 2000 players in attendance revenues would drop substantially to the point it would not be profitable for the amount of vendors to pay for their booth space at this event. Using the trickle down theory TAP is an intricate part of making the Super Billiards Event a success
This was my 1st SBE. I went on Sunday. I was surprised as it seemed less of an expo and more of a tournament. I was expecting more vendors selling/promoting product and more products in general. Maybe being Sunday a lot was already sold ?
The tournament area was huge. Way beyond what I was expecting. I also did not expect everything to basically be a small table.
It was nice to see, touch and feel some of the custom cues and cases in person compared to looking at pictures. I was very impressed by the quality of the leather and workmanship in the some of the custom cases. Other leather cases just looked and felt cheap. Some custom cues you could feel the inlays.
I guess like many things, you get what you pay for and before handing over top dollar, it pays to see it in person.
If we had crossed paths I would have told you what I think of you. As it was I decided not to go to your booth to avoid telling you what I think of you.
This has zero to do with me and you. Fact is that you are acting like a nit.
After day one there was zero access to the booths after 8 so what is your problem?
In the old place Allen didn't take responsibilty for your stuff either. Other vendors locked their booths down but its too much for you???
So much so that you call the Hopkins dishonest?
As for me and you I am in philly still if you want to meet somewhere privately to discuss your issues.
www.jbcases.com
I had a similar opinion of the Oaks Expo Ctr. Overall, I didn't like it.
I made it a point to ask everyone I talked to (over 50 ppl). I asked them what their opinion was of the new Expo Ctr. I also asked them what, specifically, it was that they didn't like.
For the most part, these are the common complaints I heard:
-the building has no character/ambiance and feels like a dirty warehouse
-the lighting over some of the pool tables was terrible
-no hotel (need a car/inconveniet to go back to your room/cant drink due to driving)
-no restaurants within walking distance
These are the big ones. I left out the more nit picky ones.
Invariably, everyone I spoke with either said that the new place was "okay" or they didnt like it. Not one person mentioned that they liked it.
That said, I will still continue to support the SBE. IF anything, these aren't things that can't be fixed. From my understanding, Allen is signed up for a 2 year contract, so maybe some constructive feedback can change things.
Eric
I made it a point to ask everyone I talked to (over 50 ppl). I asked them what their opinion was of the new Expo Ctr. I also asked them what, specifically, it was that they didn't like.
For the most part, these are the common complaints I heard:
-the building has no character/ambiance and feels like a dirty warehouse
-the lighting over some of the pool tables was terrible
-no hotel (need a car/inconveniet to go back to your room/cant drink due to driving)
-no restaurants within walking distance
These are the big ones. I left out the more nit picky ones.
Invariably, everyone I spoke with either said that the new place was "okay" or they didnt like it. Not one person mentioned that they liked it.
That said, I will still continue to support the SBE. IF anything, these aren't things that can't be fixed. From my understanding, Allen is signed up for a 2 year contract, so maybe some constructive feedback can change things.
Eric
Last edited:
Generally on Sunday most of the stuff has been cherry picked so you won't see as much. But still there is always a LOT of stuff there even on Sunday.
I hope you liked our cases. We were hidden inside the Fury/Sterling booth and I heard some folks didn't find us until the last day.
I did make it to your booth. I was hoping to see more of your cases, but what I did see was enough to convince me when the time comes to order a custom case it will be one of yours. The leather on the blue butterfly case was as soft as butter.
We also saw some of your GTF cases in another booth. My wife and I were very impressed with the carvings. If we were in the market for a single cue case we would have bought right then and there.
You looked busy and since I was not there to buy, I did not want to bother you.
SBE ...My take on it
Being a part of TAP and also being in the TAP sales booth all weekend, please let me give my perspective on what I saw and heard and what has been posted on this thread so far.
1. TAP is not going to go away and in fact we are opening it up to even more teams next year. We bring a lot of players and potential buyers for the vendors to the expo. Without TAP, you have to depend on walk in foot traffic and the open players that have most of everything they need and are not in the market for a cue, case, etc. TAP pays for those tables and it is figured into the entire schedule with Allen. TAP is not the problem for late matches or lack of tables for the open events. We were scheduled to have the 90 tables from 5 pm Thursday until the end of the event. We paid for those tables and as I said they were factored into the SBE timeline of events.
2. Someone posted he was there on Sunday. You should have been there on Saturday. Very, very busy. From Saturday to Sunday is a big difference in foot traffic.
3. Allen told me personally the lighting will be corrected for next year.
4. Bathrooms? Why not porta johns outside?
5. The few vendors I spoke to said at very worst that sales were ok to good. Again, I can't say that for everyone. As for the TAP booth, I can personally say we did very, very good with a ton of interest in our league.
6. As in any new venue ( I know this first hand from running TAP events in different hotels over the past 15 years or so) that with a new venue there is always bugs to work out. If Allen had it at the expo for the past 19 years and went to the convention center I am sure people would have complained about the parking, the two floors and god only knows what else. At least at the expo we (TAP and the expo) have plenty of room to expand into that 3rd bay.
7. As for food, I personally ate over at Max and Irma's and that little pizzeria on the corner. Both had excellent food and were only a one minute drive in the car and not even off of the complex grounds. Yes, a hotel would be nice on site but we don't have it so that's something we have to deal with. But with the new one being built and a few others a very short distance away, I don't see it as a big deal. Remember, a lot of players had to get hotels off site at the other location too. Again, not a big deal.
In closing....give Allen your thoughts and suggestions but let's stay positive people. We have a great event here. Let's all work to make it better.
Allen, Allen Jr., Ralph and the rest of his staff....GOOD JOB FROM ALL OF US HERE AT TAP!!
Being a part of TAP and also being in the TAP sales booth all weekend, please let me give my perspective on what I saw and heard and what has been posted on this thread so far.
1. TAP is not going to go away and in fact we are opening it up to even more teams next year. We bring a lot of players and potential buyers for the vendors to the expo. Without TAP, you have to depend on walk in foot traffic and the open players that have most of everything they need and are not in the market for a cue, case, etc. TAP pays for those tables and it is figured into the entire schedule with Allen. TAP is not the problem for late matches or lack of tables for the open events. We were scheduled to have the 90 tables from 5 pm Thursday until the end of the event. We paid for those tables and as I said they were factored into the SBE timeline of events.
2. Someone posted he was there on Sunday. You should have been there on Saturday. Very, very busy. From Saturday to Sunday is a big difference in foot traffic.
3. Allen told me personally the lighting will be corrected for next year.
4. Bathrooms? Why not porta johns outside?
5. The few vendors I spoke to said at very worst that sales were ok to good. Again, I can't say that for everyone. As for the TAP booth, I can personally say we did very, very good with a ton of interest in our league.
6. As in any new venue ( I know this first hand from running TAP events in different hotels over the past 15 years or so) that with a new venue there is always bugs to work out. If Allen had it at the expo for the past 19 years and went to the convention center I am sure people would have complained about the parking, the two floors and god only knows what else. At least at the expo we (TAP and the expo) have plenty of room to expand into that 3rd bay.
7. As for food, I personally ate over at Max and Irma's and that little pizzeria on the corner. Both had excellent food and were only a one minute drive in the car and not even off of the complex grounds. Yes, a hotel would be nice on site but we don't have it so that's something we have to deal with. But with the new one being built and a few others a very short distance away, I don't see it as a big deal. Remember, a lot of players had to get hotels off site at the other location too. Again, not a big deal.
In closing....give Allen your thoughts and suggestions but let's stay positive people. We have a great event here. Let's all work to make it better.
Allen, Allen Jr., Ralph and the rest of his staff....GOOD JOB FROM ALL OF US HERE AT TAP!!
Last edited:
I attended the event for the first time ever on Friday and I have to say, being there by myself I found it quite intimidating. I didn't even bother bringing my cue in from the car, because I didn't know where I could play or if I was even allowed to because I was not a TAP member. It would have really helped to have an information desk at the entrance to answer these types of questions, instead of a guy collecting email addresses for a drawing.
I thought the vendor area was pretty good, though I did expect a bit more from the hype. It was great being able to talk to some of my fave cue makers and I really enjoyed the demonstrations by Robin Dodson and Dominic Esposito. I did have a good time checking out all the booths and picked up a few goodies, but I was let down by the fact that there really weren't any deals to be had, unless you wanted a free golf shirt for buying a predator cue. I just expected the major manufacturers to have "real" show specials. I mean I could buy the same cue for $80 less online and buy a Ralph Lauren polo shirt with my savings.
I didn't bother wasting my money on food. I ate a big breakfast beforehand and had a late dinner after I left. If you weren't playing, there was no seating to be found and my legs were complete jelly by the end of the day. Did I have a great time? I wouldn't say great, but there were some highlights and I enjoyed myself enough that I will return next year more educated as to how things work. Get an information booth please, for those who have never been before it would really help and make them feel more welcome. :idea:
I thought the vendor area was pretty good, though I did expect a bit more from the hype. It was great being able to talk to some of my fave cue makers and I really enjoyed the demonstrations by Robin Dodson and Dominic Esposito. I did have a good time checking out all the booths and picked up a few goodies, but I was let down by the fact that there really weren't any deals to be had, unless you wanted a free golf shirt for buying a predator cue. I just expected the major manufacturers to have "real" show specials. I mean I could buy the same cue for $80 less online and buy a Ralph Lauren polo shirt with my savings.
I didn't bother wasting my money on food. I ate a big breakfast beforehand and had a late dinner after I left. If you weren't playing, there was no seating to be found and my legs were complete jelly by the end of the day. Did I have a great time? I wouldn't say great, but there were some highlights and I enjoyed myself enough that I will return next year more educated as to how things work. Get an information booth please, for those who have never been before it would really help and make them feel more welcome. :idea:
I do want add to an earlier post that I don't think tap should leave. they should open up the 3rd hall for them though. I just get tired of being promised every year there will be plenty of mini tournaments but then they give so many tables to tap that at the event they say sorry we don't have any tables available. I'm not a tap player but they bring a lot of people and drive along way to get there and I'm sure spend a lot of money. I'd just like for the rest of us that our playing in a single elimination tournament to be able to play more pool . I mean I play less pool in those four days then I do when I'm at home.. lol
Once again....
Let me again clarify this again. You said " being promised every year there will be plenty of mini tournaments but then they give so many tables to tap that at the event they say sorry we don't have any tables available.
TAP is not the problem here. We tell Allen how many tables we will need, we pay for those tables and from Thursday at 5 pm and on those tables are TAP's. We are not "given" tables. TAP is going to have a even larger presence at the SBE in coming years and we will plan with Allen how many tables will be needed as well but TAP is not taking tables from the general public, the open or any minis.
Let me again clarify this again. You said " being promised every year there will be plenty of mini tournaments but then they give so many tables to tap that at the event they say sorry we don't have any tables available.
TAP is not the problem here. We tell Allen how many tables we will need, we pay for those tables and from Thursday at 5 pm and on those tables are TAP's. We are not "given" tables. TAP is going to have a even larger presence at the SBE in coming years and we will plan with Allen how many tables will be needed as well but TAP is not taking tables from the general public, the open or any minis.