SJM at the 2024 Derby City Classic

anyone selling food is going to get shut down or worse unless complying with county health inspections, permits etc.
and hope the casino will let you compete with their restaurants.
if you do it on the sly for a small imprint then you may go unnoticed or not worried about.
if the casino knows or permits it and someone gets sick they are liable.

just think if you owned a business and someone came onto your premises and started selling something similar to what you offered how long do you think that would last.
 
AtLarge said:
Each division's prize fund is (the number of entrants x $150) plus the $25,000 "Guaranteed Added" money. I haven't seen yet how that was broken down this year for each of the places (except $16,000 for first again).
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A huge complication for DCC is that the prizes all change depending on how many are eliminated at each stage. There is no way to know any prize at any level beforehand.
 
IMO it’d go a long ways if they somehow segmented the draw such that the top players were playing the bottom players for the first couple rounds in all events. There’s no reason to have two 750+ Fargo players matched up in the 1st round and on the next table over we’ve got two 530 Fargo hacks that never play on 9’ Diamond tables. There isn’t a 9’ Diamond table in my entire midwestern “city”.

I also think they should double or triple the price of the buybacks. This alone almost certainly makes the event run smoother as the players with a chance to cash are still buying back and I’m going to think twice about paying $300 to buy back after losing 9-0 in 50 minutes to Justin Hall or Corey Deuel.

Some of the other critiques like the quality of food options, etc. can only be addressed with a change in venue. Food trucks are a great idea but why would the Casino be cool with that?
 
IDK, I don't think there are really many hacks at DCC. Every time I went I felt I was about the worst player there. My fargo is a 540. And none of my matches ever dragged on!

Most of the players are well above 600. They can run out in 2-3 innings on a Diamond, no problem. 600 players who run 4 balls, miss, then the next guy runs 3, misses, then the first guy runs out to the 9 to win... I don't think that really slows the game down. It's just the extra time to get to the table compared to the same player running out from the break. Now, if it's 25 innings a game like with true bangers, and they don't have any idea where the CB is going, that's a different story.

Everyone at DCC can play from what I've seen with my own eyes. YMMV:)

Edit: I'd go as far as to say the DCC is the highest skilled "non-exclusive pro" event in the world. There are no bar bangers there like in the league system. The only people who go to DCC are gamblers, and legit players.
 
nmh2008 said:
Some of the other critiques like the quality of food options, etc. can only be addressed with a change in venue. Food trucks are a great idea but why would the Casino be cool with that?
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They would not be cool with it. That is why Diamond, if it truly cared for us, would have negotiated for such, The casino is second or third tier (trust me, I know) and providing quality food is off its list -- its regulars don't eat there and it is financially unfeasible to gear up for a single week of DCC. This is why food trucks are such a great solution. They are constantly mobile and their entrepreneurial owners would jump at such an opportunity.

It is a simple matter of Diamond putting our interests ahead of profits (momentarily) and negotiating with some concern for our welfare.

"My peeps need good food, you have never been able to provide it, we are going to have food trucks from here on out . . . OK, OK, we recognize you need the anticipated restaurant revenue, but we'll give up $X to compensate you . . ." Then DCC get tacos, pool players get fed, word spreads, Biloxi Boy and others return, attendance soars, Diamond and Horseshoe both make even more money, and we all live happily ever after.

This is not a fairy tale. This is how business is conducted every day. I suspect Greg Sullivan is very familiar with the drill.
 
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iusedtoberich said:
IDK, I don't think there are really many hacks at DCC. Every time I went I felt I was about the worst player there. My fargo is a 540. And none of my matches ever dragged on!

Most of the players are well above 600. They can run out in 2-3 innings on a Diamond, no problem. 600 players who run 4 balls, miss, then the next guy runs 3, misses, then the first guy runs out to the 9 to win... I don't think that really slows the game down. It's just the extra time to get to the table compared to the same player running out from the break. Now, if it's 25 innings a game like with true bangers, and they don't have any idea where the CB is going, that's a different story.

Everyone at DCC can play from what I've seen with my own eyes. YMMV:)

Edit: I'd go as far as to say the DCC is the highest skilled "non-exclusive pro" event in the world. There are no bar bangers there like in the league system. The only people who go to DCC are gamblers, and legit players.
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Then why are we talking about needing to flip a coin after 3 hours on standard pro-cut tables?
 
nmh2008 said:
Then why are we talking about needing to flip a coin after 3 hours on standard pro-cut tables?
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All I can think of are deliberately slow players like a Charlie Williams. I don’t know what else to say. I’ve been gambling since I WAS a banger. And when I became a D player, I gambled at 9 ball, straight pool, one pocket, banks, etc. Even at that weak speed my gambling sets didn’t take forever.

The only games I gambled at when a D that took forever were 3 cushion.
 
iusedtoberich said:
IDK, I don't think there are really many hacks at DCC. Every time I went I felt I was about the worst player there. My fargo is a 540. And none of my matches ever dragged on!

Most of the players are well above 600. They can run out in 2-3 innings on a Diamond, no problem. 600 players who run 4 balls, miss, then the next guy runs 3, misses, then the first guy runs out to the 9 to win... I don't think that really slows the game down.
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This couldn't be further from the truth. There are easily 150 hacks (Fargo 550 or less) in the field in each event and when they draw each other, which happens all the time, the tournament slows down to a crawl.
 
sjm said:
It's kind of hard to believe that the standard has risen so high, and the test is an even tougher one when the jump cue is disallowed and the pool more beautiful.

What we saw is that Gorst, perhaps the world's best at the jump shot, doesn't need the jump cue to succeed, and neither does Filler. They both possess skills in tactical design and execution that remind us of the great Efren Reyes.

Matchroom's super tight pockets combined with the tough break rule has made tactical skills more important than ever. The game of pool is evolving for the better.
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Sux you had to miss the 9 ball final for the second year :( , thanks for your insight to how the tournament played out. If AZBilliards ever has an award for fan of the year I definitely nominate you! There are many ways to fix the problems at Derby as many podcasts have came up with most of the solutions as far as adding a day or having the early rounds of 9 ball as a race to seven. Pro players having byes until the last 100 or so may not be a bad idea either along with the shorter races to weed out most of the bangers then increase the race back to 9 after a certain number of rounds. I know the pros not playing until later in 9 ball may disappoint some of the bangers but i doubt it will deter them from going to the Derby next year.
 
sjm said:
This couldn't be further from the truth. There are easily 150 hacks (Fargo 550 or less) in the field in each event and when they draw each other, which happens all the time, the tournament slows down to a crawl.
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Hacks!! Really!
 
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gambler67 said:
Sux you had to miss the 9 ball final for the second year :( , thanks for your insight to how the tournament played out. If AZBilliards ever has an award for fan of the year I definitely nominate you! There are many ways to fix the problems at Derby as many podcasts have came up with most of the solutions as far as adding a day or having the early rounds of 9 ball as a race to seven. Pro players having byes until the last 100 or so may not be a bad idea either along with the shorter races to weed out most of the bangers then increase the race back to 9 after a certain number of rounds. I know the pros not playing until later in 9 ball may disappoint some of the bangers but i doubt it will deter them from going to the Derby next year.
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Thanks for the kind words. All of these are good ideas.
 
sjm said:
This couldn't be further from the truth. There are easily 150 hacks (Fargo 550 or less) in the field in each event and when they draw each other, which happens all the time, the tournament slows down to a crawl.
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I believe you, if you are saying you saw it with your own eyes.

It just doesn't match my local experience for years of about 500 level players playing one hole for cash. Its usually a case of each player selling out multiple times per rack, and that makes the racks go relatively quickly.

When I was personally at the Derby, I had no interest in watching anyone that was not a top pro, so I didn't watch any weaker matches.

I did win a few matches over the years there in Bank and One Hole, so my opponents were not too strong. Those matches all went at a decent pace.
 
iusedtoberich said:
I believe you, if you are saying you saw it with your own eyes.

It just doesn't match my local experience for years of about 500 level players playing one hole for cash. Its usually a case of each player selling out multiple times per rack, and that makes the racks go relatively quickly.

When I was personally at the Derby, I had no interest in watching anyone that was not a top pro, so I didn't watch any weaker matches.

I did win a few matches over the years there in Bank and One Hole, so my opponents were not too strong. Those matches all went at a decent pace.
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Agreed that some of the weakest players in the field play at a good pace and they don't hold things up much. There are dozens, however, that are both slow and relatively unskilled. Four-hour plus matches are not uncommon in banks, one pocket and nine ball.
 
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It sucks when you get in a match with someone scared to shoot. I was in a one pocket match with somebody that wouldn't even try to pocket a ball. Bunt and pull the cue ball back down to the foot rail. For whatever reason my banking was off just enough that day. Well over an hour and we were still on the first game when the TD came to see what the hold up was.

The hold up was I couldn't make a freaking ball and the other player wouldn't try to! Get two players scared to shoot and you can get a three hour plus race to three. I took the hint in the weekly event and broke up the logjam. At the Derby our first game might have lasted close to three hours.

Hu
 
Stu aka: Master of the fan club (forget Master of the Table). Terrific recap of DCC brother. You saved me airfare, so thank you. Now, for your "2nd year in a row missing the finals" dilemma; you've already spent $$ on rooms, loads of greasy food, overpriced drinks, entertainment, yada yada. So get that last "extra" night BOOKED for next year already. Believe me, the stress you'll eliminate and the added enjoyment you'll relish in will be well worth it. You owe it to yourself. Plus, the extra grease you'll eat will just float on top of the additional overpriced drinks you'll down.

The level of talent in today's game is not worth missing, especially in the finals stage. As a former pro athlete, I have seen my old sport grow to unimaginable levels and now with ages ranging way down into the diaper zone. Pool today is global and in many ways, no different. There are players from countries most have never even heard of with skill levels higher than their own countries' GDP. I often wonder HOW this happened? I used to think I might have a chance to play with the world's "top 200" in some TV forum somewhere, and possibly place. Now I realize I am just another tick on a cow's ass.

Oh well...

Anyway, enjoyed your write up. Be well sir. -G.
 
xproskier said:
Stu aka: Master of the fan club (forget Master of the Table). Terrific recap of DCC brother. You saved me airfare, so thank you. Now, for your "2nd year in a row missing the finals" dilemma; you've already spent $$ on rooms, loads of greasy food, overpriced drinks, entertainment, yada yada. So get that last "extra" night BOOKED for next year already. Believe me, the stress you'll eliminate and the added enjoyment you'll relish in will be well worth it. You owe it to yourself. Plus, the extra grease you'll eat will just float on top of the additional overpriced drinks you'll down.

The level of talent in today's game is not worth missing, especially in the finals stage. As a former pro athlete, I have seen my old sport grow to unimaginable levels and now with ages ranging way down into the diaper zone. Pool today is global and in many ways, no different. There are players from countries most have never even heard of with skill levels higher than their own countries' GDP. I often wonder HOW this happened? I used to think I might have a chance to play with the world's "top 200" in some TV forum somewhere, and possibly place. Now I realize I am just another tick on a cow's ass.

Oh well...

Anyway, enjoyed your write up. Be well sir. -G.
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You have been here eight years and are only posting an average of twice a year? Get in here! AZB always needs more good quality posters.

Hu
 
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