Skip & Jan's in Tempe, AZ -- Possible New Weekly Open Tournament Run by BigCat

BigCat

The Panda Diaries
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So I just spoke to the owner of Skip & Jan's in Tempe, Arizona about possibly having a weekly tournament that will be open to all players, regardless of your Arizona ranking. The owner was very nice and was eager to do anything she could do help the pool scene and bring in business. I thanked her for putting in the money to fix up all the Diamond tables as well as bringing in the 12 Diamond 7 foots and then we immediately started talking about the possibilities for another tournament.

Skip & Jan's currently has an 8 & under tournament on Friday nights. From what I've heard this tournament has been a pretty good success. My intention is to start another weekly tournament that is open to all players. The owner was on board with this and suggested I get some ideas from other players as to format, etc...

So here are my initial thoughts:

- Monday nights (Tuesday through Thursday is busy with leagues and they already have the 8 & under on Fridays)
- 9 ball or 10 ball (I'd like to see a 10 ball tourny :))
- Open to all players
- Handicapped (either handicap - 3 or A/B/C system)
- Played on newly redone 9 foot Diamond tables
- 7:30 start time

That's about it for now. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, please post them up. I think what Skip & Jan's has done with the tables is fantastic and I would like to be able to play some competitive pool there and give them the business. BTW, I would be the one running the tournament.

So, would you show up to play in this tournament?

Thanks,
Ray Robles
 
tourny

excellent place for a great tournament' RKC and zack reworked the pool tables to full potential...
 
excellent place for a great tournament' RKC and zack reworked the pool tables to full potential...

I only assisted Zach on the first Diamond, the rest he re-calibrated/leveled and recovered on his own....I only taught him how to do the job during the 2 1/2 months he spent with me on the road learning, so the full credit goes to Zach:D...and Gordon Graham from Vegas...who also studied under me for a while, and now works the Vegas, as well as the surounding areas:D

Glen
 
So I just spoke to the owner of Skip & Jan's in Tempe, Arizona about possibly having a weekly tournament that will be open to all players, regardless of your Arizona ranking. The owner was very nice and was eager to do anything she could do help the pool scene and bring in business. I thanked her for putting in the money to fix up all the Diamond tables as well as bringing in the 12 Diamond 7 foots and then we immediately started talking about the possibilities for another tournament.

Skip & Jan's currently has an 8 & under tournament on Friday nights. From what I've heard this tournament has been a pretty good success. My intention is to start another weekly tournament that is open to all players. The owner was on board with this and suggested I get some ideas from other players as to format, etc...

So here are my initial thoughts:

- Monday nights (Tuesday through Thursday is busy with leagues and they already have the 8 & under on Fridays)
- 9 ball or 10 ball (I'd like to see a 10 ball tourny :))
- Open to all players
- Handicapped (either handicap - 3 or A/B/C system)
- Played on newly redone 9 foot Diamond tables
- 7:30 start time

That's about it for now. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, please post them up. I think what Skip & Jan's has done with the tables is fantastic and I would like to be able to play some competitive pool there and give them the business. BTW, I would be the one running the tournament.

So, would you show up to play in this tournament?

Thanks,
Ray Robles

Skip & Jan's IS by far the best pool room/restaurant/lounge in Arizona, and Natalie is by far one of the best room owners I've ever had the pleasure of working with, tell her I said hi;)

Glen
 
I am guessing the Friday night is popular because people don't have to work on Sat. morning....I know that is the case for me....I don't have to worry about being out until 2am (if I win)....I would not be able to play if it was any other night (other than Friday or Saturday)

A weeknight event is fine if it is a format that can be over by midnight.

On Friday night they are getting 40+ players........Believe it or not...for a Monday night event...I would consider limiting the field to at most 32 and making the format race to...

A+ = 6
A = 5
B = 4
C = 3

OR.....graduate the entry fee....everyone race to (4)

A+ = $20
A = $15
B = $10
C = $5

Just some thoughts....:)
 
Nice job in Vegas. I would love to see more tournaments on the 9fters but for some reason this town is bar box crazy....

I know Metro gets 20 plus on Monday nights. So your going up against there tournament, but you have diamonds. So i think you could steal most of the better players.

ken is right alot of us work the next day so its tough.
 
Besides most being off work on Saturday...meaning more likely to come to a Friday night tournament....another thing to think about....is the effect it has on the competition...taking away their Friday night croud...to somewhere else;) I use to run a $500 added Friday night 9 ball tournament at the Riverside Casino in Tukwilla, WA. on the 3 Diamond 9ft's I leased there...and had the hardest tournament there is to win...race to 3, double elimination...50 to 70 players showing up...including Dan Louie, Rich Geiler, JD, Todd Marsh, Glen Atwell, Mike Zimmerman...and everyone else that could shoot lights out:D
 
I am guessing the Friday night is popular because people don't have to work on Sat. morning....I know that is the case for me....I don't have to worry about being out until 2am (if I win)....I would not be able to play if it was any other night (other than Friday or Saturday)

A weeknight event is fine if it is a format that can be over by midnight.

On Friday night they are getting 40+ players........Believe it or not...for a Monday night event...I would consider limiting the field to at most 32 and making the format race to...

A+ = 6
A = 5
B = 4
C = 3

OR.....graduate the entry fee....everyone race to (4)

A+ = $20
A = $15
B = $10
C = $5

Just some thoughts....:)

Thanks for the suggestions Ken.

I definitely agree with making this a format that would allow players to go home at a decent time since it is a Monday night (myself included :)).

Ray
 
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Nice job in Vegas. I would love to see more tournaments on the 9fters but for some reason this town is bar box crazy....

I know Metro gets 20 plus on Monday nights. So your going up against there tournament, but you have diamonds. So i think you could steal most of the better players.

ken is right alot of us work the next day so its tough.

Thanks Brian. I didn't do as well as I would've liked but I still managed to do ok :)

I know Monday's would be going against the Metro tourny. But I also figured that because they are so far apart, it just might work with so many players in the valley (i.e. those in the east valley not wanting to drive all the way out there and vice versa).

Ray
 
Just a quick update:

So the owner of Skip & Jan's has agreed to give this tournament a try :)

This weekly open tournament will start on Monday June 6th (tomorrow is too soon and the following Monday is a holiday).

I strongly encourage players of all levels to come out and support this weekly tournament as well as Skip & Jan's as they have put a lot of money in to having the best tables in the state.

I'll post a thread in the Tournaments Announcement section in the next few days. If you haven't had a chance to come to Skip & Jan's to play on the newly redone Diamond tables or the new Diamond 7 foots, they really do play awesome (I know first hand). The owner has also told me that she will be getting the last 5 Gold Crowns redone very soon.

More to come :)

Ray
 
Forgot to mention this above:

$10 entry fee (No Green Fees). Everything goes straight into the pot.

Also, I'd like to make this a 10 ball weekly tourny, but let me know what you guys/gals want.

9 ball or 10 ball?
 
I know Monday's would be going against the Metro tourny. But I also figured that because they are so far apart, it just might work with so many players in the valley (i.e. those in the east valley not wanting to drive all the way out there and vice versa).

Ray

Think with the price of GAS people would come if your event is closest to where they live, beside you are talking about 20 miles distance between places.
 
Ray, this may be just what I have been waiting for. Skip and jans is a lot closer to my housethan Kolby's Bull Shooters or Metro. I have been wanting get get into playing again so THANKS for doing this.
How is the handicapping going to work then? AZ ratings? I don't think you are going to have too much of a problem with the Metro tourney as I said they are quite a way from each other. The only thing might be taking biz from Metro if someone lives closer. Anyway I hope to hear more news soon,
Mark,
 
Ray, this may be just what I have been waiting for. Skip and jans is a lot closer to my housethan Kolby's Bull Shooters or Metro. I have been wanting get get into playing again so THANKS for doing this.
How is the handicapping going to work then? AZ ratings? I don't think you are going to have too much of a problem with the Metro tourney as I said they are quite a way from each other. The only thing might be taking biz from Metro if someone lives closer. Anyway I hope to hear more news soon,
Mark,

Hey Mark,

Nice to hear from you.

I'm planning on handicapping the tourney using the AZ ratings. But in order to prevent the tournament from going until 3 in the morning, I'm going to use an ABC format similar to what Ken described above.

Above 10 = A+
9 & 10 = A
7 & 8 = B
6 & below = C

where:

A+ race to 6
A race to 5
B race to 4
C race to 3

This tournament will start on Monday June 6th (week after Memorial holiday). Come on out! This will be a great way to get back into the game :)

Ray
 
I vote for 10-ball as well! 9-ball should have died in 2009.

Back about 3 years ago Metro had a very successful Monday Night OPEN Tournament. They use to get 25-30 players each and every week. That died when Metro had some legal issues a few years back and it was never revived. The 8-ball Barbox tourney they have is producing like numbers, but like you stated, I wouldn't worry about the conflict.

Conflicts between weekly tournaments do not have the same impact as the overlapping big money monthly's.

I'll definitely try and make the trip a couple times and grab a few West Siders on the way.

The only other issue I see with Monday Nights is when (if) NFL comes back.

When you have the full details down, email me at AZPoolScene@hotmail.com and I'll add it to the calendar on http://www.azpoolscene.com
 
I vote for 10-ball as well! 9-ball should have died in 2009.

Back about 3 years ago Metro had a very successful Monday Night OPEN Tournament. They use to get 25-30 players each and every week. That died when Metro had some legal issues a few years back and it was never revived. The 8-ball Barbox tourney they have is producing like numbers, but like you stated, I wouldn't worry about the conflict.

Conflicts between weekly tournaments do not have the same impact as the overlapping big money monthly's.

I'll definitely try and make the trip a couple times and grab a few West Siders on the way.

The only other issue I see with Monday Nights is when (if) NFL comes back.

When you have the full details down, email me at AZPoolScene@hotmail.com and I'll add it to the calendar on http://www.azpoolscene.com

Awesome. Thanks Jerry.

3 votes for 10 ball.

Ray
 
I vote for 10 ball as well. As long as you let D-level players vote :)

I'll be at your first one for sure...after that, i'll make a few here and there.
 
Forgot to mention this above:

$10 entry fee (No Green Fees). Everything goes straight into the pot.

Also, I'd like to make this a 10 ball weekly tourny, but let me know what you guys/gals want.

9 ball or 10 ball?

10 ball! My buddy and I usually make the trek out to main st to play their tournys but the whole 5s going to 2 is getting old. You can add 2 to your list!
 
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