Texas Open Players Tour Aug 3-5

[Bigtruck]

Dittos..

Nicely put sir!! I have to say that there are some pool players that are grateful for the efforts being put forth here. I know I am and I can speak for a lot of others too!!

I have found that there are many "grateful" pool players in Texas. I for one am grateful if I can have a good time.To me this means the event is run smoothly, there are vendors, mini tournaments, action etc. A lot of behind the scenes work does go into putting these events together. The bottom line is, the promoters must make a profit or the event(s) will go away. Hopefully this thing will start to turn a profit.

I am a league player and have wanted to make one of these events, but scheduling conflicts have kept me away. Hopefully it will work out soon.

Ray

 

[Bigtruck]

Playing

Not sure if you mean "Break even" playing or running a tourney?

Steve

Playing. I know my wife would like it if I broke even, it just doesn't happen that often for me. I do however, still make it my goal to break even or better.

Ray

 

[ne14tennis]

I have found that there are many "grateful" pool players in Texas. I for one am grateful if I can have a good time.To me this means the event is run smoothly, there are vendors, mini tournaments, action etc. A lot of behind the scenes work does go into putting these events together. The bottom line is, the promoters must make a profit or the event(s) will go away. Hopefully this thing will start to turn a profit.

I am a league player and have wanted to make one of these events, but scheduling conflicts have kept me away. Hopefully it will work out soon.

Ray

OK OK!!! To all those "Grateful" pool players out there please don't take this out of context and bloat this thread with "I'm grateful"

I meant it as a generalization. I said "by and large" , that doesn't mean all players are ungrateful. I am player too and yes I also complain if there is a reason. I also congratulate people if I felt it was run right and was fun, regardless of how I finished....Right Ray?

When I sit by the control booth it's amazing the complaints you hear. It's the players talking among themselves, not openly voicing anything to anyone in a position to change things. I didn't like the tables, too fast, too slow, too expensive, I have to play again so soon, I don't have another match for 2 hours what's taking so long, the hotel is too expensive, the food is too expensive, the drinks are too much. The entry fee is too high, it's too low, how come the payout isn't higher, why is there no added money. How come there are no mini tourneys being run when there are open tables etc., etc., etc...When you listen to that from 9 AM to midnight it's easy to come to a generalization that pool players are complainers. As McKinney said "It's their job".

I agree with all of your comments on the Grapevine tour stop.

To my knowledge I hadn't heard about raising the entry fee for singles and doing away with the coins. You have to get coin drop to pay for the tables.

I am sure Robert and some of his confidants are already planning how to better this event.

I had heard:

1. Get it out of the big expensive hotels and ballrooms. That's a start to cutting yout operating costs right there. Take it out far enough that people will be encouraged to stay overnight. Use a civic center or some other large building and let people make their own travel arrangements. People that stay overnight are probably going to play in minis which helps everyone involved.

2. Raise the scotch fee. I agree. $30 is way to low. I agree with McKinney that raising the singles to $65-75 will cut participation.

3. I also heard someone say that opening it up to Masters is an idea. Give them their own division and let them fight it out.

4. Offer up a free entry to the league Op that provides the most entries. Encourage league ops to spread the word. The Grapevine Tour had a good turnout. That is Robert Tabors turf and it was expected. The Houston event had a poor turnout. Many of the players that tried to signup late said they never heard about it until the last minute. If you are from the DFW area and you're trying to run a tour, you need local help for PR.
I also heard that the grapevine event would have needed almost a 256 bracket to break even. True or not....I don't know.

I play and referee because I love the game. I applaud anyone that brings an event I can play in or watch.

So, please no more posts about being grateful.

Steve

 

[McKinneyMiner]

I also heard that the grapevine event would have needed almost a 256 bracket to break even. True or not....I don't know.

If this is true then there is something seriously wrong at the administrative level.

I'll open this question up to the players...

Besides one of the big national league tournaments (BCA, APA, ACS, etc.) how many tournaments have you ever participated in that drew a 256 player field?

Currently, to my knowledge, there is one annual tournament that draws that kind of field - The Derby City Classic.

The U.S. Open doesn't pull 256. I seriously doubt the Qlympics tournament will pull a 256 player bracket.

If 256 is the break even point this tour, as currently structured, has no chance at all.

 

[ne14tennis]

If this is true then there is something seriously wrong at the administrative level.

I'll open this question up to the players...

Besides one of the big national league tournaments (BCA, APA, ACS, etc.) how many tournaments have you ever participated in that drew a 256 player field?

Currently, to my knowledge, there is one annual tournament that draws that kind of field - The Derby City Classic.

The U.S. Open doesn't pull 256. I seriously doubt the Qlympics tournament will pull a 256 player bracket.

If 256 is the break even point this tour, as currently structured, has no chance at all.

I stated I didn't know if that were true and they may have meant 256 for all the divisions combined.

 

[rackaddict]

Crazy as it sounds, I could see them pulling in 256 players for one of these tournaments, especially in the DFW area. People just need to know how well the tournaments are run, how good the equipment is and how nice the payouts are. I didn't know what to expect Sat. morning, but was pleasantly surprised. I got on the phone right then, and told several people what they were missing.

I do think the sw8ball.org website could be better at boosting attendance. Maybe, some tournament flyers on the home page with photos of past events and winners, along with emails going out early to BCA and VNEA player lists. Anyway, I can't help with any of that. All I can do is participate and tell others. Amarillo is on my schedule. I hope it still happens.

 

[rbtabor]

For the Records

I try not to read or reply to many POSTED THREADS but after reading alot of the threads posted I want to set everything straight so the players know what goes on, period.

So let's start at the hotel. You need at least 10,000 sq ft to hold 40 7' tables; 14,000 sq ft makes things comfortable for setup and playing. Now in must cases the hotels want you to quarantee them sleep nights to get the ballroom for free or a reduced rate.

Tables cost is $6,500 without lights, $8,000 with lights. Diamond cuts me a deal charging me $6,500 with lights because I use them for the TEXAS BCA Pool League and SWEL tournaments.

Setup crew cost varies depending on each location from $700 to $1,500.

Referees are paid $75 per day($50 to referee plus $25 food) plus hotel room. Diamond crew gets a hotel room. Forklift($350-700) is needed to get the tables out of the truck.

Some of the posted threads are correct; we need the players help on 2 fronts, playing in the tournament and getting a hotel room.

I understand every players budget is different but it is just unbelivable hard to find hotels with the square footage needed at $65 per night. Convention centers are always the better option but their cost range from $1,500 to $5,000 per day.

The main reason you use hotels, hoping the players will stay there is where you can run mini-tournament late into the night. Because without the coin drop the tables are not covered.

Results of the two Texas Open Players Tour tournament so far.

Houston Hyatt- Scotch Doubles 13 teams, 13 women singles and 51 men singles.
Only 26 sleep nights used, coin drop a little less than $2000, forklift $632, labor $750, referee $225 and hotel room for referee and Diamond crew $600 plus tax So I am the hole, hotel is charging me $15,000 since I did not have 70% of my sleep night covered plus the others charges listed.

DFW Hilton- Scotch Doubles 63 teams, 44 women singles and 110 men singles.
I have not received the final count on sleep nights but trust me it was not enough to cover things. But I have a stronger working relationship the DFW Hilton so things will work out. Forklift $376, labor $1,100(caused by light issues), referee the same, rooms for refree and Daimond crew the same and coin drop better $4,000 but still short $2,500.

I made $320 for the Houston tournament and $770 for the DFW Hilton. The plans that were discussed was rising the entry fees for Scotch Doubles to $60 per team with a $10 registration fee and to $65 with a $15 registartion fee for singles. $75 with a $25 registration fee was mentioned but I felt like that might be a little to high.

We discussed different ways to run the tournament to keep players there so more might play in the minis. Having a MASTERS division is something also discussed but I keep turning it down. The main reason is this formatt is for OPEN players who do not have many tournaments to play in other than the at the state or national levels.

You, as players, always have a voice with me. If you know of a location that has the square footage needed let me know about and I will talk with. If you feel the entry fee is going to high maybe we can compromise and come to a middle ground. BCA Pool League and I both are working hard to find solutions to the problems so this TEXAS OPEN TOUR can continue and be benefit everyone involved.

You can always find entry forms on the following websites:

www.playbca.com www.sw8ball.org and here at www.azbillliards.com

Best way to reach me with individual questions and comments is emailing me at admin@sw8ball.org.

A special THANK YOU to all the players who have played in either or both of the past 2 events because without you we cannot hope to make this work.

 

[akaTrigger]

A special THANK YOU to all the players who have played in either or both of the past 2 events because without you we cannot hope to make this work.

Robert,

Running tournaments is a thankless job. I can't express enough how AWESOME it was to have a tournament like this to play in. I told NUMEROUS people about the event and honestly can't wait for the next one I can play in. I know everyone complains, we hear it all the time too (I help run the Hunter Classics Tour). Too many people bi$ch instead of say thank you and it takes a toll on us and then we go home and realize we do this FOR the players and it keeps us going.

We take the complaints in stride and even use some to improve the tour. We know we cannot please everyone and we also are aware that people sometimes start complaining more after they lose a match. It takes time and patience and more events to find out what works best. Let us know how we can help.

Bottom line, we (Hunter Classics Tour and you and Ray, etc) enjoy providing tournaments for players and whether you are hearing it or not directly, we all really do appreciate these tournaments you are providing so THANK YOU, Robert.

Melinda