This will work

[Johnnyt]

We will never see the players sign on to have any one person run the show (one org.) IMO. They don't trust many people in the pool community, and in most cases rightly so. Where 40% would trust Mr. A, 60% wouldn't. If 50% trusted Mr. B, 50% wouldn't. and on and on and on.

I think the only way your going to see a big tour is by someone with very big bucks that says, "I'm it, I can use 250 of the best players and no more. I will make all the rules after talking to players."

I know that's only 250 players, but I don't see anything else that pool players will agree on. Maybe the USA should just start to worry about the US players like so many other countries do. I would miss seeing Reyes and some of the others on the one tour, but I could get over it. Johnnyt

 

[ShootingArts]

a few simple questions

We will never see the players sign on to have any one person run the show (one org.) IMO. They don't trust many people in the pool community, and in most cases rightly so. Where 40% would trust Mr. A, 60% wouldn't. If 50% trusted Mr. B, 50% wouldn't. and on and on and on.

I think the only way your going to see a big tour is by someone with very big bucks that says, "I'm it, I can use 250 of the best players and no more. I will make all the rules after talking to players."

I know that's only 250 players, but I don't see anything else that pool players will agree on. Maybe the USA should just start to worry about the US players like so many other countries do. I would miss seeing Reyes and some of the others on the one tour, but I could get over it. Johnnyt

Johnny,

I just have a few simple questions: Why would anyone in their right mind dump big money into pool? The chances of making a return are better for thousands of other things. Where do you see a return for this fatcat who dumps the money in pool? The main question for you and everyone else that is looking for a sugar daddy to support pro pool, why does pro pool need a sugar daddy and how long is it going to be before men's pro pool can stand on it's own two feet?

A cash injection means little unless someone can figure out a self sustaining business model to carry on afterwards. The two sources of cash for sports are spectators and sponsors. Pool simply isn't visible to huge crowds. Why anyone would want to view the action from even a hundred feet away is beyond me. If you have to watch it on the big screen you might as well be watching something on TV in the comfort of your home. Pool lags behind seemingly everything in home viewership appeal so the people watching TV are watching something else. No audience share means no "outside" sponsors. No spectators and no sponsors means no way to sustain decent purses.

Mike Janis just landed a renewal of sponsorship worth a hundred thousand a year for ten years. That is great but put into perspective that would feed maybe one to one and a half pool players after expenses. That money is going to be split between dozens of players. To support fifty or sixty-four players at a blue collar income after expenses we need at least five million a year in "outside" monies, not just funds churned between players. To support your 250 players we would need around 25 million, year in and year out. That is prize monies, ignoring the real costs of running a tour. Right now I would be thrilled to just have fifty men making a living from tour earnings.

Hu

 

[Fast Lenny]

Johnny,

I just have a few simple questions: Why would anyone in their right mind dump big money into pool? The chances of making a return are better for thousands of other things. Where do you see a return for this fatcat who dumps the money in pool? The main question for you and everyone else that is looking for a sugar daddy to support pro pool, why does pro pool need a sugar daddy and how long is it going to be before men's pro pool can stand on it's own two feet?

A cash injection means little unless someone can figure out a self sustaining business model to carry on afterwards. The two sources of cash for sports are spectators and sponsors. Pool simply isn't visible to huge crowds. Why anyone would want to view the action from even a hundred feet away is beyond me. If you have to watch it on the big screen you might as well be watching something on TV in the comfort of your home. Pool lags behind seemingly everything in home viewership appeal so the people watching TV are watching something else. No audience share means no "outside" sponsors. No spectators and no sponsors means no way to sustain decent purses.

Mike Janis just landed a renewal of sponsorship worth a hundred thousand a year for ten years. That is great but put into perspective that would feed maybe one to one and a half pool players after expenses. That money is going to be split between dozens of players. To support fifty or sixty-four players at a blue collar income after expenses we need at least five million a year in "outside" monies, not just funds churned between players. To support your 250 players we would need around 25 million, year in and year out. That is prize monies, ignoring the real costs of running a tour. Right now I would be thrilled to just have fifty men making a living from tour earnings.

Hu

Your hitting the nail on the head here,we need a guy with big bucks though who loves the sport and doesnt care about making a return, will it happen,maybe if one of us hits the lottery we can do something for pool.If i won 50 million i would have a 100k added tourney once a year and do other things for the game,wishful thinking but its nice to dream.

 

[JAM]

...Maybe the USA should just start to worry about the US players like so many other countries do....

Now you're talking.

The United States has outsourced more jobs, eliminating income for many Americans. Same thing is happening to pool today.

Do you remember the Filipino Invasion? They all came to our shores to partake in American lucrative pool events.

Meanwhile, the payouts in pool are the same today as they were in the 1970s. Americans players scrapping with international players for a few crumbs on American soil.

Pool is now being outsourced, to include American players, to overseas Asian-Pacific Islander countries.

Charlie Williams, the first president of the UPA, left Frank Alvarez holding the bag for a professional players organization. At the time, some poor uniformed soul in the BCA granted Charlie Williams the authority to be the governing body of professional pool. You can see where the majority of Charlie Williams' events are today, and they ain't on American soil. My, how he has benefitted from his affilliation with the American pool players organization known as the UPA, to include a Brunswick sponsorship. Nice move.

The lot of existing pool players are dwindling in the United States. America needs to begin to take a look at what is happening to American pool. The WPA protects its European counterparts, but what have they done for America lately?

It is very sad what is happening to pool. If you can't see what's happening, then you're wearing blinders.

Don't worry, folks, because there will never be another Filipino invasion or any other invasion for that matter. Pool in America just ain't what it used to be. Somebody needs to take the horse by the reigns and put America back on the pool map.

The first step would be to have a United States Open, a tournament open to Americans only, like the rest of the other countries do it.

JAM

 

[ShootingArts]

Nice to dream

Your hitting the nail on the head here,we need a guy with big bucks though who loves the sport and doesnt care about making a return, will it happen,maybe if one of us hits the lottery we can do something for pool.If i won 50 million i would have a 100k added tourney once a year and do other things for the game,wishful thinking but its nice to dream.

Lenny,

In my daydreams I would be willing to dump a million or two into kicking something off if I had ten times that much. However I would not be willing to dump a million or two into a hole without a business model that would pass muster with my CPA and my business consultant. Even if a sugar daddy dumped five million a year into men's pool for five years, is there a business model that would be self-sustaining in five years that doesn't rely on things that look unlikely at this time? I wish that I could see a path for pro pool. I really don't. I see a lot of "maybe's" and "what if's" but even an investor that wants to see pool succeed purely because he loves pool needs a reasonable structure not just a rainbow.

Hu

 

[Fast Lenny]

Lenny,

In my daydreams I would be willing to dump a million or two into kicking something off if I had ten times that much. However I would not be willing to dump a million or two into a hole without a business model that would pass muster with my CPA and my business consultant. Even if a sugar daddy dumped five million a year into men's pool for five years, is there a business model that would be self-sustaining in five years that doesn't rely on things that look unlikely at this time? I wish that I could see a path for pro pool. I really don't. I see a lot of "maybe's" and "what if's" but even an investor that wants to see pool succeed purely because he loves pool needs a reasonable structure not just a rainbow.

Hu

Your right again,its just thats the only way pool will get money is by someone willing to give pool money,not someone looking to invest as there is not any money in pool.It would be great to snag a sponsor like Budweiser then maybe things could work out but when was the last time pool had a big corporate sponsor,maybe Camel i think.