pssh, that famous moonshine had nothing on your tequila, lol. Good seeing you there Sunny.
And NO, while the overall attendance may have been down a bit, the Derby was FAR from a flop.
Was the Derby a Flop?
- Thread starter Squinty42
- Start date
pssh, that famous moonshine had nothing on your tequila, lol. Good seeing you there Sunny.
And NO, while the overall attendance may have been down a bit, the Derby was FAR from a flop.
Thanks for posting this Sunny...nice to know that the top gun of this area came in 5th...
!The numbers for this year's DCC were up slightly from last year. 386 in Banks, 317 in One Pocket, and 293 in 9 Ball. We increased the entry fees several years ago. Between moving to a new venue and the increased entry fees, the overall numbers have gone down from the days when the tournament was at the Executive West. The most affected was the 9 Ball as it has the highest entry fee.
This is the first year that we were able to give players scheduled match times. We were not sure how well this would work, as it is very complicated to plan out a schedule that will work for the unusual format of the DCC. In retrospect, the scheduled match times worked very well. We did have some problems with the computer feeding the TV's in the rooms. Due to this problem, we were very lenient about forfeiting matches.
This is the first year that we were able to give players scheduled match times. We were not sure how well this would work, as it is very complicated to plan out a schedule that will work for the unusual format of the DCC. In retrospect, the scheduled match times worked very well. We did have some problems with the computer feeding the TV's in the rooms. Due to this problem, we were very lenient about forfeiting matches.
The DCC experience is very subjective, and can be very different, depending on who you are. This year I barely had time to watch much of the "action" taking place, mostly upstairs, as I seemed to be pre-occupied with various tasks every day. I did get to watch some of the best parts of the tournament, and the play was exceptional for the most part. One thing I noticed in the Ten Ball event is that players are beginning to run more racks. In past years, a three rack run was considered excellent, but this year I saw runs of four to six racks being made. That astonished me! Only thing I can surmise is that the players are getting better. 9-Ball must look like a far easier game to the top players now, with only a good break shot required to run out rack after rack. Of course that is easier said then done.
Personally I prefer the Horseshoe to the Executive West hotel. It is a newer, much cleaner venue, with much nicer facilities. Several choices of places to eat at varying prices, with good food to be had at all of them (thank God the pizza/sub joint has been closed). A good workout room (like I'd really go there), a nice indoor heated swimming pool, more than one gift shop to pick up any little essentials you may need and a friendly staff always ready to help you. These are all pluses in my book.
The main drawbacks are the distance from the airport. The shuttle service provided by Diamond was great (Enzo, the driver, knows a lot about pool!), but we needed more than one van to shuttle players and fans. Two would have been good. The Horseshoe should also provide a van for people who will be visiting their facility. The walk from the hotel lobby to the tournament area is one quarter mile! Just enough to get some much needed exercise every day, but a little too much when you need to run to your room to get something. The hotel does provide one shuttle (a double seat golf cart) running back and forth, but trying to time your trips to coincide with the shuttle service is just not possible. Once again, two shuttles would be much better. The casino is another quarter mile further from the tournament area, but I never made it down there one time all nine days. There is really nothing for me there, except the poker room, and I can get all of that I want in L.A.
My overall experience was a good one, as I get to see many old friends (and make new ones), and watch some great pool being played, which I enjoyed. The two events I worked both went off well and were well received by everyone in attendance. Greg even suggested that we find a way to get the One Pocket Challenge in the TV arena, it has become that popular. The Fatboy tourney is also one of the most popular events at DCC, with long matches between excellent players.
I did get a chance to play some pool while there, limited though it was. I played a couple of games of $50 One Pocket and got lucky to win them :wink:. There is never a shortage of people to challenge me. I only wish I had time to play more of them. But my work there is always going to be my priority. I wanted to play my little match with Chris B. during the first two days I was there, but he was pre-occupied with bigger action at the time. At the very end of DCC we talked about playing on the last day, and I even pulled my cue out of mothballs (I hadn't hit a ball in a week), and came down early to hit some balls.
Like so many others, I had gotten a touch of the cold going around, and was not feeling so hot. I was taking large doses of Vitamin C and drinking copious amounts of hot tea to ward it off. I think the long days with little sleep had gotten to me and made me vulnerable. Thankfully I didn't see Chris that day, until late at night, as he was coming out of the Steakhouse. I walked over to him and told him that I would prefer we wait for another day to play, and he was totally cool with that. I really like this guy, he is an old school gentleman gambler! Not a loud mouth obnoxious hustler like I see too many of at DCC. Although they do seem to have toned it down a notch this year, maybe at the behest of Greg S. I don't really mind the hustler types who are attracted to DCC and the chance at big games. I've seen many like them in my years in pool. But they are just not guys I would gamble with at this stage of my life. I don't need the aggravation. All and all, DCC was once again a very good experience for me, with one exception that I will not discuss publicly on here.
Jay,
Thanks for the update, sounds like a great time as usual. I've always had a blast there, was hoping I wasn't missing anything. I was looking forward to their poker room they offer some different games than our local casinos. Must be nice living in the poker capitol of the country/world, always wanted to go to the L.A. Commerce. Congrats on the Fatboy tournament, sounds like you have something special there.
Yes the payout does look tough, looks like they pay a few too many places. I'm sure they pay more places to keep people coming back, which is good for pool. That's what I enjoy about poker tourney's they only pay the top 10%. I would think most top pro's have sponsors paying for expenses, but they have to finish high or gamble to make any real money.
RobertFrost
Registered
Best tournament in years!
I have been going to the derby city classic as apart of my vacation every year since the beginning, and it has always seemed to be more of a iron man contest as anything...It still is to some degree, but this year for the first time you could really know ahead of time the exact time you were going to play, you could plan and prepare for it! It was awesome...I really hope Greg continues to use this new software for his tournament. It was a huge success and i can't wait to go back again next year! Thanks Greg for all your hard work!
I have been going to the derby city classic as apart of my vacation every year since the beginning, and it has always seemed to be more of a iron man contest as anything...It still is to some degree, but this year for the first time you could really know ahead of time the exact time you were going to play, you could plan and prepare for it! It was awesome...I really hope Greg continues to use this new software for his tournament. It was a huge success and i can't wait to go back again next year! Thanks Greg for all your hard work!
Derby
Maybe it was just the day I was there but I did not see more than a handful of people all day long looking at cues and I didn't see any buyers.
I hope it wasn't that way the whole time
Maybe it was just the day I was there but I did not see more than a handful of people all day long looking at cues and I didn't see any buyers.
I hope it wasn't that way the whole time
Haha talk about the road not taken.......
No, that moonshine had even grown men crying next day...literally:wink: But then again, they could had consumed too much to digest, LOL.
It was fun seeing you there. So did you get that 1 pocket match from Sara?
S.G.
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He stumbled upon me playing 1pocket and it made him sick for days! HAHAHA
Joe Salazar sold one of my cues at Derby City, to Andy Lloyd. Thank you Joe and Thank you Andy.
Joe reported that his outcome was good this year!
Joe reported that his outcome was good this year!
He sold a $3,000+ Ed Prewitt cue to Nick Schulman, the pool player turned poker player. Nick needed a cue to play in an action game with Chris Gentile.
I helped the economy by buying a $10 joint protector from Dave Jacoby. :grin-square: Talk about big spenders!
Unfortunately NO, I was there from 3pm - 7am wed./thurs. and then from 7pm - 8am thurs./fri. and we never crossed paths. I was planning on being there from Tues - Sat, but work got in the way, and I headed back Friday afternoon
Sarah doesn't live too far away though, so I'll see her sometime. I've never seen her play 1P, and I don't feel like getting completely run over in 9ball....lol, so I think 1P it will be :wink:
Oh?
Sarah plays 1 pocket, alright. Pretty good, I might add and may not like that end too much either:wink: Let me know how you come out but you will have fun for sure.S.G.
Oh?
S.G.
I'll like my end of it even if I have to double my Heartbacker contribution! :grin: - lol She gets money either way; why can't I find games like that?! :wink:
NO!!! The derby was not a flop. The DCC Is the best pool tourny by far In the US. If It gets any bigger they might have to find a bigger hotel.
John B.
Since the DCC started.