Why is no one talking the advertised 9-b tourney with a $1 million first place prize?

[Johnathan Smith]

As a casual observer of professional pool, I don't understand why no one has mentioned the 9-ball tournament race to 21 advertised in the current issue of Billiard Digest with $1 million for first; $500,000 for second and so on. Why? Was that a joke ad?

 

[bruin70]

i think the general consensus was that it was bullshit, as i recall.

the problem was/is,,,who is going to pony up $10,000 to enter? except for the top ten who have a chance, and probably have backers, is anyone else stupid enough to pay $10,000 just to lose to efrem or busta or earl or rodney or archer or mika? and they surely will in a race to 21.

then there was the issue of whether or not this was a scam. no one i know is talking about it, so that should tell you something.

 

[manlyshot]

Do you know if it was based on a 500-plus player field? Hard to imagine that many people coming up with a $10,000 entry fee.

ManlyShot

 

[bruin70]

i think it was a field of that size...500, or something like it....the guy's dreamin'. would they get more than 20?

 

[Ruthless]

I agree about it being BS and will never happen. The last fiasco was one that happened and was undoubtably rigged, that was when Earl won that in Texas. All who I know that were present said it was a fixed deal.

So even those that could do it prob. won't have anything to do with it.

 

[azhousepro]

How do you rig someone running 10 racks in a row?

 

[jjinfla]

Well they took out a full page ad in BD. I think it ran last month too. Payouts based on 512 player field and 65-128 receive $11,500. All you have to do is win two matches to be in the money. Bar table 9-ball; single elimination, race to 21.

I think this is based on the world series of poker. The ante there is $10,000 and I believe they had over 600 people get in. I think they said that the first one started with just 18 players with winner take all. Now several casinos are running the game and there are plenty of people with a spare 10K burning a hole in their pocket ready to get in the game.

Since it is at Ceasars Palace Pavilion, Las Vegas, I doubt that it is a joke. A quick phone call there can check it out. And it is sponsored by R.A.M. Inc.

Risk 10K to win a million, with odds of 512 to 1, that might entice a lot of the road players to belly up. Win two matches and you are ahead of the game. And with a good draw who knows how far you can go.

It might even be enough to entice Mike Sigel to get in. I'd be willing to bet that there would be plenty of backers out there. Hell, two backers put up 5K each for half the winnings. Hey Harry, what ya think. Who can we back?

I wonder how many takers they have so far?

Jake

 

[Teddy Harris]

The last fiasco was one that happened and was undoubtably rigged, that was when Earl won that in Texas. All who I know that were present said it was a fixed deal.

When you make statements such as this one, you should be prepared to back it up with names! Who said it was rigged? How do you rig up someone running 10 racks? And if it was rigged, why did Earl get paid?
Personally, I think you are full of crapola!

 

[Ruthless]

"AzHousePro: How do you rig someone running 10 racks in a row?"


It was about who racked the balls, how they were racked, Earl being a close friend of the owner there, and something about if the racks were done one after the other. The person that mentioned it has been a subject of one of the larger recent threads here.

Believe as you may. But knowing most of the people involved and the way they are in real life(not mags or websites), I seem to believe it wasn't real.


As far as for the $10,000 entry thing. I will say that it will end the same way Scott Smith's Tour did. I called that months before the first rack, that it would die very quick and with very few players.

 

[Ruthless]

Gremlin,

Josh D. just had an operation. I watched him hit the balls last night for the first time since and he needs to take it slow for a while

 

[manlyshot]

Gremlin, "two-bit hustlers"? I have read really negative posts on this forum directed at you, but when you label a pool player as a two-bit hustler, it is offensive. Don't place yourself in the category of a nit. When you post, I enjoy the pictures and hearing about the women's events. You have so much to offer in the way of background info, current events, et cetera, on a lot of female players. Keep on posting, but please leave out the name-calling.

ManlyShot

 

[jjinfla]

Sometimes Harry does get carried away with his choice of words but that is just his frustration coming out about his love of pool and the crapola he sees out there. As for who would enter the Million Dollar match it doesn't matter if WE don't think that person has a chance all that matters is if the player thinks he has a chance. Take a person like Keith McCready. I am sure that on any given day he believes he can beat anyone out there. But that is true of all the top players. They all believe they can beat anyone. And that is what is important. And with one or two good rolls who knows what could happen. Who expected Breedlove to do so well after not competing for so long? And they have from now until December to practice. I wonder how Sigel would do against Varner? They were/are partners in the cue business so I wonder if they played each other? But getting 512 to sign up might be asking for too much.
Jake

 

[manlyshot]

Jake, would love to see Mike Sigel come out of retirement as a pool player and compete. I was fortunate to see some of his cues earlier this year, and they were some of the most beautiful sticks I have ever seen. It would be GREAT to see the champions from years past attend an event like this.

My hands would shake if I paid a $10,000 entry fee and had to play for a million with a single-elimination format, and with the stakes so high, if this tournament actually takes place and is a true reality, it will, no doubt, bring in some the best players in the world, to include Keith McCready. A post labeling pool players as "two-bit hustlers" is incredulous coming from a railbird.

ManlyShot

 

[manlyshot]

Gremlin, thanks for your response, and I appreciate your opinion. Please don't tell me that you think the players you named in your previous post have a "criminal element."

I would like nothing better than to see billiards included in the Olympics. They added archery not long ago, and I was hoping that billiards would follow. I never see anything about pool in the local sports news, but with ESPN televising so many pool matches now, this "pool is not a sport" belief will, hopefully, diminish.

ManlyShot

 

[DoomCue]

ManlyShot,

I am sorry if I offended you? But the sad truth of the matter is that there is a criminal element in pool which has to be eliminated by the WPA, BCA and APA if pool is ever to become an Olympic Sport. The negative posts are to be expected when you are trying
to elevate a sports form it's sinister past to an Olympic Sport.

They have to decide who is a professional and have a strict set of rules to govern the playing body. I love tournament pool and think it is the way to go with the Olympics. Hey, if you want to gamble on pool it's fine with me as long as it is fair but most of the time it is some bet intended to be a con instead of legitimate
sporting event.

*SNIP*

Cheers,

Gremlin

Give some examples of the "criminal element" in pool. Also, what is this "sinister past" to which you're referring? Your post is just continuing a myth and stereotype that most non-players have about pool - we're all seedy, underworld types who constantly drink, smoke, gamble, chase women, and break each others' thumbs. Granted, there may be some people like that in the pool world, but there are people like that in all walks of life. The problem is that movies like "The Hustler," "The Color of Money," and "Poolhall Junkies," glorify that miniscule part of the pool world. That, coupled with your blanket statements, makes it seem like those people are in the majority in pool, which is simply not the case. The "sad truth of the matter" is that people believe in those myths, and your statements give them credence by perpetuating those myths.

djb

 

[Celtic]

You people all seem to forget. The 512 players paying $5,120,000 in entry fees were playing for just under $4,000,000 in prize money. The promoters are trying to take over $1,000,000 as "expenses" but in effect are trying to make the real steal here. This tournament is nothing but a scam and would make the promotors a fortune if they could ever sucker 500+ pool players to anty up $10,000 each. Pool players are smarter then that, this tournament is a no-go.

If anyone knows then could you tell me. Does the World Series of Poker take ANY money out of the tournament or does it have 100% payback of the entry fees? Does it even maybe add some money?

If a tournament ran for pool that was played on nice tight 9-foots, races to 15 on the A side and the B side, finals best of 3 races to 11, and payed back 100% of the money or maybe even added a couple hundred thousand, the tournament would very well be a success. Take a hint from the World Series of Poker and give away a really fancy bracelet or a chain and pendant that is one of a kind and handed out each year to the winner instead of a trophy. This item is worn by the winners of that tournament as it is a sign of huge respect and puts you in a elite company. This might actually work if they had done it right and had not tried to rip off the players.

The space where you run the tournament if it is in a casino can be very reasonably priced. They were going to run it in the brand new expansion area of Ceasars Palace in Vegas which is perfect. Truth is if you have all the top pool players in the game and all the players and backers willing to front up 10 large to play in a event you are going to have ALOT of money and gambling going on both in the casino and at the tables. Ceasars may give you the space for super cheap or even free at the right time since it will pay them off at the tables to get all those players in there.

Had it been done right this tournament might have been a go. The $168,000 payout in Tokeo got alot of players and while the entry was not $10,000 you have to arrange for travel and hotel in the most expensive city in the world. This tournament when all said and done would be not much more expensive to play in. Passes to get in to watch the event could be sold for $100 for the full event and seperate day $20 for the first day, $25 for the second, $30 for the third, and $40 for the last day and final 16 players or so. Have a expo type of thing and vendors and exhibitions as well and you can rent those spaces out, let the casino have drink vendors around and they can take the profits if they are giving you the space free. This would not be a impossibility. If you can do it with Poker it can be done with Pool.

 

[manlyshot]

Take a hint from the World Series of Poker and give away a really fancy bracelet or a chain and pendant that is one of a kind and handed out each year to the winner instead of a trophy. This item is worn by the winners of that tournament as it is a sign of huge respect and puts you in a elite company.

What a GREAT idea, like the green jackets bestowed upon the winners in the Masters for golf or the Super Bowl rings. At the last Derby City Classic, I think they wanted to create an annual tradition for future events, by creating the first Louie Roberts Award for the most entertaining player. I think the award was in the form of cash, which any pool player would appreciate.

ManlyShot

 

[Ruthless]

There is such a prize amoung pool players, you can't wear it or sell it. But it stays with you as long as you live and can be compared to nothing else.

It is the title "U.S. Open Champion!".

 

[hemicudas]

You're right Ruthless but like ManlyShot said, where is the bracelet or ring that would proudly announce the wearer as a U.S. Open winner?

 

[Ruthless]

As little as our sport pays most would prob. have to sell the item sooner or later. That is the real shame of the game.

When I ran around with Tommy K. back in the 80's I told him that he would be a world champ one day. Well, he never made it to being ranked #1. But he did snap off a U.S. Open title. Now everyone knows of T.K. and it's not because he is the nice guy he is, It's because of that title that he won. Tommy Brown from Daytona was ranked above Kennedy on the list for years on the "Big" Tour. He's a champ also, but is still unknown except to the older players because he never earned that title. Another was Richie Ambrose. If you know of him, you have been around for a while. He kind of faded out when ball-in-hand came around, but played a mean game of rollout

I don't believe that a U.S. Open winner needs a medal on his chest to be known. You know how reputations spread in our little world of pool. It may be something for lesser tournaments to consider though.