Barney, while I have the same concerns that you do, in regards to the schedule conflicts with BB, I can tell you this.....
.......I went last year and had a BLAST!!! Greg Sullivan, Chad, and the crew from Diamond put on a great event, not to mention Accu-Stats with their TV table set-up.
"Toupee Jay" Helfert was front and center on the 10' Diamonds running a fantastic 16-man tourney.
No gambling, due to some casino regulations, but lots of streaming in the Open/Pro area. They kept it professional. There were other mini-tourneys going on in the room on the 10-footers. It was extremely clean. Plenty of room. It was non-smoking. Logistically, it seemed like everything went pretty darn smooth. I know there was a slight issue with people wanting to log on to the SCT website to keep up with match results, but there was a HUGE streaming board of match-ups and table time for the competitors to keep an eye on.
At the entrance to this area, Accu-Stats set up "shop" and had hundreds of DVD's and a few dozen different books for sale. I ended up signing up for the Video-of-the-Month Club while I was there and LOVE it. That's a no-brainer for any pool junkie.
There was a in-house snack bar in the smoking area, just outside the entrance to the Open event. A few steps away from there was an extremely nice cue-maker from Tx (Ron Geyer, I think? I owe him a beer too, for some help he gave me, so I hope I see him again someday)......who was replacing tips, cleaning shafts, general cue maintenance, etc. etc., plus he had a nice supply of pool/cue accessories.
In a small room past that, they had a professional trick-shot competition going, complete with vests and the whole bit.
About 30 feet up the way was the doorway back out to the main casino room. The folks from Diamond were there processing player badges and late sign-ups. Also, at that casino entrance, was a small food court. Quizno's, some stone oven pizza thing (which actually tasted WAY better than it looked) and a Fudrucker's. There's also a Dunkin' Donuts (I think that was the correct chain) in there, but it's deeper in the first floor of the casino.
Upstairs is a Paula Deen buffet, a fancy steakhouse and maybe another restaurant (can't remember). Various bars everywhere for cold ones.
It's pretty much a one-stop shop there. You shouldn't have to leave the casino property to pretty much find what you need, unless you just wanna get out and drive to get away for a few hours.
If you can get booked on-site at the Veranda or Terrace hotels (which are nice), a free shuttle comes around every 15 min. Once you get on, it makes it's little loop, but you'll be at your destination in 3 minutes or less. Very convenient. They're still offering those rooms for $69/night, without tax, if you book for the full 9/10-night event. It's a great deal, especially if you get a roommate to split the expense.
About 75 yards from the Veranda Hotel is the Convention Center. THIS is where the action matches were held. It also housed about 75 Diamond barboxes for a multitude of amateur league tournaments. It was pretty crazy to see that many nice tables all in one spot.
But, back to the action portion. There were 3-4 different rooms that allowed smokers and gamblers. I literally walked into the room at one point and it was stone silence. Billy Incardona and Shane Van Boening were playing 2-ball.....1-pocket. The game was that Billy got the break, but had to break safe (I believe). He only had to make 1 ball to win. Shane had to make both. $1000 a game. Yikes. I watched them trade safes for 45 MINUTES without either one of them making a ball. You could have cut the tension in the room with a knife. It was surreal. A legend (Billy) vs. a legend in the making (if Shane already isn't).
There were maybe another 8-10 tables in the room with various players matching up, some woofing......it was pool in it's most exciting form (to me). Road players, shortstops, some pro's, sweaters, you name it. I would have spent more time in there, but the smoke got to me, plus it was difficult to pull myself away from the Open area, which was smoke-free and filled with pro's playing amazing pool.
In that convention center, there was also a "manufacturer's row" of different cue-makers, pool-related products such as clothing, etc. etc.
I'd like to promise you that if you came you'd have the time of your life. But, I don't know you and I sure would hate to make a promise I couldn't keep.
The one thing I know is that even if some of the pro's elect to not show up, it's going to pave the way for more shortstops and lower tier pro's that aren't affliated with BB to make some waves. There will still be GREAT POOL played at this event.
Not to mention, SVB isn't part of BB. Neither are some of the Filipinos. And I'm sure SOME of the BB players will try to make it.
Tell you what, if you show up, I'll buy you a beer and play a few racks with you. So, you got that goin' for ya.
BTW, there were right around 140-155 players for each of the disciplines.....Bank Pool, 1-Pocket and 9-ball. Greg Sullivan told me that this event, in it's first year, was bigger than the DCC was in it's inital one.
So, hopes are high. I hope to see many AZ'ers there, yourself included.
P.S. I am not affiliated with Diamond, Accu-Stats, Harrah's Casino or the Southern Classic Tournament in general.....in any way. I just think that when you pair this with the DCC, Greg and the crew could really get a Pro tour started. Even if it was just a seasonal-type 4 events a year (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter), it would be a start. The DCC is established. Last year was a "feeler", if you will, for the SCT. I'm hoping this year cements it for The Powers That Be, and a 3rd event gets launched in the future.
). It's huge.