World 10 Ball Silence

P

pro9dg

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
An eerie silence

It is now more than a week since the World 10 Ball tournament concluded and twelve days since the majority of the players were eliminated from the event.

Yet with 128 players, plus referees, managers/stakehorses pushing this figure up to around 200 unpaid persons, isn't the silence deafening?

Is it just blind faith or have they all been sworn to secrecy about the payment deal. Or maybe it is just resignation to the fact that they might not get paid - (again!).

Jay Helfert gave us a morsel that he was an insider to what was going on. He reckoned that the money would soon be forthcoming. Was this a Jay hunch or was there something more significant that he won't share with us. Is his position of respect on this forum buying the promoter even more time?

What about the WPA? Have they seen the colour of their money? 5% of 400k comes to 20 Grand plus their outgoings.

The event will go ahead next year - truth or just a smokescreen to buy more time? Somebody knows the answer to these questions?

Mr Helfert? Mr Forsyth? Mr Anderson? Mr Makabenta?
Ian, please tell us what is going on
 
The organizers called a meeting after the tournament. They said that the prizes will be
send through wire transfer in two weeks, it's been a week now, so one more week to go...
 
this is why the WPA is a joke, their sanctioning is supposed to guarantee purses, actually they're beyond a joke, they're fraudulent
 
gopi-1 said:
The organizers called a meeting after the tournament. They said that the prizes will be
send through wire transfer in two weeks, it's been a week now, so one more week to go...
Click to expand...


What happened to the good old days - you win you get paid. Why have things slowed down with all the new technology. All the players, that have bank accounts, should register them (routing numbers) just like direct deposit with the WPA and when they win/cash the money should be transfered immediately or next banking day and the player would receive a paper check/copy confirming the transfer.

We are getting to the point in pool where you feel like you are in the wrong part of town and the money is on the light and you know even if you win your aren't leaving with the money. I hate to see this happen to the game I love.
 
I think 2 wks is reasonable. THe pretty F'ing long side of it though. It hopes to be a long term event and real businesses dont carry around stacks of cash.

Would it have been so tough to permit players to visit an office or bank for a check? I don't think so.
 
This is silly. Does it really take two weeks to pay less than 200 people? Are there not payroll services that can do this in like 20 minutes?

These guys need to take a page from the good old low tech Derby City. Get knocked out then go get your check. I really hope this is just bureaucratic ineptness and not something more screwed up.
 
I wonder what will happen if players will not get their winnings during this week...

WPA made a statement saying that everything was ok, and in fact that there would also be a bonus on top of the 400 000 $ in price money...

I would think that since a tournament is sanctioned by WPA, WPA SHOULD guarantee for the payment, and pay up if the organizer fails...

What is the point of sanctioning if it isn't to protect the players?
 
JCIN said:
I really hope this is just bureaucratic ineptness and not something more screwed up.
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I'm sure that someone will pop-up again and tell me that I'm rumour-mongering. As I've written in another forum, I'd rather that I lose face if they pay up and my pressuring them helped in doing so then for the whole nation to lose face should they fail.

I personally am not confident that they'll pay up for reasons that I've already written in this forum. But I can be proven wrong by outcome alone.
 
Roy Steffensen said:
I wonder what will happen if players will not get their winnings during this week...

WPA made a statement saying that everything was ok, and in fact that there would also be a bonus on top of the 400 000 $ in price money...

I would think that since a tournament is sanctioned by WPA, WPA SHOULD guarantee for the payment, and pay up if the organizer fails...

What is the point of sanctioning if it isn't to protect the players?
Click to expand...
I agree that WPA should since they announced their full backing of the event. What good will the WPA be if they don't.
 
I would also think that Yen Makabenta would be in all of the news talking about how fantastic this event was, and I am surprised he hasn't sent an article to AZBilliards yet...

Oh, I guess he is busy wiring money, so he doesn't have time for the press
 
Roy Steffensen said:
I would also think that Yen Makabenta would be in all of the news talking about how fantastic this event was, and I am surprised he hasn't sent an article to AZBilliards yet...

Oh, I guess he is busy wiring money, so he doesn't have time for the press
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Surprising for a someone who sings his own praises isn't it? I'm sure that an article will surface now that you've mentioned it.

I hope that that little ex-deal hotel fiasco doesn't hinder his work in wiring the funds.
 
When Matchroom run tournaments they are the ones who guarantee the prize fund. If a sponsor fails to deliver then they will pay the players.
It almost came to that in Manila for one of the WPC 9 Ball events when a substantial amount of the money was paid only three days before the tournament finished.
 
pro9dg said:
When Matchroom run tournaments they are the ones who guarantee the prize fund. If a sponsor fails to deliver then they will pay the players.
It almost came to that in Manila for one of the WPC 9 Ball events when a substantial amount of the money was paid only three days before the tournament finished.
Click to expand...
The source of that payment has gone due and is now the reason why my confidence is low. Payment's got to come from somewhere and I hope it's not from current funds. I hope, too, that all the voluteered info from non-pool related people and my read on all these info is wrong.

Now, Jay! I heard about the meeting that you may be alluding to. Am hoping that tightwad will honor his guarantee. Jay, you're too experience to be dazzled.
 
Is WPA a US organization?

Can the players and staff all come together and maybe sue WPA in a USA court? A class action or something. Sorry for my limited legal knowledge. Never quite understand all the jargon and such.

Just wondering because i read about something regarding an air disaster which occurred in asia but the victims were sueing the airlines in the USA.
 
I did meet with Yen before I left the PI. And I inquired about the payment of all prize monies. He expressed total confidence in his ability to pay within two weeks from the conclusion of the tournament. He said that a two week time frame is normal in business and that even Matchroom frequently uses a similar schedule for making payments.

He went on the discuss with me in detail future events he is working on with the WPA. I reminded him that this event must be fully paid first, or there could be no future events. He was very clear that ALL prize monies would be paid in full shortly. So I did not question him about this again.

Based on this conversation we had, I have to believe that he knows something I don't in terms of funding. I did not press him as to where the money comes from. I did share with him ways I have found to derive income from tournaments, including enhanced gate revenues, exhibitor fees, etc. Yen seemed to feel that these were not the most important revenue streams for his events. The widening television audience is more important to him, and to the Philippine Travel Authority who he works with.

They appear to be approaching the funding of these major pool events more in terms of publicity for the Philippines, than in direct dollar returns. We'll just have to wait and see what happens over the next week or so. My suspicion is that all monies will be paid, and soon.
 
Can't disagree with anything you've stated Jay. I was speaking though of another meeting where Mr Chua expressed his full guarantee of payment of the prize money. I'll believe that like I'll believe the Billiard Training Center construction that he's been telling everybody for years now. He even states that he's close friends with the Prince of Brunei that will be financing the project thus his need to install a heliport when the Prince comes to visit. I haven't seen a shadow of this project though.

Yes it's the corporate marketing budgets that he refers to as the source of capitalizing and profit generation for him. The thing is advances have already been pulled out for last year and payment of may surely affect this year.

Event promoter here need to have cash in hand to have a smooth-going event. If they depend on corporate sponsorship to complete a project that requires immediate release of funds then problems may arise. Balance of payment release on corporate sponsorship usually takes 45-60 days and that is if media values promise in exchange for the corporate funding are met. Isn't that how business(trade) normally transpire? A buyer gets goods or services of equal value for his goods or services.

That is the advantage then of your recommended revenue channels. Rental for booth space, entry fees, etc are paid upfront which can immediately be paid out at the end of the event.
 
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Payment of prize money by bank transfer has now reached Europe.
The Eurotour is paying prize money to the top 16 by bank transfer, the rest are paid at the venue.
Entry fees are also paid by bank transfer and have to be paid three weeks before the event.
This obviously save a lot of hassle at the beginning of the tournament if you don't have to spend hours taking entry fees etc. It also means that the organisers don't have to walk around for four days with great bunches of Euros .
In the case of the Eurotour, which is the number one pro tour in Europe, nobody has to worry about if they can trust the organisers and all players know that they will get their winnings.
 
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