Pool Cue News and Review

So I finally got around to watching some of the Manilo v. Morris match put on by the IPT. Wow… I almost felt the need to start cutting on myself just to stay awake. I had pretty high expectations for this since the IPT stuff that was shot for TV (back before Trudeau’s bubble burst) was pretty high quality stuff. This, however, was not.

It looked like it was shot in someone’s basement, the scoreboard was cardboard flip cards and listening to Mike Sigel and Trudeau “commentate” was really too much. I didn’t watch the whole thing… I’m simply not that much of a masochist. What I did watch though consisted of Trudeau making these awful “ooh, ooh, he’s in trouble” comments over and over while Sigel politely corrects him letting him know that no one is in trouble.

This was bad.  It wasn’t even funny bad.  It was just plain bad.  I was surprised I didn’t see some guys in the corner on a wide shot shooting dice on a flattened cardboard box while the match was going on.   Look, I’m all for anything to promote the game, but when your event makes the production quality of Trick Shot Magic look good you know you’re doing something very, very wrong.

No one really believed this was going to happen, right? When the NACPBA announced their $22 million prize fund with $200,000 first place payouts, didn’t it sound just a little too good to be true? According to their website, the North American Confederation of Professional Billiards Associations (damn… even the name sounds like horseshit!) their mission is “To provide the professional pool player with and avenue to pursue his chosen profession and earn the money and respect afforded every other professional athlete and to further provide a solid path for the amateur aspiring to become pro.” I guess they weren’t too serious about that mission since they’re canceling their tour.

There will be more on this later in the week, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and make a statement. If someone comes and promises millions of dollars and he is a known felon or he refuses to divulge where he’s going to get the money to pay out the prize money, look him straight in the eye and call bullshit. The only way there will ever be a pro billiards tour with serious jack is if a real company steps up to sponsor it. Tell me that there’s a Budweiser Tour, a Rolling Rock Tour or hell, even a Denny’s Tour like the PBA has, show me a statement from the company that its real and I’ll believe it. But anytime some snake oil salesman like Kevin Trudeau or a complete unknown like “Tim Dennis” comes along hyping big paydays for a sport that doesn’t draw dick for TV ratings, I’m not gonna hold my breath.

More on this when Tim Dennis releases his “official statement”.

This just goes to show that you don’t need to be 21 to be sexy. As pool player hotties go, Loree Jon is an absolute fox. She’s classy and doesn’t feel the need to skank it up with bikini shots and FHM spreads (not that there’s anything wrong with skanking it up, by the way). Plus, she gets extra points for being a BCA Hall of Fame member and even though she doesn’t play much unless that shill Kevin Trudeau asks her to, she could still probably wipe the floor with the majority of the WPBA tour players on any given day.

Don’t believe me as to her hotness? Check out her photo gallery on her website and see for yourself. Loree Jon is all kinds of MILFy goodness!

I’m not sure if any of you have read the article in Details Magazine on IPT scumbag Kevin Trudeau, but if you haven’t, take the time to go over to Details.com and read the article. The article goes into great detail about how the ex-con who had been convicted of credit card fraud and shut down by the FTC from ever running another infomercial duped an industry into believing that he would come in and legitimize pool.

The question of course is where should the blame be pointed? Everyone who ponied up for an IPT card knew they were getting in bed with a hustler. Like sheep, the industry lined up with fists full of cash to sign up for a tour run by a guy who advertised that his Coral Calcium Supreme was a cure for colon cancer.

Trudeau was just doing the same thing he’s always done: Target a group of people willing to buy into any quick fix and take advantage of them. The billiards industry and all the publications should be ashamed of themselves for cozying up to this guy and proclaiming him savior while writing fluff pieces as Billiards Digest did in 2005.

Just keep in mind next time that when you climb in bed with a scorpion, prepare to get stung… a lot.

[digg=http://www.digg.com/other_sports/Kevin_Trudeau_and_the_IPT]

This text has been leaked and is apparently an email from IPT founder Kevin Trudeau to the players on his “Tour”. Can’t confirm the legitimacy of the email first hand, but multiple sources have said it is the real deal.

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Dear IPT Players & Entrants of the 2007 Tour Card Qualifiers,

The IPT 2007 Season has still not been determined. We are still in the process of revamping our business model based on the unforeseen legislation outlawing on-line gaming in the United States. Without our major online casino sponsor, the IPT must undergo a substantial change to its business model. I would like to see the IPT make a strong comeback from this dramatic setback that we have had to deal with. The most important updates are as follows:

• Players from the 2006 World Open will continue to be paid monthly until you are paid in full. Payments will be made on the first of each month. No payment will be made February 1st. The next payment will be March 1st, 2007. The amount of each payment will be determined each month and may vary from time to time. It is our full intention to get everyone paid in full within the next six months.

• As I mentioned previously, for all those who entered 2007 Tour Card qualification tournaments, if we are not capable of fulfilling our commitments relating to the 2007 Tour, you will be refunded your enrollment fee. We plan on making an announcement on April 15, outlining the 2007 & 2008 seasons.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we deal with these challenging and unavoidable market-condition situations.

I do have a request for everyone receiving this email. I love the game of pool and I am very much committed to continuing to invest my own money and time to making the IPT a successful reality for many years to come. I need to know if you, the players, want the IPT to flourish. I need to know if I have your support. If you, the players, could care less if the IPT continues operating, and if you, the players do not support me in this endeavor, then it would be foolish of me to continue pursuing this tour. Therefore, I request that you respond to this email letting me know if you want this tour to exist and if you support me personally.

I hope that together we can build a successful tour. Thank you again for all of your encouragement, support, and patience up until this point.

Very truly yours,

Kevin Trudeau
Founder, IPT

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Why anyone listens to this snake-oil salesman is beyond me. It is clear (and has been clear for sometime) that the IPT is going to fold and leave players with empty wallets. All Trudeau has to do is have the IPT file for bankruptcy, protecting himself and the company from being forced to pay out the absurd prize money he promised.