Rumble in Reno Tournament

[NewToBowling]

Read about this on another board

http://www.rumbleinreno.com/

$10K entry fee for a chance to win $325K first place price.

To be honest with $10K the payout better be more than that. At least $1M

[vdubtx]

$10k entry?? Wow.

The house that they are bowling in isn't the nicest place either. We tried bowling in the Bowling This Month tournament when we were in Reno last year and the lanes and center were horrible.

[NewToBowling]

Probably end up with 90% pros - Belmonte, Barnes, Rash, etc

Payout is way more than winning any of the majors.

Would be funny if use an easy THS pattern for this tournament.

[jab5325]

If they were serious....it would be nice if they came up with a more professional website.

[NewToBowling]

Would be more "interesting" if it were a handicap tournament. Imagine the sandbaggers showing up in droves.

[Aslan]

Probably end up with 90% pros - Belmonte, Barnes, Rash, etc

Payout is way more than winning any of the majors.

I doubt the pros would be able to afford to go. This looks like something for rich guys with a gambling addiction. The only way to really get something like this going would be to have big local tournaments where the 1st place and maybe 2nd place get an entry into this...like they do a lot in poker. Satellite tourneys. You could have a scratch league where ya pay $25/week for a year and the top two finishers get a spot in the Reno tournament.

But asking someone to pay 10k...in a sport like bowling where there can be a lot of bad breaks that can derail you...for only < 375k?? And where does the rest of the money go? It's based on 128 entries...that's 1.28 million. So first place gets roughly 30%. I have a sneaking suspicion the company putting this on takes a nice little "fee". And that's where the money is. According to the payout...$192,000 (15%) is set aside for "expenses". So a tournament held at a dive hotel in Reno costs $192,000 to put on?

And how many times do you see, "Bowler forfeits their entry fee IF..." I mean, you miss roll call...you're out 10k. You sneeze sideways...you're out 10k. You fart inside the building...you're out 10k.

But, at least it's scratch. I can't IMAGINE the sandbag Olympics that would ensue if something like this were handicap. I mean, abta is 'suspect'...when the same Asian people that run the tournaments seem to keep winning over and over again and somehow their averages never go up much each season...but something like this??? Yikes.

[foreverincamo]

I thought this tournament was just an urban legend. Heard about it a month ago. Couldn't even do a satellite for it unless you had 100 people fork over $100 for a winner take all shot. Crazy

[Mike White]

I thought this tournament was just an urban legend. Heard about it a month ago. Couldn't even do a satellite for it unless you had 100 people fork over $100 for a winner take all shot. Crazy

Why not run a couple different levels of satellites.

$1000+ buy in with 10 entries paying out $10000 for first.

and

$100+ buy in with 10 entries paying out $1000 for first.


That way you can parlay your $100+ into an entry into the main event.

[fortheloveofbowling]

They will have a hard time pulling that off. About 10 years ago there was a tournament scheduled to pay out 1 million for first with a 1,000 entry. That tournament didn't even come close to the entries required to make it happen. A lot of people had a hard time getting back their entry fees as well. We are just so far removed from the hey day of mega buck tournament success. Back at the height of their success tons of guys were willing to lay down 1,000 and risk losing the first match and be out. Would be cool to see this happen though.

[NewToBowling]

I understand $1K entry fee even if it risks having 10x more bowlers but it's at least feasible. Not many people would be willing to pony up $10K

[Aslan]

The obvious sign that it was probably "poo"...besides the below average website...was the $192,000 administrative payout.

I've seen a lot of tournaments put on for 50-200 bowlers...and they didn't have NEAR $200,000 in administrative cost. This seems like a group of guys that thought they could make a year's salary by just putting on some Kingpin (movie) like spectacle. But the PBA could never get $10k entry fees for the WSOB or USBC Masters. And thousands of amateurs take part in the USBC Open, but that's less than $500 total for multiple events and sidepots, etc... AND it's handicap. The closest I've seen to this is the ABT tournament where you could theoretically be in for $400-$1200 for a chance at 10-40k. But again, it's handicap.

With today's technology, it's not like the old days where the pros were just so much more talented that they would win almost every time against an amateur. Now, you get an amateur and pro throwing similar equipment...on a pattern that is short or dry or inconsistent...and anyone can beat anyone. Sure, over the course of 21 games...the cream rises to the top and a lot of those amateurs get exposed. We saw that with Action Jackson in the WSOB last year and Mike J. on the senior tour...guys that quickly realized the big leagues were the BIG leagues. But in a 3-game match? For 10K? On a house shot? I've seen horrible bowlers (in terms of form) bowl 279-298 games on house patterns. You could easily have a pro using a urethane ball trying to stay right of the headpin...;leave a few splits...and suddenly they get beat by Booker T. Nobody and they're out 10k. Not a big deal if Storm is paying the entry...but other than Storm...can any other ball company even afford to enter ONE player?

Hell...we should get a share of that $192,000 just for talking about it. Lord knows nobody else is.

[dnhoffman]

10k to play for 325? Pass!