Deno Andrews
Director
International Pool Tour
www.internationalpooltour.com
30 April 2006
Press Release
Dear IPT Supporter:
The IPT has undergone incredible growth over the last few months. Building a profitable international pool tour is a huge undertaking. It takes a tremendous commitment in financial resources, manpower, and time. Something of this magnitude does not happen overnight. The IPT is fully committed for the long term. We have the financial resources, business expertise, long-term vision, and exciting future corporate partners that will ensure that the IPT continues to grow and expand for many, many years to come!
Click on "Read More..." for updates on various issues.
Worldwide TV Contracts - There has been tremendous worldwide interest in the purchasing of the King of the Hill TV series, and acquiring rights to broadcasting the entire 2006 season. The bidding war and negotiations amongst all the television broadcasters has been exciting and time consuming. We have made our decisions and will be announcing the exact times and networks that will handle the IPT 2006 tournament schedule within the next two weeks. The King of the Hill Tournament will be six one-hour episodes and a two-hour finale. Each episode is designed to appeal to the 95 percent of people who do not watch billiards on television. These episodes will be run in primetime in America, the UK, Europe, and Asia. The 2006 IPT tournaments will include three hours per day of live broadcasting on television in primetime in Europe and Asia. Recorded broadcasts will be in Prime Time in America. This is unprecedented television coverage, and it is only the beginning of bigger and better things to come. We are turning pool into a true “sport.” We are also working on finalizing broadcasting rights in Canada, Australia, Mexico, South America, and several other worldwide markets. We will be announcing the TV broadcast schedule within the next two weeks.
IPT Staff - The IPT staff has grown to over 15 full-time people in the U.S. We continue to recruit and hire top quality staff members for our Chicago office and plan on opening offices in Europe and Asia very soon. Within the next few months we anticipate over 50 IPT staff in offices around the world.
DVDs - It is our intention to have available on DVD and for downloading, every match from the King of the Hill Tournament. The editing and production will take several more months. At each major tournament we intend on filming feature matches and having those available on DVD and for downloading as well. Our complete library of taped matches should be current by fall 2006. The IPT will be producing several more instructional DVDs featuring top IPT players. Look for these DVDs by the end of the year. Any comments and suggestions on how to shoot the matches to make them better for pool aficionados would be appreciated. We want to produce DVDs of the matches that the pool public will be excited about.
IPT Website - We are in the process of bringing in the required resources to produce a website with more features than any other website in billiards. These will include:
Real time scoring of all qualifying tournaments and major tournaments.
Live video streaming from all tournaments.
Interactive online pool matches and tournaments. These will include:
Million dollar online pool tournaments, as well as real money matches.
Billiard equipment and training aids at the best prices anywhere in the world. We intend to be the number one billiards supply site in the world.
Huge photo galleries and player profiles, audio and video interviews and lessons with the top players.
Live call-in shows with top players.
Message boards, chat rooms, and much more.
Announcers and Hosts - Within the next three weeks we will be announcing the TV broadcast team for the 2006 season.
Healthcare for Players - We are working on details for providing health insurance for all IPT players. Details will be announced at the North American Open at the Venetian.
IPT Pension - A pension and retirement program will be announced at the North American Open at the Venetian. This is designed to provide security for players who dedicate their life to the game. This, combined with health insurance and guaranteed annual income for IPT Members, should dramatically increase the number of players who decide to make playing pool a career on the IPT.
Corporate Partners - The rumors are true! In the last several months several multibillion dollar organizations have expressed interest in acquiring the IPT in full or in part. Having a major worldwide multibillion dollar organization as a partner in the IPT has many advantages. It would provide additional security and peace of mind to the players with the knowledge that the IPT will be here for many, many years to come. There are also many other marketing and financial advantages for the IPT players as well. All discussions are highly confidential and any announcements regarding this will be made at the appropriate time. There is a good chance that we will be making a major announcement at the players meeting at the North American Open at the Venetian, Las vegas.
IPT Cloth - Gorina has been selected to manufacturer our tournament cloth to our very unique and specific requirements. There is no cloth in the world currently that is identical to the IPT tournament cloth. This slow nap cloth combined with the tight pockets of the IPT Diamond table, and with no breaking from the side rail, means that it is difficult to make balls on the break. This is the most significant reason this cloth was selected. With fast worsted cloth, even on a table with tight pockets, it is relatively easy to pocket two or three balls on the break. In our testing it was shown that on the same Diamond table, the worsted cloth produced 97 percent of the time at least one ball pocketed. This was compared to only 52 percent of the time a ball was pocketed with the IPT slow nap cloth. On the worsted cloth 65 percent of the time two or more balls were pocketed. This compared to only 22 percent of the time where two or more balls were pocketed with the IPT nap cloth. On the worsted cloth balls were tied up only 18 percent of the time. On the IPT nap cloth balls were tied up 42 percent of the time. In this test, the nap cloth had been broken in for three weeks of solid play; it was not new cloth.
What this means is that breaking and running out on the IPT nap cloth is much more difficult. In order to break and run out on the IPT nap cloth you must possess a very powerful break, knowledge of running patterns, pinpoint cue ball control, and incredible accuracy with a powerful stroke. It has been proven that the harder you hit the cue ball the less accurate the shot becomes. These factors dramatically reduce luck. These conditions will mean that the better player will more consistently win. IPT Tournament Conditions, like the U.S. Open golf conditions, are designed to make luck much less of a factor. To win an IPT Tournament, a player must have tremendous physical and mental stamina, ability to handle pressure, knowledge of running patterns, a high degree of accurate shot making, a powerful stroke, a powerful break, and excellent cue ball control. The winner must possess all of these skills. IPT Champions will not be lucky. They will be true athletes who have the mind, knowledge, skills, and physical fitness to be the best. Available now.
IPT Tournament Balls - SALUC of Belgium has been selected to manufacture IPT Tournament Balls to our very specific requirements. These will be the highest quality, longest lasting, and truest playing billiard balls in the world. These will be released in June.
IPT Chalk - The IPT has commissioned a major manufacturer to produce the IPTs official chalk. This chalk uses the most expensive and highest quality ingredients and manufacturing processes available anywhere in the world. It is by far the highest quality chalk in the world. It is ideal for multiple environmental conditions. Available now.
IPT Sardo Rack - The Sardo Rack has been selected as the official rack of the IPT. Using this rack guarantees fairness. Every player gets the exact same perfect rack every time. Available now.
IPT Tournament Table - Diamond has been selected to manufacture the IPT Tournament Table to our unique and specifications. These tables are designed to last. They play consistently the same year after year. They are also designed to play tougher than other tables. Players must be accurate, guaranteeing the more skilled and accurate player will more consistently win.
Corporate Sponsors - The IPT has generated interest for major corporations including insurance, financial services, automobiles, beer and liquor companies, credit cards, and several other industries. They are huge world-wide corporate interests in providing long term sponsorship agreements for the IPT. Since the IPT is fully funded, we are being prudent in evaluating all sponsorship offers currently being presented. We may choose to accept outside sponsorship in the future. More announcements on this will be made at the North American Open at the Venetian, Las Vegas.
Wagering on Tournaments - On-line sports books and casino sports books are discussing the possibility of accepting wagering on the major tournaments and possibly qualifiers. There are many legal and jurisdictional issues that are being reviewed. More details will be forthcoming when available.
Look for many more announcements to be coming within the next two months.
Very truly yours,
Deno Andrews, Director
International Pool Tour
www.internationalpooltour.com