Tuesday 4th October 2005

44 Entries,  4 Tournaments, 21 Players, £255 Prize Fund.
Ray Fard wind the Jackpot.
Not bad for only our second evening.
 

The 8 Player, 7 Pointer, £25 Obligatory Pool didn't happen because there were not enough Players present who wanted to play for this much - no worries.

So I offered a 16 Player, 5 Pointer £10 Obligatory Pool and had 15 Players sign up straight away. The Draw was done and play commenced by 7.30 p.m. The 16th Player arrived at 7.45 making the 1st Tournament full.

Next up was a 16 Player, 5 Pointer, £5 Optional Pool. As Players lost in the 1st Round of the 1st Tournament they played in this 2nd Tournament. I made it a 16 Player in case more Players turned up but they didn't so I closed it at 8 Players. 7 entered the Pool making that £35.

After that I ran an 8 Player, 3 Pointer, £5 Optional Pool Tournament. It was full by 9.00 p.m. and 6 Players entered the Pool making that £30.

Last up was a 16 Player, 1 Pointer, £3 Optional Pool Tournament. This one was full by 10.00 p.m. and 10 players entered the Pool making that £30 as well.

We had a Quiz set by Phil Simborg, 9 Players entered it, 3 got the correct move and 1 got the tie-breaker exactly correct.

Some players elected to eat, others didn't and I had no complaints apart from a couple of Players who said the music was a little too loud - I'll talk to Dave the Landlord about that before next time.

I asked Players to tell me honestly if they had enjoyed their evening and they all said they had.

I requested that Players tell other Players, have printed 1000 flyers, will try to get the event publicised in the press and I'm determined to have 30 - 40 players there next month.

Backgammon in Camden is on the scene.

 

Ok - the 2nd Backgammon in Camden and I was hoping for 30 - 40 Players. If London Town can't have a well populated Backgammon Club what Town in the country can? As it happened we had 21 players: 4 better than last month, at least 9 less than I had hoped for but, looking on the bright side, more than any other London midweek backgammon events attracts. We're on the way.

Looking further into the feasibility of this becoming a regular evening (we're on a 3 month trial in The Lockside Lounge) we need 30 - 40 players to turn up every month. This is because the set-up is that the bar pay me to run the evening rather than players being charged to play. In order for the bar to warrant paying me they need a certain number of people spending money in their establishment. That number is minimum 30 people. So if every player brings along another player - Londoners will have a new Backgammon Club. If that doesn't happen - it's simply - I'll have to stop doing it.

Ah ha, I hear some of you saying - so Mike is making a small fortune out of this - he's doing it for profit and will be rubbing his hands with glee if we all turn up. Hah, not so. Those of you who know me know full well I'm a lousy business man and that I spend more on backgammon than I make. I admit that 5 years ago when I set up Backpacker Backgammon my intention was to make a living out of backgammon - but that is still in the pipe dream stage and to all intents and purposes I must now admit that that it all it will ever be.

I don't feel the need to divulge just what the bar pay me, but suffice to say a DJ wouldn't turn out to the bar for what I'm doing this for. My payment does cover my costs, but not a lot more. My love of backgammon is great, but I'll be damned if I organise evenings that cost me money to do so. Besides I know what I'm doing, I run a pretty good evening and some players are walking away with pockets a full.

Just as importantly the evening is not costing tournament and workshop players money unless they choose to enter Pools and lose because there is no registration fee and I'm not taking a cut from the Pools. Can anybody name me another games evening in London that does not cost the Players? Because backgammon players are so loathed to pay for a T.D. - yet want a good T.D. - I've set this venture up with that in mind.

You've got your cake -now eat it or you'll lose it. BRING A FRIEND.

 

Mike Main