I’ve got a potpourri of opinions and observations about the NEW Derby City Classic. This year marked the 11th Annual DCC and as always, it was great to see a lot of people and players, visiting with new friends and old. The quality of the play is as mind boggling as ever and it is the one and only event in the world each year to see bank pool and one-pocket played by the world’s best. These two games are best sweated in person. If you’ve never seen these players live and have only seen these two games via webcasts or DVD’s, you must witness it live. I’ll explain why in more detail in another post.
Unfortunately, I’m very sad to report that if the Derby City staff does not do some serious damage control from this year, there won’t be anything left of our “most highly anticipated tournament of the year” but a logo on the back-side of a Diamond smart table token.
The DCC has always been the tournament stop of the year for me. I have recommended it to pool players for years and I have always loved every minute of it. I’ve spent hours since I’ve returned home reflecting upon my experience this year and found it difficult finding a positive to complement each negative that comes to mind.
Regarding the new venue:
The Executive West
- The EW was outgrown several years ago and it was hope that this new spacious venue would allow fewer bottle necks and continued growth for the event. There was loads of extra room in every part of the Horseshoe complex except for the playing area. The hotel was a mile and a quarter from the tournament room. The casino is at the complete other end of the complex. The third branch was the vendor aisle that stretched away from the tournament venue and towards the casino parking garage. The long, cavernous corridors effectively spread players and spectators apart.
Smoking
- Smoking is prohibited in the tournament room but was blatantly ignored in the TAR room. People literally stood in the door way to/from any tournament room.
- Poor placement of the bar directly outside of the tournament room was a congregation area for smokers. You had to jog through 30 feet of open air to avoid smoke.
- This was a step backwards because the last couple of years at the Executive West, smoking was done outdoors only. 3-4 years back, at the EW, the corridors full of vendors was smoking and it seems we’ve returned to that. At the Horseshoe, you could smoke and lean over vendors’ tables if you were so rude to do that.
- One of the main complaints I heard about the venue was the lack of fresh air. Granted we were in a cold snap but air in the entire venue was stale and stinky.
Food
- The food seemed slightly better in the new venue but not worth three times the price. Staffing issues due to the “storms†kept a couple of restaurants closed.
Tables
- The tables were too close together. Even smaller players like Ralf and Jose, examining shots, leaned their behinds on an adjacent table to get a closer look. I noticed that I had to wait on players to shoot more than ever.
Spectators and Players
- Spectators were not happy with the new venue. At first appearance, it seemed glamorous and exciting with the tiered seating and upstairs viewing, but there was actually less room for spectators. Cut backs by tournament staffing were such that they never checked VIP – I never saw anybody checking wristbands.
- Of the 16 tables in the main pit, the four on the ends had lights suspended by the light rigging and the other 16 were suspended by cables. Raised platforms with a row of chairs were only available for 8 of the 16 pit tables and they were single row seats whereas the EW had two rows of seats on the elevated platforms. I didn’t see too many people taking advantage of the upstairs seating to view the pit tables. The large, full sized diamond lights hampered the view on some of the tables. It also just doesn’t seem natural to watch pool from that angle.
- Of the 20 tables upstairs, there were maybe four tables that had decent seating where you weren’t in cue reach of the player. Worse than that, most of the tables were walkways to the overhead viewing areas so there was a trickle of overhead viewers walking through. Just like downstairs, the two tables next to the backdrop of the Accu-stats arena had draping and banners that had to be moved by players, especially tall ones like Shawn Putnam or Scott Frost.
Part II coming soon with more thoughts on the 2009 DCC.
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