Alan from Pastimes here.
So… I was going to ignore the comments here. People have a problem with our prizes or some of the decisions we make in our organization… well, everyone has their differences of opinion. A friend of mine likes to say “opinions are like belly buttons – everybody has one.”
But.
But, I have decided that I cannot sit by when people are rude, abusive, immature and bigoted about my staff. You want to have it out with my decisions – no problem. We can chat all day and realize that it comes down to a difference of opinion (not that mine cannot be changed). You want to be offensive to one of the people who actually make it possible for you to have the events and to who I believe are the backbones of competitive play – sorry, it doesn’t float.
I will go on record here as saying that there are going to be people who will not agree with what I have to say here – and I am not going to sway them. I am hoping those of you who read their inane comments will also read this and realize that there is actually another side to the story – other than the squeaky wheels.
So now you have me talking….(do you know how long winded I am? Sorry in advance – but please read)
So… away we go!
Vroman:
(A) so I finish in 6th place out of 81 players, and win...
(B) a fucking swamp
(C) thats right, pastimes took in two grand, and gives out guru swamps as 5th-8th prizes. if this is how vintage tourneys are run now, then I do not regret retiring at all. allow me to make myself clear:
Fuck you, Pastimes. do not expect stl vintage players back at your events.
(D) also our head judge was Kim Jong Il who sounded like he was having a hernia every time he opened his mouth.
Alan:
A: Guess you should have won first and taken home the Beta Sapphire….
B: We value the Guru Lands at about $30-$40 (the last few to end on Ebay were over $35 and Star City sells them for $40…) Sorry you don’t collect them – maybe you can trade them to someone who cares… there are obviously plenty of people out there that do. (I will get into the prize support issue in a sec… please keep reading)
C: While we are always sorry to see players unhappy… I am sure we will figure out a way to have the tournaments go on without you. OR, we can actually have a discussion and see if there is not a way for both sides to be happy (at least about prizes… about you being an immature bigot – well, I can’t help that…. )
D: Oh yeah… that comment. Nice. I am not really sure how to reply to people on this except that if you made that comment in front of me during an event you would be ejected for unsportsmanlike idiocy and removed from the venue permanently. Wow – that would have solved so many issues! Seriously… I am sure you thought that was funny… and I guess we know what camp that puts you in.
Ah… and more enlightened comments from “John Jones”
“and the head judge/what ever the fuck the guy was (really dumb hair cut, kinda parted to the side, looks like a pedophile)”
Alan: “John”, while I am sure you are a thing of beauty (don’t know who you are or what you look like) I would like to think that if I saw you I would not pass judgment (certainly not on a public forum) regarding what your “interests” are… Seriously… after you posted this you know you went back and read it…and you really thought that was necessary, smart or fair?
Okay folks – let’s chat about what has been bugging many of you and not about the stupid comments made by people who … well, I don’t know what the hell they were thinking.
1. Structure. Why was this Swiss+1 and not Swiss with a cut to a Top 8?
Answer: When we set up the Grand Prix we wanted to get in a solid Vintage event. Sunday was the spot where we could put it – but we did not want to compete directly with the PTQ in the morning. We wanted to run a big Extended tournament on Saturday afternoon as prep for the PTQ and Saturday night we wanted anyone who had their Legacy deck from the GP to be able to play in another event. So again, Sunday afternoon it was. We expected around 50 players which would be six rounds of Swiss which would end at around 9 p.m. A cut to a Top 8 would have the event ending after Midnight. We had to be completely cleared out of the hall by Midnight (completely – move out was before that). Also, every one of the judges and ops personnel had basically been on hand since early Friday… we knew it would be a LONG weekend. With these bits I called some folks from WoTC to discuss Swiss+1 and found that it is becoming very standard for events at the Public Events area of Pro Tours, Nationals etc… I was well aware that it was not ideal – but it was about the only option we had. So we advertised it as Swiss +1 so people would know ahead of time and could decide whether they wanted to play in this event or not…. It was every player’s choice whether to play in this event or not – obviously. We knew that we might lose players based on the event being Swiss+1, but it was a conscious choice that was WELL discussed in advance.
And then we come to the weekend of the event and I have a bunch of people asking me to switch it… and I really considered switching it. I considered making it Swiss with a cut, Single Elim, straight Swiss… several options. And in the end, I went with what we advertised… and you know why….. because no matter what I chose – I would lose. If I changed it, some people would complain that it was advertised as Swiss+1 and they planned to get home before midnight. If I made it any format – there would be a group that was not happy. So we left the structure as advertised – so everyone was aware of what they were getting into when they started. Again – I am not saying I would do it the same way again… I would seriously consider the different options – but I had to make a decision and I thought this was the best one.
2. Prizes. I won’t quote anyone from the forums here, but let’s just say that some of you thought they were not “fair”.
Answer: What’s “fair.” First, please understand what I do for a living… I run events and I sell games. That is how I pay for my kids to eat and how I pay to put a roof over my family’s head. That is what I do. Every week we risk paying for rent, prizes and employees with the hopes to turn a profit so my employees can keep their jobs and I can keep my store. Sometimes we win… sometimes we lose. In this forum you guys are deciding what is “fair” for me to make from this event. In my opinion we gave away about $1100-$1300 in cards (Beta Sapphire, Grim Tutor, a couple Foil Polluted Deltas (I think) and 4 Guru Lands . If only 15 of you had shown up, would you have been “ok” if I had said, “well – we didn’t get enough people to justify giving away the Beta Sapphire, so here is a Library and a Mana Drain instead.” I don’t think that would have sat well with you.
And please consider a couple of other expenses that a store or organizer has when putting on an event… - the venue and the staff. There were three judges for this event (not counting the scorekeeper as he was doing other events as well). The venue was hugely expensive – and yes, there was a big GP to pay for that – but we did not know how many would be there for the GP and we have to count all the events towards the bottom line. You can also throw in the fact that the Vintage event, as part of the overall event, also cost me for: insurance, clean-up, tables, chairs, P/A and security. Those were all costs that I incurred when running this event. And we take all the events income towards those costs.
I also strongly believe that the majority of what we provide is entertainment. If you are not playing Magic for fun… you really are in the wrong thing…. So, my guess is that about half of the people reading this or more have gone to see Watchmen (what did you think? Me, about 2 ˝ stars). I know that when I went, I paid $12 for my IMAX ticket and $9 for popcorn and a diet coke – (now you want to talk about unfair!) So I dropped about $20 for a movie that barely entertained me for two hours. There was no personal attention. If I called “judge” during that movie I would have been thrown out! I left with nothing but a memory from the movie and butter stains on my shirt. But I knew going in it was a cost of entertainment. I figured I deserved to take the standee in the lobby as a prize for being there – but silly me, they threatened to call the police! It sounds to me like most folks had a really good time at the GP and at the Vintage tournament – which is my goal. Handing out over a thousand dollars of prize seemed like a fun extra!
I know that a lot of stores run events and give back everything in prizes. I have three comments about that: 1. Look at how many stores have gone out of business in the past 10 years for not worrying about their bottom line. (Pastimes is now in its 18th year) 2. They are not worried about making money on their event (foolish) , they are just hoping you will buy cards, candy or whatever. I hope this works for them – it is not my model. 3. When those stores go out of business, you lose places to play. Support them, they need you and you need them!
As far as handing everything back in prizes, I can’t afford to do this. You all want events – even big events? You need organizers who are willing to take a risk and who will put up prizes (umm… there was a Beta Mox Sapphire guaranteed here) and have certified judges etc… Sometimes we make money on our events, sometime we do not. (Someone said we made 60% from this event - it actually comes out to about 15-20%) I look at our event income at the end of the year and hope it is in the black – so that next year I can be back and seeing you at even more fun events!
Okay – I am almost off my soapbox, and I know I did not answer every comment from this thread. But please read a couple more things:
1. If you are ever upset about how an event is set up, the prizes, a judge, or how a scorekeeper handled something – find the Organizer and talk to them. We do honestly like mature feedback! That doesn’t mean we agree, it means that we can actually dialogue about what the issue is. Don’t be abusive, don’t start name calling or be a jerk – try talking TO the organizer, not behind his back about him and the people who helped make the event a fun event that was run with integrity.
And while I am not saying that people should not air their feelings on public boards – maybe you want to take a breath and contact the person you are going to accuse in advance of that and see what they have to say. Maybe there is a good reason it happened and then you don’t have to post. Maybe you still disagree in which case you can always post afterwards.
2. If you have issues with Pastimes and any part of our organization you can email me directly – alan @ pastimes . net If it is serious, please call our store at 847-470-9636 and tell them you need to speak to me.
I LIKE TO TALK TO PLAYERS. If you have an idea, suggestion or want to become involved – let me know. I am insanely interested and approachable.
3. DO NOT INSULT MY JUDGES OR OTHER STAFF. While I am extremely patient and understand that sometimes things do not go your way… there is no excuse for this. NONE. And it will not be tolerated. I seriously hope that after this post some of the people here will re-think what they have said and consider editing and apologizing… and even then I am not sure that it will do any good. Cat is out of the bag on this…. And I am debating what I am going to do about it.
Thanks everyone for “listening”, feel free to be in touch. I hope to see you soon.
Alan
www.pastimes.net
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If someone is standing behind you or next to you - politely, ask them to move away. If they do not, call a judge. This is the number one place bags get stolen. Clear your area before you get set up to play.
