TMD OPEN X - January 13-14 Stratford, CT.

[iamfishman]

Any further details on the room rate with the Ramada?  This is less than a month away and I'd like to make reservations.

Thanks!

Glad you mentioned it.  I finally got in touch with the Ramada and a room rate has been established(assuming 10 rooms each night which should be a definite). 

Call and ask for the CARD TOURNAMENT RATE...it is $69 and applies to Friday and Satruday night of the TMD OPEN weekend.

EDIT*** It is not the case that block of rooms has been set up with a special rate.  The way the Ramada did it was they reserved the rooms, and you just have to call and confirm with your name and credit card.  Therefore, don't ask for "the CARD TOURNAMENT RATE", but rather ask to book one of the rooms in the CARD TOURNAMENT reservation.  These are the $69 rooms.


Be sure to reserve your room ASAP, as there are only 10 rooms and they won't last very long at this price.

[Dxfiler]

My understanding is half the rooms are already gone, as they have been transformed into the icbm compound :p

- Dave Feinstein

[nataz]

Another 20% of the rooms are now spoken for. Were there really only ten? How many were we filling at previous myriads?

[Myriad Games]

Nataz, do you mean previous Waterburies / TMD Opens?

I don't know how many hotel rooms we've filled at previous Myriad Games tournaments, but I would put it in the single digits.   

At any rate, I'm definitely psyched about this event!

[Kowal]

EDIT*** It is not the case that block of rooms has been set up with a special rate.  The way the Ramada did it was they reserved the rooms, and you just have to call and confirm with your name and credit card.  Therefore, don't ask for "the CARD TOURNAMENT RATE", but rather ask to book one of the rooms in the CARD TOURNAMENT reservation.  These are the $69 rooms.

What the crap?  That's a tremendously screwy way to do things.  Speaking from my experience here at the Clarion working front desk and group sales, this sort of situation should be handled in one of two ways.

1) The "Card Tournament Rate"
As described by Ray earlier, this is a contracted and negotiated rate.  In order to establish this, Ray needs to guarantee them a number of rooms.  As the guarantee increases, the rate decreases.  This needs to be negotiated long before any rooms are actually booked, and if the guarantee is not met the party masterminding the group (in this case Ray) would be legally obliged to pay the full costs including tax of the remaining rooms.  This is a big deal, and unless you're looking at 20+ rooms, the discount would not be significant.  This is a far more common setup for things like weddings or abnormally large family gatherings, where you can speak with specific people ahead of time and confirm whether or not they'll be in attendance.

2) The Duplicate Reservation
We handle a significant amount of reservations at my hotel with this method.  Essentially, there is a single room set up in the computer the moment the first reservation is confirmed.  This is also a negotiated rate, but is not guaranteed or contractual in any way, and therefore much more fitting for a magic event.  Every time someone else asks to book a room under the group, rather than actually book a room under a group account, the existing reservation is duplicated and the personal information like name and address are replaced.  In the world of hotel sales, this can be considered very similar to an "ATB" group, which means that there's no limit to the number of rooms you can reserve with this discount, other than the limit of rooms in the hotel.  The actual group account method is much safer, especially for the aforementioned wedding example, because you can set aside a specific number of rooms that can't be reserved by anyone outside of your party.  This is a big deal on weekends which would otherwise be at least fairly busy with full rate business.


To already have a number of reservations generated is really bizarre.  It severely hampers their ability to accurately determine what rooms in their hotel are left available, and without any sort of a written contract on the part of Ray they risk screwing their sales a bit.  On the bright side, this setup is greatly beneficial to Ray, as he has both a guaranteed number of rooms available and no contractual obligation.  That is, as they say, the hot.

[iamfishman]

EDIT*** It is not the case that block of rooms has been set up with a special rate.  The way the Ramada did it was they reserved the rooms, and you just have to call and confirm with your name and credit card.  Therefore, don't ask for "the CARD TOURNAMENT RATE", but rather ask to book one of the rooms in the CARD TOURNAMENT reservation.  These are the $69 rooms.

What the crap?  That's a tremendously screwy way to do things.  Speaking from my experience here at the Clarion working front desk and group sales, this sort of situation should be handled in one of two ways.

1) The "Card Tournament Rate"
As described by Ray earlier, this is a contracted and negotiated rate.  In order to establish this, Ray needs to guarantee them a number of rooms.  As the guarantee increases, the rate decreases.  This needs to be negotiated long before any rooms are actually booked, and if the guarantee is not met the party masterminding the group (in this case Ray) would be legally obliged to pay the full costs including tax of the remaining rooms.  This is a big deal, and unless you're looking at 20+ rooms, the discount would not be significant.  This is a far more common setup for things like weddings or abnormally large family gatherings, where you can speak with specific people ahead of time and confirm whether or not they'll be in attendance.

2) The Duplicate Reservation
We handle a significant amount of reservations at my hotel with this method.  Essentially, there is a single room set up in the computer the moment the first reservation is confirmed.  This is also a negotiated rate, but is not guaranteed or contractual in any way, and therefore much more fitting for a magic event.  Every time someone else asks to book a room under the group, rather than actually book a room under a group account, the existing reservation is duplicated and the personal information like name and address are replaced.  In the world of hotel sales, this can be considered very similar to an "ATB" group, which means that there's no limit to the number of rooms you can reserve with this discount, other than the limit of rooms in the hotel.  The actual group account method is much safer, especially for the aforementioned wedding example, because you can set aside a specific number of rooms that can't be reserved by anyone outside of your party.  This is a big deal on weekends which would otherwise be at least fairly busy with full rate business.


To already have a number of reservations generated is really bizarre.  It severely hampers their ability to accurately determine what rooms in their hotel are left available, and without any sort of a written contract on the part of Ray they risk screwing their sales a bit.  On the bright side, this setup is greatly beneficial to Ray, as he has both a guaranteed number of rooms available and no contractual obligation.  That is, as they say, the hot.

Well...apparently, I have to put down a $200 deposit(which I will be bringing down this week).  This was to ensure that they would offer you guys a $69 rate.  If all the rooms don't sell they take it out of my $200. 

Sure, I may get screwed, but I figured it was important to offer my tournament goers a discounted room rate for those travelling from afar.

[Eastman]

I'm thinking I'll come out (of the West, unfortunately) for this one. Props to Ray (<3) for putting this round of "Waterbury" near an NYC commuter rail stop.

Deletion of moderation text is a serious offense.  Full Warning #2.  I'm not sure what's going on with you, but please give this a rest.  -DA

[iamfishman]

The bye list has been updated...of note...I messed up...because of attendance from the last TMD Open more slots handed down then I had previously recorded.

Of note:
TMD OPEN 9 Day 1: Rob Costanza
TMD OPEN 9 Day 1: Roger Sorino
TMD OPEN 9 Day 1: Justin Timoney
TMD OPEN 9 Day 1: Roland Chang

TMD OPEN 9 Day 2: Jeremiah Rudolph
TMD OPEN 9 Day 2: Jess Fico

have been added.

[iamfishman]

Bye List Updated

ALSO: A DEPERATE PLEA:

Every single big tournament I run, we have NUMEROUS people who make deck errors and are unfortunately forced to endure a game loss.  I assume, for many, this is a big tournamnet, so triple checking your decklist will help avoid making it an unejoyable one.

Make sure your main deck is 60.
Make sure your sideboard is 15.
Double check your list against your actual deck.
Do not abbreviate card names on a decklist.  There are MANY "tutors".
Arrive early and fill out your decklist carefully so as to not get a round one loss because you are late.  Unlikely other events, 11:00 does not mean we start at 12:15.

[forests failed you]

Alright, it is confirmed.  Michigan is going to be represented at the TMD open this year!  Mark Biller, Justin Droba and I will all be making the trek down for this event.  And, this isn't like all of those times where I say that we are comming and then don't show; we are actually going to be at the event!

I'm looking forward to seeing everybody again!

Cheers,
FFY

[iamfishman]

Just a note.  I've been informed by Howie that he just bought 2 huge collections and has a few dozen power cards for sale.  Just wanted to let anyone coming down know in case they were looking for the right time and place to acquire some power.

[Myriad Games]

Myriad Games will be adding to the TMD X prize support with both our signature Myriad Games Mana Cookies and a variety of useful Myriad Gear including Myriad Dice and Myriad Pens. We will be providing Myriad Games Magic Record Sheets (Double Sided) to help you keep match notes if you like.

Myriad Games is also donating an upgrade to the prize for the First to Beat Previous TMD Open Champion, Rich Meyst. In addition to the previously announced prize, the winner will also receive some cool versions of key cards from Rich's Championship Deck from the last TMD Open: "Worse Than Gro". These bonus cards include:

1 FOIL Vinelasher Kudzu
1 FOIL Wild Mongrel
1 FOIL Life from the Loam
1 FBB Strip Mine

Looking forward to a great weekend!

[Myriad Games]

I'd like to again thank Ray and all the people that made TMD X a success, including (but certainly not limited to) Derek McAtavey (Head Judge), Jarad Demick, Chris Kitzmiller, Mike Spencer, and Aaron Conole for judging, Howie and Gaming Etc. for hosting, and all my gracious and sporting opponents.