Cape Cod Type 1 Tournament. Like Always.

[Sytupal]

Hey hey guys.    I wish i was able to post this sooner though most of you know it's a monthly thing anyways.  

Where: The Gathering in Centerville on Cape Cod.

When:  Saturday March 26th starting at 3pm.  

What: Type 1 Five Proxy.  Like always you can pay $1 for each additional proxy

Prizes are based on attendance and it will be a $10 entry fee.  

Here's a prize structure based on 30 people for reference.

1st Place: $150
2nd Place: $50
3rd Place: $30
4rth Place: $25 In Store Credit
5th-8th Place: $10 in store credit each.


Again everyone, i apologize on the late notice of this tournament however Incase something does happen and i am unable to post an announcement, you can visit   www.capegames.com at any time.  It's a crappy site but it gets the info across.  with some short time and effort you can also find directions through the website as well.    

Again, thanks everyone and i hope at least some of you can make it for such a late announcement.

[doomhed]

[Kowal]

The cape always takes the last weekend.  They could claim their stuff has been scheduled since like August of last year.

That said, I can't make it to this.  3 hours is too much to ask for a cash tournament, sorry guys.

[Juggernaut GO]

If the store would guarantee a mox for first prize at $15 entry fee, I can guarantee attendence to cover the mox, thats for sure.  No one wants to drive that far for gas money, there has to be something to play for.

[Joblin Velder]

Woah. this is bullshit ppl.

MY tourney was posted over a month and a half in advance. this is now the 2nd time cape cod has done this to one of my events. this seems kinda petty and childish to step on the toes of another event.

my 2 cents

I like the PM function for resolving disputes. It prevents TOs from looking childish.

[Sytupal]

I thank Kowal for responding as fast as doomhed can post.  All of that aside, i share the same concerns and i see the same flaws in this tournament as everyone else does.  

As for what JuggernautGO has said.  we would be looking for a 30 person turnout in order to really hold a mox tournament down here and allow 2nd, 3rd and 4rth place to get a prize at a $15 entry fee.  

You say you can guarantee a turnout a 30 people at $15 entry fee.  I really would love that, however i am not the store owner so i cannot bank on really just you saying this.  Obviously i cannot expect you to pay the difference if we didn't make 30 people however the first thing my boss would say is just that.  

On the same wavelength, if i had enough people respond to this post with similar reasons as to why they cannot make it down here(ie: it's not worth the drive for a mere low cash entry) then i can show him this and it might give him the incentive to try it one month.  I really wish we could have mox tournaments here like we have had in the past.  Because they were a large success/  However, with us being on cape cod i would need a really strong supportive backing from all of you on TMD who would consider coming to our tournaments.  


I thank all of you who do share your concerns with me.

Doomhed: I apologize for how this may look to you but it's relatively common knowledge that our tournaments are held consistantly on the last saturday of every month.  Again, i apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused you during this month however i try to post as early as possible. This month was very hectic for me.



Kowal:  Thank you for saying what you did and also thanks for giving me a reason why.

[Juggernaut GO]

You have to be willing to accept a small loss if you want to continue gaining attendence.   I started hosting 10 dollar tournaments for power in november and took hits the first 2 times I had them.  January I broke even and February I finally made a profit.
 
Of course, the numbers are minute.  Even if you had 20 people shop up for 15 bucks a pop thats still an entry fee total of 300.  $300 dollars covers any mox except sapphire, and Im sure you wouldn't be putting that up at the first try.  However, as a store dealer, your prices are rather high for power cards, but you can't value them that high when you offer them as prizes.  You have to ask yourself "what would I realisticlly be able to sell this for in cash money, not trade"

You shouldn't be caught up on "losing money"  because at the most you might be taking a $100 loss on the tournament and that is more then made up with all the other stuff you have going on at your store, not to mention singles/packs/soda.  Try selling the pizza at a dollar a slice instead of giving it away.

As long as you make a guaranteed prize structure with something to play for, you will get people to go, and that is the bottom line.  Grow some balls, and have yourself a decent tournament.

[Joblin Velder]

I'd definitely be more interested if a mox was guaranteed. I know I'd be able to drag 4 or 5 with me if that was the case. As it stands, cash isn't a good enough reason.

[Demonic Attorney]

Meh.  Cash, Mox, whatever.  It's all the same to me.  If I can free up my weekend from the seemingly endless parade of reading assignments, I'll try to make an appearance.  I'd echo what everyone else has said about guaranteed prizes, but I think it's just a given that everyone feels that way at this point.

The last thing I want to comment on is some people's difficulties with pattern recognition.  One would think that when something had happened every month ad nauseum, it would be expected to continue.  Yet, some people are surprised.  

What's up with that?

[doomhed]

I checked the calendar on TMD, and the boards, and found no events listed for the date. Every event I have ever held has been trumped by something else, always after I make an announcement as to dates. I never pick a date if it is posted here first. it is just plain rude. this is why I am so peeved. if it is going to be monthly, how hard is it to post after the last event with the new date? it keeps ppl from getting mixed up.

[Kowal]

As far as I can tell, you're the only person mixed up.

[Sytupal]

This should honestly be something kept to pm's probably however i will say something that should be heard by everyone that has any interest in visiting the store anyways.


Doomhed:  If you would like me to send you a monthly calender of events that The Gathering holds i can do this for you.  I would even send it to you at the beginning of every month if you don't mind.  

Except in some very necessary situations, our event dates don't change by month.  

My store is packed each month by avid Warhammer players, Yu-Gi-Oh players, crazy Video Game Players, and of course our strong following of magic players, type 1 or type 2.  Each weekend has different events that fill up those days.  

For Reference:  Our last saturday of every month is always taken by our Cash Prize Magic Tournament.  
Our second to last Saturday is always taken by our Cash Prize Yu-Gi-Oh tournament.
The Second saturday of every month is taken up by a large $15 entry Warhammer tournament.  

Each Friday of every month has the store filled with Type 2 Friday Night Magic players from opening at 2:30pm to close at 11:30pm.  

Each Sunday night we hold several Booster Drafts for anyone interested and we've gotten a solid following for this as well.  I actually invite any of you who love drafting to come down and play on sunday nights.  We start between 8 and 8:30  and usually end around midnight or so.  Our Drafters our some of the best around and if you don't believe me, come down and see for yourself.  A few guys from Brockton made an appearance to one of the sunday night drafts aand though it was a little later than expected until we got out of here, it was still a great draft.  

the rest of our weekend time is spent preparing for the JSS we hold here in exactly a month.  we have the most solid following of 14 and unders that are great at magic.  a few of them play in the type 1 tournaments and always makes solid appearances.

During the week we hold video game tournaments along with monday through thursday being free video game nights.  Xbox's, game cubes and a playstation 2 are hooked up every day of the month for play.  if during the weekend, (including friday) it's $10 dollars each day, but the locals get our store memberships at $25 dollars a month which allows free play anytime.  

On top of all of this we have a computer room in the back that houses 15 online and running computers strictly meant for gaming.  Personally designed and built by our computer guy, they are without a doubt top of the line.  Just another thing to add to our already hectic calender.


Part of this may seem like advertisement for the store however TO's like doomhed or anyone else need to understand that it is impossible for us to hold a tournament on a different day simply because someone else may be holding a tournament on that day.  We're not just a card store, we're Cape Cod's gaming community and we're busy every day.  

Again doomhed, although you don't seem to be in any way accepting of my apologies, i am sorry that this may disrupt your tournament situation at your venue, it's simply something that's non negotiable.  

again, for your reference:  

November's tournament

December's tournament held on the 18th because the next weekend was christmas(our extremes situation)

January's tournament

February's tournament

I could actually keep going back in the months however you could simply look up "Cape Cod" on the search option to find all of these..


-Richard, from The Gathering.

[Jacob Orlove]

I'll be there, with my T4 stack, looking for some bad betrayers rares.

[ELD]

I have one thing to say about the tournaments at the Gathering.  I do not like the pizza, and do not feel the prize pool should pay for it.  I would feel much better about it if the pizza was sold to people who actually want it.  As it is, I always go to the 99 and get some food that I will enjoy.  By paying for the pizza from the prize pool, everyone is essentially paying for the pizza, whether they like it or not.  That's like communism.  Being raised in the 80's, I despise commies, as should you all.  

As far as tournaments being on the same date, we're in New England.  Every weekend we have tournaments, often 2 on saturday and one on sunday.  If any store is concerned about not getting attendance, then I suggest they hold better tournaments.  Well run tournaments with excellent prize support draw a faithful following.  As JuggernautGo said, it takes time to get the ball rolling.  Sometimes you lose money in the process.  The long term result, however, is something that will create faithful customers and have a positive impact on the game.  

IMO, stores should not make money off tournament entry fees.  By this I mean if they take in 300 in cash, they should give out at least 300 worth of stuff.  All they are doing is providing a place to play, which all successful stores do for free anyways.  If the store offers resonably priced products they will sell to the crowd the tournament draws.  Food and refreshments can be sold as well.  If the store is going to hold back money from the prize pool, the players would be better suited to pool all their money together and just play for the cash.

That said, I might be attending this tournament if all goes well.

[orgcandman]

IMO, stores should not make money off tournament entry fees. By this I mean if they take in 300 in cash, they should give out at least 300 worth of stuff. All they are doing is providing a place to play, which all successful stores do for free anyways. If the store offers resonably priced products they will sell to the crowd the tournament draws. Food and refreshments can be sold as well. If the store is going to hold back money from the prize pool, the players would be better suited to pool all their money together and just play for the cash.

I must STRONGLY disagree with this point. There is no incentive for a store, as a business, to give away anything for free. Even at break-even on prizes, stores have to justify relinquishing their entire store to a group of players for the entire day. Oh sure, the store is open. But many times customers will be driven away by large events (think...non-magic players who walk into some game store and see a bunch of people at card tables flopping cards. It's quite intimidating because those people would most likely feel like outsiders.)

The store HAS to give away less $ in prizes than it takes in. And it STILL needs to make sales to justify being open. Of course, having consistent customers will be a good thing for the store, but most stores don't need to hold tournaments in order to bring in foot traffic.

IMHO, this is a subject where magic players are really selfish and ignorant. A lot more goes into a properly run tournament than just the prize support. I've talked with many TOs about this, so I have a good grasp of the arguments from both directions. If anyone wants to discuss this more indepth, feel free to PM me

[ELD]

IMHO, this is a subject where magic players are really selfish and ignorant.

As someone who has alot of experiance both running bussiness and tournaments, I must point out that I am neither selfish or ignorant.  If a store gives out the entry fees in prizes, they are making money.  In fact, that is exactly like someone coming in and spending $300 in thier store.  Now, if you don't think a store profits from someone spending $300, you are certainly misinformed.  

The biggest mistake I see in local shops is not making money off thier captive audience.  When you get 30 slacker, health-unconcious card floppers in your store, they will buy whatever junk food you put in front of them.  Keep the prices fair, and you're damn right they'll buy your pizza instead of actually waddling over to the nearest restaraunt.  

Well, all this talk is making me miss the hussle and bussel of trading.  I shall be on Cape for this, and I will have my binder, with a full set of power to trade as well.  See you all there.

[Jacob Orlove]

I was very disappointed with the 5pm start time.

[Joblin Velder]

Demonic Attorney (Demonic Attorney) and Angelo Santiago (Mastaq) split in the finals after defeating ELD and myself. The rest of the top were locals who I didn't know.

The tournament was an absolute blast. The TO and owner did an awesome job. These guys held the start for an hour because the 5 of us were so late. BAD ASS. I will never, ever, miss another Cape event. Today proved just how excellent the venue is.

Tournament reports will follow.

EDIT: Sorry to everyone for holding the tournament up. We were making decent time until we hit that accident on 195.

[ELD]

It was a good time.  I was particularly surprised to see the flawless play from that kid playing burninator.  He beat me solidly, as I wasn't prepared with BEB's in the board.  Game 3 I lost to a pillar, with no way to remove it.  The entire match, I don't feel he made any mistakes.  I can't say that about any other round.  Good times, despite the pizza which I still protest.

[Jacob Orlove]

I was particularly surprised to see the flawless play from that kid playing burninator.

He was a very solid player, with his best play against me probably being forking a chain lightning in response to my Chalice 1 triggering.

[Demonic Attorney]

I'd like to reiterate Joblin Velder's sentiments.  This is without a doubt the best tournament venue I have ever attended.  They held the start time for almost 2 hours for us, they ordered me a sub because I'm a freak and don't eat pizza, they have never had any problems whatsoever with rounds, pairings, or rulings, and they kick in virtually all the entrance fees to the prize pool.  The location itself is very well-maintained and clean, and the staff is extraordinarily helpful and friendly.  I cannot endorse this place strongly enough.  

I understand some people have reservations about a non-guaranteed prize, but if everyone here just bites the bullet and shows up to boost attendance by maybe another ten or twelve people, the owner's concern about taking a hit will disappear.  Even without a guaranteed prize, myself and masatq walked out last night with over $80, a free meal, and a superb tournament experience for an entry fee of $10.  That's nothing to sneeze at, either.