West Coast Type 1

[magicnet]

Hi everyone,
        My name is Nick. I run a store called Gameworld in Las Vegas, NV. Over the summer we have been really pushing the west coast Type 1 community trying to get some regular large tourneys going. This summer we have given away a Unl Mox Jet, Beta Ancestral Recall, Mishra's Workshop, Beta Berserk and this weekend we give away an Alpha Sapphire, Unl Illusionary Mask, Beta Berserk, and Italian Nether Void. We really haven't recieved a lot of support from outside of Las Vegas and a few guys from LA and Tucson and 2 from Texas. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what they wanted from regular large type 1 tourneys and why or why not they have or haven't made the trip to one of our events? We really feel like we are trying to give a lot back to the community and we want to give West Coast Type 1 players the oppurtunity to play the same kind of events that are all to common on the East Coast. I would appreciate anything constructive you guys could tell me. Well, see you all this weekend when you come to take my Alpha Sapphire!!
Later,
Nick

[Jacob Orlove]

Moved to basic community.

Also, if you run a store, PM Zherbus or Toad to get TO status--it'll let you post in the tournament forum, which means more people will see it.

[JACO]

Hi everyone,
        My name is Nick. I run a store called Gameworld in Las Vegas, NV. Over the summer we have been really pushing the west coast Type 1 community trying to get some regular large tourneys going. This summer we have given away a Unl Mox Jet, Beta Ancestral Recall, Mishra's Workshop, Beta Berserk and this weekend we give away an Alpha Sapphire, Unl Illusionary Mask, Beta Berserk, and Italian Nether Void. We really haven't recieved a lot of support from outside of Las Vegas and a few guys from LA and Tucson and 2 from Texas. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what they wanted from regular large type 1 tourneys and why or why not they have or haven't made the trip to one of our events? We really feel like we are trying to give a lot back to the community and we want to give West Coast Type 1 players the oppurtunity to play the same kind of events that are all to common on the East Coast. I would appreciate anything constructive you guys could tell me. Well, see you all this weekend when you come to take my Alpha Sapphire!!
Later,
Nick

Nick, people recognize what you have been doing, but I think one of the main problems is that you're in Las Vegas. Distance plays a key role here. I don't really have a grasp about how far away the tourneys are for people in Tucson, AZ, or from anywhere in Texas, but people in San Diego or LA are driving like 6 hours to get there, and then have to pay an assload to stay in LV overnight. You can forget about anyone from the Bay area. There aren't a lot of locals (that I know of, at least) willing to lend out floor space for people to crash at their place(s). This means the cost of a trip for someone like me, assuming I'm going in a caravan of 4 people, is $25 for tourney entry + $20in gas + $15 in food + $25 minimum for part of a hotel room. That adds up to usually at least $85 for a day and a half trek with one piece of Power as the prize.

We come out when we can, but due to the long distance we can't that often, and there aren't the sheer quantity of Type 1 players on the West Coast, like there are on the East Coast. This, in turn, means fewer people will come from out of state to represent (like when you hear about caravans of people travelling to Waterbury or somewhere in Connecticut). But give it time; as more and more people enter the format, more and more people will come and be willing to travel.

[magicnet]

Would it help if I could get people coming to my tournament a discounted hotel rate. I have a really good friend that runs a hotel I could probably work out a discoutned rate on the weekends that I run my tourneys. Let me know what you guys think.

[Jacob Orlove]

Would it help if I could get people coming to my tournament a discounted hotel rate. I have a really good friend that runs a hotel I could probably work out a discoutned rate on the weekends that I run my tourneys. Let me know what you guys think.

If yours are the tournaments that start late in the afternoon, then yeah, that might help a lot.

[magicnet]

I spoke with my friend Chris who manages a hotel about 10 minutes form the store and he said that with advance notice he can get my players some kind of discounted rate for Friday, Saturday one day or both days for the next event that we have in 4-6 weeks. That was a great suggestion. Keep them coming.
Nick

[Stupid_Newb]

Are the tournaments you run with or without proxies? If they're without, I suggest you make a certain number of proxies legal for your tournaments, probably 5-10. That way, you can get newer players in your area into the format.

[Matt]

Distance plays a key role here. I don't really have a grasp about how far away the tourneys are for people in Tucson, AZ, or from anywhere in Texas,

It's like ten hours just to LEAVE Texas. I can't imagine how those guys made it, unless they started in like El Paso or something, and even that's a mighty haul.

[xrizzo]

Another key thing you can do is hold one really big tournament rather than many good sized tourneys.  This would make it a bigger deal to come out and play, rather than just getting an average attendance monthly, go for a huge (150+ people) twice per year.  I am in LA, and I have been to LV 3 times this year, but it is really expensive to go -- just gas alone is $65 bucks, plus you spent 10 hours driving at a minimum!  

In order for it to be worth the effort, I want to win valuable prizes all throughout the top 8.  Top four should at least get mana drains or higher.  I want to be clear, your prize structure has been AWESOME, its just that, I have 12 pieces of power already, and although nobody minds an alpha sapphire, it is hard to jack up $100+ bucks for the trip if placing 2nd only gets me a [worthless] moat.

EDIT: if you can do the LA tourney that you mentioned in your post below, that would surely get a large crowd.  San Diego people would come no problem, LA and OC folk would come out in droves (at least as many of them play still), and I would guess a fair number of Vegas and Bay Area people would make the effort.  Maybe do this sometime in the fall?  Late October?  Picking a good weekend is key.

[magicnet]

You guys are doing great keep up the suggestions. We are working on a very large event scheduled for later in the year that we want to make an annual event. We are thinking about doing something with with top 8 getting some combination of power, drains, workshops, libraries, or bazaars. Of Course the at least T4 would be power but we don't have details yet. I'm working hard at pushing the T1 community on the West coast and I love the suggestions. Keep them coming. Another possibility is maybe we could run a large T1 tourney in LA? The owners girlfriend lives in baldwin park. Let me know what you guys think.