Lotus Tournament - N.Y.S.E. 20?

[Prospero]

The last of the regular series N.Y.S.E. events was in November 2011, and I ended at N.Y.S.E. XIX.  I'd have much rather ended at N.Y.S.E. XX.

I've been offered an affordable Lotus with the understanding that it be used for prize support for a tournament.  I'd like to run another Lotus tournament, but wanted to ask the community a few questions before I put more effort into this.  For this event, I'd guarantee the Lotus, and then guarantee the rest of the prize support after certain attendance plateaus were hit.  

First up, what's your threshold for entry fees?  I don't want to run another expensive event; the N.Y.S.E. Open should remain special.  I'm hoping to be able to run the event for a $40 entry, but may need to push it up to $50.  What's your threshold?

Second up, given the still considerable cost of the Lotus to first, at what point do you no longer want to play in a tournament because the prize support is too top heavy?  If it was a Lotus to first and a Mox to second, is $100 dealer credit for 3rd/4th and $50 dealer credit for 5th-8th acceptable?  

I'm looking at running it in early September, before the Khans of Tarkir release, which would make it one last great shot to get some heavy lifting in before Vintage Champs in October.

Thoughts?

[boggyb]

$50's fine for me! I'd pay up to $100.

I'd be a bit disappointed if 5-8 were just to break even, honestly, but I understand perfectly about the market situation and it wouldn't stop me from going. Ideal would be $100 for 5-8, $200 for 3-4, and a Mox and Lotus for 2 and 1.

[Will]

$50's fine for me! I'd pay up to $100.

I'd be a bit disappointed if 5-8 were just to break even, honestly, but I understand perfectly about the market situation and it wouldn't stop me from going. Ideal would be $100 for 5-8, $200 for 3-4, and a Mox and Lotus for 2 and 1.

I mirror your sentiments 100%.

In 2012 the TDG events were all $40 for a guaranteed $2k in prizes. While this proved to be somewhat unsutainable over the course of a year for a multitude of reasons, it would definitely work for one tournament to beef up the prize support. I would prefer to only play in 1 $100 tournament, but $50 is definitely within reason. I hope that this goes off because I love high stakes Vintage and the NYSE!

[Bibendum]

40, 50, 60 im in. Playing for a lotus is not a common thing, to have it twice this year alone is awesome

[Samoht]

I'm in no matter what, but I think a more even stratification of prizes tends to be more appealing. That's my two cents.

[Varal]

If you can't afford prizes for the whole top 8, you could always consider adding a round of swiss and cut to top 4.

[Meddling Mike]

I'll have to actually drag my ass down from Boston to attend one of these someday. If I was able to do so, given my travel costs, I would not balk at a $50 entry fee if the prize support was appropriate to the fees/attendance. From what I understand of your events they always are.

[DaveKap]

$50 seems right. Don't think too many would walk away from $40 to $50, while it increases prize support by 25%. T8 breaking even instead of $100 requires 4 less people to attend. Seems fair.

[jlim17]

These days a Lotus tournament is and should be a really big deal. A $50 entry is what I would assume for something like this. Fwiw, a $50 Legacy tournament for P9 is going on this Sat and the attendance at that event could be telling.

As a player, I would ideally like to see a prize breakdown something like this:

2nd: $400 or a Mox (whichever is more practical for the TO)
3rd-4th: $200
5th-8th: $75 - $100

Perhaps $50 - $100 can be trimmed from 2nd-4th, or this can be tiered based on attendance. Breaking even at 5th - 8th would prob hurt turnout, however. Perhaps have two tiers. I think you'd get at least 50 ppl for this, so maybe tier for 50 then 75ppl and budget accordingly.

[TheWhiteDragon]

The SCG tourneys used to cost $30 to play and had lotus/twister first with 5 mox, walk, recall as 2-7.  I think that's a reasonable entry fee and the prize support should be comparable.  I'd make that tourney.

[Thecheese]

The SCG tourneys used to cost $30 to play and had lotus/twister first with 5 mox, walk, recall as 2-7.  I think that's a reasonable entry fee and the prize support should be comparable.  I'd make that tourney.

Why do you even post?

[The Atog Lord]

The SCG tourneys used to cost $30 to play and had lotus/twister first with 5 mox, walk, recall as 2-7.  I think that's a reasonable entry fee and the prize support should be comparable.  I'd make that tourney.

Brilliant post, Mr Dragon. In the 1920's, a Ford Model T cost $260. I think that is a reasonable price and will look forward to buying a brand new Ford for that much today. Likewise, I'll be waiting in line to buy my Booster Pack of Unlimited for $2.50.

But, you said that you would make that tourney. So, go ahead. Live up to your user group and create that tourney. After all, you are a tournament organizer. And you did say that prize structure was reasonable. So, go ahead and put your money where your mouth is and make it happen.  We can all look forward to that.