Barona UBT Blackjack Tournament... canceled?

[zengrifter]

This was in the BJ Insider advance teaser... anyone know what happened? zg

Barona Blackjack Tournament... All did not go well at the canceled UBT-sanctioned tournament
at Barona and the Babe explains why he and others "couldn't get no respect."

[rookie789]

I'm not sure if this is the incident the Babe is referring to but at least one invited and comped seasoned tournament player was told by Max Rubin after he registered he was not welcome to play. I assume Barona didn't want their ploppie whales to think they might have been beaten by a "Pro".

[KenSmith]

Yes, the big UBT Tournament of Champions to be held in December at Barona was cancelled at the last minute.

[zengrifter]

Originally Posted by KenSmith

Yes, the big UBT Tournament of Champions to be held in December at Barona was cancelled at the last minute.

C'mon, tell us more, enquiring minds want to know! zg

[KenSmith]

I wish I knew the real story. I've heard various people say that Barona pulled the plug, while others say UBT cancelled. I suspect the truth is somewhere in the middle. It was apparent for a long while that the million dollar first place prize was not going to be covered by entry fees, so the tournament crowd assumed that Barona would comp in their heavy hitters and pony up the prizes.

I guess they decided that wasn't such a good idea, since the money might have been won by a tournament pro, not someone who would likely lose the million back at Barona. That's just my guess though.

Whatever the cause, the handling was typical UBT, with no warning whatsoever until just a few days before the event. I ended up eating one airfare, and a prepaid rental car in San Diego, all arranged a couple of weeks before the cancellation. In addition, I prepaid a $9000 entry fee several months ahead of the event. (A discount of $1000 was offered for prepayment and the wearing of UBT logo at the event.) When the event was cancelled, the refunds weren't issued promptly. I finally got my money back in mid-January.

I'm sure The Babe's article in BJ Insider will cover all this, and probably more that I don't know.

[jack,jackson]

Ken, whens your text tournament? I hope, I get to see you on TV sometime.

[zengrifter]

Originally Posted by KenSmith

Whatever the cause, the handling was typical UBT,,,

"Typical UBT" - Gee I thought of you as practically a spokesperson for UBT. We aren't tourney people here,
what is "typical UBT"? What are the general pro-level criticisms of UBT?

Anyone else know anything about UBT criticism? zg