Season 6 Discussion

[AJDUK]

Interestingly enough it was the "reg free" aspect that got me and Debjani involved. Not particularly for the money saved but it made me look into the concept hiding behind this offer as it was so different from the norm. What I then saw I liked, I realised the reg free aspect wasn"t a gimmick and I"ve not looked back since. Since then of course reg fees have generally gone up.
If this differentiator hadn"t existed I"d have treated APAT tournaments just like any other tournament and certainly wouldn"t have travelled all the way to Luton in S1 to play my fist APAT.

If reg free is to continue we should make sure that it"s made as obvious as possible perhaps even quoting the savings made against regular 20% small-ball fees. I know it"s always mentioned but perhaps we don"t shout it loud enough.

[Paulie_D]

If reg free is to continue we should make sure that it"s made as obvious as possible...(snip)... I know it"s always mentioned but perhaps we don"t shout it loud enough.

Fully agree.

Although most people would happily pay your reg fee to have you in the comp...always value there!  

[PHIL_TC]

I personally think that the reg free should stay, its a major thing that differentiates APAT from the norm, and is one of the things that appear top of my list during my "APAT is great because" speeches when telling people about the tour.

An optional membership fee which gives certain privileges as Paulie mentioned, whether priority for seats etc is a great idea.

Personally going back to the original 3 options, would it not be possible to set up the APAT poker site for this season, combined with either option 1 or 2, with the aim of letting it grow to the point where it can stand on its own and fund future seasons on its own? No harm in having a 2 or 3 year plan rather than going dave style balls out for this season?

[Paulie_D]

Personally going back to the original 3 options, would it not be possible to set up the APAT poker site for this season, combined with either option 1 or 2, with the aim of letting it grow to the point where it can stand on its own and fund future seasons on its own? No harm in having a 2 or 3 year plan rather than going dave style balls out for this season?

I think Des would love to do that but sponsors might shy away if APAT was actively encouraging it"s membership to it"s own site.

Not a problem if your sponsor is Dulux...huge problem if it"s Ladbrokes.

[PHIL_TC]

I think Des would love to do that but sponsors might shy away if APAT was actively encouraging it"s membership to it"s own site.

Not a problem if your sponsor is Dulux...huge problem if it"s Ladbrokes.

Not sure how the poker skins revenue streams work, but is it not possible to have an "APAT skin" running on a network where the sponsor is the network itself? Or if the sponsor is another skin somehow share revenue?

[Des]

I think Des would love to do that but sponsors might shy away if APAT was actively encouraging it"s membership to it"s own site.

Not a problem if your sponsor is Dulux...huge problem if it"s Ladbrokes.

Not sure how the poker skins revenue streams work, but is it not possible to have an "APAT skin" running on a network where the sponsor is the network itself? Or if the sponsor is another skin somehow share revenue?

If we didn"t feel the numbers would stack up, then I wouldn"t go forward with a proposal to any network.  Similarly, to enter a network relationship and send out a signal that we would need some hand holding initially would be a mistake.  In this environment we would need a bullet proof proposition to gain a license.  

[ronaldo07]

Is it not possible to go with option 1 with a sponsor that ISN"T a poker site whilst setting up an APAT skin and growing it over this year? Betfair sponsored APAT and their poker site isn"t big at all they are much more known for betting. Are there any betting companies that don"t have a poker site? How about getting a media company to sponsor? Maybe Talksport? Or a newspaper or mag might be up for it.

Whichever way you go now option 3 is the future.

GL

[PHIL_TC]

External sponsors...

Well it is 2012 and they have medals and significant exposure...

We could have a special APAT Olympic event and get sponsorship that way

[MintTrav]

This is an unusual situation - members asking to be charged a fee and the management resisting. In most activities, the members complain that the fees are too high.

The APAT ethos has always been "Reg Free" but I think it"s clear that this is not sustainable in the current climate.
................
If the answer is "No "Live" Reg Fee Ever" then we know what we are looking at. It"s a lovely idea but considering where we are, is it practical?

Where are we? I wasn"t aware of APAT being in a particularly bad condition.

[MintTrav]

London Venue ??

Definitely need a London event.

[Des]

This is an unusual situation - members asking to be charged a fee and the management resisting. In most activities, the members complain that the fees are too high.

The APAT ethos has always been "Reg Free" but I think it"s clear that this is not sustainable in the current climate.
................
If the answer is "No "Live" Reg Fee Ever" then we know what we are looking at. It"s a lovely idea but considering where we are, is it practical?

Where are we? I wasn"t aware of APAT being in a particularly bad condition.

Correct, we"re not.  I assume Paulie is referring to the fact that the market is somewhat tougher than it has been previously, which it is.

[kohan]

Further to the above post by Mark...perhaps this got "involved" with the other idea that I had (which I may come back to depending on the reply)

The APAT ethos has always been "Reg Free" but I think it"s clear that this is not sustainable in the current climate. so I"ll ask it again.

Des....

Is a reg. fee completely out of the question for APAT events? Say 10%...cheaper than most and anything else could be made up from sponsorship / revenue?

If the answer is "No "Live" Reg Fee Ever" then we know what we are looking at. It"s a lovely idea but considering where we are, is it practical?

Never say never of course, but I"m proud of the fact that APAT have effectively paid the registration fee of every player who has ever participated in a live APAT event over five years.  That"s an incredible "pro-player" statement to be able to make and I"d personally hate to lose it.

That said, I"ve been considering other ways that we could reward our member base if we go down the route of option 3.  For example I could see APAT setting aside a % of net revenues for players - and essentialy you guys would get the opportunity to become shareholders.  So perhaps there is a revenue generation opportunity there that I need to consider further.

Further to the above post by Mark...perhaps this got "involved" with the other idea that I had (which I may come back to depending on the reply)

The APAT ethos has always been "Reg Free" but I think it"s clear that this is not sustainable in the current climate. so I"ll ask it again.

Des....

Is a reg. fee completely out of the question for APAT events? Say 10%...cheaper than most and anything else could be made up from sponsorship / revenue?

If the answer is "No "Live" Reg Fee Ever" then we know what we are looking at. It"s a lovely idea but considering where we are, is it practical?

Never say never of course, but I"m proud of the fact that APAT have effectively paid the registration fee of every player who has ever participated in a live APAT event over five years.  That"s an incredible "pro-player" statement to be able to make and I"d personally hate to lose it.

That said, I"ve been considering other ways that we could reward our member base if we go down the route of option 3.  For example I could see APAT setting aside a % of net revenues for players - and essentialy you guys would get the opportunity to become shareholders.  So perhaps there is a revenue generation opportunity there that I need to consider further.

                 i would like to say a big thank you to des /tighty / leigh and everyone who helped to make s5 a huge success especially the vegas  experience (not forgetting curly), I just hope that everything for s6 gets sorted soon so we can all meet up for a good timeand if it is half as good as  s5 we should all have a good time

[AceOnTheRiver]

I hinted at 1st February but he remained tight-lipped.

You and your hints Paulie you big tease  

[Paulie_D]

I hinted at 1st February but he remained tight-lipped.

You and your hints Paulie you big tease  

He wouldn"t take the bait....guess we"re back to...ahem...soon.

[nosey-p]

Is the 25th & 26th still a possibility?