The unfortunate bottom line for both the World 10-Ball Championship and the Manny Pacquiao Cup scotch doubles event in General Santos City, Philippines, is that the players did not get paid their total prize monies in either event. And while Manny Pacquiao himself must bear the ultimate responsibility for this it is not at all clear at this moment that he even is aware of the shenanigans perpetrated by the wife of his brother Bobby, Lorelei Pacquiao, the lady in charge of both events.
First, at the World 10-Ball Championship, the players paid the WPA sanction fee with their entry fees. That is all the money that the WPA took from the event. But when the players got paid their pay envelopes were 5% short of what they were owed. And one player who asked why was told that it was to pay the WPA sanction. This is simply untrue. We have no idea of why the Pacquiao’s chose to remove expected funds from the event but it amounted to a $10,000 shortfall for the players. We have tried to contact the WPA to ask if they knew this had happened and for a comment on this but everyone appears to be in transit home at the moment.
It wasn’t that the organizers used the money to improve this World Championship event. Many players complained about the quality of the tables. The organizers did not bother to put carpet down on the floor, there were no chairs for spectators except in the TV Arena, some of the referees were so incompetent that they had to be removed and there was not even a scoreboard so anyone could follow the play. One player simply described it as “a mess”.
To show the atmosphere of pool in the Philippines, no one we spoke with wanted their names revealed. There is fear they would never be invited to future events again if they speak out publicly. To their credit, several players have chosen to make statements on their Facebook pages.
Minus the 5%, all players were paid on time at the Ten Ball event. Then we moved on to the Manny Pacquiao Cup, a doubles event with 54 teams expected to participate. After the organizers took the $150 entry fee from every player and were about to begin play they announced that the $100,000 prize fund had been reduced to $60,000. $40,000 disappeared from the promised prize fund with no explanation. Add that to the $10,000 already missing from the World 10-Ball and you have a $50,000 rip in the fabric of these Pacquiao events.
Where did the missing money go? We have no idea. All we know for certain is that the events were run by Lorelei Pacquiao, wife of Bobby Pacquiao, and that the events carry the name and reputation of Manny Pacquiao. The answer is within that family and it is to them that the players and fans must expect a statement. Hopefully that statement will include plans to reimburse the players. Offering someone a certain amount for a job and then reducing that amount first after the job is done and then before the next is begun but after all travel expenses including entry fees are output is simply unacceptable.
Some players have already made their statement. The expected field of 54 teams dwindled to less than half of that prior to the first ball being struck.
AZBilliards will provide updates to this story as they become available.
