First things first, I will be dedicating this year’s event to our dear friend Craig “Pineapple” Morris, who passed away recently and will be missed very much.
Words cannot be said enough about my dear friend Mr. Pat Fleming, owner of Accu-Stats Video Productions, who began his legacy in 1982 at the U.S. Open with one camera and now, 33 years later, look how far he has come. Pat has opened a U.S. Open Bank of America Escrow Account and will collect the $75,000.00 added funds prior to mid-July as well as all players’ entry fees which will be used to pay through 48th place.
Thank you so very much to Mr. Ian Anderson, President of the World Pool Association and Mr. Skip Nemecek, America’s W.P.A. Representative, to allow their continued support even after many failures. Now that Pat Fleming has taken charge of the added funds of $75,000.00 as well as $113,000.00 in entry fees, this comes to $188,000.00, he will also be in charge of the disbursements which is a blessing for all. God bless Pat Fleming.
Every 5 years starting this year, all U.S. Open past active champions will pay no entry fee under one condition only; they all must proudly wear their green jackets prior to each match they play with no exceptions. This is all I ask.
VIP seat holders, now we are in a ballroom 65x180 feet, which is twice the size of the past 2 years. This will enable you all to have primo seating and even better than they were at the Chesapeake Conference Center. Here is exactly how this year’s set-up will be:
A total of 300 VIP seats as well as around 600 general admission seats will be needed now that we will be in Downtown Norfolk’s Financial District. The 3 rows on both sides of the T.V. arena table will be; 1st row floor level, 2nd row 16 inches higher on a platform, and the 3rd and final row will now be only 32 inches high on a platform. So when you add a chair and a body on the 3rd row, both sides are much lower. Now having 4 long rows one on each side with the platform being 56 inches high, 2nd row platform is 72 inches up, 3rd row platform will be 88 inches high, and the 4th and final row platform will be 104 inches, 8 ½ feet, high. This will clear the way for all to have a wonderful view of the entire ballroom along with a 4 foot wide walk way around the backside entrance to where you wish to sit. My architect has assured me there will not be a remote possibility of the same problem we had last year, none whatsoever.
The Sheraton will begin taking your reservations April 1st and use code USOPEN for the $89.00 rate for single or double. Remember smokers; just ask for a balcony room at no additional charge. They have 468 rooms of which 375 are blocked for us each night. For all of the week parking, 24 hours, will only be $5.00 instead of their usual $12.00. Lunch consisting of a sandwich, chips, and soda for $7.00 and each night a stupendous dinner buffet as we had at the Chesapeake Conference Center for $15.00; beer and mixed beverages are also priced very low.
Below are the payout amounts:
1st $40,000.00
2nd $20,000.00
3rd $10,000.00
4th $7,000.00
5th-6th $5,000.00
7th-8th $4,000.00
9th-12th $3,000.00
13th-16th $2,750.00
17th-24th $2,500.00
25th-32nd $2,250.00
33rd-48th $2,000.00
