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| The following is the speech that Barry Behrman made to the players during the 26th annual US Open 9-ball championship regarding the prize fund. | ||
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I would like to
express my sincere appreciation for your participation in this year’s U.S.
Open and congratulations on your substantial achievement thus far. The terrorist attacks made upon
our country have taken their toll not only with the lives of our fellow
Americans, but also the financial strain on businesses across the
nation. Americans are doing
everything they can to rally support to get us through this horrifying
time.
We at the U.S. Open
have also had our misfortunes with vendors and spectators that could not
attend. The added money in
last year’s Open increased due to increased gate sales and we kept the
added money the same this year expecting the same gate figures. Particularly, the advance VIP
ticket holders couldn’t attend due to the transportation system being shut
down and closely monitored.
Those funds will have to be refunded after the event.
We have also taken a hit from the
expected military that have always attended, because they have been
deployed to help and defend our country. I have suffered a tremendous
monetary loss due to these uncontrollable circumstances. I believe the only way to minimize
my losses is to decrease the prize fund by 20% across the board. This is not something that I want
to do, but in light of everything going on in the country at this time, I
hope you can do your part to help our sport through this terrible time of
tragedy.
Even with the 20%
cut I will still take a substantial loss. Your undisputed and non
criticizing support with this decision will not only be appreciated today,
but we will always have the incredible experience of looking back on this
week and realizing the endurance and sacrifices that we have
made. Sincerely and
respectfully, Barry Behrman | ||