HPWS Pre-Tourney Blog

[km]

About 8 days out from the Hoseplayer World Series (HPWS). Notice the lack of pre-tournament buzz as compared to the NHC. We really have no idea how many players will be involved or if there are any new developments.

This is the first year that the HPWS has allowed multiple entries, that should help the prize pool, but will it increase the head count? This tournament is very important to the Coast for their future. They were apparently 'saved' by the surprise and enthusiastic turnout last year (which also saved our seminar at the Gold Coast and that tournament as well).

Except for this website, let's face it, the Orleans does is not Internet friendly as far as exposing their contest. And in terms of media = pretty much zero except a summary by Dave Tuley in DRF and a remote column in Vegas newspapers.

Scoring updates ? Are you kidding, a chalkboard at 11am with a single update. What a joke. They leave a lot to be desired in terms of modernizing their contest. But they continue to hold on because these tournaments are basically a whole lot of fun, usually exciting and terrific social experience.

FYI for those not attending
You'll get the best live updates and scoring info right here on this forum during the contest. In fact, if you are at the contest, you'll probably get more information from here than the Coast can provide because we get reports from players and can relate better information than they can :eek:

[Donnie]

Ken (or whomever)--
what is the response when the Orleans is asked of the Leaderboard not be updated regularly?

[JimG]

What is their latest response concerning power for computers? As I stated in another thread, we were told no electrical outlets for plugging in computers at the recent qualifier.

[km]

They did their own survey and that was the most requested item Donnie. Remember, that the Orleans never had any scoring updates until a couple of years ago, so i guess the easy marker easel with the 11am update is the response to that request :eek:

BTW: anyone have a definitive list of tracks in play at the contest?

[km]

Jim, re: electrical

Never had problems if you bring your own power strip, an extension cord and look around for outlets or tip the a/v guy, who is usually helpful. This has not been an issue for any of us at the Orleans. Get in early and find a spot close to a plug. Although they don't go out of their way for ac, they don't deter it either. Same with Internet and cell phones now. If something has changed in this regard, they'll be a lot of hollering.

[Bryan Wagner]

Ken, glad you started this thread. As I have had Saints Fever, Wine Flu, houseful of guest, etc the past few days I have not had time to check what is going on. As I mentioned earlier this year Bryan will be playing the HPWS for the first time. Several weeks ago I tried to find format, info, etc from a HPWS website or info on hotel website. I was not successful. Anyone that can give me a brief overview of this would be helpful. Since it starts next Thurs. although TS Leaderboard gave him airfare allowance ($400) the timing could not be worse for us as we have to depart the day after Mardi Gras and return the Sun. that all the New Orleans people that go snow skiing for Mardi Gras return. Plane ticket prices are thru the roof. We also have one of our children, trying to escape the Washington, D C area blizzardSSS with their two children in town starting Fri. thru Ash Wed. so we can not leave earlier. We are driving to Gulfport, MS (about 65 miles away) to get a fare under $500 and this was done several weeks ago. Bryan refuses to go without me so it is a double whammy on airfare. I really was mentally exhaused after NHC and was not ready to do any serious handicapping so I have not planned to play in it. If someone could give me the info - especially the prizes and how far down they pay it would be helpful. Bryan really wants me to enter since you can purchase an entry but I really am not leaning in that direction unless rules/pay-outs are what I consider attractive. I do not want to jump into a pool of sharks with little chance of getting any return on investment.
In advance thanks to anyone that can help.

JW

[SPIKE]

I have the info the mailed to me, but it is in my SUV. Which is covered completely with snow. I know they pay down to 80th. 15 WP BETS. Tracks AQU, FG, GP, HAW, LRL, OP, SA AND GG.

I am supposed to leave Tues. but we have snow drifts that are as high as my Motorhome. Flying is going to be a mess because the airports have been closed on and off since last Friday. I am hoping to get plowed out by the farmer that takes hay off my property. He has a huge tractor or he can bring the combine.

I wish I was in the BIG EASY.

[Donnie]

if I only had a nickel everytime I could of said this......

Which is covered completely with snow.

Man up!! Buy a shovel!! AL Gore says this is what you can expect with Global Change....(interesting...no longer Global Warming...Global Change....Very very convenient!!! What a weasel!!....sorry, that gives weasels a bad name!)

[OPM]

With multiple entries allowed this yr, it will be interesting if they would go out on a limb and guarantee a purse of $1million. I know alot of people have qualified already and they can then partner up with someone and buy a second entry.

[km]

OPM - agree, that is something they should do, perhaps too risky for the accounting dept.

Bryan, Judy and everyone. Bone up on the HPWS: format, strategy, history and HTR results by reading newsletters from Jan - Mar of each year in the HTR LIbrary.

There are two major rule changes this year.

1) 15 plays per day (before it was 11 )

2) Multiple entries per player

This should raise the overall scoring considerably and accept the fact that to win or make the top 10, you'll have to hit multiple cap horses.

Basically it is Win/Place $20 base with a modified 10% cap. Meaning you get full track odds on the first $2 WP, and then capped at the usual 20/1 and 10/1 after that. This serves as a good tiebreaker and would have helped someone like BobG win the NHC because he picked the 80/1 winner.

Unlike the NHC, you can use multiple tickets on the same race (not the same horse). If you like two horses in the same race, go for it. Obviously, another key difference is that this is a 100% optional contest, no mandatory races to dwell on.

Check those newsletter archives for typical scoring, but with 15 plays per entry now, totals will explode. Maybe someone can extrapolate a likely winning total.

Don't forget there is lucrative daily money -- bombs away and shoot for the moon no matter where you stand in the overall.

[Mayo]

Ken,

You can probably use the Summer tournament as a guide for scoring. I think it is the same. That being the case, it will take somewhere around 30,000 points to win. It takes more than that in the summer. I used a lower total because of winter racing (track cancellations, etc).

As I think futher, I remember the summer tournament maybe full track odds on the first $20 instead of the first $2 as is the case here.

Our brother Buckley maybe able to shed some light on this?

Mayo

[km]

Slice a zero off Mayo, this one is a $20 WP contest. But you might be right in terms of relative scoring to the Gold Coast. 3500 sounds like the goal, good comparison now that we have 15 bullets just like the GC contest.

Example of scoring, let's say you hit a horse that pays $100 Win and $40 Place

140 + (60 * 9) = 700 pts

Basically you get full track odds on the first $2, and then $60 on the rest of it (cap $40/$20)

If your horse pays $35 and $15, this is under the cap and you get 500 pts.

So it's critical to hit some horses that pay above the cap to accumulate valuable extra points as well as to hit some Place bombs to fatten your tally. Scores in the top 20 will be tight and a small number of points can mean a lot of cash differential. You don't want to finish 6th, 11th, or 21st in this contest by a few points!

They based the prize structure on 750 entries. That seems like a fair estimate, but i don't think anyone knows what the final player total will be, the dynamics are different and much more interesting this year. The only clue i have so far is that the hotel is "sold out" Thursday night.

[Mayo]

Randi told me they were having a very good response and she was hopefully optimistic for a good turnout.

mayo

[Bryan Wagner]

I found info on tourney at the hotel website under Race Book.

JW

[km]

Judy, if you are on their mailing list, they sent that same info you see on the hotel website out in a brochure last Fall. But they never update or add any news beyond the brochure. Results of the HPWS on their website? Forget it. Sometimes it is a week or more before they post any results and it is usually just a list of the top10 and photo of the winner.

There is almost no other way to get detailed info out of this tourney except this bbs., and that is especially true of live info while the tournament is ongoing. I'll have my iphone handy and can blog with any news and scoring frequently.

[km]

re Weather

AQU cancelled again today and more snow is expected at this time next week. The Coast tourneys have shown a willingness to add or sub tracks in the past. This is an advantage they have over the NHC in that there is no limitation if the track is taken by the racebook, they can use it. TAM is the obvious alternate and would be welcome by everyone. Even TUP has been added in the past on Saturday. But TP is never used.

Weather in California has improved and expected to get warmer and clear next week.

HAW opens tomorrow and usually has some bombs during this contest if the weather clears.

[Wright Stuff]

Ken, glad you started this thread. As I have had Saints Fever, Wine Flu, houseful of guest, etc the past few days I have not had time to check what is going on. As I mentioned earlier this year Bryan will be playing the HPWS for the first time. Several weeks ago I tried to find format, info, etc from a HPWS website or info on hotel website. I was not successful. Anyone that can give me a brief overview of this would be helpful. Since it starts next Thurs. although TS Leaderboard gave him airfare allowance ($400) the timing could not be worse for us as we have to depart the day after Mardi Gras and return the Sun. that all the New Orleans people that go snow skiing for Mardi Gras return. Plane ticket prices are thru the roof. We also have one of our children, trying to escape the Washington, D C area blizzardSSS with their two children in town starting Fri. thru Ash Wed. so we can not leave earlier. We are driving to Gulfport, MS (about 65 miles away) to get a fare under $500 and this was done several weeks ago. Bryan refuses to go without me so it is a double whammy on airfare. I really was mentally exhaused after NHC and was not ready to do any serious handicapping so I have not planned to play in it. If someone could give me the info - especially the prizes and how far down they pay it would be helpful. Bryan really wants me to enter since you can purchase an entry but I really am not leaning in that direction unless rules/pay-outs are what I consider attractive. I do not want to jump into a pool of sharks with little chance of getting any return on investment.
In advance thanks to anyone that can help.

JW

Judy:
This year there should be more entries (low 700's is the average) because there is no limit on entries per person. I am attaching the stats I have compiled on the top 30 finishers from the first five contests. It is a work in progress as this information is not posted anywhere that I am aware of. Barbara Buckley from this forum is the only person to finish 3 times in the top 15. WTG BB.

[Bryan Wagner]

Thanks for the info. I have never been on their mailing list I don't think or if I was I could have been dropped as we went almost 2 years without any mail except first class and that was spotty; No magazines, advertisements, etc. Since we have moved that has complicated things even more.

Thanks for the stats. We look forward to seeing the HTR gang.
JW

[Hovard]

Eddie, Thanks for the stats. Projects to between 1200 - 1500 per day.

[SPIKE]

I have attached the info for HPWS . My plans to attend are doubtful, because 101 yr old granny

passed away tonight. Tommorrow is 2 years from the date my wife passed away. One of my wife's

friends son passed away today from cancer, 26 years old and was in remission. He fought in the

3 years ago, survived came home and was diagnosed with cancer, beat and then passes away from

cardiac arrest. I dont know how we can have a funeral with 5 foot of snow on the ground.

I made a decision to forego the CBY contest which was Thanksgiving weekend, to spend the holiday

with my family. I handicapped that one to the "T"

I forgot the attachment, my BAD

[km]

Heartbreaking Shawn, so sorry.

[Hovard]

Respects to your family and friends, Spike.
Howard

[Donnie]

Sorry to hear the sad news Spike. Peace to you and your family. God's grace to those departed.

[Judicious Player]

About 8 days out from the Hoseplayer World Series (HPWS). Notice the lack of pre-tournament buzz as compared to the NHC. We really have no idea how many players will be involved or if there are any new developments.

Ken,

Other than this forum, or perhaps the Internet in general, there is zero buzz at the race track about handicapping tournaments. At Santa Anita where I play "live", nobody talks about handicapping tournaments at all -- not even the big one: the NHC.

Seems like there is very little marketing aimed at tournaments. Even with the perceived popularity the NHC has in this forum, nobody has ever said a word about that major tournament at Santa Anita. And the HPWS? Not a syllable.

My take: if a player turns into a "tournament junkie", no more handle from him (her). That is why the tracks themselves don't say much about them.

Your thoughts? (Anyone?)

Steve

[km]

A lot of truth in that perception Steve. In the other thread (General Forum - Not Just a Tourn..) we touch on this. The tournament itself is not profitable. It is a marketing draw to increase hotel traffic. The expectation is that the attendees will bet a bunch of money on the live races as well as fatten revenues in the hotel/casino.

That's what the Coast wants to find out next week at the HPWS. Are tournament players good customers for horse racing? Are they worth all this effort to hold a large contest? The live betting handle and hotel spending will answer that. If not, there won't be any more national marketing and they will use promotional funds to reward locals and regulars with incentives as you have experienced at Sam's Town and Santa Anita.

[Rich Goodall]

Spike--Sally and I hope that you and yours get over this difficult time as smoothly as is possible. We really enjoyed out time with you and your brother at the Red Rock, hope to see you at the Orleans, but if you can't make it, Sally and I will drink a cold one in honor of the Spikester. Be well,buddy

Rich

[JoeK]

Spike - My prayers are with you and yours.

Strong showing on HPQ today. Nice to have a fun diversion at times like this. Be well.

[Bob]

Shawn,

My thoughts are with you and your family.

I hope we get a chance to meet at the HPWS if you are able to attend...

Regards,

[SPIKE]

Thanks to everyone for their heart felt condolances. I got word last night that the services will be

Wed. I will lay my grandmother aka "FAT NANNY" to rest and then take a flight to VEGAS.

BOB, we will have to meet up and have a cold one.

Thanks Joe K. I look forward to meeting you in Vegas

To the Goodalls the name says it all.

Again thanks to everyone for their support during this difficult period.

Props to Myles Richard had a outstanding performence yesterday in the HPQ mini. Props to the HPQ

gang for hosting the mini contest and all the hard work they do.

[BobD]

I don't know how many of the HTR folks at the HPWS have twitter accounts but I will be tweetng observations and/or updates from HippaBob during the contest on site. If anyone else will be tweeting and wants to be followed to love to have the chance to do so.

Bob

[Gambler]

Sorry to hear about the death in your family. I will say a prayer.

[tommyc]

BobD...I'll be tweeting too fm @TommySi. I'm IN at the HPWS, just very low profile. :D

[tommyc]

BobD......Twitter sez it don't know no HippaBob !