Steve's email to NASPAetheridge2February 10 2010, 01:17:05 UTC
From: Steve Hartsman
Re: Jeremy's decision to "ban" me from Scrabble tourney
Jeremy Cahnmann has decided to "ban" me from participating in any Scrabble tournaments he directs. Jeremy's note to that effect is included below, but contains several factual errors. Further, his reference to a matter settled years earlier is simply not relevant.
FACT: Jeremy promoted the tourney with a flyer that promised "100% payout after minimal expenses". It is highly unusual for directors to use such verbiage, but Jeremy did.
FACT: The actual payout was nowhere near 100%, and much closer to 60% (the entry fee was $100, rather steep for such a tourney), which cost me several hundred dollars in prize money
FACT: This info was passed on to the NSA, which took no action
FACT: The reporting of these facts greatly irritated Jeremy, as evidenced below
FACT: I never accused Jeremy of "pocketing" the money, merely that he greatly misrepresented the payout. I assumed (correctly) that Jeremy ended up having to pay for the room space due to low guest rooms at the site hotel, eroding his prize budget, a fact he did not disclose to me at the time of the event...
Jeremy feels that I owe him an apology, which he will not accept even if offered. I feel that it is he who falsely advertised his tourney, and that he owes me (and the Scrabble community at large) an apology, which he obviously isn't willing to give.
Regardless of the personal issues, I don't feel he has the right to "ban" me from playing. The fact is, there are precious few tourneys in the Midwest, and I'd like to play in those that I'm able to.
Please advise, as it's clear Jeremy has drawn his line in the sand.
Re: Steve's email to NASPAsr_orangepantsFebruary 10 2010, 04:10:12 UTC
What a dumbass. Hmm. Does he wonder why the NSA took no action against you? Did it not occur to him to ask you why the prizes were as low as they were in the first place instead of just reporting you to the NSA?
I think that John Chew will back you on this, but if you do end up having to accept his entry, don't cancel the tourney. Invite someone to the tourney to watch him like a hawk and see if he does peeky tiles. Pay to get Tony Leah or me or any of the countless others who thinks he might cheat out to the tourney, and take it out of the prize fund.
"100% payout after minimal expenses" is what it says, yep. So what does "minimal" mean, and why would Steve assume that whatever you (Jeremy) took out wasn't "minimal"? Would anybody read "minimal" and assume that it *didn't* include the costs of the venue? I'm not sure about the economics, but I wonder what the heck he *expected* them to be?
Re: Jeremy's decision to "ban" me from Scrabble tourney
Jeremy Cahnmann has decided to "ban" me from participating in any Scrabble tournaments he directs. Jeremy's note to that effect is included below, but contains several factual errors. Further, his reference to a matter settled years earlier is simply not relevant.
FACT: Jeremy directed a tournament in the Chicago area on Easter weekend in March '08, a tournament which I won (see http://cross-tables.com/tourney.php?t=5933&div=1)
FACT: Jeremy promoted the tourney with a flyer that promised "100% payout after minimal expenses". It is highly unusual for directors to use such verbiage, but Jeremy did.
FACT: The actual payout was nowhere near 100%, and much closer to 60% (the entry fee was $100, rather steep for such a tourney), which cost me several hundred dollars in prize money
FACT: This info was passed on to the NSA, which took no action
FACT: The reporting of these facts greatly irritated Jeremy, as evidenced below
FACT: I never accused Jeremy of "pocketing" the money, merely that he greatly misrepresented the payout. I assumed (correctly) that Jeremy ended up having to pay for the room space due to low guest rooms at the site hotel, eroding his prize budget, a fact he did not disclose to me at the time of the event...
Jeremy feels that I owe him an apology, which he will not accept even if offered. I feel that it is he who falsely advertised his tourney, and that he owes me (and the Scrabble community at large) an apology, which he obviously isn't willing to give.
Regardless of the personal issues, I don't feel he has the right to "ban" me from playing. The fact is, there are precious few tourneys in the Midwest, and I'd like to play in those that I'm able to.
Please advise, as it's clear Jeremy has drawn his line in the sand.
Steve Hartsman
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I think that John Chew will back you on this, but if you do end up having to accept his entry, don't cancel the tourney. Invite someone to the tourney to watch him like a hawk and see if he does peeky tiles. Pay to get Tony Leah or me or any of the countless others who thinks he might cheat out to the tourney, and take it out of the prize fund.
Reply
http://www.cross-tables.com/download/archive/mundelein200803.doc
"100% payout after minimal expenses" is what it says, yep. So what does "minimal" mean, and why would Steve assume that whatever you (Jeremy) took out wasn't "minimal"? Would anybody read "minimal" and assume that it *didn't* include the costs of the venue? I'm not sure about the economics, but I wonder what the heck he *expected* them to be?
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