Major Announcement: STUD - and no, this is NOT an early April Fool's joke

[kangarau]

STUD: Scrabble Till U Drop

Date: Tentatively scheduled for June 4 - June 12, 2011.

Location: Baltimore, Maryland, in the beautiful yet surprisingly affordable Inner Harbor

Number of Games: 60: 3-8-7-8-7-8-7-8-4, starting Saturday evening and running through the following Sunday.  YES, you read that right.  NINE DAYS of Scrabble.

Divisions: Two Divisions with Unlimited Play-up

Prizes: More $$ than you ever dreamed possible, especially if I succeed at my plan of getting sponsorship.  If not, I kick in some of my/our own jingle.  My very preliminary goal?  $30K for first place in the non-loo-loo Open Division.  Less for the "leisure," tile-slingers' division.  That's my stance on prize $, and I'm sticking to it, goddammit.  The perennial loo-loos who complain about prize distribution can just stay the ##ck home, no offense.

Format: RR for 12, followed by Swiss with no repeats till Round 45.  This reduces luck as a factor.

• Special "inducement" in the form of a major discount to any player traveling over 4,000 miles to get here.  I have flown back and forth to Asia numerous times.  It is a major pain in the butt - as well as pricey - to get there.  As an aside, my very worst trip ever involved my leaving Philly at 5:00 pm on Tuesday.  I arrived in Hong Kong (lovely, btw) on Friday at 12:30 in the morning. I had only airplane food for that whole time; stuck in an airplane with folks who couldn't shower or change clothes.  Implausible, but true.  Anyway,  I plan to provide the generous discount in order to induce top international players to come.  Think Pakorn, Panupol, the other Thais, Mikki and the Brits, the Australians, even Wellington and the Nigerians.  You get the picture.

Of course this will mean tons of advance planning, negotiations with hotels, parking garages, restaurants and the like.  I know I'm setting myself up for a lots of work (especially since we won't even be living here next year), and many possible headaches, but I am committed and prepared to deliver.  I do have over a year to work out the finer details, perhaps even succeed in my fantasy goal of $50K as the top prize.  Again, if I fall short of goal, I add my own money to the fund.  Simple as that.

The bottom line is this: we all have been whining about ways in which Scrabble can get the recognition from outsiders that it deserves.  I would love to get back on ESPN, to finally get corporate sponsorship, etc.  I anticipate local papers like the Baltimore Sun to give us lots of press and free publicity.  Perhaps even a write-up in major papers like the Washington Post - very likely given D.C.'s proximity to Baltimore - and the NY Times.

Not to boast, but I have appeared on TV three times to date, including a cameo in a internationally-televised Tylenol commercial (yes, back in '95 and '96 when I was still, if I may say so, a "looker.") and a major feature on the 11:00 news when I lived in Philly.  I know this is not just a pipe dream of mine, but I will keep in mind Chris Cree's and Spouse's advice to under-promise and over-deliver.

This WILL go on.  Yet, this does NOT mean that the June 2010 BOSTON has been kicked to the curb.  That will also go on, but will be a more traditional Open.  I don't think it's mere ego or hyperbole for me to predict that this will FINALLY change the public image of Scrabble.  It's about - to quote Marlon - fluckin' time.  I personally am sick and tired of passively waiting for things to happen.  I will do my best to make it happen.

Finally, I must note that although we brainstormed over a three-hour-long sushi dinner (for me) and bottle of red wine and beef negimaki, followed by key lime cheesecake (for him), this was the brainchild of Spouse.  He deserves full credit for coming up with the idea.  Yet, I'm happy to do the unglamorous grunt work.  Hope to see some of you next year.  As I said, this will go on.

Anyone interested?

Addendum:  I am very open to input and will ponder every single suggestion, no matter how much it goes against our (S's and my) "master plan."  One thing, though, I will NOT waver on - and that is the number of games.  The biggest concession I might consider is reducing it to 50 games, but absolutely no fewer than that.

Not to sound rude but for my purposes, I don't care about whether someone thinks s/he would be too exhausted, wouldn't enjoy the games or play optimally.  That's wholly beside the point.  I don't even care about attendance numbers or whether I'll make money for myself (I won't).

It might take a while for folks to understand why - but I think most, even those who will refuse to attend, WILL see the big picture - and not consider me a blathering fool for attempting this.  In the meantime I'm prepared for lots of "wet blankets."  And please say exactly what you think - I promise I won't take it personally.