Capt. Brant letter
To all tournament fishermen,
We have watched tournament participation and payouts suffer over the past years, but it is my sincere hope that the Cash is King program will bring new energy to the sport. The program is internet based and is aimed at attracting additional entry monies via the offering of unpaid entry levels. When a boat enters a tournament and does not purchase all the available entry levels, money is left on the table. What if this lost entry level could be offered to the public for purchase? Prize money lost, would turn into a gain. As an example: The Jolly Mon King Classic has averaged 250 boat entries over the past 5 years. On average, 20% or 50 of the entrants enter the “High Rollers” level at a cost of $250. The average payout for this level has thus been $12,500. IF the public had the opportunity to purchase the 80% of unpaid “High Rollers” entries, the average payout would potentially jump to an impressive $62,500. Factor in the “23 and under” and standard “TWT” entry level, potential payouts could swell in excess of $100,000.
Here is how it works:
When a boat enters, their entry will be processed into the tournament database and then broadcast real-time to the Cash is King webpage. This page will be in a grid format, with column headers showing boat name, captain and various available levels of entry. If a level has been purchased by the captain, the grid shows a red square. If the level has not been purchased, the grid shows a green square. The web viewer can then point and click on the green square to add that available entry level to their shopping cart; thus turning the square yellow, meaning purchase is “in process”. The viewer has 5 minutes to complete the transaction or the cart will be emptied and all items in the cart will again become available for purchase to the public; this keeps a viewer from hoarding and not completing their transaction. Of course, boats that are over 23 feet will show their “23 and under” level as being unavailable to purchase.
The Cash is King program will debut at the 2013 Yellowfin/Yamaha Jolly Mon King Classic. The webpage will go live at 12pm on Friday, June 14th at www.OIFC.com/cashisking . There will be an initial upload of early entries, followed by a real-time upload of entrants as they enter throughout the day. IF a captain DOES NOT sign off tonallow his boat’s unclaimed entry levels to be available for purchase, the entry will still be uploaded for viewing on Cash is King page but will not become available for public purchase until the Captain signs off or until registration close at 10pm. This feature is intended to allow the public to see who is entering the tournament and who's TWT's may become available while also allowing the captain/crew to enter additional levels after their initial entry submittal ie. A captain enters early to save early entry money, but wants to wait until registration day to decide whether or not to enter additional entry levels. After the 10pm registration deadline, a final entry upload will occur in which ALL remaining entries who have not recieved preauthorization for release will be added to the Cash is King grid. Entry levels will remain available to purchase via Cash is King until 7am of the first day of fishing, June 15th.
And what about the winnings? If the TWT was purchased through the Cash is King program, the person who purchased the entry level will win 90% of that winnings and the boat will win 10% *** All TWT's have 3 places, 1st gets 50% of the availbale prize pot, 2nd get 30% and 3rd gets 20% ***. Thus, even if a team does not spend the additional money to enter the additional TWT levels, THE BOAT WILL STILL WIN ADDITIONAL PRIZE MONEY WITH NO ADDITINOAL ENTRY COST.
So what does all this mean? It means a family member, a friend or a stranger has the opportunity to purchase your unclaimed entry levels in this year’s Jolly Mon King Classic. It hopefully means that you will actively market your boat via word of mouth, Facebook or any other means in an effort to increase your potential winnings without increasing your entry cost. This program has the ability to enhance your tournament experience through greater payouts. However, it also has the ability to enhance the experience of the tournament spectator by giving them some “skin in the game”. Now you will be weighing-in to a crowd that isn’t there to just see the boats, they are there to see you! The success of this program is reliant upon teams marketing themselves, and actively spreading the word about the program. If enough energy and interest is generated, entry levels will be purchased, payouts will increase, entrants will increase and thus a snowball effect will occur.
Thanks for your interest and good luck, whether you are participating from the water or the land.
Capt. Brant