A Spectator's Review and Guide to The Derby City Classic Pool and Billiard Event

The Derby City Classic (DCC) is a billiard and pool extravaganza that is held in January of every year at the Horseshoe Hotel and Casino located in Elizabeth, Indiana. For pool players in the United States, it is an event that has few rivals and could indeed be referred to as the Mecca of Pool in our Country. For nine full days and nights, hundreds of pool players gather at this event to battle for cash, titles, and their due respect in the billiard world. The players--professional and amateur--match off one by one in classic games such as nine ball, ten ball, one pocket, straight pool, bank pool, and this year, even some modified eight ball. It is truly a venue that offers a player the opportunity to make his mark in the world as an up-and-coming star in the sport. The tournament is covered well by the billiard press, such as Inside Pool, Billiards Digest, and other cue-sports magazines. The professionals employed by these fine media publications do an excellent job of recording the outcome of these contests and obtaining quality photographs and video for their online customers. But this type of sports reporting is not the direction that this article is focused upon.

This article will provide information for the fan and the players that have never been to the event--at least not since the venue change in 2009. Despite four years of Derby City pool at the Horseshoe Casino, questions continue to arise on forum boards regarding how the "new venue" matches up to the old Executive West location--a favorite host for many years and a sore spot for many that now miss those glory days. These questions comparing the two venues still remain unanswered for many players and fans, and finding a comprehensive and unbiased review of the Horseshoe location online has been nearly impossible, with only the spotty responses from billiard forum members as a guide. Hopefully, this article will provide the answers many of you are seeking to help you decide if the Derby City Classic is worth your travel time and investment.

The Casino is located in a fairly remote section of Indiana. By remote, I mean that there is not a McDonald's or a Burger King joint across the street. Casinos rarely build where there will be competition for their dollars, and the location of the Horseshoe Casino is true to this design concept. With this point made, there are restaurant and hotel options within a reasonable distance to the casino. There are two hotels within eight miles that provide accommodations in the one-hundred dollar price range, and they also provide a free breakfast for their patrons. Budget hotels and numerous restaurant options can also be found within a fifteen to twenty-minute drive toward Interstate 65--just far enough to be inconvenient--but close enough for the budget minded pool fan to utilize if needed.

As compared to the Executive West, there are pros and cons with the "New" casino venue. One plus to the casino is the outstanding parking facilities available. The casino and the on-site hotel have large parking decks that are free to use and provide easy access to both buildings (hotel and casino). You simply turn off the main highway and follow the well-marked signs to the parking deck that is closest to your destination. I traveled with a friend of mine, and we both found the parking easy and hassle free at the Horseshoe Casino. The security cameras in the area were an extra-nice touch for those of us leaving expensive items in our vehicles. All of this is a stark contrast to the old days at the Executive West Hotel. I have vivid memories of driving into the lot at the Executive West hoping to find a parking spot--any parking spot on the property. The lot was filled to capacity almost twenty-four hours a day. Many patrons of the old venue also recall scraping snow off of their windshields and walking through rainstorms to get to and from their cars. Weather issues like that are no longer a problem at the Horseshoe Casino, and neither are super-size thefts from parked vehicles and trucks. So the Horseshoe Casino picks up the win in regards to security and parking convenience during the tournament; but the old Executive West scores a knock-out win with its easy accessibility to secondary restaurants and hotels.

So let's consider other aspects of the tournament location now. For those of you that attended the event when it was held at the Executive West, you probably remember the convenience of walking out of your hotel room, taking the elevator to the ground floor, and wallah--- boom baby--your in the action and mystique of the Derby City pool ambiance. This place came superbly close to making pool the eleventh sin; but somehow, things teetered in the balance of legal decadence --or so we told ourselves while frolicking about Alex-like in the den of pool lust. Hundred-dollar bills, hot women, super-star players (male and female), and billiard freaks of all shape, color, and denomination would squeeze through the funnel-like corridor of the entrance as they made their way back and forth to the old tournament room. Every walk to the room was--of course-- a new adventure, as you could find yourself inches away from Buddy Hall, Allison Fisher, or that nasty guy that robbed you for a hundred on the bar table in Mobile. It was a virtual human soup of pool mixed amongst the enticing aroma of cigars, booze, and cheap cologne. There was nothing like it anywhere, and we--the pool junkies of the planet--loved every inch of the juke-joint. In comparison, the Horseshoe Casino comes up cleaner, brighter, less-crowded, and unfortunately,... mystique-less. I would compare the commercial-friendly ambiance of the present-day Derby City Classic to a WPBATournament before the big shut down two years ago. Is it fun? Well yeah, but it ain't up close and stinky personal. You will not find yourself in between the Freezer and the Hillbilly while they discuss terms on an action match in the middle of the hallway, but you may still find yourself on an elevator ride with one of them as they verbally vent their competitive frustration on their way back to the hotel room. This is modern progress in action folks, but this kind of happy-face commercialism isn't what a lot of folks from the old school of billiards wanted. As for the original point--comparing hotel convenience to the tournament room-- the old Executive West wins this category hands down. At the Horseshoe Hotel, you will find yourself about four or five football fields away from the tournament room. The walk is really not too bad, but it isn't anything near the convenience one had at the Executive West. The Horseshoe obviously recognized this as a problem, and they have taken great expense to install an airport-style moving walkway along the route that will take you much of the distance from the hotel to the casino area. The entire walk only takes about five minutes to complete. The walk from the casino parking lot to the tournament room is even quicker than this.

When planning our trip to the Derby City Classic this year, my friend and I struggled with the decision to stay at the casino hotel or reserve a more reasonable room at a nearby location. In the end, we did both. We stayed at an economy hotel near Interstate 65 the first night of our arrival and then moved to the Horseshoe Hotel for the following night. This proved to be a good plan for us, and I will share with you some of the observations that we made.

Rooms at the casino are not cheap. The Tournament offers a group rate for players and fans that can be booked with the hotel, and this allows for a substantial discount if you stay for the entire nine days of the event. That is a good thing, of course, but for most of us attending for just a few days, this deal offers no discount at all. Very few billiard fans--and probably most amateur players-- will not not stay for the entire nine days of the event. This is just too expensive for the average spectator to manage. But prices for reserving individual days during the week are available to spectators at an affordable rate of $99 per night. Weekend nights were priced much higher at about $160--too much for many fans unless they can share a room with friends. Still, price is a relative concept, and many pool fans can afford the rates at the Horseshoe Hotel. Those that can't, well,... start up the car and drive somewhere else. But let's move along on this topic and discuss what the hotel offers for these rates.

Check in at the front desk was smooth for us, and the staff were very professional and courteous in all aspects. My friend and I were informed at check-in about the hotel's strict policy regarding in-room purchases of snacks and beverages. Frankly, this information was a little shocking to us, but we appreciated the warning and heeded it nonetheless. What the hotel receptionist was referring to is the in-room sales of snack items from the room's refrigerator area. It seems that some enterprising engineer has devised an electronic serving device that senses when you remove an item from the tray. We were warned that if you remove--or possibly just touch--a food or beverage item in the tray, it will automatically charge your room for the item. I don't know about everyone that stayed at the Horseshoe Hotel, but for my friend and I, this was a big negative for a room that we had spent nearly two-hundred dollars on. The refrigerator was stacked completely full with items for sale and left no room for us to even place a bottle of water in it. As for heating up a sandwich, or cooking a bag of popcorn, forget about it. There is no microwave available in the room. We were so intimidated by the commercialization of the room, that we decided to pass on the apparently free coffee in the bathroom---seriously. I had a nightmare of receiving a $50 casino bill for a foil of gourmet coffee.

The room itself was clean and spacious, and on a Friday night the room was quiet and we slept very well. The hotel elevators responded quickly (much better than the Executive), and there was a shuttle service provided via golf-cart vehicles for patrons that could not walk the distance from the hotel to the tournament room. Hotel security was also exceptional, with a courteous and attentive guard on site at the hotel, and security cameras were monitoring the elevators and hallways on every floor.

Fans have also noted that the in-room video for the tournament feed is much improved over the old days at the Executive. One can now review the scheduled matches from the comfort of their room at the Horseshoe, and the resolution of the video is crisp and clear. Additionally, there are now video feeds (live-view video of matches) throughout the venue area (but no longer in the TV Arena).

Who wins the battle between the Executive West and the Horseshoe Hotel for best overnight stay? Geez,... that will depend on what you personally want in your stay. My friend and I vote for the old Executive West, but we are probably not typical. I can see where the enhanced security and the quality of the rooms would give this decision to the Horseshoe, so let's just call this issue a toss up and move on.

Getting spectator tickets for this event is not as smooth a process as it could be, but the promoter does make provisions for patrons that plan on attending the entire event. At the DCC website, one can purchase several ticket options in advance of the event with three pass options available for purchase.

1. The TV VIP Pass allows the spectator access to any seat in the house. This option includes the 'ringside' seats that surround the main TV table. This feature (TV) table is the location of special live-feed Internet matches and is usually video-taped for later DVD purchase by a company called Accu-Stats. This option is expensive and must be purchased for the entire event.

2. The next tier level for a spectator pass is the VIP Pass. This pass allows access to all seats in the room except for the ringside seats surrounding the TV table. You may purchase this option for the entire event, for the three day finals only, or on a day by day basis.

3. The most economical pass available is the general admission ticket. With this pass, one can sit in the second row and higher anywhere in the tournament room. Many fans that purchase this option will sit on the second floor of the arena and watch the matches through a glass partition on the second floor.

If you simply want to purchase VIP or general admission tickets for a single day or group of days, you will not be able to do this in advance. New fans will sometimes have a bit of anxiety that they will travel to the event and then have trouble obtaining good seats due to this issue--I was one of them years ago. In my experience, this has never been a problem. You may purchase VIP or general admission tickets right up to the moment the round of play starts and still obtain good seating if you arrive early. As for the TV VIP seats, they do sell out and these seats are not generally available to late purchases.

The tournament room is a beautiful place to play pool. It is a little bigger than a football field in size, and the promoter did an excellent job in preparing it for the tournament. The facilities are smoke free and well lit for the players and spectators. The only issue that really annoyed my friend and I was the seating arrangements for spectators. If you have a VIP pass, you will probably be able to find a good seat next to the player area that will provide a good view of the game--just get there early. But the general admission seats are designed poorly on the lower level. This second row of seats is not elevated and is actually set up directly behind the pathway that everyone walks through to go back and forth to the TV arena. The patrons sitting in this area must endure a blocked view from the heads of the VIP patrons and the constant foot traffic walking back and forth in front of them. The only real option for the general admission ticket holder is to go to the second floor and try to get an overhead view through the glass wall. One can see a match from there, but not many of them simultaneously. The issue is dealing with the vision obstruction of the players table light. The table light will block view from directly overhead, and one must sit to the side from his target table in order to see all of the action. The experience reminded me of watching a match on a TV screen from a distance, and I did not enjoy it. Other than this, the general admission pass will get you a good seat in the TV arena, and I highly recommend this as the best option for general pass holders.

For those readers new to billiard events, an Action Room refers to a pool room in which players will face off in contests involving monetary wagers, often involving exceptionally large amounts of cash. For those interested in this type of activity, the DCC does not disappoint. The Horseshoe Venue is far superior in this aspect of comparison, as a large number of full-size Diamond Pool Tables were available for rent throughout the second floor of the casino venue. These tables are open twenty-four hours a day throughout the course of the tournament. A prominent billiard magazine even had their own room set up for straight pool and action matches, and they were providing live-feed Internet video and professional commentary on the events daily. Spectators could sit in this particular action room and be less than three feet away from the participants as they made a shot. If you like to watch the world's best--and some very unique characters-- play pool, it doesn't get any better than this.

As for practice tables, the promoter has placed them everywhere on the second floor. The largest room of these tables became the main action area for gamblers, hustlers, and players seeking good wagers and worthy competition. This is the place to be at the DCC, if you want to watch the seedier side of pool and gambling. Just step into this room and enjoy. I personally watched one bare-footed young hustler as he barked out challenges to the entire room. "Who want's action in here?" The tattooed teen would ask loudly. "Let's make a game. Come on." And then they would come, castigating each other like they were preparing to fist it out in a school-yard brawl. No less than four players wanting action approached the young man, and the machismo-laced negotiations began amongst them. First they argued over handicapping the number of games. "I'm a Nobody," one player began with his pitch. "I ain't never won a tournament. Best I ever done is third place." Still the Teen was not impressed. "I seen you play before," he replied. "I want a sub for shots and the spot." This negotiation continued for a while, with details getting batted back and forth like a UN cease-fire agreement. In the end there was no bet between these two. The challenger from Southern Mississippi was too much of a risk for the teen's backer, and he didn't want the game. In fact, all four deals fell apart in negotiations, and two new players took charge of the table for a simple race to seven for $200 cash. "This is my last $200," the man told his friends, almost as if he was proud of the fact. They just nodded their approval and offered encouraging words laced with insults for his opponent. It is true, one could see action like this--and sometimes better-- in the old Executive West action room. But now there are more tables, more opportunity, and more players getting involved in this type of action. If we are honest with ourselves, gambling matches like this are a touch of the real world that is highly entertaining. There is something about watching players argue over a four-thousand dollar bet when they are wearing two-dollar shoes--or none at all--and a fruit-of-the-loom t-shirt. It is circus-style fun that holds true to the Executive West tradition of outlandish DCC Action.

The 14th Annual DCC appeared to be a success to this spectator. The crowds were not as large as everyone would like, but those that did come spent their money and supported their favorite sport. Attendance was certainly hurt by the scheduling of a major WPBA Tournament during the same three days that the DCC was closing. The women players are a very important part of the DCC's success, and this conflict robbed the tournament and the fans of seeing ALL of pool's superstars in one place at one time. Hopefully, this mistake will not be made again next year. As a fan of women's and men's pool, it is hard for me to understand why the WPBA and the DCC cannot combine their efforts once a year to have one super-event for women and men. A similar approach has been successful at the Super Billiard's Expo, and I believe that the fans would like to see more of this.

Is today's DCC better than the days of old at the Executive West Inn? In some ways the answer is obviously no, but more importantly, the changes have facilitated the possibility of growth in the future. The DCC now has the opportunity to become bigger than ever imagined, and this just wasn't possible in the old venue. Already, there are plans to hold a similar-style tournament in a Tunica Casino later this year. That is great news for the players, the fans, and the billiard industry, and a signal that pool may be moving in the right direction once again. With all of this progress, it may be time for a new name for this tournament and a new beginning. Indiana is not the home of the Kentucky Derby, and it is not the real Derby City for pool fans either. The Horseshoe Tournament is what it is, and it is a great step forward for the future of pool. Dropping the old namesake would eliminate the need for these constant comparisons to the Executive West and open the door for a new legacy at the Horseshoe Casino.

In closing, I do want to pay tribute to some of the people that made the old DCC so special and were sorely missed this year by myself and other pool fans.

1. Grady Mathews. I hear that he was too ill to attend the second half of the tournament this year, and we wish him a speedy recovery. This man is the essence of the DCC and his gentleman presence and special flair was missed very much in the tournament room during the last week.

2. Scott "The Shot" Smith. Say what you want about Scott, but he brings the party folks. We miss his timely and funny comments over the loudspeaker and his active participation in lining up action matches. The guy may have his faults, but he too has a flair and a personality that cannot be replaced by anyone else. Bring him back,...PLEASE!

3. The ladies of pool. We miss Allison, Karen, Jeanette, Ga Young, and Sarah Rousey. Work with the WPBA and get these girls and their friends back to the DCC!

4. The three-cushion billiards guys. Hey,... they are different and cool. Bring these skilled men and women back. There is plenty of room for them, and we all need to stick together to make cue sports stronger in the United States.

I hope that this article was informative and answered many questions that first-time fans may have about the DCC. I want to stress that I am not associated with the DCC nor any other industry that profits from this tournament. These comments are based on my observations and discussions that I have had with other fans that have attended the DCC. We all love the DCC and want to see it improve every year.

Please address any unanswered questions about the DCC in the comments section below. I will respond as soon as possible and update this article as needed to assist the DCC Fans.