Remember this from a Golf prize winner
Posted by Love the Market on May 26, 2004 22:28:
I'm sure you mean THIS. It's been posted on threads everywhere... I had a bunch of friends with this last year - hope they're all out......
From the UVCL thread on RB:
Guys I dont know if you have heard of WGFL (The World Golf League) but they had their big tourney in Scottsdale AZ this last week. Read this...its hilarious stuff...LoL
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THE FIASCO (condensed)
PART 1 My report on the WGL World Championships all of this of course is my opinion based on the fact that I was actually at the event.. First and foremost all of you who have seen me post on this board since the company has gone public know that I have been a huge supporter of the company and mostly the concept. I have listened to many people bash the company and the CEO and always defended them. I have always acknowledged that there have been problems and obstacles to overcome for the WGL to succeed and fully believed that they would do so. That being said I will now tell you what happened this past weekend which has changed my mind FOREVER.
PART 2 I am sure I will forget some of the details as I am so angry and frankly pissed off it is hard to even type this.
First of all anyone going to the website will see that the prize pool was supposed to be 50k with NO disclaimer that it could change. Well first problem of the weekend is when everyone gets there after spending close to 1000 dollars on airfare and accommodations and rental cars we find out that the prize pool has not only been cut down to 25k but also only the top 3 teams will be paid. One of our teammates and a guy from another team was told it was changed so that everyone on the team would receive the prize amount and it would not be split 4 ways. (not true of course) Then we find out that the team matchups that were supposed to be random have been set up so that certain teams only have to play against inside people (insiders to the company) and given a very unfair advantage. Long story short on this point is that on the final day with the competition still in the air the celebrity group of Lawrence Taylor and Ricky Jackson somehow get paired against Mike Pagnano and his son. So needing to sweep all of there matches surprise surprise they did and won the tourney not to mention that they were the last group to come in and post there scores after one of Mikes buddies went out and told him what the standing were. To prove this point it was said by Mike P to one of the alternates that had to fill in for someone who did not show that not to worry about who his teammates are as they don’t have a chance to win anyway as there are teams that are already planned to win. This is a direct quote by the way.
PART 3 We, about 15 competitors were approached after the final round by a guy so drunk he could barely stand and claiming to be a new director with the company and said to myself and others many times over the week that this was all for fun and what a great deal it was anyway just to get to play 3 rounds of golf as if this was some kind of excuse to change all the rules/pairings/money. And we should be grateful and so on. Well first of all this is by no means true. We could have stayed home and played three rounds of golf with our friends for free. The most disturbing part of the is that we were not informed before arriving for the event that the prize pool was cut in half. Otherwise I myself would never have gone with such a slim chance of winning anything. This was also the opinion of many others. Not to mention the fact that First place was so blatantly set up. The whole concept of this league is to feel like the pros and have a legitimate shot at winning money. Everytime it ends up that you never even had a chance before you got on the plane. Needless to say there was much chatter from day one until the end regarding the scam that this whole thing turned out to be. When I say much chatter I mean that everyone that was not a close friend of the CEO was boiling and there were conversation before after and during the rounds going on the whole time.
Now to the good part. My team actually came in third place which I am sure was a big shock to Mike, in my opinion he had 3 teams he had planned on winning and we upset his story book ending. So anyway we got to the banquet and had a nice meal and then the fun started. Mike got up in front of the cameras and proceeded to tell some fairy tale of wonderful event taking place that not to many people in the audience were aware of. Most of us were looking around at each other in awe as the events he described were not even close to what was reality, anyway he kept going on looking directly into the camera as if everyone else in the audience were just props. Then it comes time to hand out the awards. Our team was called first and we went up to shake hands and smile while holding our big check of $2500 to be split 4 ways (supposed to be $7500) then things got crazy.
PART 4 after accepting our check we walked off the podium only to see that one of our teammates had taken the microphone and began to speak. What he had to say was unbelievable. He looked right in the camera and said what a pleasure it was to play and meet such nice people and that the concept was great but unfortunately the whole thing was a scam. He continued by calling Mike a few choice names and expressing his aggravation at the total lack of integrity of the event and its organizers. This went on surpisingly for a few minutes before Mike grabbed the microphone and tried to push him off the stage. The guy went to go back to the table and Mike followed him and screamed for security to remove him. Then Mike made a beeline right for me screaming to me and asking if I felt the same way and blaming me for all of this. He tried to say I had set it all up. Well as powerful as I would like to think I am I had nothing to do with it. (That is not to say I was not involved in numerous conversations with more than half the field where we were all expressing our concerns) Well I agreed and said I thought the whole thing was a scam also. He wanted me to leave and I said I would not until I got my money. He continued screaming at me while my wife and teammates and there wives all sat there in shock. Then Mikes wife was next to me pinching my arm and demanding that I leave. I told her to get her hands off of me and then Mike tried to attack me. Needless to say I had enough at this point and stood up to confront him only to be attacked by Lawrence Taylor and the other Friends of Mike (all football size guys) I was thrown through the banquet doors by LT into the hall and then pinned up against the wall by my neck and arms by 5 guys. Then the coward Mike hit me in the back of my head while I was being held by 5 guys. This went on for a few minutes back and forth before things were broken up. I must say that my wife was impressed it took so many to hold me down. I did manage to throw the one guy holding me by the neck to the side finally which was pretty impressive since he weighed about 300 and I am about 175 but I was pissed and being from a tough Italian neighborhood in boston I have had my fair share of bar room brawls. Hahaha. I of course was enraged and wanted a piece of this coward who would not come near me unless his entourage was in front of him. I can only say at this point that I am absolutely beside myself that this could happen. He kept saying that we were all invited guests and we should just be happy to be there. Well that is not true. We are paying members and investors some of whom are owed large sums of money still and continued to support the WGL. We are all entitled to our opinion and should not be attacked for saying it. What our teammate did was not done in the best way but it was not surpising and been coming for a couple of years. If Mike wants to play golf with his friends and give them money that is one thing but he has no right to steal and decieve others in doing so.
PART 5 At this point obviously I am done with this league and company and will do what I can to make sure that we get the total prize money we were told was being awarded. You can be sure that the FL AG will be made fully aware of all of this as well. Not just by me but by many that were there. I apologize to all the longs on this board as this not what I wanted to come back with. I know we all had high hopes. I can also assure you I will be selling all my shares ASAP and taking any and all legal action I am afforded under the law.
PART6 As you can see from the pictures that after our 3rd place team pic there is only one guy holding the check for second and the first place team which are all of Mikes friends were the only few left in the room. Notice by the way that LT is not in the pic (the big guy is Ricky Jackson)as he was outside when the police came keeping his distance. Well I am done I don’t care what any of you bashers have to say as it is and always will be speculation on your part whether it is right of wrong. I have always told the truth on this board and wont stop now. When I say the truth I mean I was actually there and not just giving heresay. I was wrong in thinking this company would learn its lessons and improve going forward. As an ex pro athlete myself I am saddened that the opportunity for such a great competition is being destroyed. It was never about the money but the chance to compete and feel like a pro. I can only hope that someone else picks up on this concept and runs it the right way. Well at this point I want to thank my teammates for a great week and special thanks to gambling man (one of my teammates), Greg and his wife and to my wife. And to Karbo and his Ohio team thanks for the great match on Saturday you are all a great bunch of guys and true gentleman of the game. I also want to thank some of Mikes friends that came up to me and apologized for the despicable behavior and treatment I had received, that was a classy thing to do. Oh yeah by the way none of the other celebrities such as Wayne Gretzky were there as stated in previous press release. To all the rest of you good luck……………player
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