Pinacle Events' Steve Sanders keeps busy improving Las Vegas' Mini Eliminator and embarking on a bold new adventure with his Gen
01/13/06
Steve Sanders may be the most energetic and futuristic thinker in bowling. As originator and owner of Pinacle Events he is constantly busy making things better today and trying to improve events tomorrow.
I caught up with him via cell phone in Los Angeles with the intentions of talking to him about his ever growing and ever improving Super Bowl Mini Eliminator Tournament at The Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas Feb. 6-12, plus the new $100,000 Morich Mixed Doubles National Championship Feb. 3-5 at the same site.
He talks fast, just like he moves and thinks, so you have to be on your toes to keep up with his thoughts. After about 10 minutes of answering questions about the Mini Eliminator, I asked him about his two-year quest to turn a dream into a reality when it came to his Generations Bowling Tour for seniors.
"The Generations tour is moving very rapidly, I just hit more than a grand slam in Michigan and Ohio by signing six bowling centers that will host tournaments," Sanders said. "I plan to kick off a 25 to 30 event tour schedule right after the USBC Senior Masters concludes its July 9-15 run at the National Bowling Center Stadium.
"I have such a passion to produce something great for the seniors and I think the Generations tour will have a major impact on the bowling industry. These guys want to bowl...they truly love the game and are its legends."
Sanders is no stranger to a similar burning desire found in senior bowlers. He has run successful senior tournaments at Sam's Town in Las Vegas, the Hilton and National Bowling Stadium in Reno, and at the Villages in Florida despite not always getting 100 percent support from the bowling industry.
And he realizes that seniors are an important entry cog in his Mini Eliminator and that's why he has a 50-59 and a 60-plus division. "We're excited about this year's Super Bowl Mini Eliminator because we are quite a bit ahead of last year's entries at this point," Sanders revealed.
He said that adding a mixed doubles tournament and allowing non-exempt PBA members who either have never won, or won only once since 1995, to compete for the first time. Also eligible are all past members of the defunct Professional Women's Bowling Association, a few of whom have been trying their luck on the PBA tour.
"Since the PBA has changed its format to be more like our format and many PBA members are past megabuck bowlers, I look for a rash of pro entries when the word gets out. After all, a $50,000 paycheck is $10,000 more than PBA champions win in 17 of the 21 pro tour stops." Overall, Sanders estimates that $1.2 million in the form of prize money and equipment will be paid out to an estimated 1,200 bowlers.
Luckily, the ever enlarging Orleans Hotel and Casino features 70 bowling lanes, which will make it possible for Tournament Director Frank Ellenburg and his staff to feature bowling competition about 18 hours per day. For most of those 18 hours, you will find Steve Sanders deep in study trying to figure out how to improve the 2007 event.
"I am really proud of the fact that we added three sponsors this year and now feature 10, which is more than any other mega-buck tournament. "Let's be honest...we are aware that only about 30 percent of our bowlers get a check back so we have to make this an enjoyable experience each year so they will want to return the following year.
"We try to this by educating them when they are not actually bowling. Turbo 2n-1 Grips will be offering them video lessons about how to improve their game. David Ozio of Dexter will have a training program showing them how to maximize use of the new bowling shoes. And Turbo Grips will be there to make sure they are getting maximum performance out of their bowling ball grips.
"Brunswick even goes as far as to ship their bowling balls home for them to make it a more pleasant experience." The Orleans Hotel/Casino itself is a pleasant experience for this scribe, meaning you don't have to worry about getting lost and walking an extra mile to find your destination or friends.
My favorite betting spot, the sports book where you can bet on every sport from horse races to football, is within a few yards of the escalator to the bowling center. And, it's only a short walk to the numerous restaurants, slot machines and gaming tables after you get off the elevator from your elegant room.
Sanders reports that the average bowler will spend five nights and six days at The Orleans, so the entire package "bowling and leisure activities” need to be a pleasant experience. Of course if you win at anything "bowling or gambling" then it's guaranteed to be a pleasant experience. But The Orleans Hotel and Steve Sanders go out of their way to make it a pleasant environment for everyone.
Unfortunately, Dick Weber did not live long enough to see the Generations Tour become a reality, but he was dreaming about bowling on the Generations tour against his old buddies like Dave Soutar, Dave Davis, Gene Stus, Teata Semiz, Bob Handley, John Petraglia, Ernie Schlegel, Steve Neff, George Pappas, Roy Buckley, Tom Baker, Dave Ozio and Mark Roth to name only a few.
And you can bet that Steve Sanders will be looking for ways to improve the Mini Eliminator and Generations Tour. I know one way he has improved getting information about his Mini Eliminator tournament out to the world on a daily bases.
He has invited Germany's Herbert Bickel to come over and cover the tournament. That means readers in more than 100 countries can catch almost hourly updates about the Super Bowl Mini Eliminator on Bickel's very popular webpage www.bowlingdigitial.com.
While covering the Columbia 300 Vienna Open last October in Austria I discovered that bowling is almost an international language in itself and most bowlers from various countries can speak and read English.
Herbert Bickel and Steve Sanders have two key things in common...they love bowling and love to work hour after hour after hour after hour. I would be willing to bet a few dollars if the sport book would allow gambling on who would work the most hours during the Super Bowl Mini Eliminator. My $2 bet would be a quiniela wager on Sanders-Bickel or Bickel-Sanders for running 1-2 or 2-1.
For additional information on the Generations Tour or to enter the Mini-Eliminator, call Steve Sanders at 1.877.900.6464, or send an Email to him at [email protected].
Email address: [email protected].
Column
By Dick Evans
Steve Sanders may be the most energetic and futuristic thinker in bowling. As originator and owner of Pinacle Events he is constantly busy making things better today and trying to improve events tomorrow. I caught up with him via cell phone in Los Angeles with the intentions of talking to him about his ever growing and ever improving Super Bowl Mini Eliminator Tournament at The Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas Feb. 6-12, plus the new $100,000 Morich Mixed Doubles National Championship Feb. 3-5 at the same site.
He talks fast, just like he moves and thinks, so you have to be on your toes to keep up with his thoughts. After about 10 minutes of answering questions about the Mini Eliminator, I asked him about his two-year quest to turn a dream into a reality when it came to his Generations Bowling Tour for seniors.
"The Generations tour is moving very rapidly, I just hit more than a grand slam in Michigan and Ohio by signing six bowling centers that will host tournaments," Sanders said. "I plan to kick off a 25 to 30 event tour schedule right after the USBC Senior Masters concludes its July 9-15 run at the National Bowling Center Stadium. "I have such a passion to produce something great for the seniors and I think the Generations tour will have a major impact on the bowling industry. These guys want to bowl...they truly love the game and are its legends."
Sanders is no stranger to a similar burning desire found in senior bowlers. He has run successful senior tournaments at Sam's Town in Las Vegas, the Hilton and National Bowling Stadium in Reno, and at the Villages in Florida despite not always getting 100 percent support from the bowling industry.
And he realizes that seniors are an important entry cog in his Mini Eliminator and that's why he has a 50-59 and a 60-plus division. "We're excited about this year's Super Bowl Mini Eliminator because we are quite a bit ahead of last year's entries at this point," Sanders revealed.
He said that adding a mixed doubles tournament and allowing non-exempt PBA members who either have never won, or won only once since 1995, to compete for the first time. Also eligible are all past members of the defunct Professional Women's Bowling Association, a few of whom have been trying their luck on the PBA tour.
"Since the PBA has changed its format to be more like our format and many PBA members are past megabuck bowlers, I look for a rash of pro entries when the word gets out. After all, a $50,000 paycheck is $10,000 more than PBA champions win in 17 of the 21 pro tour stops." Overall, Sanders estimates that $1.2 million in the form of prize money and equipment will be paid out to an estimated 1,200 bowlers.
Luckily, the ever enlarging Orleans Hotel and Casino features 70 bowling lanes, which will make it possible for Tournament Director Frank Ellenburg and his staff to feature bowling competition about 18 hours per day. For most of those 18 hours, you will find Steve Sanders deep in study trying to figure out how to improve the 2007 event.
"I am really proud of the fact that we added three sponsors this year and now feature 10, which is more than any other mega-buck tournament. "Let's be honest...we are aware that only about 30 percent of our bowlers get a check back so we have to make this an enjoyable experience each year so they will want to return the following year.
"We try to this by educating them when they are not actually bowling. Turbo 2n-1 Grips will be offering them video lessons about how to improve their game. David Ozio of Dexter will have a training program showing them how to maximize use of the new bowling shoes. And Turbo Grips will be there to make sure they are getting maximum performance out of their bowling ball grips. "Brunswick even goes as far as to ship their bowling balls home for them to make it a more pleasant experience." The Orleans Hotel/Casino itself is a pleasant experience for this scribe, meaning you don't have to worry about getting lost and walking an extra mile to find your destination or friends.
My favorite betting spot, the sports book where you can bet on every sport from horse races to football, is within a few yards of the escalator to the bowling center. And, it's only a short walk to the numerous restaurants, slot machines and gaming tables after you get off the elevator from your elegant room.
Sanders reports that the average bowler will spend five nights and six days at The Orleans, so the entire package "bowling and leisure activities” need to be a pleasant experience. Of course if you win at anything "bowling or gambling" then it's guaranteed to be a pleasant experience. But The Orleans Hotel and Steve Sanders go out of their way to make it a pleasant environment for everyone.
Unfortunately, Dick Weber did not live long enough to see the Generations Tour become a reality, but he was dreaming about bowling on the Generations tour against his old buddies like Dave Soutar, Dave Davis, Gene Stus, Teata Semiz, Bob Handley, John Petraglia, Ernie Schlegel, Steve Neff, George Pappas, Roy Buckley, Tom Baker, Dave Ozio and Mark Roth to name only a few.
And you can bet that Steve Sanders will be looking for ways to improve the Mini Eliminator and Generations Tour. I know one way he has improved getting information about his Mini Eliminator tournament out to the world on a daily bases.
He has invited Germany's Herbert Bickel to come over and cover the tournament. That means readers in more than 100 countries can catch almost hourly updates about the Super Bowl Mini Eliminator on Bickel's very popular webpage www.bowlingdigitial.com.
While covering the Columbia 300 Vienna Open last October in Austria I discovered that bowling is almost an international language in itself and most bowlers from various countries can speak and read English.
Herbert Bickel and Steve Sanders have two key things in common...they love bowling and love to work hour after hour after hour after hour. I would be willing to bet a few dollars if the sport book would allow gambling on who would work the most hours during the Super Bowl Mini Eliminator. My $2 bet would be a quiniela wager on Sanders-Bickel or Bickel-Sanders for running 1-2 or 2-1.
For additional information on the Generations Tour or to enter the Mini-Eliminator, call Steve Sanders at 1.877.900.6464, or send an Email to him at [email protected].
Email address: [email protected].