It's Tourney Time

Leagues and Tournaments Gain Guest Loyalty and Traffic

    Much of life is based on competition. In order to be successful, you likely will have to–at least some, if not all of the time–compete against another person.

    Sports and games, by this same truth, always have been the perfect example of individuals competing against one another to try to accomplish a certain feat. Sometimes that competition is fierce; other times it is just for fun.
    In most bars, people just want to have a good time, and so they want to compete in something that’s fun. This is where video gaming, darts, pool, poker and foosball (to name a few) come into play at bars across the United States on a daily basis.

Goldenly Global
    For years, Golden Tee has been a key component in the video game profit-presence in bars ever since it was first released in 1989, and when Incredible Technologies, its creator, introduced the now completely wireless Golden Tee Live last April to the video gaming and on-premise markets, it was an instant hit and a prime example of how popular and successful the recent movement toward online competition has been.

    Each game unit is equipped with a wireless modem, enabling the leader board to be updated every one or two holes. Golden Tee Live also features two monitors, the upper one being the LCD monitor that will display the scoreboard and serve as the broadcast booth for the game’s announcers, and the second monitor is a 27-inch flat screen displaying the game’s enhanced and more realistic graphics when the golfers take to the course. When a person goes to play Golden Tee, he or she has the option of either playing for fun or playing for a prize. If they decide to play for a prize, they will have to spend an additional dollar to compete. The dollar goes toward the prize money that the players compete for in Golden Tee Live, and so the global pot grows along with savvy bar owners’ gross cash intake.

    When choosing the “Live” option with these types of games, players are asked to identify themselves either through a player card or credit card. This allows the games to recognize what players skill levels are and place them in an ongoing tournament (either a prize or non-prize tournament) with players of the same skill level. This is done thanks to the built-in wireless modem.

    With 20 million Golden Tee players and 100,000 machines throughout the world, Golden Tee players generate $400 million in games fees each year, says Incredible Technologies Marketing Director Gary Colabuono. The same players spend $750 million on food and beverage. Add the $400 million in games fees to the $750 million spent on food and beverage, and you’re talking about more than a billion dollars generated in total revenue by Golden Tee players.

    Sarju “Sarge” Patel knows just how profitable Golden Tee is and how popular it is at his British pub in Atlanta, Churchills of Buckhead.

    “You gotta have Golden Tee,”Patel says. “That’s our Happy Hour right there.”

The League Is Back
    While video games are a boon for business, nothing beats head-to-head, live competition where it’s up to an individual person and not a computer to determine the actual winner.

    The operators of SRO Sports Bar and Cafe at the Northwest Mall in Houston, embracing this tactic, offer a little bit of everything to the gaming guest. From poker tournaments to foosball tournaments, SRO is the place to be for game enthusiasts.

    SRO plays host to two Texas hold ‘em tournaments every Wednesday and Friday nights.  The Amateur Poker League (APL) runs the tournaments that take place at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays.

    “We all know how popular this (poker tournaments) has become over the last couple of years,” says Greg Smith, general manager of the Northwest Mall SRO. “It seems to be able to hold its popularity.

    “Due to time and staffing, if these tournaments weren’t run by outside entities, we would not be able to do them.”

    In addition to poker attracting many customers to SRO, foosball tournaments have been another popular event every Friday night. Fridays at 8 p.m., Mike Simmons coordinates a two-on-two tournament on the eight SRO foosball tables. 

    “Mike has been doing this type of work for years and is well known in Texas for his tournaments,” Smith says. “The tournament draws some of the top players around, and we usually get about 15 teams plus friends and family of players.”

     Although SRO doesn’t offer any drink specials specifically for the tournaments, it does offer $1.50 domestic pints and steak and potato for $9.95 on Wednesdays after 7 p.m. SRO also provides other drink specials throughout the week.

    Smith says he doesn't make a great deal of money from the actual tournaments themselves. However, "it is a nice thing to offer to customers and keep activity in the building,” he says.

Bull’s-Eye
     If poker and foosball are not your game, but darts is, then Churchills in Atlanta is the place to throw ‘em.

    Churchills has a British pub feel to it as well as a functional fireplace inside the 31-year-old bar that plays host to three Atlanta area dart leagues.

    “Every British pub should have dart stalls that people should play darts at,” says Patel, Churchills’ owner. “We have adequate spacing between (five dart boards), and we provide a comfortable, leisurely atmosphere.”

    In addition to hosting dart tournaments, Churchills staff provides dart clinics and seminars on how to throw a better dart. A professional dart player will come to Churchills and with the use of a video camera will show people how to throw more properly and correct their form.

    Patel also offers some Southern hospitality to the dart teams that play at Churchills. Patel says Churchills will pay the cost of any dart team’s seasonal dues to its respective organization or league. The same generosity applies to the American Pool Players Association (APA) Pool Leagues participating in pool tournaments at Churchills and in return T-shirts are made with a team’s logo and Churchills’ logo on them.                                    

    “The bar doesn’t make any money off the (dart) leagues but only from selling drinks,” Patel says. He adds that he observes dart players to be a friendly crowd and a great base of loyal regulars.

Recess for Revenue
    As with other, more traditional barbased games, if the leagues and tournaments themselves aren't the direct profit centers, the increased food and beverage sales as a result of hosting them are – and they are sure to have patrons partaking in a bar's offerings before, during and after play. Think of it as recess for revenue, and keep it fun.

    For the most part, patrons enjoy relaxing and playing one of these games with and against friends. After all, Patel describes these games as the ultimate leisure activities involving competition. "It's something fun to do that is competitive and not break a sweat while drinking beer," Patel says.  NCB