Many of you will recall a post several weeks back where i made reference to myself being in Clububt's office Have copied post below for your info: ‘It was therefore that I found myself at CLUbUBT's office in Vegas yesterday which happened to be launch day. Although as I'm sure your appreciate I can not go entirely into what the discussions where about, One part that Joe and Myself had thought important was someone in Europe who can coordinate with CLUBUBT to make sure European members are kept informed and are involved in all aspects of clububt, From small things like the magazine to Massive prizes which are to come, Of course if this does happen i will be more then happy to post on here and keep everyone informed regardless of where they are in the world of new happenings etc. I can say the meeting was Positive an idea I put forward, they had thought of before and are now putting into action, If to plan will be on a much grander scale then Aruba, But hope to be able to tell more next week.’ ' As many of you know as well as lately winning several European Blackjack Title’s I was Oceans Players Club Tournament Champion for 2 years and have vast experience in the cruise industry as well have been on over 40 cruises, I eventually started my own online cruise agency in the UK, Thus when I spoke To Joe P at Barona about licensing a Elimination Blackjack Cruise tournament as well he arranged a meeting with Bonnie Leinhos and Russ H of Clububt who had been going over the idea a very similar idea. This was why I happened to be in their offices on day of launch, In fact I had no idea they were launching that day until after a few minutes of seeing all the excitement in the office when I arrived I realized. Anyway to cut to what was discussed and could not post at the time is UBT Cruises, These will be added as packages to prizes on the site in coming Months, Total Cruise packages for two passengers will be won by clububt customers and this will include their cabins, port taxes, meals, tips and two private parties for our UBT Players plus their entry fee into the tournaments that will be played on the cruise. Other companies charge for the cruise, and then you still have to pay your tournament entry fee plus a membership fee. Not so on ClubUBT cruises because it’s all included. The goal is to fill these cruises up with ClubUBT members for one big party. Targets are to give away several of these packages as tournamnet prizes every week. I will be co-coordinating with Clububt to bring players across from Europe, As well as Online opportunities the project also aims to set up land events in Europe where players will also be able to win packages. In my eyes this is probably the most exciting development to Hit EBJ, I know Russ is already in discussions to have some Tables televised from these cruises and the possibilities are just endless. I also over coming months hope to bring support to European players on Clububt to make sure they get as much as U.S and Canadian Players, And as membership grows more tournaments this includes merchandise and Tournament times, I will be happy to receive any constructive suggestions that I may pass on, and ask any European players on this site PM me so I am aware of who you are. For more info on this and other developments at clububt I would recommend reading the free article released today in Bjinsider, this also contains a lot more useful info to a lot of questions I have seen people asking on this site. http://www.bjinsider.com/newsletter_90_clububt.shtml
above is a free one you can read the whole of the interview on that link was felt to be so important that bjinsider agreed to make availible on non subscription basis
UBT Cruise Prizes I applaud your efforts and this all sounds great until you realize this may be just another unfulfilled "carrot dangled in front of the horse" UBT expectation. The key words to me in your post are "Targets are to give away several of these packages as tournament prizes each week"'. This means to me they are "Targets" and may or may not be awarded but more important, are they targets by you personally being involved with the potential cruises or UBT targets. I also question if several cruises would be given away each week but rather several chances in satellite tournaments to advance to a one winner award. You state in your post "These will be added as packages to prizes on the site in coming months", is this a confirmed statement (promise) by UBT or a personal opinion, we've had too many unfulfilled UBT promises that become unfulfilled after the check is cashed.
You can call that an interview if you like. Most people call that an infomercial. When Russ Hamilton allows himself to be interviewed by someone who isn't on his payroll, maybe you can begin to believe what you're reading. And now that Mace acknowledges he has a business relationship with UBT, I'll accept the apologies from those who attacked me for calling him a shill.
Best of luck, the blackjack cruise are a blast! Bjmace I actually host some of these blackjack tournaments on the cruise ships. And as in your quote above states I have the players pay for their cruise seperate from any and all entry fees. Now I wish you the best on your proposed new venture, however I am confused on a few issues that hopefully you can explain to me and the other members here? 1) If the total cost is lets say $500 (all taxes and port charges included) for each passenger (based on 2 per cabin) and your going to host 2 events with a $300 entry fee for each. Your total cost would be $1,100 per passenger. Now my question is what if they decide they don't want to play in one of the tournaments or they get sea sick and can't play, will they lose their money or will it be fully refunded? 2) If you charge in full (just one price for all), how far in advance will the players have to pay? And should they have to cancel is there any penilty? 3) If everything must be pre-paid this will mean you will not be offering re-buys, that is a shame, most of my players really enjoy getting a 2nd or even 3rd chance should they not advance from the first session. 4) I'm not sure if I see any advantage to paying in full over paying as you go? Can you explain why it would be a better option to pay the $1,100 per player 2-3 months in advance, rather then $500 each 2-3 months in advance and then the entries once on the cruise? 5) I use Carnival for my blackjack cruise and their rules state that my events are not to be open to the general public, but only passengers booked through our group. I read somewhere you don't think you'll have to do this. My questions are what cruise line are you going to be hosting these events on? Also what if (god forbid) players book with agents other then your group and once onboard they are informed they cannot play, what type of guarantee will the players have to protect themselves from this situation? What about refunds for the cruise, airfare, hotel, transfers, lost work, food, and misc. expense occured because of this? 6) When are these cruise expected to begin? What are the expected travel locations? How long will the cruises be? Can a passenger just pay for the cruise, or must they win it online? If they can just pay for their cruise, how much will the total cost be? 7) Since the cost will be one total will you offer a breakdown of the expense? I think the players enjoy knowing the breakdown in my events and not having any hidden cost.
Hi Txtourplayer, Sorry for any confusion, but there is no cost to Clububt players for the package, These packages are being given away not by me but by clububt they are to be prizes for what will be regular tournaments. So in short you as a Clububt Member will have the opportunity several times a week to enter a tournament which prize is this package, Package includes include their cabins, port taxes, meals, tips and two private parties for our UBT Players plus their entry fee into the tournaments that will be played on the cruise. Clububt is having a permanent location on the ship for the whole cruise, thus there will opportunity for EBJ sit n Go's etc as well. I am not booking these through my agency in the Uk, this is purely an online site which gives people in the UK the opportunity of buying cruises at U.S prices something that now sells itself and i have little involvement in, Due to the size of this Bonnie Leinhos at ClubUBT is dealing directly with the cruise line, Bonnie has had vast experience with these type of events having been the original organizer behind PokerStars and other major Poker Cruises. Full details of every aspect of this cruise will be published shortly, As you can imagine i have been dying to tell everyone about this ever since the meeting several weeks ago but had to wait for the go ahead from Clububt who had to finalise aspects of the cruise, As i feel this Forum is the most important one to all blackjack tournament players I hope everyone will appreciate the great opportunity this brings, and wish everyone a Bon Voyage and will continue to bring any developments and answer any questions here first.
Targets were a word i used, at the original meeting Russ did want to give away a cruise everyday, it was felt that while in the future this could easily be achived whilst clububt was in it's early days several a week was a better start. As i said before reading the interview with Russ does answer a lot of questions, The next series of UBT is aired in september, Last months launch was low key aimed at Regular players to get use to software and make sure any bugs were resolved. When Clububt and this cruise are featured on the TV series the growth of both will have no bounds, As I have said I was not able to inform everyone of this event until now, the reason was for one that clububt did not want to talk about any event until they knew it had been finalised, thus the fact i have been given the go aheadto post means it will happen. I for one am very excited by this, and hope people can get together on this great opprtunity and take advantage of what it will produce a great party at sea, The chance to meet all your favouite stars of the Game, Appear on TV, Eat Great food, See some fab Ports and generally bring the whole BJ tournament community together for a week of fun. :joker:
This all sounds great, but quite frankly, I'll believe it when I see it. Before the now-called "soft launch" there was no indication that the vast majority of the prizes would be restricted to the poker half of the site, and there's also my old bitch that there was no indication of some state's residents being barred from joining at all. This bodes poorly for things to turn out like the rosy picture being painted here. It is most unfortunate, but ClubUBT is rapidly developing a reputation for hiding cards up their sleeves. Smoke and mirrors, baby.
You expect honesty from these people? It doesn't take a genius to see how they do business. They shamelessly rip off their shareholders, send shills to do their dirty work, refuse accountability. The latest infomercial of an interview is just an insult. But some of you continue to eat it up. Look at the history of how they've operated. Unfulfilled promises, unexplained delays, outright lies, bullying and harassment, obfuscation. Why do any of you patronize them? That's a serious question. It's a shame that this board has been corrupted by such a shady group of people. Think about it. Before UBT came along people could exchange in dialogue and not be insulted beyond some gentle ribbing. Now that the UBT shills and henchmen have infiltrated this place, you can't ask a serious question without be attacked and insulted. And the questions remain unanswered except for infomercials that don't come close to addressing the true issues. Ask yourself why they won't answer reasonable questions. Ask yourself why anyone who questions or criticizes anything from their game to their advertising practices to their commitment is bullied and attacked. Think about that. So why do you patronize them? Because you love the game? You sound like a crack addict to me.
Well lets have a serious question for you potstirrer, People knows who i am, I have a website, I have won titles, Business Awards and have a certain respect that i have earnt, I make up my own mind on matters, And take people and businesses as i find them , The only attacking and bullying that goes on is from you, Your posts never amount to any usful information. If you go back through mine you will find, Most are interesting topics and information that people join in on. Not all to do with any one site but different sites, Land events and interests some are funny some serious. If people go back through, your posts there is not one constructive comment, All are attacks on anything to do with Elimination Blackjack, So maybe if you identified yourself to this group then people may know what your real beef is. I am glad to be part of what is happening with EBJ and there are a lot of people who are interested in what is happening as well, I know have just spent the last 4 hours answering emails and PM's and all were not only positive about things that have been happening, but many were saying just to ignore your rantings, And not to let you spoil things for the rest of the BJ community, well it goes without saying that i won't, My pleasure will come the day the first UBT Cruise sets sail, You my friend seem to have missed the boat.
That's one boat I'll definitely not be on. Why? Because the people steering it have proven they can't be trusted. And that's really what this is all about. The people behind UBT, ClubUBt, Bet21, etc. (and they're really all the same) continue to use the same tactic. They send shills here to tout what they're doing, bully and insult any well intentioned dissent, and then claim they have nothing to gain by doing so. You've admitted you have a business relationship and stand to gain by taking people's money for this venture. Others have come here and claimed they have nothing to do with them, but sort of do, but they're unofficial, but they can't answer any questions, but they know the people in charge and what they say, but they're independent and not biased, but they have big news they just can't tell anyone, but they don't know why the company can't keep their promises, but they can vouch for the reputation of the owners, but they're not really the owners, but I can have an exclusive infomericial I mean interview. You get the point. Who I am is irrelevent. I don't have anything to gain by the success or failure of UBT, ClubUBT, Bet21 or any of that. Actually in a very small and indirect way you could say that making those things successful would actually benefit me, but really it's neutral either way. I'm just tired of this place being used as a soapbox for shady practices. I'm sure you'll agree that given your relationship with UBT, you're not exactly unbiased. The people here aren't idiots (although the guy telling people they should line up sponsors for someone else's business may make me question that). They want the truth. And no one has been willing to be square about what's going on. That's bad enough, but to take it a step further and unleash the bullying tactics from the UBT shills is offensive, insulting, and just wrong. No one here should stand for it. Look at the facts. Look what Russ Hamilton did to UB shareholders. Look at the unpaid deposit bonuses and continued false advertising. Look at how people that are connected with UBT have conducted themselves here and elsewhere. So go ahead and sail off with everyone's money. Just keep a close eye on your own wallet.
I would like you to show me where i have said i am taking anyone's money for this venture, You obviously can not even be bothered to read the posts but just jump straight in everytime to 'stir' You were banned from this site once and still continue to push people's patience, If you read the posts you would know that the packages are being given out as prizes on Cluubt, I am not booking them, ClubUBT has Block Booked the ship direct with the cruise company, Yes it's going to be great getting a Euro Team together there are some great players here and am sure all with have a lot of fun on this and other clububt promotions, My time keeping people informed is not paid, I enjoy playing EBJ that is why i play online every night, Most people on there are great a lot are now like family to me, It's ashame someone like you tries to spoil things for everyone.
From one of your earlier posts: I will be co-coordinating with Clububt to bring players across from Europe Clearly you have some relationship with the people. If I wrongly jumped to the conclusion that you had a financial arrangement, then wrong I am, but I'd question why you'd want to do any business with people that haven't demonstrate they operate in an honorable fashion. And, with the exception of claiming I'm wrong to say you'd financial benefit from this cruise ordeal, my other comments go unrefuted. So just what am I spoiling? If you want to play, go ahead. And if others do, they can. Nothing I'm saying or doing is stopping them. I'm just suggesting that until the people behind it operate become reputable and don't ripoff their share holders, renege on promises, advertise falsely, and attempt to deceive everyone that readers on this forum should proceed with caution. Don't hide from the facts. If I was wrong to state you benefit financially from these cruises, then I apologize. But you'd have to admit that the UBT has sent its share of bullying shills here, won't you?
Afraid i would not agree, Yes there are disagreements between people that my friend is life. Thankfully we do not all have the same opinion or how dull would that be lol. Your opinions are at an extreme and therefore anyone who dares mentions a tournament, site or Person that is associated with EBJ ends up in a bit of a slanging match. I don't suppose I or anyone is going to change your opinion in a few posts as to what you believe, What i will say is if you look back at my posts, I also critisied seating assignments on Ultimate, Unpaid Bonuses, Seating assignments were sorted out and am sure one day Bonuses will be, But i think if you wanted proof that ultimate is nothing to do with Russ H, Just look at Roshambo, Do you really think a man with Russ's business brain would ever do anything as daft as to add this to the site :laugh:, I'm taking Clububt at face value, at times i've had sign in issues, On several occasions i have contacted support and had responses in less then 10 minutes this sets it way apart from Bet21/Ultimate where we can all tell nightmare support stories, I have seen the enthusiam for this project and the plans and yes i was impressed, And to me the UBT Cruise has all the makings of being a massive hit. For all the crap that U.S Congress has thrown at Online Casino/ Gaming operators the last year i feel Russ deserves respect for coming out with a working site that does what others have failed to and legally. So how about we agree to disagree on this one, Life is too short to argue all the time, maybe a year down the line your or possibly my opionions could change but until then i offer my hand in friendship :cheers: what do you say Pot
With a tear in my eye, I accept your olive branch. Give your money to the charlatans should you choose, but at least you've demonstrated you're willing to be fair and honest.
update Thanks Pot i always hope that I'm fair in life and am sure people will point out to me if i'm ever out a bit. On cruise side of things CLUBUBT are launching the promotion beginning of August, They are doing contracts and stuff with cruise line next week and as soon as I'M given ok will pass on dates of cruise, ports etc, I have seen all this and does all look good.
Cruise update For all info on clububt cruise, Ken Has kindly made my post stuck at top of cruise section, I will therefore put all new info and updates there vruise section can be reached from the main Forum Menu or link below should take you straight to the thread http://www.blackjacktournaments.com/bb/showthread.php?t=4029
