NFFC To Host Live Drafts At Fantasy Football Fest

[Greg Ambrosius]

Hey guys...It's been over a week since anything was posted on this. You guys always run a fantastic contest, but you also always drive me nuts because you wait too long to announce things. Are there any signups for any of these drafts yet? Will there be a link for people to see? Somebody just signing on to these boards for the first time this season wouldn't even know about these live drafts because it's so far down the list on the message boards.

Driving Diesel nuts is part of the plan Marc.

I'll gladly start a signup thread for these live drafts in Atlantic City, but like Tom said there hasn't been much movement in the last week. ReedPop is just starting to promote this on the East Coast and we can tell because folks are starting to call us up and inquire about the pay leagues. We're not real prominent on their site, but as Tom said we've created two special landing pages for our contests and folks can sign up on our site through those links.

We'll update the signups as they come in, but I think most of us believe that many of these leagues will be formed on the spot as event-goers who are paying $50 to get in realize they have a chance to compete in a real, live draft. We'd gladly form leagues beforehand, but I think we'll form more leagues on the spot than beforehand.

Here's the current signup list of one:

$150 12 Team Satellite League
Pay Top 3, Atlantic City, Fantasy Football Fest
Saturday, Aug. 18 @ 11:00 am ET
1. Ted Baehman, Atlantic City

$150 12 Team Satellite League
Pay Top 3, Atlantic City, Fantasy Football Fest
Sunday, August 19 @ 10:00 am ET
1. Allen Currant, Olney, New Jersey

$150 12 Team Satellite League
Pay Top 3, Atlantic City, Fantasy Football Fest
Sunday, Aug. 19 @ 11:00 am ET
1. Ted Baehman, Atlantic City


You can go to http://www.fantasyfootballfest.com and click on The Playbook, then click on Live NFFC drafts and it takes you to a landing page with our list of events and links to registration.

As for the event, new autograph guests include Phil Simms, Bruce Smith and LeSean McCoy. Matthew Berry and Scott Engel are headlining the Fantasy Pavilion where industry speakers will be holding court. We'll be in the Fantasy Draft Room next door. Should be fun.

[Diesel]

That makes sense. On the spot drafts probably will fill...But will also probably shuffle your time slots. I guess the signup lists would be a bad idea if that's most likely how these will fill. But I'll follow the boards for any updates anyway.

FYI, I see an advertisement for this event on the back of "Fantasy Football" Magazine. It's the entire back cover, so it should get a lot of eyes on that. It really only shows RotoBowl's draft breakdowns, but it does say there is much more there, and has the website address posted.

[Greg Ambrosius]

That makes sense. On the spot drafts probably will fill...But will also probably shuffle your time slots. I guess the signup lists would be a bad idea if that's most likely how these will fill. But I'll follow the boards for any updates anyway.

FYI, I see an advertisement for this event on the back of "Fantasy Football" Magazine. It's the entire back cover, so it should get a lot of eyes on that. It really only shows RotoBowl's draft breakdowns, but it does say there is much more there, and has the website address posted.

Good news. They have more than a half a million dollars going in promotions for this event, so I trust folks will begin seeing a lot of ads for Fantasy Football Fest soon. We're just part of the show and we can only do what we can do with the number of people that come to the event. We hope it's in the tens of thousands like they are predicting. If that's the case, we'll host several live pay drafts and we'll spread the word about our NFFC drafts a few weeks later in New York and our Online Championship. We really believe that this event has a good chance to introduce the NFFC to many new die-hard fantasy football players who have never heard about us before.

And the best thing is that they have a Tailgate Pavilion and plenty of beers. I'll gladly buy any new customer a beer if it gets them into the NFFC!! And I'll probably even buy the Diesel a beer!! $125, $250 and $500 live drafts Marc, just what you always wanted. Now we have them live in Atlantic City!!

[Greg Ambrosius]

Fantasy Football Fest has added three more guests to their autograph lineup and all three will be on the fantasy position panels. Those should be pretty interesting to watch as well. Here's the latest additions to the panels:

Joe Montana: Hall of Famer and Master of late-game comebacks, Joe Montana , will be sharing his uncanny experience and insights that earned him many awards in his career at the show. Don't miss your chance to meet the three time MVP! Montana will be autographing Saturday, August 18 and Sunday, August 19 and participating on the quarterback panel with Joe Theismann on Sunday, August 19.

Brian Dawkins: The indestructible safety, Brian Dawkins , will be bringing his A-Game to the show! Hear from the star himself and get input on secure picks to gear you up for an impressive draft. Dawkins will be autographing at the show and will also be discussing his on-field experience in the defensive discussion panel with Tony Siragusa and Chris Doleman on Saturday, August 18.

Tony Siragusa: The indestructible safety, Brian Dawkins , will be bringing his A-Game to the show! Hear from the star himself and get input on secure picks to gear you up for an impressive draft. Dawkins will be autographing at the show and will also be discussing his on-field experience in the defensive discussion panel with Tony Siragusa and Chris Doleman on Saturday, August 18.

Should be fun...and interesting. I hope to see some of you out there and I'm sure we will. Tom and I will be in Atlantic City Friday through Sunday, so we'll see you there. Thanks.

[Greg Ambrosius]

I will create a new thread for the signups once we get things rolling, but here's the latest one so far:

Here's the current signup list of available leagues:

$150 12 Team Satellite League
Pay Top 3, Atlantic City, Fantasy Football Fest
Saturday, Aug. 18 @ 11:00 am ET
1. Ted Baehman, Atlantic City
2. John Gioberti, Brooklyn, New York
3. Kristopher Smith, Danbury, Connecticut

$150 12 Team Satellite League
Pay Top 3, Atlantic City, Fantasy Football Fest
Saturday, Aug. 18 @ 2 pm ET
1. Allen Currant, Olney, New Jersey

$150 Draft Champions League
Saturday, Aug. 18 @ 3 pm ET
1. Terrence Loftus, Freehold, New Jersey

$150 12-Team Satellite League
Pay Top 3, Atlantic City, Fantasy Football Fest
Saturday, Aug. 18 @ 4 pm ET
1. Edward Driscoll, Staten Island, New York
2. John Gioberti, Brooklyn, New York
3. Kristopher Smith, Danbury, Connecticut

$150 12 Team Satellite League
Pay Top 3, Atlantic City, Fantasy Football Fest
Sunday, August 19 @ 10:00 am ET
1. Allen Currant, Olney, New Jersey

$150 12 Team Satellite League
Pay Top 3, Atlantic City, Fantasy Football Fest
Sunday, Aug. 19 @ 11:00 am ET
1. Ted Baehman, Atlantic City

[Playa Slaya]

Yo whats shakin all. I am the Playa Slaya who hails from the east coast. That free beer offer sounds great. I will be attending in AC for both days and I will be involved in one or more of the 12 team draft leagues. Since the schedule of events are not avaliable yet I dont know what day or time slot to draft. I dont want to be stuck drafting while something else (such as autographs, strippers, etc) is going on. Also, will Madden be avaliable for play at the fest? Thanks!

[Greg Ambrosius]

Yo whats shakin all. I am the Playa Slaya who hails from the east coast. That free beer offer sounds great. I will be attending in AC for both days and I will be involved in one or more of the 12 team draft leagues. Since the schedule of events are not avaliable yet I dont know what day or time slot to draft. I dont want to be stuck drafting while something else (such as autographs, strippers, etc) is going on. Also, will Madden be avaliable for play at the fest? Thanks!

Hello Playa. Yeah, I think some of the seminars in the Fantasy Pavilion will be fun to watch and I don't see a full schedule for that yet. I'm sure others will want to plan their drafting schedule around those seminars too. We'll see ya in Atlantic City and have a beer together and then host ya in a few 12-team leagues. Thanks and this should be a fun weekend of fantasy football.

[Greg Ambrosius]

There are several good fantasy panels set up at Fantasy Football Fest, so plan your drafting day around these if you can. The schedule of events in the Fantasy Pavilion just went live yesterday, so check them out here:

http://fanfb12.mapyourshow.com/5_0/sess ... m?type=all

The Quarterback Panel on Sunday morning has Joe Montana, Joe Theismann and one more former QB to announced soon. But that one should be pretty good. There is a 12-team Experts League draft on Saturday night, featuring 12 industry writers. Could be interesting. See you there.

[Greg Ambrosius]

We know that a lot of these leagues in Atlantic City will fill on the spot, but it's good to see that there is advanced interest in some $150 12-Team Satellite Leagues. If we can fill these ahead of time, we'll definitely pick draft spots early and get these rolling. If you have interest in joining us in Atlantic City and want to secure a spot, feel free to sign up online.

Here's the current signup list for the Fantasy Football Fest drafts:

$150 Draft Champions League
Saturday, Aug. 18 @ 10 am ET
1. Anthony Vargas, Fort River, New Jersey
2. Edward Driscoll, Staten Island, New York

$150 12 Team Satellite League
Pay Top 3, Atlantic City, Fantasy Football Fest
Saturday, Aug. 18 @ 11:00 am ET
1. Ted Baehman, Atlantic City
2. John Gioberti, Brooklyn, New York
3. Kristopher Smith, Danbury, Connecticut
4. Donald Thompson, Shelby, Michigan
5. Bill Zullo, Mount Laurel, New Jersey
6. Jordan Ferguson, Trenton, Missouri
7. Gregorio Lopez, Lindenwood, New Jersey
8. Trevor Lam, West Chester, Pennsylvania

$150 12 Team Satellite League
Pay Top 3, Atlantic City, Fantasy Football Fest
Saturday, Aug. 18 @ 1 pm ET
1. Raymond Flack, Seward, Pennsylvania

$150 Draft Champions League
Saturday, Aug. 18 @ 1 pm ET
1. Anthony Vargas, Fort River, New Jersey
2. Dave Vargas, Rockaway, New Jersey

$150 12 Team Satellite League
Pay Top 3, Atlantic City, Fantasy Football Fest
Saturday, Aug. 18 @ 2 pm ET
1. Allen Currant, Olney, New Jersey

$150 Draft Champions League
Saturday, Aug. 18 @ 3 pm ET
1. Terrence Loftus, Freehold, New Jersey
2. Christopher Anderson, Mount Arlington, New Jersey
3. Shein Lashikari, Mays Landing, New Jersey
4. Michael Sarvi, Ashton, Maryland

$150 12-Team Satellite League
Pay Top 3, Atlantic City, Fantasy Football Fest
Saturday, Aug. 18 @ 4 pm ET
1. Edward Driscoll, Staten Island, New York
2. John Gioberti, Brooklyn, New York
3. Kristopher Smith, Danbury, Connecticut
4. Ted Baehman, Atlantic City, New Jersey
5. Joel Mesa, Hollywood, Florida
6. John Longinetti, Galloway, New Jersey
7. David Martino, Mellville, New York

$150 12 Team Satellite League
Pay Top 3, Atlantic City, Fantasy Football Fest
Sunday, August 19 @ 10:00 am ET
1. Allen Currant, Olney, New Jersey
2. Raymond Flack, Seward, Pennsylvania
3. Thomas Harrington, New York, New York

$150 Draft Champions League
Sunday, Aug. 19 @ Noon ET
1. Michael Bell, Alexandria, Virginia
2. Gary Barth, Towson, Maryland

$150 12 Team Satellite League
Pay Top 3, Atlantic City, Fantasy Football Fest
Sunday, Aug. 19 @ 11:00 am ET
1. Ted Baehman, Atlantic City
2. Jamie Calandro, Islip, New York

$150 Draft Champions League
Sunday, Aug. 19 @ Noon ET
1. Gary Dollinger, Libertyville, Illinois
2. William Hazley, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

$150 12 Team Satellite League
Pay Top 3, Atlantic City, Fantasy Football Fest
Sunday, Aug. 19 @ 1 pm ET
1. Joel Mesa, Hollywood, Florida
Matthew Johnson, New York, New York

[Greg Ambrosius]

Tom and I will be in Atlantic City NEXT WEEKEND for the debut Fantasy Football Fest at the Atlantic City Convention Center. Shawn Childs will be with us and a few other NFFC regulars to help us at our booth and inside the Draft Pavilion. If you're free next weekend look us up and drop by for a live satellite league. Fatheads is supplying the draft boards, there's a Tailgate Pavilion nearby and Joe Montana, Jim Kelly and other former NFL stars will be on hand for fantasy discussions throughout the two-day weekend. ESPN's Matthew Berry and RotoExperts' Scott Engel will also be involved in the fantasy panels. Should be fun.

Come and join us. We might even paint the town a bit on Saturday night!! See ya in AC!!