What Is Going To Happen To High-Stakes Fantasy Football?

[Greg Ambrosius]

Originally posted by Quahogs:
quote:Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:
quote:Originally posted by da bears:
It is so pathetic that WCOFF appears to be going ahead and actually having an event this year with the announcement of some main event draft positions last night. As a veteran high stakes player I'm truly sickened by this situation and feel extremely bad for those players owed money they likely will never see.

To treat so many good people like this and screw them out of their hard earned prize money is beyond criminal. I really do think those in charge deserve substantial jail time for what they have done. Like others have said it truly is/was a sad day for the high stakes football industry. You can host a live event Matt or even host online drafts, but you can't run a game without a back-end provider and a web site. That question needs to be answered first by those in charge because things have changed in the last day on that front, it appears. No signups are being allowed online at this time. [/QUOTE]So what are you saying here Greg ? As long as you have a contract with RT Sports and the bill is paid (supposedly) how can they pull the rug from under wcoff? RT just can't assume it's a bad contest and winners won't be paid can they ? [/QUOTE]*IF* they have a paid contract for football for 2011 they cannot. But only if they have a contract. If they do not have a contract they are not obligated to run any leagues.

This isn't news that I should be telling folks, it should be news coming from the contest provider. RT Sports has done everything humanly possible to help players still have a chance for prizes, both in baseball and football. I think everyone needs to know that. Those guys stood behind the game operators with every plan and did things that not every business would have done, but they are 20-year vets to the industry and don't want to see any more harm to this space. The signup page is now disabled and no signed contract was finalized, so again, there needs to be some announcement by the game operators on where the contest will be run. Which new site will do this at this late notice? It's a legitimate and very important question if in fact RT Sports isn't powering this game, which it doesn't look like it is doing.

[ August 16, 2011, 09:13 AM: Message edited by: Greg Ambrosius ]

[Paul Gromek]

hey, where else can you get an 8.5% return on your money these days?

Worst decision I ever made was rolling over my football winnings into the baseball contest over there.

[particra]

Is the WCOFF Broke?

Posted by FPA - Scott in Fantasy News


This evening, the WCOFF announced draft slots for their 2011 event. This would normally be an enjoyable experience for us all, however this year, many players still await their 2010 prize payment, so it just adds to the complete strangeness at the WCOFF as to what is really going on. The team counts for those signed up to play for 2011 are as follows: 110 for Saturday’s event and 71 for Friday. That’s a far cry from previous year participation and rightfully so without paying their 2011 prizes owed. As for unique players, we counted a mere 130 players signed up for a WCOFF event. Players are advised to use extreme caution before entering this contest until further details about payment are made clear.

The FPA went on record earlier this summer to state we could not possibly support any contest which had outstanding player balances owed and we wholeheartedly continue to stand by that position. It’s also important to note that just last week it had appeared a deal was done, which would have seen industry veteran Ian Ritchie and original WCOFF co-founder Emil Kadlec in charge but with major acquisitions of this size, the devil was in the details and that particular deal is now off the table. Now it seems the saga continues as we wait for a new transfer of ownership to take place. What we’re about to share with you is a very unfortunate turn of events.

The WCOFF’s principal front-man Dustin Ashby emailed “some” of their players this evening with a list of options available to them.

Here is the email below:

To summarize the options presented to players who have requested their award:

1. Loan the business a portion, or all, of your balance requested. You will earn 8.5% interest annually and agree to a 24 month term. You will receive equity in the company, equal to 10% of the balance of your original loan amount. Principal to be paid down from a pool funded by 5% of the company’s revenue. (5% of the company’s annual revenue beginning in 2012 will go to fund a pool used to pay down principal owed).

2. Apply money you have on account to a 2011 contest. For every dollar converted to a 2011 entry you will receive a 10% rebate. (For example, if you apply $2,000 towards a 2011 contest, you will receive an additional $200 on your Member Account which you can use for a future entry fee.

3. Elect to receive 25% of your award balance owed in the form of a cash payment with the remainder deferred and paid back pro-rata from a pool funded by 5% of the company’s revenue. (5% of the company’s annual revenue beginning in 2012 will go to fund a pool used to pay down principal owed).

This so-called “option list” shines a very negative light on the real possibility that WCOFF does not have the necessary funds to make players whole. Many “reasons” were shared with players by Mr. Ashby by phone earlier this Spring; first that it was “an accounting snafu”, then billed as “transaction delays”, but now it obviously makes one wonder if there’s any money at all to pay the players what they’re owed.

It’s also important to note that Satellite leagues hosted by RTSports were up and running as of yesterday (accepting signups for individual leagues) however today those pages are down.

WCOFF”s backend software provider is RTSports. Their president, Mark Hanna expressed to our office they did not have a contract as of yet for 2011. Their role in the industry is an important one as true leaders in the industry so it will be interesting to say the least, to see what course of action if any RTSports decides. Will RTSports accept WCOFF leagues even though prize winners are still unpaid?

As many are aware, the FPA has been busy assembling a list of players still owed 2010 prize money and that list is already in excess of over $600,000 due. This is a sad state of affairs for anyone passionate about this hobby that enjoys over 34 million fantasy players world wide.

If you haven’t already, please submit your request to [email protected] to be added to our growing player list of players owed. Your privacy is important and will only use the list to forward you any information we receive on plans being assembled by the fantasy community

[Quahogs]

Originally posted by Hells Satans:
Steve, I would imagine that the contract has some termination rights. RT Sports runs the risk of being sued as a conspirator to commit fraud if they enable what amounts to a fraudulent contest to go forward (and, in effect, take the money of the players) Yah.. I can see their skittishness now. It's probably a RUN not walk from that situation over there.

[Erok]

Who in their right mind has signed up to play WCOFF this year?

I cant believe they had over 100 people.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Originally posted by Erok:
Who in their right mind has signed up to play WCOFF this year?

I cant believe they had over 100 people. The contest allowed you to roll over your winnings from the previous year to buy future teams, for obvious reasons to the player. Those people obviously haven't followed the current situation and didn't object to getting draft spots. Heck, more draft announcements are expected today. Amazing.

[particra]

Originally posted by Quahogs:
quote:Originally posted by Hells Satans:
Steve, I would imagine that the contract has some termination rights. RT Sports runs the risk of being sued as a conspirator to commit fraud if they enable what amounts to a fraudulent contest to go forward (and, in effect, take the money of the players) Yah.. I can see their skittishness now. It's probably a RUN not walk from that situation over there. [/QUOTE]By the way, I need to thank you.

You probably don't remember, but back at the AC NFBC ME draft this year I asked you about WCOFB. I was considering dropping serious cash into their baseball league but was hesitant because the noise about football non-payment was starting to pick up steam. You told me you weren't playing based on some issues you had. That was all I needed to hear. If someone who his playing in just about every Super/Ultimate/Diamond/whatever was avoiding it, that's enough for me. So, thanks.

[Tom Kessenich]

Originally posted by Erok:
Who in their right mind has signed up to play WCOFF this year?

Keep in mind Erik that the discussion about prize winners not having been paid (primarily by posters since those in charge rarely posted at all) was done behind a hidden part of the message boards. So it's very possible many people had no idea the extent of the damage that had been done - especially if their entry fees had been taken and cashed.

Among the many issues that were of alarming concern about that event's fall from grace was the fact that at no time was every participant in the event told specifically what had transpired. It's very easy to pretend as if things are status quo when not everyone is being told the truth. So unfortunately, there were people who signed up and paid without having any idea what was going on.

[ August 16, 2011, 09:36 AM: Message edited by: Tom Kessenich ]

[Jersey Dawg]

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:
quote:Originally posted by Erok:
Who in their right mind has signed up to play WCOFF this year?

I cant believe they had over 100 people. The contest allowed you to roll over your winnings from the previous year to buy future teams, for obvious reasons to the player. Those people obviously haven't followed the current situation and didn't object to getting draft spots. Heck, more draft announcements are expected today. Amazing. [/QUOTE]To be fair, many (if not most) of us that rolled money into 2011 drafts did so in January, when awards were first announced. Most of those that did not did not get paid anyway. Not sure what any of us could have done differently; especially those of us (like myself) that played last year with winnings rolled over from 2009...

As for the wcoff, they had a nice run. To the best of my knowledge they paid their winners up until this year. With over 850 teams it was hard to predict this although their baseball strategy left much to be desired. But even with baseball, their words were they had a "deep pocket" investor/partner that was willing to take huge losses to get the game off and running. I guess he was the only one doing the running.

Pete

[Quahogs]

Originally posted by Hells Satans:
quote:Originally posted by Quahogs:
quote:Originally posted by Hells Satans:
Steve, I would imagine that the contract has some termination rights. RT Sports runs the risk of being sued as a conspirator to commit fraud if they enable what amounts to a fraudulent contest to go forward (and, in effect, take the money of the players) Yah.. I can see their skittishness now. It's probably a RUN not walk from that situation over there. [/QUOTE]By the way, I need to thank you.

You probably don't remember, but back at the AC NFBC ME draft this year I asked you about WCOFB. I was considering dropping serious cash into their baseball league but was hesitant because the noise about football non-payment was starting to pick up steam. You told me you weren't playing based on some issues you had. That was all I needed to hear. If someone who his playing in just about every Super/Ultimate/Diamond/whatever was avoiding it, that's enough for me. So, thanks. [/QUOTE]YW Bob.

Hey, you had the wherewithal to ask in AC. I'm glad you did Chance put you next to me in AC but bummer for me since you're cleaning my clock