Remember - this is NOT the official website for TOC so please verify all information and rules at http://www.clubluckygroup.com





Visit http://clubluckygroup.ning.com/forum for the current updates and rankings!

And to all my TOC friends - see you there!!!!

It is unfortunate that this year's TOC III will NOT be considered a true NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP by Club Lucky's monopolizing of the tournament.......because none of the amusement vendors in Minnesota decided NOT to become part of Club Lucky....I cannot participate in this year's TOC III . . . I (SlickRick1961) made last year's TOCII at Lake Geneva but cannot qualify this year unless I drive 2-3 hours to play at a participating Club Lucky location....My friend John Petersen and I both play Silver Strike Live in the Twin Cities at the Dive Bar in Maplewood, Mn . . .we both made TOCII last year . . .
MY QUESTION: When will IT and Club Lucky come to their senses and allow ANY bowler that has a Silver Strike card to be able to participate in future TOC's??? It is unfair of Club Lucky to disallow regular Silver Strike Live players that possess a Silver Strike Bowler's card from participating in the TOCIII just because their local amusement vendor did not join Club Lucky . . . ANYONE who wants to try and qualify on ANY Silver Strike Live 2010 machine SHOULD be able to irregardless of Club Lucky's sorry-ass attempt to monopolize the tournament....OR MAYBE IT should hold its own tournament NOT ALLOWING any Club Lucky vendors' machines to participate . . .If they want a TRULY NATIONAL TOURNAMENT...allow all bowlers who have Silver Strike Cards to participate irregardless of where the machine is located or whether they are a member of Club Lucky . . . now that I got that off my chest . . .PLEASE POST here if you cannot participate in this year's TOCIII due to your local amusement vendor NOT joining Club Lucky Group . . . thanx ! !

Rick, Rick, Rick!!!!

Come on brother - drive the 2-3 hours to play and get qualified! All the Indy guys have had to do it for the last 2 TOC's! You know it's worth it!

Plus, I tried to explain on Club Lucky's Forums that they aren't Monopolizing anything and that is their entire job - to promote play on the operator's machines that choose to be a part of it and pay the monthly fees. It's business, and they wouldn't have one if they allowed anyone to play on any machine. That is I.T.'s job to create a true National tournament. I don't know if you saw my Nationals vs TOC post - but I'll repost that as well at the end of this to explain a little more. I am sorry that your vendor pulled out of the group, as one of the ones I used to drive 3 hours pulled out as well, so I understand the frustration though. Just realize that TOC has (and always will be) this way!

I recommend quite a few things....

1) Come hang out for a weekend in Indy with me. You can stay at my place - we'll bowl all weekend, and hopefully with one more trip out here in later months, you will be qualified.

2) Post your displeasure and opinions on the lack of a National Tournament on The I.T. Silver Strike Forums at http://www.silverstrikebowling.com ...... I.T. has probably been following this, as Adam is very active in all areas of the games, but I don't believe they are logging in and haven't made any posts yet. Due to the economy - I.T. just hasn't been able to hold another Nationals, or Worlds for GT.

3) Get Lots and Lots and Lots of people to join the site - and I'll start a Petition / Poll right now so that we can show your operators, other operators, I.T., and anyone else that wants to know about it, the desire we all have to have another National Tournament. .... Part of the reason I developed this site is for that reason. If we can make this a HUGE community, then that gives me the capabilities to produce and put on a National Tournament myself! I have hosted a 100+ player Golden Tee tournament, so I have experience. I just don't have the player connections in the Silver Strke world to pull it off.

4) Although Club Lucky obviously tries to get as many Operators as possible to join - allowing for better prizes, payouts at the TOC's, etc., I odn't know how much time and money they put into marketing because the passion of people like you is what makes operators join the group!

Anyway - seriously man - get out to Indy and hang out for 2 weekends in the next 4 months and you'll be qualified!!!!


-> Post regarding the differences between TOC and Nationals:

I was asked about the difference between Nationals and TOC. Although this is very well known for those of us who have attended - the majority of bowlers don't even know these exist / existed, and if they do, they don't necessarily understand the difference!!!

So here it is - if I have any information incorrect - please correct me as I'm going off of straght memory......

The first major SSB tournament was held by and funded by IT (makers of SSB, GoldenTee, Bags, and Power Putt). Qualifying was divided into regions and required incredible amounts of great play to make it to Nationals which was held in Vegas at the King Pin suite at the Palms. Included with a top 8 finish in your region was $600 travel money and a guaranteed $1000 if you showed up in Vegas. In addition, 1st place at Nationals brought home $10,000!! Qualifying was able to be done on any machine that was online, as long as it had been updated to the newest version. Even this small restriction unfortunately prevented 'some' of the game's great players from qualifying, but for the most part, it included everyone. That was the first and only Nationals held to date. Unfortunately due to the economy, SSB Nationals and GT World Championships were not held this year or last. If we can kick up play, I'm sure they would like to host them again as much as we would like them to!

In comes the Tournament of Champions, or TOC. Qualifying is now underway for the 3rd TOC. For details visit http://www.clubluckygroup.com . The first year awarded transferrable entries to the tournament, and therefore had some of the 'stars' of SSB in attendance that 'paid' their way in. Last year, however, they did away with that and we saw some new faces and were missing some familiar faces. TOC qualifying must be done on a Club Lucky Machine, and therefore it can be difficult for some players to get to a valid machine. (List of machines can be found on their site) Because of this, it can easily be argued that it is not a National event, even though players from anywhere 'can' qualify! (For vendors wishing to become a part of Club Lucky, contact them for information).

The other main group of machines is Promo-Nation. (http://www.promo-nation.com) Although they do not hold an organized tournament, they do have a lot of contests that award great prizes. Like Club Lucky, players must play on a participating Promo-Nation machine to win. (For vendors wanting to join Promo Nation, contact them).

Vendors and operators that are not a part of either of these large tournament/contest groups typically will hold their own events that must be played on there machines. These are the tournaments / contests / and leagues that are harder to find out about that we would like to be able to list here. The goal is to get increased play for ALL of the machines, and keep SSB going strong!

I will gather as much info and results from prior contests and tournaments to post on ssbforums.com when I have the chance!! Meanwhile - if you know of any leagues, tournaments, or contests being held by local vendors across the country - please post information about them so more people can join the fun!

Hopefully this clears it up!
Feel free to ask or post anything!
Happy bowling!!!
Telly

The economic downturn is also what caused a drop off in Club Lucky operator participation for Silver Strike. Every CLG operator would like to participate, but for many of them it does not make sense financially.

Hopefully Silver Strike will make a big comeback with the LIVE version, there will be more and more play, and the operators will be able to participate again. Creating a lot of excitement about the game will help, like using this forum to connect, etc.

I apologize for the inconveniece and disappoint this has caused for our players.

Rick, I will do anything I can to help you get qualified. You know where to reach me.

Kim/Club Lucky Group

I agree. I t should not be called the Tournament of Champions unless everyone has a chance to be there. And dont say drive the 3 hours to qualify. Thats ne feesable for most.


TOC----thumbs down

I appreciate what Telly and Kim from Club Lucky said to me . . .however it still is not right to call this TOCIII a national tournament UNLESS anybody who has a Silver Strike Bowling card is allowed to play and QUALIFY for the tournament on any Silver Strike Live machine NO MATTER WHERE the machine is located . . . I still play Silver Strike Live at the Dive Bar in Maplewood . . .it gets plenty of play . . .BUT not as much since finding out that AAA Amusements was no longer a Club Lucky member and people could not qualify for TOC III . . . unfortunately the nearest location to play and qualify is in Iowa . . .at least a 3 hour drive . . . Hopefully I.T. will eventually have a TRUE national tournament where ANYONE owning a Silver Strike Bowling card CAN participate in the "national" tournament irregardless who the vendor is . . .I still feel Club Lucky can't claim this to be a national tournament until itr allows all Silver Strike Card members to participate . . . If others feel this way or have experienced similar problems in their respective areas, post your complaints here . . . Thanks for letting me vent . . .
Rick Kahn aka Slick Rick

I understand! It's only 'National' because they have machines nationally located. It's only Tournament of Champions as a name. It's frustrating as HELL if you can't make it to a machine!!!!! There are SOOOOO many of you guys I wish could make it!!!!

Vent your heart out!

Just Announced… Prizes added for Club Lucky's Top 3 Silver Strike TOC point earners!!

1st $250 SSB Gift Card

2nd $150 SSB Gift Card

3rd $100 SSB Gift Card

Thats almost enough to make me drive the 64 hours to play on a CL machine. OK maybe its 4 hours. Or 3.

That's ok, you wouldn't have a chance anyway!!