New Scaratings

I was at a local BWW Sunday afternoon playing a few games of Sports Trivia before setting off to my usual Sunday night location for Sports IQ.

I had just completed my 3rd game when a couple came in and sat down several chairs down the bar. They ordered their drinks, asked for 2 trivia boards, and requested for Poker to be put on the screen. The little minion behind the bar dutifully retreated to the "closet" where I assume all the BT apparatus is kept and started poking around. I thought, "Youre kidding me, right? They wouldnt do that to me, would they?" He popped his head out the door to check what was happening on the Trivia screen. I said to him, "I dont think you can do that. You cant have both Poker and Sports Trivia on at the same time. It has to be one or the other." He said, "Oh sure we can. There's no one playing the regular Trivia game, so we'll just turn that one off and have Sports and Poker playing at the same time." He disappeared back into the "Control Tower" before I had a chance to respond. When he popped his head back out to look at the screen again I said, "I really dont think thats going to work". He said, "Dont worry. You'll be able to keep playing Sports", and again disappeared behind the door.

With a heavy sigh I excused myself to go to the restroom fully expecting that when I came out the couple down the bar would be happily wagering on Texas Hold'Em, and I would be left wondering what I should say or do in response.

When I came out the next Sports Trivia game was getting ready to start, and the Poker playing couple looked none too happy. The bartender said to me, "You were right. I guess we cant do both at the same time". I informed him that this would be my last Sports game anyway and then they could switch to Poker after that one.

It's an incredbly short sighted plan. When I go to BWW it's very often to try to play Sports Trivia on the infamous Channel B. If there are folks already playing Poker when I get there I certainly dont expect that Sports Trivia will be put on instead on my account, although I will certainly be disappointed that I couldnt play it. At least they did the right thing this time and didnt shut me down either in favor of someone who came in after me and wanted Poker on the channel. Just an overall dumb system. Especially at a place like BWW where thre are TV screens all over the place there should be a way to have regualr trivia, sports trivia, and poker on all at the same time. Frustrating system............

You can actually have poker and sports trivia channels at the same time, just not at the same time regular trivia's on as well. Management can change it on the BT website for account owners. (i.e., I doubt the bartender can do anything about it in the "closet," but it can be done.) In order to run all three at once, BT would have to upgrade everyone's hardware at a pretty great expense. I guarantee accounts like ours would not accept that expense. Even the two channels at a time is unnecessary here; we'd get by just fine on trivia alone. The poker's just an added bonus.

I appreciate the information as well as your opinion, but I think youre missing the point, that being that in locations like BWW who do have the capability of doing all three, except realisticallly only 2 at a time, there is the potential for conflict when one group wants to play Sports and one group wants to play Poker. Its frustraing, potentially confrontational, and can make everyone feel rather uncomfortable.

No, no - I understand and appreciate the conflict. And you cannot have all three simultaneously - anywhere. You must choose two. My point was simply that the two that the management of the joint chooses can, in fact, be poker and sports trivia. I think the whole thing is asinine, but I understand that switching to a three-channel availability is infeasible at this time.

I thought i heard that sports channel was going away soon. at least according to some rep who was replacing 86th St's playmakers recently.

(and finally we get the 'modern' light playmakers )

gavv

Hooters of Independence, MO was one site which chose Sports Trivia and Texas Hold'Em. Their tactic was to deny, if asked, that there was such a thing as the Buzztime Trivia Channel.

WOW Cafe of Covington, LA had the same set-up, but they were up front about the choices made by ownership. I don't think that they're an active site any more, anyway.

That's not a problem here in Minnesota. They outlawed the poker from being played a few months after Buzztime implemented it. It was a real shame too because people would come in to play that and stay longer than they normally would. People were, god forbid, making side bets at some bars on the game. Little do they know, many people at our location would make wagers on the trivia games too.