Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

IL State Championship-Niles,IL 3/6

PokeMama said:
Well, that's very nice of you, but on his behalf I do have to say that if it weren't for Yoshi we wouldn't have had any Premiere events in the first place. So for that I'm very grateful. It gave all my local kids a chance to experience the excitement of Premiere events. I'd rather work together than not have events at all. But I have to say I'm not too fond of all the "politics" involved. I just want to be able to offer a good tourney to those who'd like to be there. That's the main thing.
Click to expand...


I understand and agree. It is good that he has come in to help out, as long as it stops at help, because unfortunately if it continues too long it could end up having an overall negative effect (speaking from experience and knowledge of the area)
 
I think we just all need to get use to it for a while, I dont like Pastimes much, and I believe that I was one of the many few that complained about its conditions in the first place, way a long time ago, I think I was 15 or so. I think its nice and big, but if Pastimes wants to be considered a great place to hold pokemon tourneys, they need to improve fast. Right now, I wouldnt mind pastimes running tourneys, its been nice and plus I like the distance, but they should start joining in with every other PTO and make the tourneys really enjoyable and attractive enough for other players to come back.

See ya​
 
Exactly right Ness. I'd rather have IL states anywhere but Pastimes. Right now the best place to have IL states would be Rockford. Hopefully PokeMama and Yoshi can work it out to have the event there.
 
Unfortunately, it's already been announced by PUI and POP, and they're probably not going to change their minds at this point...

All we can hope for is change, and we're lucky enough that we have two people in dld4a and pokemama that are working hard toward that change. Keep working, both of you, and Alan will either have to step it up or abandon Pokemon for good. Either way, it'll be good.

In response to *why* Pastimes isn't that good (UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE CENTURY), in addition to supporting all of what's already been said here, I'd like to add this little piece of insight: Chicago is very centrally located, with a good number of Premier level and weekly tourneys happening very close by. Most of the Chicago-based playing area travels all over the place, and we've noticed the conditions and expectations of all the other places out there (Brookfield, CL, Manitowoc, GB, Rockford, and Dayton, just to name a few I've been to) and how absolutely pathetic we have it at Pastimes compared to these places. We've been pushing Alan to step it up ever since Erich left (no other way to put it, I don't know what happened, and what a sad day that was in Chicago Pokemon history...) and he continuously dips far below even the smallest expectations as to how our events are supposed to be run. In short, he doesn't really care about us, only our wallets, and we want change, and we want it now.
 
Last edited:
Bullados how about we just dont spend any money there. Sorta like a boycott. If he cant get enough money from this he will probably give it up.

Kevin
 
Last edited:
Allrighty then.

Let's assume a blank slate.

Let's work toward the future and try to make it more of what you want.

So tell me.... what do you want? What is the most important to you all about making Pastimes the best place to play Pokemon? What needs to be done, and I will TRY to see that it is done.

Please note - I am not looking for comments like - "it sucked when you did.....", "you put us in back when....."

I am looking for "It would really help if you scheduled events on days when there was not as much going on....", or "it would be great if you scheduled side events for after the main event"

I will be checking back here for constructive answers - or people who have ideas can e-mail me directly at [email protected]

We truly do want to run GOOD Pokemon events. Obviously we have barked up a wrong tree at some point and some changes need to be made - help me make them.

Besides making comments here, you can help by placing your vote at http://www.pastimes.net/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=2166#2166

Thanks in advance for your help in making Illinois, and Pastimes, the best place in the US to play Pokemon!!!

Sincerely,
Alan Hochman
Owner
Pastimes
8478 Golf Road
Niles, Illinois 60714
847-470-9636
www.pastimes.net
 
Well first of all, you need to stop kicking us out for playing Poker. I really did not appreciate that. Second of all, I would appreciate to be able to drink out of a water fountain not labeled "colored only".
 
Last edited:
Not that I didnt get a good laugh out of that one Martin, this is a bit more serious than that. Obviously the owner DOES care about what happens as far as pokemon goes. (and obviously playing poker is first of all illegal and could get pastimes in alot of trouble) Things like this "What I really want is you to step down from pokemon and let it go to Rockford or Crystal Lake." Do not really help, I will try to do anything I can to help pokemon get better at pastimes, but Pastimes needs your input.
 
Last edited:
Adam, one of the problems is having you and Sean answering for Alan. No doubt you both have been the forces keeping Pokemon going at the store....but now he sees the problem that has been screamed at him, and is looking for suggestion.

He has come forward and asked for suggestions, and people will be sending them to him. I already have.

Alan can answer for himself and his store. People should send their suggestions to him.

Vince
 
Alan, if you didn't see the posts stating the negatives I suggest you read them. Everything wrong with Pastimes has already been posted. I think you'll be able to come up with a solution that will please most of us as long as you listen to what we have to say. Most good tournament organizers and head judges:
1. Make sure to start tournaments on time and are run smoothly.
2. Have enough qualified judges on hand for the event (states will require more than 1!)
3. Offer additional prize support. You guys always charge $20 for prereleases but don't offer anything besides what you are required to. Other PTOs offer DOUBLE PRIZES for $15 with extra bonuses.

I was displeased with the tournaments back in the WotC days, and it appears the OP has got even worse since then. Rockford has had some really good tournaments with great turnouts, and I suggest you follow their example.
 
Last edited:
I'm glad to see Alan reply on the boards here, this topic was getting out of hand. Despite all that has happened, I still enjoyed all of the times I was at Pastimes since I returned from Alaska.

I am not out to defend anything that may have happened there, so please don't flame me back about this, okay? I have been there for 3 or 4 different tourneys since my return, I got 1st in one, so I can't complain...

To abandon a State Championship simply because of bad past experiences is not a good thing. I hope more people will send Alan positive suggestions so this will work- if this the location for IL state championships, then ignoring it will mean only a few other state options, if any, for some people. I know that a lot of the people that are posting about this don't have the time or resources to go all over the Midwest, and since this is the state level, only a few are within a day's drive for most. Think about the gas money, food, wear and tear on your car... you would spend money on all that just to avoid Pastimes and a chance at excellent prizes? I personally think the prizes at this level and higher are too good to ignore, but that's my opinion.

I most certainly wouldn't turn down a chance to win, especially since it's so close to my house. Of course, I could be anywhere within 500 miles+ for any tournament, but hey, it's great when there's one where you don't have to make a huge road trip. I hope to see a lot of people there, if you can't show up, it's your loss.
 
Last edited:
Unfortunately,​

Thats what you get sometimes when your deal with some places especially big chain store, all the comments your are hearing from is spokespeople and publicists, and the superiors never say a word. In this case, Im glad Alan spoke up and is getting involved now, so please everyone, some positive feedback and suggestions would be great. Hopefully everyone can help out, no matter how big or small it seems to be.

See ya​
 
Pastimes isn't a corporation, like Hobbytown. It's a privately run storefront that just happens to have the largest playing area in the greater Chicago area that I know of (and it's bigger than some hotel rent-a-rooms).
 
Well I like Alan's attitude, the only thing immediately that I was hoping for is some guidance on when the state championship will be......

+ It would be great if it wasn't the same as Wisconsin's, Indiana's, or Missouri's.
+ But folks need to have dates so we can block them off
+ It does help if we know what dates it WON'T BE.

Thanks
 
Last edited:
Calm down about states, I cant tell you what is planned just yet but I am absolutely sure everyone will be very happy with the changes that will be implemented, maybe you just might want to come back to pastimes after all. That said I really hope we can have good attendance for the upcomming prerelease.
 
I'm gonna dip my toes in the pool of secrecy and say that a solution to problem #2 on my list of assessments has been fixed.... more to come :D
 
Hey, Denis told me about this topic, so I will post.

Pastimes is a great store, everything in the store is overpriced but thats what haggling is for ;). The tournaments are run pretty smoothly, with neat printouts and everything. That's not available at a lot of tournament locations. Issues are handled well there as well, and in my experience there is less cheating there. I agree about the $5 overcharge and no extra prizes, but thats about it. The staff (Alan, Sean, and usually Adam) is awesome. I hope you guys will all keep going to Pastimes, but the $5 overcharge is pretty ghetto, I think that needs to stop or at least be explained.

~Jason
 
Agreed. Start charging $15 with additional prizes or $20 with double prizes. There isn't any reason why you need to charge $20 period.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top