2004 Bonus Resolution

As some of you may be aware several bonus awards from December 2004 were left unresolved. Prior to the December 2004 event, we received numerous complaints regarding tournaments directed by Bob Rugnao. These complaints were voiced by as many as 15 members including employees of Campbell Billiards where the tournaments took place. The complaints included but were not limited to the following:       

•             Inappropriate Tournament Draw

•             Incorrect Score Keeping

•             Actual Tournament Score Sheets Trashed and Rewritten Off Premise

•             Players Listed not actually present for the Tournament

•             Submitting a Tournament on another Room ID

Prior to the event we contacted Mr. Rugnao and advised him of the complaints and advised that the situation would have to be reviewed. Furthermore, under the circumstances, we would have to refuse entry to Jimmy Rugnao due to numerous complaints that he actually had not played in more than a handful of tournaments despite our records indicating he was bonus qualified. The Sands was instructed to return his Pro Am entry fee and did so.

At the December Events, the averages of the following players were highly questioned by several members.

 The players who participated, namely Jessie Killian, Bob Rugnao, and Larry Mohr performed well in the events and score sheets kept at the event did not appear to indicate any great disparity in their averages.

 As Mr. Mohr proceeded through the Pro Am field he took upon himself to approach Tony Annigoni and suggest that his own average be raised so not to be associated with any difficulty surrounding the validity of Mr. Rugnao’s events. At this point he was already assured third or fourth place and we declined his request.

 At the end of the event we advised those players that bonuses that they may or may not have would be under review and awarded when we were satisfied they would go to the appropriate parties.

 In addition, Paul Bramwell, who had a number of tournaments directed by Mr. Rugnao, was advised that those tournaments listed on his record were being reviewed and no bonus awards for the categories affected would be awarded.

 In a letter dated 1/31/05, we requested that Mr. Rugnao no longer direct or play in any USPPA events and that he convey to Jessie Killian, Wendell Rugnao and Jimmy Rugnao that they would be suspended for 1 year effective January 1 2005. This was conveyed by phone to Mr. Rugnao and the letter ensued.

 Obviously these are difficult assertions under any circumstances let alone the pressure of the Reno event. Bonuses are awarded at the discretion of the USPPA and are always subject to review for validity. In the past we have had numerous complaints about sandbagging, but to the best of our recollection we have never had these type of allegations voiced by so many about a director and the propriety of their records. This situation has required numerous hours on the part of USPPA staff to review and attempt to resolve. It would have been very simple to pay the several hundred dollars of affected bonuses and perpetuate the problem, but that is not the way we operate.

 We are confident in our ability to handicap players, but any system is subject to the “garbage in garbage out” syndrome. Our large tournaments have consistently been running at 40 to 50 percent of matches finishing hill/hill or 2 game margins, excellent by even our standards.

 Any time there is an appearance of impropriety the logistics of verifying allegations are not easy and certainly cannot be proved beyond a shadow of a doubt. This situation is certainly no different and in no way can we prove or will we try to prove any guilt on the part of the director or the players in question.

 However, as Tony Annigoni likes to point out, “I was born at night but not last night!” and that goes double for the USPPA. In an attempt to resolve this amicably many approaches were considered, none totally conclusive. As a result we decided to rely on the system to the best of its ability to give us enough of an indication upon which we could make a reasonable judgment. To accomplish this, at great effort on the part of our computer support, we completely restored the 2004 database and recalculated the averages of the players in question with the tournaments directed by Mr. Rugnao eliminated from the calculations. When we did so we got the following results:

 As the percentage of increase indicates specifically on the players who were bonus qualified namely Bob Rugnao, Jessie Killian, Larry Mohr, and especially Jimmy Rugnao, even to a casual observer it would lend validity to some of the numerous allegations. Under the circumstances, using our best judgment we are taking the following steps:

 We have decided that Jessie Killian, Bob Rugnao, Jimmy Rugnao and Larry Mohr, as well as Wendell and Vince Rugnao may no longer participate in any USPPA events until further notice. Furthermore, we suggest in good conscience that Jessie Killian, Bob Rugnao and Larry Mohr return any prize money they received in the December 2004 events, i.e. the Mini Tournament and the Pro Am to the Sands as in our judgment their winnings were acquired under false pretenses.

 In the event any funds are returned we suggest the Sands add that money to the next event.

 With this decision, we will be able to finally resolve the 2004 Bonus Pool with the remaining awards to be distributed at the Pro Am players meeting in December.

 A list of those awards follows:

Annual Bonus Point Awards 2004

 Highest Bonus Qualified Finisher 2004 Pro Am

3rd Place Finish 50 to 100 Category

Previously Awarded Bonuses

Most Improved

Highest Female Average

High Handicap

This award is pending due to logistics of tournament planning. The Top-8 handicaps from 2004 will be matched Round Robin for $1000 winner take all. This event is tentatively planned to take place at California Billiards - date and players to be announced.

If you have any questions regarding these awards, contact Tony Annigoni at 831-277-0216 or