Live Chat With Ryan Houston On Tuesday, Feb. 16th At 4:00 PM ET

[CC's Desperados]

In Snap draft, why can't you adjust players values every few weeks or every month? Is there a plan to make that game better? Do you have any insight or feed back on how the 1099's were handled in that game?

[CC's Desperados]

At some point in your career, did you want to be in the owner's position instead of employee? In the future, do you see yourself owning a game? If not, are you at the top of the mountain?

[King of Queens]

Which of the following would you recommend for my next poolside-beverage?



A) Strawberry Daquiri

B) Pina Colada

C) Hummingbird

D) Dirty Banana

[CC's Desperados]

If the football season was extended to 18 weeks, have you thought of a plan to attack fantasy football?

[CC's Desperados]

In an earlier comment, Greg referred to CBSsportlien commissioner software. The free agent part of their game is painful. If you get it right for the NFBC, do you envision that masses change to your league managment service?

[CC's Desperados]

By the way, the owners edge is a nice addition to rotopass.



With Stats being such pigs in the fantasy market, could Elias be bought and be the future stat provider for your games?



[ February 16, 2010, 02:35 PM: Message edited by: CC's Desperados ]

[King of Queens]

Originally posted by CC's Desperados



Then maybe three or four groups to win say a $20,000 prize. You would have to work on the numbers to make it work. Maybe you need 350 entries in each group. You could have a January, February, March, and Double Play bracket. Some player might like to do one in each group. With all the slow draft action, I think players are looking for something else. Hell one of the brackets could be a 15 team grouping and that could be a separate prize. What do you think? Shawn, this sounds dangerously close to Q School and $350 travel voucher territory

[CC's Desperados]

Originally posted by King of Queens:

quote:Originally posted by CC's Desperados



Then maybe three or four groups to win say a $20,000 prize. You would have to work on the numbers to make it work. Maybe you need 350 entries in each group. You could have a January, February, March, and Double Play bracket. Some player might like to do one in each group. With all the slow draft action, I think players are looking for something else. Hell one of the brackets could be a 15 team grouping and that could be a separate prize. What do you think? Shawn, this sounds dangerously close to Q School and $350 travel voucher territory [/QUOTE]Why is that?

[CC's Desperados]

Originally posted by King of Queens:

quote:Originally posted by CC's Desperados



Then maybe three or four groups to win say a $20,000 prize. You would have to work on the numbers to make it work. Maybe you need 350 entries in each group. You could have a January, February, March, and Double Play bracket. Some player might like to do one in each group. With all the slow draft action, I think players are looking for something else. Hell one of the brackets could be a 15 team grouping and that could be a separate prize. What do you think? Shawn, this sounds dangerously close to Q School and $350 travel voucher territory [/QUOTE]Each group has a chance to win $20,000 and still be in the mix for the $50,000. I think it is a win/win.



January 360 teams $20,000

February 360 teams $20,000

March 360 teams $20,000

Double Play 300 teams $25,000



Overall prize 1380 teams $50,000

[Ryan E. Houston]

Ok -- let's go.

[Ryan E. Houston]

Originally posted by RedRyder:

Hi Ryan,



I know you have your hands full with baseball right now, but when will the NFFC plans for 2010 be announced? February is my month for financials (taxes due, football winnings coming in, etc.), it's when I budget my fantasy dollars.



I've already earmarked about 6K for the various NFFC contests I think will be offered, but would really like to know if a "Diamond" type league will be offered in football, like you have done in baseball.



I also want to know what will be offered in football, to see if I have some extra buck$ to throw at baseball.



Also, I miss the $650 price level for AL & NL only auctions, hoping they will make a return next year.



-Jules We are actively working on football plans / locations / etc. We have a lot of exciting stuff planned for NFFC.



We will DEFINITELY be doing a $10K Diamond Draft.



We will DEFINITELY be doing a $25K Platinum with 95% payout.



We will DEFINITELY be doing Supers / Ultimates.



We are working with a group now who is interested in doing at $100K draft (though I'm holding my breath).



$650 AL / NL auctions were replaced by $1300 AL / NL auctions and our Auction Championship. We are REALLY excited about that -- it's 90% full and I'd be surprised if its not sold out soon.



Maybe we can do a couple auction leagues at that price point once we sell out the auction championship.



Something to consider -- but we can't do everything.



Should be an exciting time. I say go all in for MLB -- and hope you win enough to cover your NFL needs.



Thanks for the question.

[King of Queens]

Ryan, please check out a copy of the NFBC-5 cities map. Isn't the star for Las Vegas a bit too far to the East? Doesn't this further support the West Coast bias theory?

[Quahogs]

Ryan,



I'm wondering if you have the information (or whether you can divulge it )...how many unique players do you have in the NFBC (including the 12tm format) and how many new players joined up so far this season ?



This is the NFBC's 7th season. It's not exactly new and they've been plastered all over fantasy magazines for just as long. Do you have a feel for what % of fantasy player out there that has NOT heard of the NFBC? Do you have any new ideas(other than continuing the print media)on how you tap into them and what new ways do you have in mind to get them to cross over to the "high stakes" arena?

[Ryan E. Houston]

Originally posted by sportsbettingman:

quote:Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:

These are the in-depth questions about our events and our future plans from the NFBC audience? Weak. Very weak.



I have faith that a few tougher questions will appear soon. Lance, where are you when we need you? Pipe down "Director of Live Events!"



OK...I'll push back my Valentine's Day traditional Mimosa Brunch for a post...







Hello E!



Some noted evolutionary trends in the fantasy sports world...



Live events moving from average to elegant/interesting locations creating better memories and better vacations for those attending live with or without their families...GREAT!



Fantasy players moving from enemies to strangers to acquaintances to friends to business partners...GREAT!



Main events moved from the prestige of being a Champion with the perceived one man one team one year philosophy, to opening up and encouraging multiple team ownership in same main event, and replacing the Prestige with money earned. All events evolved the same way (in part due to the economy), so no prestige was lost for any single main event, as they all went the same direction...money = the new prestige. No so great. I wonder if a new main event with the "one owner" setup would garner interest?



With the above being how it is, and money = scoreboard = the new prestige now...I see an evolution to higher stake individual leagues being KING, as the payout percentage is better, and you are facing all of your opponents in your single league, thus you get to draft against them and bid on free agents against them, and there will only be one person per league, so no excuses when you win or lose.



The evolution of guarding knowledge secret and only sharing with close allies, to openly sharing this knowledge with your opponents in a possible effort to grow the competition player pool and/or create a niche for selling a website. Could successful teachers of the game eventually make more money via website vs. their actual yearly profits playing the game? (Like poker players writing books/magazines? ...but I hear books don't = much money)



OK...warming up to the tougher questions...



With the "Prestige" being replaced by money won...do you fear there will be more "side leagues" like high stakes poker players do when they play online? (They sign up for a $1 private online table to pay less juice/rake...but they are actually playing with thousands of dollars?)



Will the event evolve into a "movie theater" style business plan, where the event gets the people together, but the sale of "popcorn and soda" is where the real money is made?



How many years will my favorite Pig F#@$er hold onto the overall NFBC money lead?



Has the evolution of high stakes fantasy sports hit a plateau of evolution...or is it just beginning to evolve?



What's your opinion of the "Become my Bi$#h for years, or you won't get the second $100,000.00" that your buddy is pimping?



Are "Fanbucks" simply a way of reinvesting without taxation, or do we pay taxes on the fanbucks AND have to reinvest it?



Every casino or poker room has its Bread and Butter" games that make the most profit for the casino (slot machines come to mind)...and they also have games were the house rake is much better for the player (blackjack and playing the odds on the dice in craps come to mind). Online poker sites have horrible rake games, but if you dig a little deeper, there are some hidden gems that make the most sense to play. Which leagues does Fanball have the lowest house rake/juice on? I'd assume online, and also the higher staked leagues, but wondered if there were also some hidden gem games for the players that either had the lowest rake, or had the winner get a very top-heavy prize for taking the league title?



How do you see Fanball looking in 5 years? (without giving up trade secrets) Will you have mostly online events as they is more profitable? Will you expand into every sport that game support programing and customer interest will allow? Will there be a cross-sport championship?



Happy Valentines Day! [/QUOTE]In regards to moving to "elegant" locations. That's part of the plan. We feel we want to throw the best live experience possible and that is IMPOSSIBLE to do at a place like Flamingo for MGM.



Not only do we want fantasy friends to become associates -- we want to make them into celebrities. It's something we are going to focus more on moving forward. We have a lot of money leader plans in the future. Our high stakes magazine was only the first step.



One Owner conceptually is what we have. We never anticipated having multiple owners take multiple teams. I mean, let's be honest. Nobody is going to CHOOSE Flamingo or Ballys over Citi and Bellagio. But what we've found is some people simply can't compete on the first or second weekend. By offering a multitude of dates, we've made it possible for more people to play with us who would have not had that opportunity. Now we just have to focus on making sure every event grows in the future.



In regards to winnings - it's all about winning and I think the money is secondary. But that's just my opinion. You sit and that room - look around and see all of those guys trying to beat you. There is NOTHING that can replicate that. It's the juice we all chase.



Soda and popcorn aren't part of our business plan but I think we definitely will evolve into an event with even bigger $ figures attached. First, we focus on the leagues -- and then we'll focus on the overall.



Fanball has a multitude of games, but one of the things that is often misconstrued is that we make "tons" of money on NFBC / NFFC. Let me be the first to say -- you come up to me at Bellagio and I'll tell you about this business. If I have to pick one game on Fanball that has the worst rake / juice -- it's clearly: NFBC / NFFC. With payouts upwards of 80=% and all the event fees + flights + hotel rooms + food -- there is simply not that much to go around.



In regards to games, we always want to be on the cutting edge. Fanball in five years will hopefully have developed into the WSOP for Fantasy Sports. That is our goal.



In regards to other games - with Snapdraft and some of our new games, I feel we are constantly evolving and that is what keeps us successful.



Hiring great people like Greg / Tom / Geoff help us achieve success faster.



Thanks for you questions!

[crazytown]

Can you provide any further information regarding the FantasySportsInsurance? Other than owners in the high $$$$ leagues recieve the insurance if they pay by check, not much is known.



Thanks

[Ryan E. Houston]

Originally posted by The Franchise:

Hi Ryan,





1. As a business owner I feel that a little competition is always good. It always makes you strive to get better. I feel you lose your edge once you become content with your business.



Which leads me to my question. How do you feel about the WCOFF getting into Baseball (WCOFB) and other competitors out there?



2. Do you have silent partners/investors? If so, do you have final say on all decisions?



3. What percentage of sales do you allocate annually for Marketing/Advertisements? The reason I ask this question is I have always been interested in the business side of Fantasy sports companies.



4. What made you get into Fantasy sports and when/how did you decide to own your own Fantasy sports company? Obviously there was a passion, but what else contributed to you being where you are now?



5. Now, as a customer I am always looking for the best possible deal I can get. You currently have an offer for (2 Live Double + 1 Online for $1350) plus you get a autographed Lester Baseball and NO Events fee.........



I had asked if I could do a (Main Event + 2 Live Double Plays for $2600) plus the autographed Lester Baseball and No Events fee? I was told no. I was turned off by the response because I felt I was basically substituting a $350 event with a $1300 event ($950 extra in your pocket). I'm not trying to fight you guys on this but could you please explain the reason this does not work for you? At the time I was trying to decide what event I wanted to do....... Or do both the NFBC and WCOFB.





At the end of the day I'm just a customer looking for the best possible deal. I am not Pro or Anti anything. I have no hidden agendas, just looking to make money and have fun at what I do, which is play Fantasy Football and Baseball.





Thanks for your time Ryan.





Nelson Sousa I've been waiting to answer this one Nelson.



1. How do I feel about competition. Well one thing I strive to ensure we never become is complacent. We never want to feel as if we "own" the space. I think we will prove that Baseball is one of our strengths and that NFBC will be where you want to play in 2010 and beyond.



I'm not going to get into my thoughts on the "others" but I think we raised the bar across the entire industry. We've moved to Bellagio and other great venues. They all make moves to follow. We come out with non-gimmicky cash prizes, they follow with gimmicky prizes to attempt to mislead the customer to believe they trumped us.



For $1800 in NFBC you can play in a Double Play Live + Main Event with $185,000 in GUARANTEED prizes. It's that simple -- no other competition can compare to that.



2. We are backed by Liberty Media. We aren't just owned by individuals of funded by frustrated VCs. I personally have the same health care plan as any member of the Atlanta Braves. Yes, the Braves are also owned by Liberty. Therefore, I trust us more then I trust anyone. It's that simple.



3. Fanball's yearly marketing budget (not counting our own print publications) is right around $700K. Some of that is focused on NFBC. Some of that on other initiatives. We believe in successful marketing of our fantasy products and our growth rates for paying customers is astounding. Remember -- we are competing in a "free" space where all our competitors have "free" products to compete with us. We've thrived despite all of that working against us.



4. I co-founded FantasyAsylum.com a long time ago. Did very well with that, sold it and did a lot of things in the past. My focus has always been on trying to make it in fantasy. It's not easy but it's do-able. It's a lot of hard work but I have nothing to complain about. I do fantasy sports full-time. What could be better?



5. I'm not sure what happened in this scenario, but let's talk it out and figure out what we can do to make sure you are playing in a multitude of events with us in 2010. Discounting entries is not something we are doing, but there are other ways to make this work.



Let's set up a call with Greg and get this issue rectified. That's how we do it at NFBC -- and our goal is to ensure you are satisfied with our game, pricing, etc.



Thanks for the questions.

[Ryan E. Houston]

Originally posted by billywaz:

Ryan,



Someone on another thread mentioned about the possibility of using "fanbucks" for NFBC events.



If that is possible, is there any benefit for being a CDM hall of fame member?



Thanks! I asked this same ? internally and this was the response I got:



From Fanball’s perspective, FanBucks is the currency customers receive by converting/redeeming their FanPoints. They must first convert FanPoints into FanBucks in order to then use the FanBucks to buy teams, player transactions, etc. The redemption is necessary because if they accumulate more FanPoints before redeeming them, they are awarded more FanBucks.



In this post, however, I think Greg and the customers are talking about “real” money (either credits or prize money) that they have on their Fanball accounts that they would like to transfer to pay for NFBC teams. Yes, they can do this and yes, I am sure there are customers who have enough money on account to pay for NFBC teams.



FanPoints and FanBucks, however, are not taxed.



I'll dig deeper on the CDM HOF membership and what we can do to broaden that for NFBC.



Hope this helps.

[Ryan E. Houston]

Originally posted by MadCow Sez:

The recidivism rate for me and my fellow fantasy baseball addicts is pretty strong. That being said, what is your plan to attract new blood to NFBC?



I watched the DC when it climbed well over 10K participants but it seems now they're struggling to get over 4K and most are repeat offenders, many of who play multiple teams.



NFBC is the capstone for fantasy baseball. Keep up the great work.



And to answer RT's comment for you....bald is dead sexay, according to my wife. I agree about bald being dead sexy. My wife loves it. And let's be honest - that is all that matters.



Plan to attract new customers. We have implement quite a few initiatives to make that happen. From the new High Stakes magazine, to regional marketing starting to Fanball base today -- we have a lot of things brewing and we have quite a few new players entering the fray this year. A shocking # to be honest.



We didn't get to where we are today simply by getting existing / past NFBC members to sign up early. We got there through new customers.



Additionally, keep in mind. We have not sent a SINGLE marketing mail to Fanball users. That will change starting this week so we'll see how that goes.



Thanks for the questions and we hope we can keep up the pace and good work. Thanks again.

[Ryan E. Houston]

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:

Okay Ryan, it looks like our NFBC folks talk a good game but don't walk the walk when given the chance. Here they've cut into you when things were starting out and now when they have the chance to ask the tough questions they take the pass. I'll jump in for them. Get ready for some fastballs Big Guy:



1. You've seen the new NFBC FAAB setup. Will it pass the test for our die-hard NFBC owners? Better yet, give me a description of what you've seen.



2. Why did you increase the prize money for the Diamond League to 93.5% And what do you have in store for that draft site?? Better yet, will we have an NFFC Diamond and what can you do for those owners who want to secure a spot in the NFFC Diamond and will be in Las Vegas this March at the Bellagio?



3. Why are you hosting the New York event at Citi Field and not Yankee Stadium? Any chance this stadium idea for hosting NFBC and NFFC events will continue or expand in the future?



4. Starting with football, how can I pre-order ALL of the available magazines at an affordable price and have them delivered to my home...ON TIME!! Can you set something up right away so that folks can click one button and get everything sent to them?



5. Anything you can tell us about the new NFBC draft software and the mock draft ability? Sounds interesting.



I'm sure some tougher questions will appear, but pick those off one by one and let's see what you've got for us!! Wow -- more insider trading questions. You trading your Liberty stock this week?



Anyway --



1. It's amazing. I am actually testing the live draft room at 4:30. I'll fill you in as soon as I have everything tested.



2. Payout % should be higher for those willing to spend more. They needed to be raised and so we raised them.



Greg I can't believe you asked this second question. We are working VERY HARD on something special for those who are playing in both the NFBC Diamond + NFFC Diamond. Details to come.



3. We think offering our drafting venues at select stadiums is essential but not mandatory. I think you'll see us offer very impressive places to play in the future. How does Costa Rica sound?



4. Yeah -- we did a poor job of that this year. We'll rectify that for football.



5. We are definitely launching a new Mock Draft Lobby and website. We will give out details in the next several weeks. It will be a huge upgrade to that "other" place.



Thanks Greg.

[Ryan E. Houston]

Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:

I am not alone in being antsy about switching to Fanball software for drafting. Seeing glitches on different pages already, leaves me leary of the draft site.

Alleviate my fears. I completely understand your concern.



All I can tell you is we are actively working on getting everything ready and I'm sure it will exceed your expectations.



Well maybe not - you aren't one to be very impressed with much



Regardless -- we'll do our best to ensure the product you get meets your expectations.



Thanks doughboys!

[Ryan E. Houston]

Originally posted by Red Sox Nation:

Ryan,



How about an I-phone app (phone app) for our NFBC teams where we can check live scoring, perform add drops, etc.? Sportsline has a very good one. Technology is all headed to phones that allow these applications. It would be nice to be able to spend Sunday's outside of the house for once. Thanks



Jason I wish we could fit this in. We already have a spectacular fantasy news app that is a must have -- and it's FREE.



We'll get there for the iphone but it won't happen this year for NFBC.

[Ryan E. Houston]

Originally posted by Plymouth:

Ryan, what is with all the fees, I HATE fees. It seems to me that your business costs should be covered by your cut, so why add additional fees? I can understand additional fees for optional services/products on a by choice basis but forcing fees on players stinks. Tell me why (speaking for myself) I should pay your fees so that you can pay the high rent at some of the locations you have chosen when all I want is a place to draft with no bells and whistles? I appreciate you offering an on-line/phone option for the main event although there is no phone component this year. Having said that, how do you justify charging a fee to these players? Why is a main event on-line draft cost you more to put on than it does to do a satellite draft with no fees? Nothing personal Ryan, but I am having trouble getting over the feeling I am dealing with someone that is going to fee me to death like banks and airlines are already doing. I understand the issue here so let me chime in.



First, we offer events that have ZERO event fees: Flamingo, Ballys & Pujols.



We are a live events company. Therefore, we have so many costs associated with room rentals, food & beverage, etc that we want you to take part in our live events.



I think the $50 fee is something we actually had budgeted to go much higher -- but we kept it low to ensure everyone could play.



What we don't want to happen is we make it the same rate as someone drafting live because we want everyone to take part in our live draft locations. People fly from all over to attend them so having those people take on those costs is something we had to consider.



Again, I believe we offer something for everyone even if they hate "fees".



Are we going to "fee you to death". Probably not. But we will have fees associated with our events and right now -- they are lower then anyone else trying to do live events.



Think about it -- all our competitors are charging upwards of $125 - $150 event fee. We are charging $100 and taking you to Bellagio. They charged that for the Stardust!



Again -- we are NOT charging any fees at any of our first weekend venues. I think that is a great value.



Hope this helps.

[Ryan E. Houston]

Originally posted by The RoundTrippers:

E,



any idea when the 1st set of ADP's will be sent out??? and how many versions will be sent?? in the past, we had 2 i believe. thanks RT Geoff told me they will go out after the first 10 drafts are completed.



Should be interesting to see how players fall into place.

[Ryan E. Houston]

Originally posted by eddiejag:

E, i love just E damn i could have gone with that title but just didnt think of it.Damn their is even the Big E REMEMBER him. Well now the letter E is gone.Be proud of the letter E and take good care of it.



E HOW BOUT SOME SLEEPERS at pitching say after round 17 or 18 that might have a little value.

Last year i was able to draft De La Rosa and Happ after the 20th round. I really like Brett Anderson / Homer Bailey/ Kevin Slowey / Clay Buckholz, Sean Gallagher



Will be interesting to see where they fall in the initial ADP report - but Brett Anderson is one of my must-haves!



Positional sleepers I like Ian Stewart, Julio Borbon, Brandon Wood and Andrew McCutchen (though he's starting to go WAY too high).

[Ryan E. Houston]

Originally posted by Hard Heads:

quote:Originally posted by Plymouth:

Ryan, what is with all the fees, I HATE fees. It seems to me that your business costs should be covered by your cut, so why add additional fees? I can understand additional fees for optional services/products on a by choice basis but forcing fees on players stinks. Tell me why (speaking for myself) I should pay your fees so that you can pay the high rent at some of the locations you have chosen when all I want is a place to draft with no bells and whistles? I appreciate you offering an on-line/phone option for the main event although there is no phone component this year. Having said that, how do you justify charging a fee to these players? Why is a main event on-line draft cost you more to put on than it does to do a satellite draft with no fees? Nothing personal Ryan, but I am having trouble getting over the feeling I am dealing with someone that is going to fee me to death like banks and airlines are already doing. This may be the only good set of questions out there. You should be more profitable now that you don't have to outsource to Stats and MDC. Can't you take those new increased profits and use that to run your fancy events? In theory you should be making more money on your end which in turn should lead to better live events without extra customer fees or we should be seeing better payouts. If you aren't being more profitable by using your own software well then that just doesn't make much sense. So I guess I can't wait to hear the answers to these questions by Plymouth and my inquiry into whether you do or don't save a ton of money by using your own software and in the end will we see any benefit from that with better payouts and less fees? As a customer I also hate fees added on to cover things you have no choice on. Now that there is an events fee to draft online it's not as though we are even given a choice in the matter. I stopped playing the main event due to what me and my co-manger feel are very poor payouts and now with added events fees we for sure won't play the main event. Anyway, my rambling is becoming harder to understand and harder for me to even get to my point. I am happy you guys are growing your event as that is the goal of every business owner. Just hope that at some point you reward your customers for being loyal and helping you grow. The new additions this year did nothing to help the customer in my opinion. [/QUOTE]I agree completely with your email.



I honestly do.



I also understand the business much better now then I did when we started this process.



Again, I want to ensure that everyone knows that you can play in our events without an Events Fee at Flamingo / Ballys and Pujols.



We did that for everyone who feels like you that doesn't want to pay fees.



We've also offered a MULTITUDE of packages where we waived the Event and Co-Manager fees.



So if event fees are the major issue -- we've provided plenty of options to make these issues secondary.