I’ll stand by Manny’s side by all of this because I have met and hung out with him at multiple events. :(. Manny’s a nice guy and he never means any harm. I hope GAMME still falls through because I’ve been looking forward to it all year. I don’t think a huge event like this should be cancelled because of random trolls imo.
I gotta give it to you man, this is truly first class entertainment, you just delivered the biggest load of crap I have ever heard.
It is now our fault this thing is cancelled, sucks that you have to cancel on all those Japanese players huh? All those refunds you’re giving out really hurting the guaranteed venue and pots what a shame.
Guys let this be a lesson to us all, we have lost what could have been the best time of our lives and it’s all our fault SHAME ON US.
Gpx keep touring the USA at our expense, you have my money any time you want to, my deepest apologuies.
As I am CEO of the other company in this video, all i have to say is ‘haters gonna hate’
Go on jeremy, drink your haterade. You base your accusations over rumors and things you heard from 3rd parties. Congrats, you sir have been given the title of asshat.
Get your facts straight before slinging shit.
And with that, I am bowing out of these forums. I will see you guys at GAMME for those who are going.
Manny always came off as a trust worthy guy to me. He always seemed to put 100% in whatever he did. I have no idea what transpired in the Gamme situation though. I’m just a neutral party sharing my thoughts. 
So manny, if you decided to go thru with it, is all the promised pot money there?
Well at least I know some one read the whole thing.
It’s fair. Your being called things, and so gives you the right to call me things. No harm done.
However, that video bugs the heck out of me because it shows that you are willing to vandalize and hurt hotel relations. Be it at your’s or another tournament’s. That relation is very important to the scene. We can’t just do it in backyards, and the hotels give it a place to happen, plus give it publicity to the general public.
And being a nice guy and following through with a international event is totally different. I am labeled a nice guy too, but that doesn’t mean every plan I set forth is going to happen, or do I really give it my full 100%. I work my butt off at these things too, I really do. You want to know what falls short with just about every event I have ever seen. Planning. You can’t plan for everything, that is true. On the other hand, and it is typically that hand, that is just when a person is lazy and sits inside their office. When outside, a great effort is made, and man are they tired. I always wonder if they wouldn’t have been so tired though, should the proper work have been done.
20 years isn’t showing its good side man, and by the way, what box? If anything, I felt like a cretin just sitting inside that box of knowledge and finally had the road paved by more ambitious and daring people who were willing to get in the eyes of others and say what they felt needed to be said. For that, I am gracious.
I am going to digress though, and not hold this up any longer then it should. I just know my knowledge isn’t based on rumors, but from people I know and have been friends with for years. Not just a once a event type of thing. I hope you feel better in the days to come, because no one deserves what you have, be it so.
-Jeremy
QFT.
This is why assuming things is bad. This whole GAMME dilemma has come from random people assuming shit, with no facts to back them up. When you assume, you often don’t have facts or know the whole story, so you judge and base your actions and opinions on something you might not know anything about. In the end, you look dumb. And a whole shit load of people are looking dumb right now.
There’s a saying… When you “assume”, you make an “ass” out of “u” and “me”.
I truly hope that GAMME will go on. I have been looking forward to this tournament for a long time and even canceled my trip to the Cannes World Cup in France so that I could afford to go to this. It will be a shame if it doesn’t happen because of random forum scrubs.
SO with all that was stated ( by Manny)
Is GAMME still up in the air? This is still unclear. It seems that a lot of refunds have been handed.
IMO damage has already been done. I hear the convention in still going on, but that seems like the Anime, Manga, and Music part are still a go.
I understand that Family and Health always come first ( I totally agree), But the way You started things was THE CAUSE of all of this mass confusion leading to your TOP people even puling out of GAMME. So you see when you have folks pulling out than you know many are going to follow suit ( confusion sets in)
Still sounds to me that you have yet to say if GAMME is still a go. and What IS going to suck ass is that the community ( whats left) will have to wait a few days before the event to be clear.
PEOPLE ARE STILL LEFT CLUELESS!
I thought you would come on here saying " ok guys… I made a few mistakes, I said things I prob should have said differently, etc etc etc… GAMME is still a go and here is the schedule of events and who will be attending and what not"
I’m left scratching my head ( and ass) …
Lies, lies, and more lies.
On the surface, Manny, your response seems so thoughtful and apologetic, but it’s all just good PR. You’ve distorted so many facts to so many people that it’s no surprise that people are pissed. People trust you because you tell them what they want to hear. Then you turn around the pull the rug out from under them. The entire community fell apart because you made a seriously bad move with the hotel and the date, and then suddenly everyone’s pent up suspicions and frustrations became public, exposing all the holes in your event.
Let’s expose some of your most recent lies:
Website - You spent $18,000 on it? Either that’s a lie, or your incompetence is beyond words. I’ve gotten freelance websites coded by guys from India for a couple hundred bucks. Even a reputable local design firm would only cost you $1,000 - 2,000.
Tourney Pots - “Conventions of this nature are built from sponsorships, company money and incoming money from vendors renting space and such. we had all three.” I call bullshit. No sponsors have ever been mentioned. If they were putting up money for this, you should have had their names and logos practically flying out your ass the past 6 months. I obviously cannot verify your company money, but I highly doubt you’d put tens of thousands of dollars into prize support when there are so many other bills to pay. Vendors offset your hotel and operating costs. If you were planning to use that for prize money, how are you paying your hotel bill? Oh, that’s right! You’re haven’t paid the hotel. That’s how this mess really got started.
Time Away From Your Family - Dude, you LOVE to travel. This isn’t some corporate job where you fly around the country to attend boring meetings and seminars. Every week at a different event you play video games, party, meet cool people, and hit on girls behind your wife’s back. You do this because you WANT to, not cause you HAVE to.
Cancer - On one hand, that’s some really horrible news and nothing to make light of. But on the other, you have such a history of lies and deceit that who could believe it? And if you really only have a year to live, why are even doing GAMME in the first place?
Kunicon - Kunicon was NOT a successful event. It was never a successful event and it had no chance of ever becoming one. Each event was a bigger disappointment than the one before it. There’s a good reason the second search result on Google (after Kunicon’s wikipedia entry) is “Kunicon: Potentially the Worst Organized Anime Convention”
GPX - Where are you incorporated? I can’t find your company at the Florida Dept of State Division of Corporations database at sunbiz.org. AFAIK GPX isn’t even a real company.
It’s time to stop the charade. The longer you continue, the more you hurt the community. You’ve hurt so many of the people who trusted you, and cost other, LEGITIMATE, businesses tens of thousands of dollars because of your lies. Because of people like you, fans are suspicious of new events, and businesses you’ve burned are unwilling to invest in other projects. So not only does all this hurt your own event, it hurts other events that may follow. You’re fucking it up for everyone. Please stop.
The event is going on. Manny is a good guy. Manny I wish you the best with your cancer and hope I can see you again soon.
FYI, to fall through means to not happen.
All the GAMME staff needs to do is:
List the Japanese players who confirmed. The thread has said for a long time “5 on 5 US vs. Japan” – by advertising that it means five Japanese players were 100% contracted, booked and have their itineraries.
Provide as much transparency as you can regarding where all this pot money is coming from. I don’t think blanket statements saying the money has always been there tells people anything, especially now. List some of the organizations for sure are backing the event and what specifically they are contributing.
If you do can do those I don’t see how this situation ever came about in the first place. Those would be my suggestions. And if you’re traveling so much you really do need a PR rep to be handling the front lines on Internet forums.
Yeah, alot of people were assuming things which led to the breaking down of the event at least on this forum.
This is why I earlier reiterated the fact that you guys should do some research of your own before just giving up on the whole thing. You can assume he is lying, but from what I’ve uncovered and based on who I’ve called thus far, this thing is still going on.
It’s a shame so many people are dropping out.
I think at this point what would help is Manny being transparent about a few things. Ghaleon beat me to the punch but this is still a valid list.:
[LIST=1]
[*]A clear concise statement verifying once and for all the event is still going to go on, and in the same capacity as it was being advertised. If it is not going to be the same scale, then clarify what was removed or added.
We don’t need any “wishy washiness” on the organizers part, no more “OH I MIGHT JUST DROP OUT BECAUSE YOU GUYS ARE BEATING ME UP TOO MUCH”
[*]** Number of people who have been issued refunds or have contacted mnany directly about settling cases of refunding/cancelling**. It would help to know how many people have ACTUALLY dropped so that everyone else can make an informed decision about coming or going. This info coupled with the numbers of projected attendees would be useful.
From what I know, having called the Florida Hotel, there are still PLENTY of people booked for that week attending the GAMME conference, but for obvious privacy reasons they could not give me numbers of people staying.
[*]And finally, an itinerary would be nice of planned events. Show us that you have thought this through and show us what you have planned. I take it that the website was SUPPOSED to serve this function, but since it isn’t prepared yet for whatever reason, take some time out of your busy schedule, maybe 30 minutes before you go to bed to transcribe and post a solid itinerary of events so that we know what is going on when and how.
[/LIST]
I don’t think these demands are overbearing, and you provided the event is still going on, you should be able to address these concerns relatively painlessly. Regardless of your rep as being a good or a bad organizer, you need to realize you are being rated thus far on your performance on THIS EVENT and you will always find people who know you FOR WHAT YOU ARE PLANNING in the present. Live your life and realize that even though you have reputation, you’re going to have to constantly keep proving yourself to others if you want to garner more praise and trust from your constituents.
If you want our respect and support you have to show us you’re responsible and able to carry out the task at hand. I think many people are still on the fence and are willing to level with you if you simply take the time to alleviate their worries.
The more grandiose you are with your claims, obviously the more shaky and potentially less believable they become. Do us a favor please and answer these.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.
Also, sorry for your shoryu into attempted ultras that were actually taunts at FR13, I was rooting for you 
You are my hero. Turn off that taunt man, that seemed to be a huge issue for multiple people that day.
Weak!!!
So what happens to everyones pre-reg money when the tournament “falls through”? Because this shit obviously isn’t going to happen.
with all the tourney drama aside… manny is a cool dude… i played flip cups with him at winterfest lol…
Lets all hope all this stuff gets solved quick and regardless we will be playing some games on june 5th whether it be at gamme or an impromptu tourney
Real Talk…if you only have that long to live Manny then go be with your family. They need you the most right now.
Oops, my bad.
I second THAT.
Random trolls? Seriously?
I am a Smash TO who has run one of, if not the, most successful smash series to date, the Pound series. I was “hired” by GPX to help the smash aspects of the tournaments they would be running (mainly, GAMME).
I am very methodical with my work. I strive for every tournament to be the best possible for the entire community. For the recent Pound 4 I provided over 20 setups on my own (on top of what people brought), I arranged -everyone- who flew in to have rides to the hotel and back (which Manny actually helped with), had the event catered, tshirts made, a hotel block full, shuttles from the hotel to the venue, discounted hotel rooms and airline tickets, etc. I slaved up late into the night answering questions from participants all the time, because that is what it takes for an event the size of the tournament I was running, for an event THIS size. The event had over 500 people and went very smoothly.
However after speaking with multiple other people who were supposed to be helping run GAMME tournaments, we were all completely left in the dark. No idea about travel plans, no idea about registration, and most of all, no idea about a possible date change.
When that happened, us organizers had already made plans as well, yet we had no say in the matter. Hell, I was at work when I got a text saying “So what about people who already bought flight tickets?”
I “worked” two events for GPX and both were overwhelmingly UNPROFESSIONAL, to say the least. The things I was offered were not delivered. I have still received no pay from these events either, and on top of the pay I put my OWN money in which I’m supposed to be reimbursed for, and I’ve seen none of that either. There was apparently some deposits that need to transfer or something so payroll had to be pushed back (again, there is always SOMETHING). Whatever, that’s fine, but if the tournament can shell out over 25k+ of guaranteed things, should I be really waiting on the money I am owed on time to pay my rent? I feel like paying your workers should be a #1 priority at all times.
Here’s the difference between me and other people “trolling” on here. While everyone is assuming things, I am leaving out a LOT of things I know and that have happened to me out for the good of the people involved. Seeing exactly how unprofessional the actions of the company can be would doom anyone from believing they could ever efficiently put together a convention of this size.
Manny knows how to talk. He’s really good with words and he speaks with confidence to make people believe him. But when his words come collapsing out from under him because his lie from a previous moment in which it sounded good is called out, he simply finds another scapegoat to tend to. That’s how I got sucked into the entire mess in the first place, charisma can get you a long way.
But charisma can’t get you a successful event. No amount of typing is going to make this convention work.
Did everyone forget about the eventbrite website? Registration was scheduled to end 2 days ago, yet there was no place to put in your username/location the entire duration of registration. I told Manny multiple times my guys couldn’t register correctly. It was always a problem that would be fixed soon. EVERYTHING will ALWAYS be fixed shortly. Or someone is working on it. Or some OTHER excuse as to why it cant just be fixed now.
I don’t actually feel that there is any malicious intent. Yet I still had to withdraw my entire community from this event because of the lack of organization and the amount of holes in GAMME. Even if all the purest of motives are coming from all directions, based on all of my combined experiences with GPX and other people who have been/still currently are working with them, I simply can not stand behind this event as an organizer when I, myself, have little to no confidence in the event.
I was logging all my experiences with GPX in a notepad file from before Pound until recently, until all this blew up. I could easily show how unprofessional everyone is and show everyone exactly why I removed myself from this event, but I have had no need to do that in my community because they all trust me and know that I would never do any of this without really good reason and the best overall lookout for my community.
If anyone wants to still go to GAMME, I say go, but don’t have your hopes up to what you’ve been promised.
I just want to say to be careful, and don’t let the guy who’s SPECIALTY is TALKING HIS WAY OUT OF THINGS, talk his way out of this one.