Bata has yet to collect $.5M purse

One month after Efren "Bata" Reyes won the biggest purse staked in billiards — $500,000 — when he topped the IPT (International Pool Tour) 8-Ball Championships in Reno, Nevada, the Filipino pool legend still has to collect his prize money.

Questions on how and when Reyes would be able to collect the amount came in the wake of reports that IPT owner Kevin Trudeau would declare bankruptcy, which already led to the cancellation of an IPT event slated late this month in London.

But Aristeo "Putch" Puyat, Reyes’ long-time benefactor, said Trudeau already wrote them a letter, apologizing for the delay of the purse, which he said is just a normal routine in the rich US circuit.

According to Puyat, the issuance of checks for the prize money normally takes 45 days. He added that both Reyes and Francisco "Django" Bustamante, whose partnership won for them the inaugural World Cup of Pool, aren’t worried about the reports.

Puyat also confirmed news that the IPT is currently in the midst of a merger with Macao billionaire Stanley Ho, one of the reasons why reports of IPT’s possible insolvency floated in the billiards website.

The IPT 8-ball tilt, which Reyes ruled by beating American Rodney Morris in the final, offered $3 million in total prize money, an amount which Trudeau allegedly had yet to pay in full.

One cue artist who saw action in the IPT 8-ball wrote in the AZBilliards.com forum thread that he has yet to receive his $5,000 prize, the amount given to players who were eliminated after the first round.

The player, who goes by the name of 8-Ball Bernie, said Trudeau already sent him a letter — and perhaps the other participants as well — asking for their patience.

The cancellation of the IPT London event also prompted observers to ask whether the IPT’s two major events at the end of the year, the Masters 8-ball Championship (Nov. 26-Dec. 3) and the King of the Hill 8-Ball Championship (Dec. 12-17) would push through as scheduled.