It is the hardest market in the world to crack – whether it be business, sport or entertainment but darts is giving it a real go on the other side of ‘The Pond”.
The PDC US Open has been terrific and Barry Hearn remains absolutely determined that he will crack darts in America. Several big tournaments could be set to hit the USA in the coming years and as a sport, darts continues to grow.
Team Unicorn’s Ray Carver, John Kuczynski, Brad Wethington, Jim Widmayer, Roger Carter, Darrin Young and the rest continue to lead the way but there is no doubt that standards are improving all the time.
The venue is just amazing! The Mohegan Sun Casino is set on an Indian Reserve in 250 acres and it is just huge – and I mean huge! They reckon that people can walk five miles on a day on a working shift at this place!
The two giant casinos are the size of the new Wembley and they call New York the city that never sleeps…..well, this is the casino that never sleeps!
Jet-lag has meant me waking up at about 6am every morning, so I wander downstairs for a coffee and there are still hundreds and hundreds of people gambling in the two massive casinos. There are over 6,000 slot machines and a vast array of table games. My chosen poison is Black Jack…..so far, I’m only $25 dollars down but I don’t expect it to stay like that.
The head of Fox Sports in America has been here to see for himself how things work. The World Darts Challenge was broadcast ‘live’ on the network to open darts up to a whole new audience and I’m told it went down really well with the powers-that-be.
If Barry Hearn can continue to get Fox Sports and other American TV networks involved, his dream of cracking this vast market could yet be realised.
I also believe we will see more US darts players trying their hand at the PDC circuit back in the UK and with the Las Vegas Desert Classic just round the corner, the push to the American dream will continue.
PATIENCE is the key but the market is out there. I was talking with some of the American TV crew who have been working on the event and to a man, they all said they are all going out to buy dartboards to put in their garages! They have been bitten by the bug!
The message is: Keep the Darts Flag Flying stateside and with interest on the increase year by year, the sport has every chance in the land of the free!