The Players Ball is an annual gathering of pimps, held in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Other Players Balls take place across the country, most notably in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

. The first Players Ball held in 1999 took place in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

. Presently, there are "Players Ball" events in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

and

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...

. On December 16-18th 2011, a Players Ball was hosted in Hollywood, CA.

History

The idea stemmed from a scene in the 1973 blaxploitation film ''

The Mack ''The Mack'' is a 1973 American blaxploitation film directed by California native Michael Campus, starring Max Julien and Richard Pryor. The film also stars Oscar-nominee Juanita Moore and Tony-nominated actor Dick Anthony Williams. Filmed in O ...

'' in which the lead character, a pimp named Goldie, attends The Players Ball in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the ...

. Comedian Dan Aykroyd parodied this event in his film '' Doctor Detroit''. Keenen Ivory Wayans satirized the ball in his 1988 film '' I'm Gonna Git You Sucka'', in which blaxploitation icon

Antonio Fargas Antonio Juan Fargas (born August 14, 1946) is an American actor known for his roles in 1970s blaxploitation and comedy movies, as well as his portrayal as Huggy Bear in the 1970s TV series ''Starsky & Hutch''. Early life Fargas was born in New Y ...

plays a character who is crowned "Pimp of the Year" after winning a Miss America-style pageant. Dave Chappelle satirized the event with "The Playa Haters' Ball" on an episode of The Chappelle Show. The party has been a November tradition since 1974, when pimps from across the country gathered to celebrate the birthday of Don Juan now known as Bishop Don "Magic" Juan. Every year, the award for "Pimp of the Year" is given out. Juan was the winner 13 years in a row.

Official Bishop Don Juan Players Ball

The 35th Anniversary of the Players Ball was held on Saturday, December 5, 2009 at Chez Roues Banquet Hall in Chicago, IL. Ditch performed his first Players Ball show there. The 38th annual official Players Ball 2012 was held Saturday December 8, 2012 at the Key Club, Hollywood, Ca. Nick Cannon was the DJ for the event, and was rumored to be in production filming a movie about Bishop Don Juan.

Documentaries

The Player's Ball was shown in the HBO documentary '' Pimps Up, Ho's Down'' and the Hughes Brothers' documentary, '' American Pimp''. A DVD entitled Master Players Ball was also released in 2006. The DVD featured live scenes from a "Players Ball."

Controversies

2003 arrests

In 2003, the Players Ball took place in Atlanta, GA. A survivor by the name of "Tina F." reported that several pimps were arrested for having underage prostitutes, and claimed "Two years ago in Atlanta, they stopped it and arrested 15 pimps and charged them. One pimp had a 10-year-old girl in his stable."

2005 protest

In 2005, a survivor identifying herself as "Brenda Myers-Powell" protested the Players Ball event at Mariella's Banquet Hall on 5th Avenue in Maywood, IL. Brenda called the event a "ball for child molesters" because she began being trafficked by pimps at the age of 14 and says her experience is a common one.

Matthew Thompkins indictment

In 2006, Matthew Thompkins, a former Postal Worker of

Manhattanville Manhattanville (also known as West Harlem or West Central Harlem) is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan bordered on the north by 135th Street; on the south by 122nd and 125th Streets; on the west by Hudson River; and ...

, NY, was indicted. He was a former "Pimp of the Year" of the annual Players Ball. His aliases included; "Knowledge" and "Daddy." While searching his property, Police located two "Pimp of the Year" awards.

Other versions

Las Vegas, Nevada

A well-known non-pimp Players Ball started in 1999 was thrown in Las Vegas and New Orleans as a private party for businesses attending adult oriented events. The event is organized by D-Money. The event was thrown twice a year and may coincide with other adult events such as AVN or Internext Expo. The last players ball event thrown by D-money, who has officially ended the events, was on April 10, 2019. Official Website http://www.theplayersball.com

Memphis, Tennessee

In 2011, the annual Memphis Players Ball was also attended by Bishop Don Magic Juan, Good Game, MattShizzle, Candyman, The Black Heff and others. Ditch performed at the Memphis Ball which was located at a mansion in Memphis, TN. Past events have featured performers including: * 50 Cent * Snoop Dogg * Ice Cube * Lil Jon * E-40 * Digital Underground * Ice-T * Cypress Hill * Too Short * George Clinton & P-Funk * Lorde * Slick Rick *

Doug E Fresh Doug E. Fresh (born September 17, 1966) is a Barbados-born American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer, also known as the "Human Beat Box". The pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum machines an ...

* Fishbone * William Bad Boy Lyle * Ron Jeremy * Elton John * YTCracker *

Afro Man Joseph Edgar Foreman (born July 28, 1974), better known by his stage name Afroman, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, comedian and musician. He is best known for his songs "Because I Got High", released in 2000, and "Crazy Rap", which w ...

* Flavor Flav * Wiz Khalifa

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website for DMoney Presents The Players BallSalon.com article "Pimpin' is hard work"Official website of the 2011 Players Ball
in Hollywood, CA Recurring events established in 1974 Erotic parties Culture of Chicago Entertainment events in the United States American pimps Child prostitution in the United States Human trafficking in the United States Forced prostitution in the United States 1974 establishments in the United States