People are Failing, not Pool Rooms...

Fatboy

Fatboy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
All these threads about pool rooms failing are BS. Sorry it had to be said.


The reason is people are failing to go to pool rooms because there is newer and more fun things to do than push balls around with a stick.

Instant gratification is what sells now, it takes most people way to long to play pool at a level thats fun. So they try it and after 2 times they get board and move on.


Movies on your computer, poker, Facebook, Netflix, txt messages etc all have taken a little bit out of pool, we spend our time differently now days. Printing presses are getting cheaper, because email replaced them. Pool is just being replaced by new forms of entertainment. Do we entertain our selfs like people did 300 or 200 or even 100 years ago? No of course not.

We are living in a revlouanary time, the time of transition is now, things are changing faster than they have in many decades. Like right after the Civil War people went west, lots of things changed-fast. Then things slowed down until cars were invented-that changed everything. Right now is one of those turning points in society, up til now the past few decades have been pretty flat, not much changed. Hair styles and cloths but nothing big like cars and electricity. Computers are changing everything.


Thats the real reason pool is suffering. Sure there will be the people who hang on, and some people still have a B&W TV or listen to 8 trac tapes. But the masses dont. And wont.
 
Pool Halls

I agree.

I used to hang out in a pool room when I was growing up that didn't sell beer or have a juke box. You went to the pool hall to play pool or visit, not play darts or drink alcohol. How long do you think a pool room like that would last now?
 
Fatboy said:
All these threads about pool rooms failing are BS. Sorry it had to be said.


The reason is people are failing to go to pool rooms because there is newer and more fun things to do than push balls around with a stick.

Instant gratification is what sells now, it takes most people way to long to play pool at a level thats fun. So they try it and after 2 times they get board and move on.


Movies on your computer, poker, Facebook, Netflix, txt messages etc all have taken a little bit out of pool, we spend our time differently now days. Printing presses are getting cheaper, because email replaced them. Pool is just being replaced by new forms of entertainment. Do we entertain our selfs like people did 300 or 200 or even 100 years ago? No of course not.

We are living in a revlouanary time, the time of transition is now, things are changing faster than they have in many decades. Like right after the Civil War people went west, lots of things changed-fast. Then things slowed down until cars were invented-that changed everything. Right now is one of those turning points in society, up til now the past few decades have been pretty flat, not much changed. Hair styles and cloths but nothing big like cars and electricity. Computers are changing everything.


Thats the real reason pool is suffering. Sure there will be the people who hang on, and some people still have a B&W TV or listen to 8 trac tapes. But the masses dont. And wont.
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You are absolutely right!:( Facts are facts!:( I want pool to thrive and I am doing everything I can to get it there, but like grandma always said, "son you can want in one hand and shit in the other." Troubling truth to accept, but nobody spoke the truth like grandma.:(
 
Before the internet,cable TV and other forms of distraction and entertainment the pool room was not only a place to play pool it was a social meeting place.I can remember some of the rooms I went to every night the same people were there every night. I probably knew 40 or 50 regulars. Some played and others just came to visit. Pool rooms back then attracted all types from lawyers to broke rail birds and a few loony tunes.
All types were welcomed as long as they behaved.It became an extended family and we looked out and helped one another.
 
Klink said:
I agree.

I used to hang out in a pool room when I was growing up that didn't sell beer or have a juke box. You went to the pool hall to play pool or visit, not play darts or drink alcohol. How long do you think a pool room like that would last now?
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Did they have a poker game in the back? That was what made the one in my home town work. The owner finally gave the pool room to a kid that worked for and just kept the poker game in the back room.
 
Golf is nit steadily growing. Courses are closing all over. Courses are waiving initiation fees just to get members. Membership fees are dropping, etc... Courses where you ha to call minimum five days in advance, have spots available for walkups.

The league i belong to was always full with a waiting list. This year they were begging for more teamss and offering referal discounts.

Golf is having a very hard time now.
 
Fatboy said:
All these threads about pool rooms failing are BS. Sorry it had to be said.


The reason is people are failing to go to pool rooms because there is newer and more fun things to do than push balls around with a stick.

Instant gratification is what sells now, it takes most people way to long to play pool at a level thats fun. So they try it and after 2 times they get board and move on.
Click to expand...

Instant gratification is what sells now amen!!!
 
Klink said:
I agree.

I used to hang out in a pool room when I was growing up that didn't sell beer or have a juke box. You went to the pool hall to play pool or visit, not play darts or drink alcohol. How long do you think a pool room like that would last now?
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Less than 365 DAYS!
 
I agree and disagree.

I'm one of the technophiles you speak of. I built my computer for gaming online, I use netfilix, video streaming, I keep up on online culture. And I love pool. Perhaps I'm atypical of most people, but I see no reason why pool cannot thrive in today's world.

Personally, I think everything you say about pool could be said about baseball. Baseball is a slow game, not many points, no instant gratifiaction. Baseball is archaic, old, and yet it thrives. Why hasn't baseball been swallowed by today's digital culture?

I don't believe pool is somehow outdated, or any worse entertainment-wise than baseball. I think pool just has too low of a profile. Allow me to ask a few questions?

1. Do you think most people can name 5 famous pool players?
2. Why are pool table found in bars, or other places where alcohol is served?
3 Why are pool tables so expensive?

Now allow me to answer surmise why I feel pool isn't popluar:

Since I was a child, I've always seen pool tables in bars, or pool halls. Hell, even the local pool hall, you have to 18 to get in. Right there alone, in my eyes, boots children right out. Meaning, out of sight, out of mind. How are you going to grow future pool players when it's out of their reach? Pool is associated with smokey bars, places where adults hang out and do adult things.

It's not like pool caters to young people.

Now, how about pool tables at someones house? If if you can't take kids to bars to play pool, why not bring pool tables to the kids? The problem being is how much does a pool table cost? How about a Pro-Am or a GC? What's the price of those? List price of GCV is $8,999.00, according to their website.

What's the price of a Playstation 3? 300 bucks from Amazon.com. So, out of sheer attainability, which is eaiser to get a hold of?

How about this:

Child: Mom, I want a Gold Crown 5 for christmas.
Mom: I'd love to, but I don't have 9000 dollars.

How about this:

Child: Mom, I want a Playstation 3 for chistmas.
Mom: I'm so glad you said that, because I'd rather get you a playstation than get you a gold crown because they are 10 times less.

And people wonder why pool isn't popluar. For that same 9000 dollars it takes to buy a GC, I could get a gaming class computer, PS3, flat screen TV and a nice sound system, an Xbox, a Wii, and still have about 5000 left.

Personally, I think if GC was $1000 (or any other good pool talble) you'd have a good start to hooking future generations. But above all else, out of sight, out of mind. You're not gaining fans of pool if there are no pool tables readily available.
 
And in the beginning there were pool halls. Now generations removed, these establishments are hardly even known to today's crowd. The rooms like the one in the movie The Hustler have morphed into a far wilder place.

Evolution took pool halls and turned them into wanna-be nightclubs out of necessity to pay the ever increasing rents.

Loud obnoxious music took the place of nearly silent background radio and animals began to inhabit pool rooms.

Animals with no manners, no concern for people around them, and in many cases, no pants around their asses.

The pool player faded away to the likes of ball bangers, gang bangers, and ear drum shattering noise.

That's what happened to pool halls.
 
Somehow you got to get the newbies in the house

Most of the regulars in our pool room do not spend money in the room. So what is a regular guy? One who loves pool. Over the years I have observed the better the player the less they spend in the pool room. They want to gamble and make money, not make money for the pool room. What happens after a pool tournament, most of the players leave. How does the pool room make money?
What the pool room needs is new young players. Socialization is the key.
Bars aren’t closing. People go there to socialize.
I think pool room owners need to have tournaments for kids and beginners, to get them hooked. Us regulars will go there every day as usual. That’s my two cents, Barney
 
Social gathering place

measureman said:
Before the internet,cable TV and other forms of distraction and entertainment the pool room was not only a place to play pool it was a social meeting place.I can remember some of the rooms I went to every night the same people were there every night. I probably knew 40 or 50 regulars. Some played and others just came to visit. Pool rooms back then attracted all types from lawyers to broke rail birds and a few loony tunes.
All types were welcomed as long as they behaved.It became an extended family and we looked out and helped one another.
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Yep, the local pool hall was the local gathering place to improve your game or get the news around town. The pool hall in my home town of Warren,Ar. was a magnet for just that.

Every Saturday morning the pool hall would have 10-15 people waiting outside on the owner to open, we would get a kelly pool game going (pea pool) and it would last all day, untill closing at midnight.

I remember one time we had a tornado in town (75) seemed like the whole town was coming by the pool hall to get all the news about who was hurt.

I miss the the old rooms, I miss the newer rooms that have closed due to lack of bussiness too, Eric got it right, the younger generation and even the older generation want instant gratification with all the new gadgets to keep them selves occupied.

Pool will always have it's place, it's growing, just not as fast as some would like.


David Harcrow
 
BarneyCalip said:
Most of the regulars in our pool room do not spend money in the room. So what is a regular guy? One who loves pool. Over the years I have observed the better the player the less they spend in the pool room. They want to gamble and make money, not make money for the pool room. What happens after a pool tournament, most of the players leave. How does the pool room make money?
What the pool room needs is new young players. Socialization is the key.
Bars aren’t closing. People go there to socialize.
I think pool room owners need to have tournaments for kids and beginners, to get them hooked. Us regulars will go there every day as usual. That’s my two cents, Barney
Click to expand...


I agree, have Jr. tourneys and get'um hooked at the game, and believe me it doesn't take long to get hooked at pool if your a young person, it always amazed me, I couldn't get enough of it when I was a young teenager, all I had was pool on the brain!...hehe


David Harcrow
 
When you go to the shooting range everyone is shooting autos, and semi auto. Only the die hards shoot smoke poles.
4084481544_ff52738c58.jpg
Too much work.
 
pool rooms fail because most owners don't have the business knowledge nor capital to support them

business grads with work experience and a few bucks ain't gonna open a room but that's what it takes nowadays, actually more than that, you need a properly educated management team

costs for everything are too high, margins too thin, and competition from other forms of recreation just too damn plentiful for any average joe to make a proper go of it
 
smashmouth said:
pool rooms fail because most owners don't have the business knowledge nor capital to support them

business grads with work experience and a few bucks ain't gonna open a room but that's what it takes nowadays, actually more than that, you need a properly educated management team

costs for everything are too high, margins too thin, and competition from other forms of recreation just too damn plentiful for any average joe to make a proper go of it
Click to expand...

The comments you've made could easily explain why many other small businesses fail, especially start-up businesses.
 
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pool rooms fail because most owners don't have the business knowledge nor capital to support them

business grads with work experience and a few bucks ain't gonna open a room but that's what it takes nowadays, actually more than that, you need a properly educated management team

costs for everything are too high, margins too thin, and competition from other forms of recreation just too damn plentiful for any average joe to make a proper go of it
 
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