Hey New Yorkers...
- Thread starter jason
- Start date
I love Willow. The crowd there is awesome. Yes, it's not much to look at or play on but good peeps.
I go there once in a while cause its the only pool room walkable from my house. Never any players there when I'm there. Just date night crowd.
Kwa Nguyen usually hangs there and he's about open speed. Have you been there on a Wednesday? I believe most of their players show up on Wednesdays.
Posting on this forum is becoming more and more like testimony given in a court of law. No matter what is written, what words are used, there is always a rebuttal.
I think JAM simply wanted to convey that although Albany isn't typically on many people's pool radar, they have a scene there too. Many of my relatives were born there so I find myself up there a lot. Unfortunately, I simply haven't had the time to see The Golden Cue but it's always been on my list. Like many of the businesses I've been to in Albany, it's been owned by the same family for generations.
I think, anyone who is from a part of the country that prides itself on hospitality would find comfort in Albany.
Willow does get a cool, hip crowd and it does have a full bar but coming from a player like yourself, you have to admit that the tables are horrid. I mean, REAL bad. The front two tables have dead rails and cheap, nappy cloth. They aren't GC's or Diamonds either; some off brand tables. Then, the tables around the perimeter of the back are a notch better, but still terrible. I think there are, like, 6 tables in the middle that have Simonis on it and they play "OK".
The one bartender was cute, tho.
Eric
You're right. Equipment is very important to me and you're not going to find anything great there. Also, the pockets are shimmed and it's not the best shimming job I've seen so no two tables play alike. In fact, no two pockets play alike. Somehow, I do manage to have a lot of fun every time I'm there though. Tim Edmonds may still be a regular there and he's probably about A speed now. There are also a plethora of B speed players that regularly go there.
AZ drama, and it doesn't involve CTE. I'm going to go make some popcorn. Give added meaning when someone tells you that you're out of line.
i object! You're out of order!
Attachments
Carom Cafe (the late, great, Sang Lee's room) bought all of Master Billiard's Gold Crowns after they closed down and installed some nice lighting for them. Now, together with the very best carom equipment in the country, they have great pool tables. I would check out this room too while visiting NYC - especially if you (hopefully) play a little billiards "extracurricularly".
-Ira
The Golden Cue is a great room with a lot of serious players. I went to college nearby the Albany area (RPI in Troy) and it was the best place to shoot after our Student Union closed for the evening.
They used to hold a weekly Wed night 9-ball handicapped tournament with a lot of strong local shooters including Mike Zuglan, who I met there.
A guy named Rocky was behind the desk and he was a great guy.
+ they also had a couple of carom tables which is, of course, always nice...
-Ira
I still don't get why we don't have a forum or a sticky for area info like this. Every state should have a post that gets maintained in a forum. Make them all sticky so the order does not change. Google can tell you that there is a pool room in Brighton, MA but you won't find out that it's been closed for 5 years or that the one that is open has a drunk peeing in the ball returns and all the tables are different brands with more holes that cloth.
We have "kings of" forum, why not "info of" forum?
We have "kings of" forum, why not "info of" forum?
Your absolutely right H-t-9. It is hard to know if weekly or monthly tournaments have been canceled as well. The problem is getting current up to date info all the time.
Like, how many people know that in Muncie, IN you can play in a free tournament weekly? All you pay is the quarter drop.
I just did this huge job about social media and networking.
Airports, as an example, are getting quite active on social media and networking with Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and even YouTube accounts. They have monthly contests and award coupons to first-time users of their websites. Boingo.com is one of the largest global Wi-Fi vendors, and people are starting to hang out on their website when waiting at airports. The Boingo people offer them solutions to problems they may encounter.
Many businesses today have a Web presence. A pool-o-sphere could serve the pool community well, and pool rooms and tournament organizers could post their events on the pool-o-sphere.
AzBilliards has so many things going on, it may not be possible to put a lot of effort and/or attention to something like this. It would take a lot of time investment to make it happen. I think if it caught on, a pool-o-sphere could benefit the entire pool world, e.g., industry members, authors, amateurs, league players, teachers, railbirds, fans, pool enthusiasts, pool rooms, pro players, recreational players, and even the action lovers.
I can see it now, somebody would post, "Neil Feijen sighting at O'Hare 10 minutes ago."
It could have RSS feeds about what's going on in Mobile at the present time, or information about a tournament cancellation. Heck, if the Ustreams at various pool rooms could be displayed, people could pick and choose.
Before one jumps into Twitter and Facebook, though, it is important to define the strategy and purpose before engaging. Not everybody knows how to utilize this social media and networking technology.
Heck, it's how our President got elected. Anybody heard of community organizing and Saul Alinsky? Well, the pool-o-sphere would be the online form of community organizing. It has a lot of possibilities.
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JAM, nice post as usual.
I think you might have the answer in Twitting and Social Media. Pool needs so much a shot in the arm and as anything communication is the key. You can build it but before they can come you must tell them about it.
It is about harnessing current valid info.
Maybe even a timeline updated by someone in the know. For example, "AZ pool hall" opened in January of 2000, April 2002 "AZ tournment" started, April 2011 "AZ tournament" has been running X-weeks in a row.
Odds are "AZ tournament" will be active next week.
Someone needs to jump on it.
I think you might have the answer in Twitting and Social Media. Pool needs so much a shot in the arm and as anything communication is the key. You can build it but before they can come you must tell them about it.
It is about harnessing current valid info.
Maybe even a timeline updated by someone in the know. For example, "AZ pool hall" opened in January of 2000, April 2002 "AZ tournment" started, April 2011 "AZ tournament" has been running X-weeks in a row.
Odds are "AZ tournament" will be active next week.
Someone needs to jump on it.
JAM, nice post as usual.
I think you might have the answer in Twitting and Social Media. Pool needs so much a shot in the arm and as anything communication is the key. You can build it but before they can come you must tell them about it.
It is about harnessing current valid info.
Maybe even a timeline updated by someone in the know. For example, "AZ pool hall" opened in January of 2000, April 2002 "AZ tournment" started, April 2011 "AZ tournament" has been running X-weeks in a row.
Odds are "AZ tournament" will be active next week.
Someone needs to jump on it.
Before someone jumps in to attempt it, they must have a business plan, strategy, and most of all, they have to learn and listen how to do it right before they publish. If you do it wrong from the get-go, it will never have a chance to catch on.
The thing is, there could be blog sections, pro player pages, pool room announcements, tournament schedules, tour happenings, et cetera, et cetera. The RSS feeds and Ustream links would also complement the whole atmosphere. Teachers could post their traveling schools or exhibitions. Pro players could post links to their websites, so fans could see where they're shooting at in the coming months.
Eventually, believe it or not, industry members, by golly, just might pay $100 a month, as an example, to post an ad banner on this pool-o-sphere if it caught on. It's got a lot of potential to become a real pool tool, and it could actually be profitable to the website folks down the road.
Agreed. A first time poster launched his new pool site yesterday and I knocked right away. I work in marketing and we are launching a couple new products for Jim Beam. First impressions and knowing what your marketing angle is extremely important.
Anyway, I'm dusting off the ol' sticks (litterally!) to go bang some around. Take Care.