Ha,ha! I took a clinic there last month and I never saw such a mess of house cues. Buzzing hits, badly shaped or missing tips, and half of them were crooked as a dog's hind leg. I've played in bars my whole life, so I know a shitty house cue when I see one. I guess I expected better at such an illustrious room.
I decided it was time to buy my first two-piece cue, so I asked about the small collection of cues they had for sale. I forget what brands they had, but the guy showing them to me kept handing me the worst looking pieces of crap and wouldn't even give me advice. He kept saying that any one of them played the same, just some were fancier looking. He actually recommend getting the cheapest cue they had. It just felt horrible in my hands, couldn't imagine actually playing with the thing. The shaft had so much runout in the grain that I wouldn't make a bridge out of it. I was not amused.
I did the clinic with the best house cue I could find and walked out.
If you're going to NYC and are looking at cues, you should check out Society Billiards. They have a good pro shop there headed by Jon Smith. He was just about as friendly and helpful as he could be. Gave me lots of good advice about picking out a cue as well. Unfortunately, we had to rush out before I could make a decision, but I think they had Lucasi as their main brand.
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