Most upscale place you ever played pool

C

cesarmorales

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have been to pool halls in New York, Boston, Dallas etc that are advertised as upscale pool rooms but the most upscale place I ever played at was the YACHT CLUB IN BETHESDA MARYLAND.

It was not a pool room, it was an upscale nightclub that had one 9 foot brunswick table in the back. It was a suit and tie sort of place, strong dress code. Lots of well to do people as customers.

When I moved to Bethesda I heard that this was a nice place to meet people so I decided to give it a try. To my surprise there was that 9 footer in the back glowing at me like the secret item in the suitcase in the movie Pulp Fiction. I asked how much it cost to play and they said it was free. You just have to sign up on a list and you play doubles with the next person on the list. I ended up becoming a regular at the place and was soon targeted as the person to beat. The owner actually came over on my second or third night there asking me if I was a pool hustler because they don't condone pool hustling. He figured that with the average net worth of most of the customers, a pool hustler would be in heaven there.

Sugar Ray Leonard, Frank Stallone were among the regulars, Franks son Sylvester would visit when he was in town.

There were some notable Maryland players that would show up from time to time. Tom "Tom Tom" Wirth, Jim "Jimbo" Calder and a few others.

I played there for about four years and it was one of the best times of my life.
 
HAC Hollywood Athletic Club


it was a gym in the 30's? as I recall. Jay or Cotton can jump on this thread and elaborate on that room, it was something else.
 
The most upscale place I've played pool was at Fatboy's home room. This was when he lived in Las Vegas. Fatboy was always a great host when I visited. Top level players would show up at any given time. For me, it was pool nirvana.
 
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8ballEinstein...I'd have to agree with ya there...for a private home. Eric's home room definitely approached Nirvana! :thumbup: Nicest (sort of) public place I've played in was the DAC (Denver Athletic Club). Watched Mosconi torture some British person at both snooker and 14.1, about 40 yrs. ago.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

8ballEinstein said:
The most upscale place I've played pool was at Fatboy's home room. This was when he lived in Las Vegas. Fatboy was always a great host when I visited. Top level players would show up at any given time. For me, it was pool nirvana.
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where I got married:
40704_93_b.jpg

Pool is free, though I did not play any (pool!) the night I got mallied (yes, MA-LEED).

Oh- tables/ balls and cues SUCK! Red chalk too.
 
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I've never actually been to this place but I like to scour the internet to find some of the best places I want to go shoot at. I'm basically building a map so I can drive around to all these awesome rooms some day.

That said, The Crooked Cue in Canada looks to be one hell of a fancy place to play my favorite game. The place seems like a real players room, not to mention it looks really comfortable and I bet you they have great food too.

http://www.crookedcue.ca/mississauga/gallery

Maybe some of the other members have been there. I'd love to know more about this place.

I keep hearing about these awesome private clubs that used to exist but it doesn't look like there are many around anymore :(

Most the places I play at now are pretty divey with questionable equipment and even more questionable characters. I wish there was a nice private club in So Cal I could join...
 
Surf City Billiards in Santa Cruz. Pretty nice room. Wrote a review on it a few years ago.
 
8ballEinstein said:
The most upscale place I've played pool was at Fatboy's home room. This was when he lived in Las Vegas. Fatboy was always a great host when I visited. Top level players would show up at any given time. For me, it was pool nirvana.
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i didnt want to say it, but yeah that was strong. thats the only thing i miss about that house.
 
The nicest place I ever played was in Houston in 1996 when I lived there, it was called The Ball Room, in the shepherd plaza, it was a really fancy place, main room had gold crowns, and the "green room" had a couple of Renaissance Royal George tables, nice dufferin house cues, super fancy table lights, premium booze and cigars, some friends took me there before I moved away, I don't think its there anymore......
 
Someone had posted a link to the Parlor some time ago.
That would be one place I'd love to spend an evening.
Wouldn't want to spend too many weekend evenings there at $25 an hour tho.

But would be great for a once in a while treat.

Other than that, the only upscale place that I have played at, I had to keep telling the 65 year old waitress, "Off the table Mable, the 5 bucks is for the beer".

However, they did have a brass pole in there but Mable's older sister Juicy Lucy had already finished her show so I was out of luck.

If I remember right, Tramp Steamer was with me so he might remember the night better than I. Apparently that was his favorite hang out.
 
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When I lived in Sacramento I used to drive to San Francisco about 1x a month to play at Chalkers Billiards. That place was crazy fancy. I just loved the atmosphere there. If I remember right it was right down town off of Polk street on the bottom floor of a high rise office building. I sure do miss California :frown:
 
I guess I have never played in an upscale room and Fatboy never invited me over! :p

I like those pic though. I always enjoy seeing other rooms.
 
Edgar's Billiards Club

Edgar's Billiards Club in Baltimore, near the Inner Harbor.
Very well done high end place. Great folks, mostly business and suit types, but good action could be found there.
Been a long time. Not sure if it's still there.
 
Thanks for the feedback about upscale pool. I have been to chalkers in San Franscisco and it was a nice place. There was a place in SF that interested me more and I think it was called THE GRAND.

A place opened up in Bethesda, Maryland in the 1990's with $15/hour table rates and it was a joke. The tables were basically home quality tables.

The deal with the Yacht Club is that it was not really a pool hall. It was a nightclub that reminded me of the movie Caddyshack. Remember how they had the golf clubhouse with one pool table.

It was all about suit and tie and high class people. The owner said that he added the pool table for a way for people to interact with each other.

The place had a reputation as a high class pickup bar and there were lots of really hot women visiting the place on a regular basis.

If there were less than six names on the list of people wanting to play it was singles. When the list got to be over six people you would play doubles with the next person on the list. That way you had to partner up with somebody you did not know and talk to them.

Being a place that attracted wealthy men, women and couples, there were some really beautiful women in this place.

One night we were still playing singles because the list was short and this really fantastic looking gal comes over to the pool table and asks if she can play.

Sure, just put your name on the list. I was holding the table and when it was her turn to play we had a really tough game. The deal is that she was wearing a really short skirt. What they call a jet pilot miniskirt, it just covered the cock pit. I must have played the toughest defensive game of my life. For some reason I could not make a ball, nor could she, but I just kept leaving the cue ball in the center of the table.

That gal had perfect form, bend over, chin down. Everyone around the table was getting a show to die for. I think the game lasted for about thirty minutes, no complaints from people on the list and I think I even got four or five free drinks from guys on the side.

I really do miss that Yacht Club.
 
Larry Chiborak's Triple B's pool halls and restraurants in winnpeg canada were nice but Fargo Billiards is the very best I have ever seen. Both places have websites...just google them!
 
Scott Lee said:
8ballEinstein...I'd have to agree with ya there...for a private home. Eric's home room definitely approached Nirvana! :thumbup: Nicest (sort of) public place I've played in was the DAC (Denver Athletic Club). Watched Mosconi torture some British person at both snooker and 14.1, about 40 yrs. ago.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
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Never had the pleasure of walking into DAC. Heard many stories of the 3C play/tournaments there. Shakesperes down the road is what comes to mind as the most upscale place I've been in. Guess Jerry Karsh had to figure someway to draw players from the DAC on top of the general public.

Next time you're in town Scott you'll see some upscaling I've done to my room.
 
Played Snooker at the Royal St. Andrews Hotel after shooting a 76 on the course--Snooker tables there are 6 X 12's and they have two of them--
 
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