Do-Over... Starting a Pool Hall Fresh - WWYD?

[The_JV]

In my youth the local rooms were open till 2am. Beyond that point the 1 or 2 rooms stopped charging us, and we started paying the bartender directly to allow us to stay. Nothing shady about it. The room owners simply let it be known that the bartender was off the clock and it was up to us to entice them to stay longer. They usually got a decent cut of the action.

Good times...

 

[Keith E.]

In my youth the local rooms were open till 2am. Beyond that point the 1 or 2 rooms stopped charging us, and we started paying the bartender directly to allow us to stay. Nothing shady about it. The room owners simply let it be known that the bartender was off the clock and it was up to us to entice them to stay longer. They usually got a decent cut of the action.

Good times...

That still works if the house man (or woman) is properly compensated & doesn't mind staying.

Keith

 

[book collector]

Who gets up to go to the poolroom by 7:00 AM?

I worked 7PM to 7 am for 20 plus years , there was only 1 pool room open for a few years and only a few bars during that time.
One morning I went with 3 guys I worked with to a little bar that opened at 6 AM in the neighborhood he lived in . To call it a dive is giving it way too much prestige. Toilet is a lot closer to the truth.
As I said, we had just gotten off work so it was about 7:15 AM and we went in and I ordered a beer and a shot of schnapps for everybody , it was their special for 2.00 . The barmaid looked like she just climbed out of the morgue, and smelled even worse. She says ..whatta ya gonna do with the Schnapps? I thought a second and said," I think we will drink them" but what's the alternative?
This was about 1983, and she says ,"I just had two guys come in and order the same thing ,and they drank the beers and took two straws and snorted the Schnapps , if yer doin that ...go somewheres else. I looked at my co workers, and we all started laughing and I said no , we will just be drinking them , None of us have the b -lls, to snort the stuff. ,

 

[Fatboy]

Who gets up to go to the poolroom by 7:00 AM?

That’s when it’s time to go have dinner after a long night of gambling.

 

[RabbiHippie]

Fair... Guess that is why every room is closing, and there are few and far between "New" rooms opening. So.. can it be fixed? what would that take?
Will ALL places to play pool be reduced to bars only eventually? What is a current example of a Pool Hall being successful?

Big Dog Billiards in Des Moines gets my vote for most successful room probably in the country. I passed by one night at midnight and had to stop and count the number of cars in the parking lot. Over a hundred.

Talked briefly with one of the owners and I think the secret is a thriving league scene. Over 800 players if I remember correctly. Forty pristine tables including a Bigfoot and a heated 3-cushion table.

 

[Chili Palmer]

Blank check?
I would open a pot shop.

And then lose all your money at PickPocket's pool hall

 

[Chili Palmer]

"Who is playing at 1 am?"

Me.

Not everyone works 9 -5.

Work never stopped me from playing until 1AM, I may have had a few jobs during that time though

My ideal place would have a few rooms. Basically, one big room divided down the middle by a bar and restaurant seating. One side would be bar boxes (think APA), one would be GC 9 footers, along the wall by the 9 footers would be separate rooms - one would have a well taken 9 footer with seating around it and camera's setup, blocked off from the rest with glass (I wonder what that would be for ), it would also have a bar-box room setup the same way, and a poker room with a couple of tables.

The other side of building, bar-box side would have rooms for private parties, 7's and 9's.

Somewhere, possibly the entire back wall, I would want an area to have a couple of 6x12's, I miss playing on those, a 5x10, maybe even a few 8 footers for fun, as well as a Chinese 8 ball table, a couple of 3C tables, bumper pool (we're having fun right )

Most definitely a billiards pro-shop.

Other than pool, it would need darts, lots of darts, and shuffle board, classic arcade games.

Food - good food or none of it matters.

And since it's a blank check I would be calling the Glenn brothers to discuss a Billiards Museum

I've never thought of this before, nope, hasn't happened.

 

[Keith E.]

Work never stopped me from playing until 1AM, I may have had a few jobs during that time though

My ideal place would have a few rooms. Basically, one big room divided down the middle by a bar and restaurant seating. One side would be bar boxes (think APA), one would be GC 9 footers, along the wall by the 9 footers would be separate rooms - one would have a well taken 9 footer with seating around it and camera's setup, blocked off from the rest with glass (I wonder what that would be for ), it would also have a bar-box room setup the same way, and a poker room with a couple of tables.

The other side of building, bar-box side would have rooms for private parties, 7's and 9's.

Somewhere, possibly the entire back wall, I would want an area to have a couple of 6x12's, I miss playing on those, a 5x10, maybe even a few 8 footers for fun, as well as a Chinese 8 ball table, a couple of 3C tables, bumper pool (we're having fun right )

Most definitely a billiards pro-shop.

Other than pool, it would need darts, lots of darts, and shuffle board, classic arcade games.

Food - good food or none of it matters.

And since it's a blank check I would be calling the Glenn brothers to discuss a Billiards Museum

I've never thought of this before, nope, hasn't happened.

Please let me know when you open up, seriously. Sounds like a great place.

Freshly retired and getting ready to knock some locations off my want-to list.

Keith

 

[iusedtoberich]

Who gets up to go to the poolroom by 7:00 AM?

I played at Drexeline Billiards in the Philly Burbs for a good 15 years. I think the room officially opened at 8 or 9AM. The houseman would come in around 6AM to do his cleaning rounds. Sure enough, there were customers by 6:30AM. I saw this every time I pulled an all nighter gambling session, which was often when I was in my early 20's. (late 1990's/early 2000's) The morning crew were all retired men, and would play straight pool or one pocket. The room was quite busy by 9AM. They stayed until the early afternoon, at which point the school crowd would come in. The 9 ball gamblers all came in at night and stayed until closing time which was 3AM. If a gambling game was on, we'd pay the houseman to stay open.

I never saw this in any other room. Most wouldn't even open before 5PM.

 

[Chili Palmer]

I played at Drexeline Billiards in the Philly Burbs for a good 15 years. I think the room officially opened at 8 or 9AM. The houseman would come in around 6AM to do his cleaning rounds. Sure enough, there were customers by 6:30AM. I saw this every time I pulled an all nighter gambling session, which was often when I was in my early 20's. (late 1990's/early 2000's) The morning crew were all retired men, and would play straight pool or one pocket. The room was quite busy by 9AM. They stayed until the early afternoon, at which point the school crowd would come in. The 9 ball gamblers all came in at night and stayed until closing time which was 3AM. If a gambling game was on, we'd pay the houseman to stay open.

I never saw this in any other room. Most wouldn't even open before 5PM.

Big John's Billiards in Omaha, NE would open at 11AM, may be 10AM, and like most places the retired folks would come in and play golf on the snooker tables all day. The after work crowd would show up at 5 and sit at the bar until 7-9 (or they couldn't walk, whichever came first), the pool players would stroll through the door starting around 7PM. Me and my buddies would show up between 6-8 and close it most nights.

It didn't happen very often (less than a handful of times I can think of in the decade I was there) but they did keep the doors open if there was a good cash game going on. Just had to stop the liquor sales, which made sense.

 

[SBC]

In this day and age, the only thing you're going to gain from owning a poolroom is red ink in your bank account

Makes a great write-off if you have legit income besides.

Having been in the pool world and owning a room the past 4 years, there is nobody as cheap as pool players. Bitching while playing on 8000 dollar tables with the best balls lighting and cloth available. We have flat rate Play All Day Pool for $9....and some still find a way to complain.

 

[The_JV]

Makes a great write-off if you have legit income besides.

Having been in the pool world and owning a room the past 4 years, there is nobody as cheap as pool players. Bitching while playing on 8000 dollar tables with the best balls lighting and cloth available. We have flat rate Play All Day Pool for $9....and some still find a way to complain.

The cheap and whiney nature of pool players is nearly a law of physics...lol

 

[Minnesota Phat]

I'd give ladies a huge discount, and have lots of "ladies nights." I'd hold women's-only tournaments, including "beginner's only" tournaments, offer very cheap lessons to women, and make it very well-known that any creepiness would get you banned from my establishment.

In the family room (I like that idea), I'd have some setups like miniature golf - lots of blinking lights, video screens, and kid-friendly Rube Goldberg type contraptions. Have small tables next to big tables, so mom and dad can play while keeping an eye on the youngsters. Also have whatever dumb video games that kids play next to some tables, and maybe a VR area (virtual reality pool could be one of the games, because that appeals to my appreciation of irony, and it would probably work to get kids interested in playing real pool). Offer nearby schools and youth organizations the opportunity to have kids come in and play for free and get some introductory pool instruction.

I'd have a couple tables designated for trick shots placed in highly-trafficked areas - people doing masses and jumps and whatnot. I'd only allow practicing masses and jump shots on those tables.

If possible, I'd have matches where spectators could bet on the outcome, including a lot of longshot bets where $1 could win $1000. Info about the players would be available sort of like it is in horse racing or fantasy sports, but with a little more flair and romance in the bio section. I'd make these matches "Honolulu 8 ball" (banks, kicks, caroms, jumps, masses, but no straight-in shots). Players in these matches would not only be allowed to mildly shark one another by cracking jokes, etc., but would be encouraged to do so. More charismatic and entertaining players would be invited back. Bring some drama and fun to the game for the benefit of the spectators, rather than just catering to the players. Ten second shot clock with a couple 20 second extensions per game. Basically the complete opposite of how the pro circuits do things. Stream it live - remote viewers could bet from home.

Partner with dating sites to have date nights at the pool room.

Lots of charity events - some for local police, fire, EMT, etc. Foster a very good relationship with the local police department - hire off-duty cops for security at big events, and offer occasional use of the space for police fundraising drives/community outreach.

Have an outdoor area to play pool outside on nice days.

Would have a few tables in a separated smoking section.

Would have a complimentary business give dance lessons, yoga, aerobics classes, spin classes, manicures, etc. in an adjoining room with one-way glass (they could see into the pool room, but not vice-versa). Offer free drink tickets and pool time to try to entice them to hang out in my billiards hall.

Would buy and sell pool cues - none made in China. Would hold raffles for pool cues frequently. And I agree with offering cue maintenance - tip replacement and that sort of thing.

Would offer weekly and monthly passes for pool table time.

Dart boards for the dart people. A lot of people who like pool also like darts, and dart leagues seem to be pretty popular.

Locker rental available for storing pool cues.

Have a ranking board for players who participate in the various tournaments, with perks "earned" as players move up the ranks or establish seniority.

Have a "smash room" where players who are having a bad day can smash things with a baseball bat (just kidding, although that would be awesome).

Open 24 hours/7 days a week. I'm a night owl, so I'd just hang out and practice by myself most nights, if there were no customers/friends around.

A boy can dream... Sigh.

 

[libtrucker]

Id love to do this, 10/15 tables, maybe sublease a big place out so there is room to expand if necessary, full bar with a lot of local craft beers, that is part of the pool room but has some sound barriers to keep it sounding like it is separate. No kitchen but a big patio for outdoor smoking and food trucks, maybe even some live music....

One day

 

[CocoboloCowboy]

If indeed someone had blank check I would figure out the market, and try to fight out what to do to build a new player base.

Brunswick use to have a Pool room in every Bowling Center.

New centers are not like the old centers, Brunswick has changed.