What's the deal about people saying pool is dying?

8ballr · Aug 12, 2017

I've never seen so much enthusiasm towards pool since the boom in the 90's...tournaments are being streamed everywhere...there aren't enough hours in the day to watch them all. Pool halls around here are popping up with brand new diamond tables.The pool cafe near me has about 15 7' diamonds and has a waiting list most nights...packed full with groups of recreational players...and they are expanding. Another pool hall opened with brand new Pro Ams...the days of crappy old gold crowns with torn, stained cloth are over. Not to mention leagues are hugely popular as well.

Look at the product on the market now too...it's amazing the selection of cues, chalks, tips, etc. and the technology going into them. If you ask me I would say overall pool is at an all time high.

mchnhed · Aug 12, 2017

8ballr said:
Anyway...as long as I have my table I couldn't care less what the state of pool is honestly.

Pool isn't Dying.
It's Crying.

I wish I had my own table.

I guess it depends on where you live.
Pool rooms here are dropping like flies.
Lease rates are way too high here in LA LA Land.
The weather is too nice during the winter to drive people to indoor activities.
People will not commit to a season of league play. Be it Pool, Bowling, Darts, Foosball.
Yes, there are leagues here but few and far between.

PS: Gold Crowns are not "crappy" by nature.
Torn and stained cloth isn't the table's fault!
It's the Room Owners who let the tables rot by not taking care of them.
Just wait, those Diamonds will be in the same shape in 15-20 years due to neglect.

ssbn610g · Aug 12, 2017

As long as I am alive, pool has not died. However, where I grew up many years ago there were at least 7 pool rooms. Now, there are none within 15 miles and the one I play at when visiting is a bowling alley/pool room. So, room wise there are definitely fewer than there were years ago. I also believe the number of players is much lower.

Al

jalapus logan · Aug 12, 2017

My city has only two pool rooms, both with rickety terrible playing furniture grade tables. We used to have two other rooms that featured diamonds and gold crowns. I miss the good ole days and stay at home now, where I have better equipment to play on.

greyghost · Aug 12, 2017

mchnhed said:
Pool isn't Dying.

It's Crying.

I wish I had my own table.

I guess it depends on where you live.

Pool rooms here are dropping like flies.

Lease rates are way too high here in LA LA Land.

The weather is too nice during the winter to drive people to indoor activities.

People will not commit to a season of league play. Be it Pool, Bowling, Darts, Foosball.

Yes, there are leagues here but few and far between.

PS: Gold Crowns are not "crappy" by nature.

Torn and stained cloth isn't the table's fault!

It's the Room Owners who let the tables rot by not taking care of them.

Just wait, those Diamonds will be in the same shape in 15-20 years due to neglect.

Well said. I had a local owner tell me there was nothing wrong with his gold crowns whilst I was having to drill the bolt heads off. Skirts held up with wood screws, rails looked like they were cut with a weed eater.

And he commented on how "long" it took me to repair one table.

"Hell they done did 3 tables in here in one day"

Me: yeah I can tell!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

mchnhed · Aug 12, 2017

jalapus logan said:
My city has only two pool rooms, both with rickety terrible playing furniture grade tables. We used to have two other rooms that featured diamonds and gold crowns. I miss the good ole days and stay at home now, where I have better equipment to play on.

What happened to the two rooms with the GC's and Diamonds?
Charged Too Much?
Bad Location?
No Liquor?
No Beer?

garczar · Aug 12, 2017

Tulsa has 2 rooms, T's and Magoos. Both have GC4's w/Simonis(9ft). Bar-boxes are Valleys at T's and a 10/6 mix of Diamond/Valley at Magoos. Pool time is cheap: 3 or 4 bux/hr daytime per player. Nightime rates are higher but not bad. Pool's doing okay here but its still nothing compared to the pre-casino days of the 80's thru about 2000.

jlrowe · Aug 12, 2017

jalapus logan said:
My city has only two pool rooms, both with rickety terrible playing furniture grade tables. We used to have two other rooms that featured diamonds and gold crowns. I miss the good ole days and stay at home now, where I have better equipment to play on.

Sure miss steepletons back in the early 90's. That is where the action was in lexington.

boogeyman · Aug 12, 2017

8ballr said:
I've never seen so much enthusiasm towards pool since the boom in the 90's...tournaments are being streamed everywhere...there aren't enough hours in the day to watch them all. Pool halls around here are popping up with brand new diamond tables.The pool cafe near me has about 15 7' diamonds and has a waiting list most nights...packed full with groups of recreational players...and they are expanding. Another pool hall opened with brand new Pro Ams...the days of crappy old gold crowns with torn, stained cloth are over. Not to mention leagues are hugely popular as well.

Look at the product on the market now too...it's amazing the selection of cues, chalks, tips, etc. and the technology going into them. If you ask me I would say overall pool is at an all time high.

The deal about people saying pool is dying is because they (most likely) are only considering their immediate area.
Most people are ignorant -- hate to say it.

Also, what they don't understand (in general) is that the industry has changed in terms of geographic concentration(s), and,
by virtue of that, we have different minds coming up with new ideas for related equipment and accessories.

Yes, pool is alive and well. Just because pool is "dying" in the U.S. means nothing to the industry, believe me.
The industry is simply adjusting to the demands of the consumer(s).

strmanglr scott · Aug 12, 2017

jalapus logan said:
My city has only two pool rooms, both with rickety terrible playing furniture grade tables. We used to have two other rooms that featured diamonds and gold crowns. I miss the good ole days and stay at home now, where I have better equipment to play on.

My city had two pool rooms w 25-30 GC for a v long time, last one closed about 5 years ago.

Had a pool room about four miles from me w 20 Diamond tables close after about a year, I didn't even know it had opened. When I did find out it was about 2 months from closing.

Pool was a much bigger thing around Lansing even 30 years back when I started playing in halls. Of course Mataya had boosted the enthusiasm. That enthusiasm has faded over the years. My past experience might be a bit skewed.

I've seen places in the last few years offering free pool on nice well kept bar boxes, I walk in and get rt on a table. Had a bar that had 6-7 8ft Diamonds that ran table time on Sunday night for $2.00 an hour per table, no matter how many players. I'd go there and have my pick of tables.

I think there's a lot more small tourneys and more enthusiast own a table.

But the pool scene is not what it was

jlrowe · Aug 12, 2017

8ballr said:
I've never seen so much enthusiasm towards pool since the boom in the 90's...tournaments are being streamed everywhere...there aren't enough hours in the day to watch them all. Pool halls around here are popping up with brand new diamond tables.The pool cafe near me has about 15 7' diamonds and has a waiting list most nights...packed full with groups of recreational players...and they are expanding. Another pool hall opened with brand new Pro Ams...the days of crappy old gold crowns with torn, stained cloth are over. Not to mention leagues are hugely popular as well.

Look at the product on the market now too...it's amazing the selection of cues, chalks, tips, etc. and the technology going into them. If you ask me I would say overall pool is at an all time high.

Interest in pool started dying off rapidly in late 90's when Tech and computers started becoming common in the household. Don't let the marketing mislead you. The market is over saturated with cues and accessories; supply is definitely greater than the demand. Companies and individuals have to find a way to differentiate from the vast amount of other product out there. So what better way than saying our product will make it easier and improve your game. The internet brings the whole world of pool to one location, your desktop. This gives the illusion that its thriving when in reality tens of thousands of rooms have closed since the 90's. like grey ghost said it depends on where you live. I have a friend that owned the best room within 120 miles of where i used to live. He had 9' Diamond pro ams, kept his cloth and super pro aramith balls clean and buffed to a high gloss. He had Diamond come in ever so often and level tables if needed. No jukeboxs and alcohol. A true players room. But even with this it would not cover the rent and utilities with what he made off of pool alone. Just wasnt a customer base and what few locals,which you could count on two hands were between 35 and 70.

justinb386 · Aug 12, 2017

8ballr said:
I've never seen so much enthusiasm towards pool since the boom in the 90's...tournaments are being streamed everywhere...there aren't enough hours in the day to watch them all. Pool halls around here are popping up with brand new diamond tables.The pool cafe near me has about 15 7' diamonds and has a waiting list most nights...packed full with groups of recreational players...and they are expanding. Another pool hall opened with brand new Pro Ams...the days of crappy old gold crowns with torn, stained cloth are over. Not to mention leagues are hugely popular as well.

Look at the product on the market now too...it's amazing the selection of cues, chalks, tips, etc. and the technology going into them. If you ask me I would say overall pool is at an all time high.

Why do you not add where you are from (the area where pool is doing so well, with new rooms opening up?). The fact is that pool has been dying, in certain parts of the country (like St. Louis, MO, to name one example). I heard that there are only a few pool rooms left in the St. Louis area, and there used to be a ton of them back in the 90's (in that area). That is just 1 example. I am sure similar things have happened all over the country, since the 90's, with no come back (like my home town, in Southern Illinois, for example). The pool scene used to be great there, but it has been dead for many years now.

justinb386 · Aug 12, 2017

jalapus logan said:
My city has only two pool rooms, both with rickety terrible playing furniture grade tables. We used to have two other rooms that featured diamonds and gold crowns. I miss the good ole days and stay at home now, where I have better equipment to play on.

I really loved Lexington (lived there for 3 years), other then the pool scene (and the quality of tables), which was pretty depressing.

justinb386 · Aug 12, 2017

greyghost said:
Well said. I had a local owner tell me there was nothing wrong with his gold crowns whilst I was having to drill the bolt heads off. Skirts held up with wood screws, rails looked like they were cut with a weed eater.

And he commented on how "long" it took me to repair one table.

"Hell they done did 3 tables in here in one day"

Me: yeah I can tell!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lol, yeah, sounds like the other guys did not do a quality job of the tables.

justinb386 · Aug 12, 2017

mchnhed said:
What happened to the two rooms with the GC's and Diamonds?
Charged Too Much?
Bad Location?
No Liquor?
No Beer?

I heard that a really nice pool room opened in Lexington KY, called Diamonds (I am guessing it opened maybe back in 2009, right after I moved away from that area, but not sure), with all new Diamond tables. I heard that it was really nice, but it did not last long, and went out of business. I am not sure why (because I did not live there at the time), but I know that the area of town that Diamonds was located was a pretty bad/sketchy area of town. Maybe it closed do to poor management.

justinb386 · Aug 12, 2017

jlrowe said:
Interest in pool started dying off rapidly in late 90's when Tech and computers started becoming common in the household. Don't let the marketing mislead you. The market is over saturated with cues and accessories; supply is definitely greater than the demand. Companies and individuals have to find a way to differentiate from the vast amount of other product out there. So what better way than saying our product will make it easier and improve your game. The internet brings the whole world of pool to one location, your desktop. This gives the illusion that its thriving when in reality tens of thousands of rooms have closed since the 90's. like grey ghost said it depends on where you live. I have a friend that owned the best room within 120 miles of where i used to live. He had 9' Diamond pro ams, kept his cloth and super pro aramith balls clean and buffed to a high gloss. He had Diamond come in ever so often and level tables if needed. No jukeboxs and alcohol. A true players room. But even with this it would not cover the rent and utilities with what he made off of pool alone. Just wasnt a customer base and what few locals,which you could count on two hands were between 35 and 70.

Yeah, I witnessed the down fall of the popularity of pool (in my small home town, which is a college town) not long after the 90's ended. Pool was really big in my small home town of only 30,000 people, and there were a lot of very strong players (many of whom were students at the university) around back then. After the 90's, it was not the same (far from it), and by 2010, pool in my home town had completely died. The only pool room left was at the university (which has around 12 9 foot Olhausen, that the long time manager always kept in good condition), and no players ever came in there (during the last year that I lived there, in around 2011). Very sad.

greyghost · Aug 12, 2017

It's soul. There's a great battle among the players and the nitinites.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

mchnhed · Aug 12, 2017

greyghost said:
It's soul. There's a great battle among the players and the nitinites.

I think you mean the Nitites.

Justin Bergman · Aug 12, 2017

Professional pool is dying... I would say tournaments are just a little better since about 5 years ago. I quit for 3 years because the only tournaments in the U.S. we're Derby, Allen Hopkins SBE, and U.S. Open with some smaller ones far apart. Then occasionally a bar table tournament that paid $1,500 for 1st that cost $500 to go. They were tough, have to get lucky to break even. Bar tables I have made most of my money on probably and I think they are a complete joke. I can not practice for 3 years and come back and be really really close to my old speed and it doesn't matter if I'm off you're still going to get out.

Now there is a some better overseas events, a lot of $1,000 and $2,000 entries last few years, seems like places like Beloit, Poplar Bluff, small towns in Minnosta, Tennessee, and Lousiana have a lot of good tournaments. But professional pool is way way worse off then 5-10 years ago. It's harder to win tournaments, cost more money to go, and the prize money is about the small or even maybe smaller.

Some areas are better than others. Louisiana, Texas, Ohio, Tennesee are pretty good pool areas... The Midwest is one of the places I think you have to live. Either that or California or NYC but I heard it's super tough to make money both places also. We just need a half way descent tour which is very possible. Pool isn't a great great spectator sport but neither is a lot of sports... I don't think it will ever be big big time but it should be way better off..... I think of you can get 20 guys all making $50,000-$70,000-$100K a year and number 1 guy making $400,000-$600,000 a year it has a chance at something. No reason to say that's impossible. If you look up matches on YouTube they have as many views as big tennis matches, or golf highlights... Pool sells I heard sown thing like 10-20 times merchandise as tennis... I would say there are way way more pool players than tennis players. So I think there is a chance for pool to be a lot better than it is. Just my opinion

Dave-Kat · Aug 12, 2017

Tell it Justin. Please do not be a stranger, we appreciate your comments and respected insight.

Thanks for dropping by,

-Kat,

Justin Bergman said:
Professional pool is dying... I would say tournaments are just a little better since about 5 years ago. I quit for 3 years because the only tournaments in the U.S. we're Derby, Allen Hopkins SBE, and U.S. Open with some smaller ones far apart. Then occasionally a bar table tournament that paid $1,500 for 1st that cost $500 to go. They were tough, have to get lucky to break even. Bar tables I have made most of my money on probably and I think they are a complete joke. I can not practice for 3 years and come back and be really really close to my old speed and it doesn't matter if I'm off you're still going to get out.

Now there is a some better overseas events, a lot of $1,000 and $2,000 entries last few years, seems like places like Beloit, Poplar Bluff, small towns in Minnosta, Tennessee, and Lousiana have a lot of good tournaments. But professional pool is way way worse off then 5-10 years ago. It's harder to win tournaments, cost more money to go, and the prize money is about the small or even maybe smaller.

Some areas are better than others. Louisiana, Texas, Ohio, Tennesee are pretty good pool areas... The Midwest is one of the places I think you have to live. Either that or California or NYC but I heard it's super tough to make money both places also. We just need a half way descent tour which is very possible. Pool isn't a great great spectator sport but neither is a lot of sports... I don't think it will ever be big big time but it should be way better off..... I think of you can get 20 guys all making $50,000-$70,000-$100K a year and number 1 guy making $400,000-$600,000 a year it has a chance at something. No reason to say that's impossible. If you look up matches on YouTube they have as many views as big tennis matches, or golf highlights... Pool sells I heard sown thing like 10-20 times merchandise as tennis... I would say there are way way more pool players than tennis players. So I think there is a chance for pool to be a lot better than it is. Just my opinion

What's the deal about people saying pool is dying?

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