Another Room Closing WTF! ! ! !

[macguy]

Well yet another room closed "Commack Billiard Emporium" what the F is going on here.

This Nonsense has to stop, whats next they gonna strart closing STARBUCKS, probably not for a long time since its a trendy place to go have over priced coffee ! ! !

I was not supprised to hear that they had closed, they lasted alot longer than they should have. they werent in the black for a long time, but it was a good place to go for alot of years for some action!

It is time for the old time pool room to make a come back. Not necessarily in the best location or a $100,000 decor but a place to play with a nut the owner can afford to pay. These guys keep building rooms that are some kind on monuments to themselves and have forgotten the reason it is there in the first place. You can not keep a place open with a sky high nut. I don't really have an interest in doing so but I could open a room, even today and make money. Not get rich but not go broke either and provide a place for the game to be played in the right atmosphere. Pool is not a fad.

 

[macguy]

nobody talks about when ones opening which happens everyday.the poolworld is not ending i dont think.its just when one closes people notice.

The problem is, many of them are destine to close the day they open due to a bad business plan. Pool isn't a fad, rooms don't have to go under if they crunch the numbers correctly before they start. Unfortunately the deceive themselves.

 

[Fatboy]

Poolrooms with nothing but pool can't make it with the high rents anymore. If you have an old building you own free and clear you have a chance to make it. All you are going to see stay in business are the sportsbars (and not the huge ones either) that have more barstools than pool tables.
As far as new places opening up, you have to be crazy to try. It would be like opening up a whorehouse and trying to run it by hand. One in ten will make it. There are just too many other things to do now.

PC's, PC games, home video games have taken most of the new blood that pool needed. Johnnyt

"only one in ten will make it" LOLOLOL

your right on the head of the head of the nail, the video games are getting the players, imagine the next Buddy Hall, Efren, Archer might never pick up a cue, shame.

 

[coreyh]

ABCNews.com article

There's an interesting article posted today on ABCNews.com titled "America's Fastest Dying Industries".

The article mentions bowling alleys, but I think the point is relevant to pool rooms:

"Bowling alleys and arcades have been on a slide for years, but some of the biggest operators believe they have found a recipe for success, in an otherwise struggling industry, by creating broader entertainment complexes. With more appeal to families, and with more revenue from food and beverage services as well, these complexes have thrived while the industry's many small operators have struggled."

Personally, I don't think the number of pool tables in public places has been declining, but the tables have been shifting from 100% pool rooms to sports bars and larger entertainment complexes (Dave & Buster's, Jillian's, etc.)

Most players are casual players, and they are moving to more casual playing environments where they can quickly jump from dinner to pool to televised sports to other games. The problem we've got on this forum is that most of us just want to shoot pool, and our choices are getting more limited as the 100% pool rooms become more scarce.

Creating more serious players would help reverse the trend. The APA is in the best position to create more serious players that would eventually fill up the pure pool rooms, but their business model is to create good competition through handicapping rather than improvement.