Best Pool Halls in U.S.

Orton's Pool Room

Hey all, from Wilmington, where Orton's Pool Room enjoys something of a legendary reputation, based on its history, and the 'fact' that it's said to be haunted. Bartenders literally greet the ghost when they show up for work, because, they'll tell you, if they don't, they often find themselves down at one end of the bar, and suddenly, inexplicably, all of the beer taps will turn on. Or they'll step out the back door to toss trash at the end of the night, and without any wind to account for it, the door will slam, leaving them locked out.
It was originally a basement pool hall and barber shop under the Hotel Orton, when it was built in the late 19th century. The hotel was often referred to as the "jewel in the crown of Wilmington's reputation for hospitality." By the mid-20th century, it had lost a lot of its luster, as newer, better-equipped hotels with lights, air-conditioning, etc.) opened. In the winter of 1949, a shop on the street level caught fire and it burned, literally, to the ground, leaving only the basement intact. Initially, it was thought that the Ghost of the Hotel Orton had perished in the fire, although local and AP reports filed at the time indicated that no one had died; that all guests had been successfully evacuated.
Today, the entrance to Orton's pool room is a literal hole in the wall at street level Front St.), next to a pizza parlor. A set of concrete, painted-black steps leads down to two bars; Orton's at the left when you reach the bottom of the stairs, and Longstreet's Bar to the right, said to have been in operation since the Revolutionary War. No pool tables in Longstreet's Bar.
Going down those steps has eerie echoes of a descent into hell. It's dark, and not really all that inviting. Orton's Bar itself is not a pretty place, compared to most of today's modern billiard parlors, It's very low-ceilinged, so not likely to be frequented by people with any degree of claustrophobia. The tables (Brunswick-Olhausen) are very old, though well-maintained. A hand-carved wooden plaque is suspended above one of them in commemoration of Willie Mosconi's record-breaking run of 356 balls (Mosconi would break his own record in a matter of months at a pool hall in Ohio, I think it was).
I first stepped into the place when I visited with my APA pool team about 10 years ago. I'd been here only a few months, and even though I located it on an Internet map to determine where it was, I initially couldn't find it. Its sign is small and dark, and unless you're looking intently, it's possible to miss the entrance.
I've seen some bad 'reviews' of the place, most of them written by people who've apparently spent time in more modern facilities, and find the atmospheric downgrade to be problematic. But the place positively reeks of atmosphere. If it weren't for the 21st century drink selections, electric lights, and the neon jukebox pumping out modern tunes, you'd swear you've just stepped back into the early 20th century. As you step past the pool tables, toward a dart area near the back, you actually walk on bricks that were part of the bar's original flooring.
It is, when you come right down to it, a spooky place. Though not inclined to buy into tales of paranormal experiences, the first time I was there, I did spot this rather odd-looking human being, leaning on a concrete, foundational post, dressed in what looked like very old clothes. I turned my head away, not thinking too much about it, but when I turned back for a second look, he was gone. What was odd, to me, was the fact that he couldn't have gotten out of my sight in the time that it took me to turn back, and he was just. . . gone. I even stopped what I was doing and went looking in other parts of the bar to find him. No luck. The 'vision' was never repeated in all of the times I've been there.
The tourist industry in Wilmington plays into the Port City's reputation as one of the most haunted cities in America. There are regularly scheduled Ghost Walks, encompassing Orton's and an old shopping plaza called The Cotton Exchange, a block or two south of Orton's. Apparently a bunch of ghosts hang out on the retired battleship, the USS North Carolina, which rests permanently across the Cape Fear River, a block west of Orton's.
Is Orton's worthy of being referred to as one of the "best" pool halls in the U.S? I'd say "yes," although the vote is less about the facilities themselves, as much as it is about the old 'feel' of the room, which can't help but conjure images of old hustler's like Mosconi, laying down the dough, gambling in a smoke-filled dingy pool hall. You can't smoke down there any more (Thank God), but you can shoot pool in a room that if not among the "best" is certainly one of the more classic examples of its kind.
 
I've been to Fargo Billiards and i will say i was truly impressed. However i did not get a table even though i tried. The only way to start a table rental was to forfeit my drivers license and the young man at the counter said there was no other way. IMO this is a very lopsided agreement because i have a CDL and it's just floating around behind the counter? no thanks.
At my local pool establishment they ask for an ID or Credit Card to open a tab or get a table. I’m a regular so they do not ask me for anything. Behind the front desk and at the bar there is a box of ID’s that customers forgot to claim as they left the bar. So this is great, at the bar, have few drinks and leave without you drivers license. It should be the responsibility of the bar to return your ID.

If you don’t ask for it they just continue to collect them in the little box.

This is crazy, I will never give up my personal ID or my credit card to some $10 hr employee so they can forget to return it to me at the end of the night. There has to be a better way.
 
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