Death of the road runner

pt109 said:
It's actually a better way to carry around a lot of cash.
...a lot of pool halls up my way DO have ATMs.
..and the gamblers will use them.

I recall Pug Pearson would go to card games (before my time) and park his left rear tire
on the major portion of his bankroll at iffy card game venues.
....I had stash spots in my van...but an experienced thief could've found them.

If I was in that kind of action now, I'd use debit.

To carry real big money now, casino chips is the way to go...no bitcoins for me.
Click to expand...

Puggy parked his motor home right outside Binion's in downtown Las Vegas. Benny gave him the okay to do that and the cops didn't bother him. Oh, for the good old days in Vegas when the mob ran the show!

Here's what's funny - In real large letters on the side of Puggy's bus it said, "I will play any man any game for any amount that he can count" and then in very small letters next to it, "providing I like it". I loved that! :rolleyes:
 
jay helfert said:
Puggy parked his motor home right outside Binion's in downtown Las Vegas. Benny gave him the okay to do that and the cops didn't bother him. Oh, for the good old days in Vegas when the mob ran the show!

Here's what's funny - In real large letters on the side of Puggy's bus it said, "I will play any man any game for any amount that he can count" and then in very small letters next to it, "providing I like it". I loved that! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

And again!

:rotflmao1:
 
jay helfert said:
Puggy parked his motor home right outside Binion's in downtown Las Vegas. Benny gave him the okay to do that and the cops didn't bother him. Oh, for the good old days in Vegas when the mob ran the show!

Here's what's funny - In real large letters on the side of Puggy's bus it said, "I will play any man any game for any amount that he can count" and then in very small letters next to it, "providing I like it". I loved that! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I think Fats used that line less the "if " part speaking about Jimmy Reid
 
Credit cards, when I first started playing pool in the mid 60s , almost every guy in the pool room had most of his money in his pocket.
Lower economics people still didn't trust banks, so most guys had their last weeks pay in their pocket till someone got it.
Now, unless there is a reason to have it , nobody carries more than 20 or 30 dollars in cash, as a rule , most a lot less.
As someone said, Direct Deposit was the next nail.
 
I bought my first poolroom in Bakersfield in 1972. I was not yet 28 years old! I had $15,000 to my name and bought the place for $40,000, paying them $11,000 ($1,000 was for all the inventory) down, with payments of $600 a month and a rent of $700 a month for a 7,000 square foot building. Talk about gambling, I was 'All In' on this one!

It was a bad deal! The place wasn't making any money and the owners just wanted to get out from under the lease (with still over five years to run). But I saw the potential. The first thing I did was take down all the signs with rules posted on them about how to behave in there. Then I removed the turnstiles you had to go thru to get inside and opened the entrance-way up. Since we did not serve alcohol I welcomed the local kids and advertised in the school papers.

Within three months my poolroom had become THE hangout for the local high school kids after school and on weekends. The place was so jammed on Friday and Saturday nights that fire marshals would stop by and tell me that no more people were allowed inside. They put a sign on the wall saying my room capacity was 199 people. We exceeded that every weekend! There were seven high schools in Bakersfield and one large Junior College. That was where the bulk of my clientele cam from. Maybe 80-90%.

I was a member of the Downtown Businessman's Association, and was the youngest member by far. Some of the older guys used to poke fun at me, saying the kids didn't have any money. They were wrong! Every kid has a few dollars in their pocket and they will spend it all. If you have a couple hundred kids going through your place every day and each one spending three or four dollars, you were making good money for the 1970's. Within one year I bought a house in one of the nicer neighborhoods in Bakersfield for the princely sum of $24,000! Ah, the 70's!

I played pool with every road man that came through for the next six years. Won some and lost some. But I had that "daily money" coming in, so I had no worries. By the end of three years I had 100K in cash and felt wealthy. Relatively speaking for the times I was.

This was the height of my pool career. I had played pretty much non stop from the age of 18 to 33. I never played as much pool after that. But I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. I got a great poolroom education that has held me well in the business world, and I've used that knowledge to build a nice little real estate empire. Nothing that big, just a few units here and a few units there, plus some key investments in larger commercial properties. It provides me with a decent income, enough to enjoy my declining years. :D

I have almost no social security to speak of because I didn't put enough into it, but the Medicare is more important to me than the money. Whatever I have today I owe it all to the education I got running around in poolrooms when I was a young man.
 
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I think another big factor was the ramping up of the DWI laws and enforcement racket. Bars, in general, have declined bigtime. A musician used to be able to make a full time living playing Mon - Sat. That hardly exists ANYwhere. Far, far fewer bars. People's going out has declined in a major way.
 
pt109 said:
That part of the movie always bothered me.
The moronic reasoning used by those guys...Eddie says "He's a hustler too."...
...the guy says "But you're better."
In real life, some of those players who got hurt would've recovered, came back with
help, if he needed it, and turned that joint into a @#&% parking lot.

Detroit was so cool back then...you could win big money and not be hassled.
Houston was the second biggest action back then, but a lot of gamblers would take
a pass on it...'cause you had to be prepared to shoot in more ways than one.

I won a lot of money in the north part of Texas back then while looking for Amarillo
Slim...he liked 5x10 snooker, which was my best game then.
Wasn't tempted to go down to Houston, because it might've changed the whole
course of my life.
Click to expand...

Today they don't just break your thumbs, they shoot you. The few road players I've known, the smart ones chose work over Hustling. Much safer. Those who chose the life on the road ended up broke and living on SS in assisted living.
 
jay helfert said:
I bought my first poolroom in Bakersfield in 1972. I was not yet 28 years old! I had $15,000 to my name and bought the place for $40,000, paying them $11,000 ($1,000 was for all the inventory) down, with payments of $600 a month and a rent of $700 a month for a 7,000 square foot building. Talk about gambling, I was 'All In' on this one!

It was a bad deal! The place wasn't making any money and the owners just wanted to get out from under the lease (with still over five years to run). But I saw the potential. The first thing I did was take down all the signs with rules posted on them about how to behave in there. Then I removed the turnstiles you had to go thru to get inside and opened the entrance-way up. Since we did not serve alcohol I welcomed the local kids and advertised in the school papers.

Within three months my poolroom had become THE hangout for the local high school kids after school and on weekends. The place was so jammed on Friday and Saturday nights that fire marshals would stop by and tell me that no more people were allowed inside. They put a sign on the wall saying my room capacity was 199 people. We exceeded that every weekend! There were seven high schools in Bakersfield and one large Junior College. That was where the bulk of my clientele cam from. Maybe 80-90%.

I was a member of the Downtown Businessman's Association, and was the youngest member by far. Some of the older guys used to poke fun at me, saying the kids didn't have any money. They were wrong! Every kid has a few dollars in their pocket and they will spend it all. If you have a couple hundred kids going through your place every day and each one spending three or four dollars, you were making good money for the 1970's. Within one year I bought a house in one of the nicer neighborhoods in Bakersfield for the princely sum of $24,000! Ah, the 70's!

I played pool with every road man that came through for the next six years. Won some and lost some. But I had that "daily money" coming in, so I had no worries. By the end of three years I had 100K in cash and felt wealthy. Relatively speaking for the times I was.

This was the height of my pool career. I had played pretty much non stop from the age of 18 to 33. I never played as much pool after that. But I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. I got a great poolroom education that has held me well in the business world, and I've used that knowledge to build a nice little real estate empire. Nothing that big, just a few units here and a few units there, plus some key investments in larger commercial properties. It provides me with a decent income, enough to enjoy my declining years. :D

I have almost no social security to speak of because I didn't put enough into it, but the Medicare is more important to me than the money. Whatever I have today I owe it all to the education I got running around in poolrooms when I was a young man.
Click to expand...


Thanks for posting everything you post, Jay. I am all about learning...
 
Fenwick said:
Today they don't just break your thumbs, they shoot you. The few road players I've known, the smart ones chose work over Hustling. Much safer. Those who chose the life on the road ended up broke and living on SS in assisted living.
Click to expand...

If you're a roadrunner who spent your life on the road, there *IS* no "SS". You're on your own. And assisted living ain't cheap. Sadly enough, the reality is, after a life on the road, if you weren't good enough or smart enough ( or, both ) to tuck away a TON of cash, then you end up living with relatives, if you have any at that point. Or friends...

That was one of the most "romantic" aspects of a life that doesn't exist anymore. The sheer BALLS it took to basically stake your entire life on your ability to beat someone else's brains in on a pool table. And to do it year after year after year, the entire time fighting the odds. It was a wild and woolly life. It really was the Wild, Wild West and everyone out there was a Gunslinger, looking for that next gunfight. And it's gone... for whatever reasons.
 
livemusic said:
People's going out has declined in a major way.
Click to expand...

I've seen a lot of articles about this topic. The general consensus is that Millennials stay home or gather at friends homes, watch Netflix, and drink wine. (I believe that in Canada craft beer is also a staple for them).

They have little interest in going out anywhere.

I stopped going to the local pool hall simply because our tables cost $15/hr. Adding on a beer at $5.75/ea plus a 20% tip, and it's just too steep.
 
The first time I walked into J.O.B.s in Nashville a few years ago, I was amazed at how much action was in the room.

There was a big table with an older black gentleman playing a younger white gentlemen. I asked a railbird what they were playing for and without missing a beat the guy said, "What are they playing for? Why, they're playing cause they both want each others bankroll!"

I asked the guy I was with how much folks usually bet on 8 ball. He told me they played mostly cheap sets. He also told me that if I wanted to bet big, I would get played. "Here at JOB's", he said, "They'll bet you what you want...cuz no way you gonna leave with your winnings"

I don't know if that visit was an anomaly or not, but I was truly surprised at the amount of money in action. Seemed every other table was a money game, black, white, young, and old.
 
Way back in the day, they used to be able to eke out a living playing on the road...
Now, expenses are way too prohibitive to even think about it. There was a thread
about today's pros making a living.. even out of the top ten, it's not a great income
stream.

IMO the smart players are socking it away when they DO make a big score,
Shane and Efren come to mind.
 
I was on the road for many years before I started making cues.

Did not have a permanent address.

Lots of people played $100. a game 9 ball and a Holliday Inn was $10.

You do the math.

Bill S.
 
bstroud said:
I was on the road for many years before I started making cues.

Did not have a permanent address.

Lots of people played $100. a game 9 ball and a Holliday Inn was $10.

You do the math.

Bill S.
Click to expand...
Watched you play Bob Baldwin at the BilliardPalace in Tulsa when you were moving to Austin. Had a killer loaded ivory cue and played really well with it. I was watching with Mike Betts sitting at the counter. Good times.
 
pt109 said:
In my experience, money is even more available now....
...ATMs and credit cards.
It's just that the casinos are getting the best of that.
Click to expand...

Even though money is available, rarely is it needed...... to pay for anything.

Actually if you think of it, the only time you really absolutely need it, is to do something south of proper in the law's eyes.

Greenbacks have turned into the new black market currency!

Tournament buy-ins, gambling (unless your foe accepts debit), slot machines, lottery, drug buys, chumming for strippers. That's about the only time you'd need to carry bills on ya, right?

Hell, you can get a line on here for over 1 grand and PayPal it off to someone, no one ever sees any actual green.

In reference to the OThread, having that road dog come back would be cool. Makes me want to delete my Facebook account.
 
jay helfert said:
I bought my first poolroom in Bakersfield in 1972. I was not yet 28 years old! I had $15,000 to my name and bought the place for $40,000, paying them $11,000 ($1,000 was for all the inventory) down, with payments of $600 a month and a rent of $700 a month for a 7,000 square foot building. Talk about gambling, I was 'All In' on this one!

It was a bad deal! The place wasn't making any money and the owners just wanted to get out from under the lease (with still over five years to run). But I saw the potential. The first thing I did was take down all the signs with rules posted on them about how to behave in there. Then I removed the turnstiles you had to go thru to get inside and opened the entrance-way up. Since we did not serve alcohol I welcomed the local kids and advertised in the school papers.

Within three months my poolroom had become THE hangout for the local high school kids after school and on weekends. The place was so jammed on Friday and Saturday nights that fire marshals would stop by and tell me that no more people were allowed inside. They put a sign on the wall saying my room capacity was 199 people. We exceeded that every weekend! There were seven high schools in Bakersfield and one large Junior College. That was where the bulk of my clientele cam from. Maybe 80-90%.

I was a member of the Downtown Businessman's Association, and was the youngest member by far. Some of the older guys used to poke fun at me, saying the kids didn't have any money. They were wrong! Every kid has a few dollars in their pocket and they will spend it all. If you have a couple hundred kids going through your place every day and each one spending three or four dollars, you were making good money for the 1970's. Within one year I bought a house in one of the nicer neighborhoods in Bakersfield for the princely sum of $24,000! Ah, the 70's!

I played pool with every road man that came through for the next six years. Won some and lost some. But I had that "daily money" coming in, so I had no worries. By the end of three years I had 100K in cash and felt wealthy. Relatively speaking for the times I was.

This was the height of my pool career. I had played pretty much non stop from the age of 18 to 33. I never played as much pool after that. But I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. I got a great poolroom education that has held me well in the business world, and I've used that knowledge to build a nice little real estate empire. Nothing that big, just a few units here and a few units there, plus some key investments in larger commercial properties. It provides me with a decent income, enough to enjoy my declining years. :D

I have almost no social security to speak of because I didn't put enough into it, but the Medicare is more important to me than the money. Whatever I have today I owe it all to the education I got running around in poolrooms when I was a young man.
Click to expand...

Very interesting! Cool Story.
 
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