Please explain to me why almost every luxury home (for millionaires, celebrities and athletes) has a pool table in it. I've been in a lot of them and the pool table (or billiard room) seems like a prereqisite. Bottom line - pool is not just played in bars!
Something I’ve noticed this past 18 months I’ve been looking at several houses a week in the 2-4M range. Tarzana and Encino south of the BL(that means something to Jay) it’s a good area.
What you say it true most have a box. And of course I always go look at it. I look for wear on the cloth, what balls they have, cues, tip work, how much is the chalk wore down, are the ferrels the same color as the chalk, how bad is the lighting(it’s NEVER good) what direction are they breaking, is there enough room to play?, ball return or drop pockets, how does the table roll?, and everything else.
Jay you saw my set up in vegas it was about good as it gets for a home use table, but that was not a typical house. Your set up is great as well in a more normal house.
Of the 60-70 tables I seen in houses in the last 18 months I’d guess 10% had some play on them. Blue spots on plastic cue balls, dull balls, missing tips and dirty ferrels. The other 90% have about 10-20 hours of play when they were installed and they are just for “show” not use.
I saw one table once with centennial balls-yellowed from age but well used, table had proper lighting and showed signs of use. I also look at pockets for wear as well. This one particular table was well used and cared for. But didn’t have the wear pattern on the cloth that a table gets from “players”. They were home bangers at best.
All these home tables might as well be coffee tables or end tables with a lamp on them: they get zero use. 4000sf houses and above have the space to “fill” so they do. Not to play pool, the tables are ornaments.
So while the table population is out there undoubtably that’s a meaningless population as far as participation is concerned.
I have a beautiful chess set in my house. I’ve never played on it once. But sure looks nice.
If home pool tables came with keno boards they would get more use as it’s easier and more fun for people who can’t play 99.6% of the population. 1 in 250 people might be a C- player at best
That’s the summery of my field research the past 18 months.
I didn’t see any Klings, or other high dollar antique tables.
Best
Fatboy