How to bring pool out of the slums...
- Thread starter wannaplaySOME?
- Start date
We have our own version of his sign saying "we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone"
Well, I have also looked at buying a room myself. Same questions as you have. However in looking at the responses it is clear that people think of pool in different terms.
First there is the business of pool/billiard rooms, then there is the sport of pool, and then there is the game.
They are all different, and depending on what you want from your business. You have to make a business plan that will attain your goal.
If you are interested in the "business" of pool, you need to attract people for its entertainment value. Music, food, beer and promotional ideas. One place where I play, gives every woman/female 2 hours of free pool on Monday evenings. Of course the place fills with young ladies, and of course the guys follow. They buy food and drinks and play all evening. Can't get a table from 9:00 pm until about 2:00, place kicks ass. Just an example of the "business of pool"
The sport of pool is promoted with tournaments, league play and lessons. The previous posters have addressed these ideas. This same room has lessons in the morning for a local high school. Exposure of the "sport" of pool is what the IPT is all about. I believe that every larger pool room should employ, or sponser, a pro player or at least a former pro. Just like the golf courses. Help the young players elevate their game to a competative level without being forced to "pay their dues" like some of us older players have. This will infuse the sport with players that come from a different perspective than the traditional.
The "game" of pool. Like every other sport when people play regularly, or come from out of town, there will be gambling. A separate area, with seating for tournaments and some money games provides interest and stimulates people to play, or at least work on their game. People that want to gamble will gamble. Try to keep it clean, isolated and drug free.
Loving the game isn't enough, you have to have a smart business plan that incorporates communication with the local community on their concerns, law enforcement, noise, traffic etc. and takes into consideration the demography of the area.
First there is the business of pool/billiard rooms, then there is the sport of pool, and then there is the game.
They are all different, and depending on what you want from your business. You have to make a business plan that will attain your goal.
If you are interested in the "business" of pool, you need to attract people for its entertainment value. Music, food, beer and promotional ideas. One place where I play, gives every woman/female 2 hours of free pool on Monday evenings. Of course the place fills with young ladies, and of course the guys follow. They buy food and drinks and play all evening. Can't get a table from 9:00 pm until about 2:00, place kicks ass. Just an example of the "business of pool"
The sport of pool is promoted with tournaments, league play and lessons. The previous posters have addressed these ideas. This same room has lessons in the morning for a local high school. Exposure of the "sport" of pool is what the IPT is all about. I believe that every larger pool room should employ, or sponser, a pro player or at least a former pro. Just like the golf courses. Help the young players elevate their game to a competative level without being forced to "pay their dues" like some of us older players have. This will infuse the sport with players that come from a different perspective than the traditional.
The "game" of pool. Like every other sport when people play regularly, or come from out of town, there will be gambling. A separate area, with seating for tournaments and some money games provides interest and stimulates people to play, or at least work on their game. People that want to gamble will gamble. Try to keep it clean, isolated and drug free.
Loving the game isn't enough, you have to have a smart business plan that incorporates communication with the local community on their concerns, law enforcement, noise, traffic etc. and takes into consideration the demography of the area.
location
sometimes i played in that friday night tournament at that bar next to hooters... it was 9-ball on a bar box... it was a pretty good tournament
i play in the green room, and all in philly... i am all over the place...Gregg said:
sometimes i played in that friday night tournament at that bar next to hooters... it was 9-ball on a bar box... it was a pretty good tournament
well....
while that is definitely the case... i would have to get rid of every table in there but one and gradually change them out to put crowns in there, which can be very expensive... too bad i don't know a damn thing about pool... cause then icould live with the horrible ones in there... but i do know a thing or too... and i wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing those terrible gandy's are in there...
Rickw said:
while that is definitely the case... i would have to get rid of every table in there but one and gradually change them out to put crowns in there, which can be very expensive... too bad i don't know a damn thing about pool... cause then icould live with the horrible ones in there... but i do know a thing or too... and i wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing those terrible gandy's are in there...
another good point....
well thats the other thing... there is a pool hall in NJ that is made just FOR BANGERS>... there is rarely a good player in that room except for thursdays... (which is nice because on any given day i may be the best player in there.. and I STINK)... and this pool hall makes an ASS LOAD of money... so i definitely know that it is possible...
the non-smoking thing is a good and bad... i think statistics will show that there are more non-smokers then there are smokers.. i think that more people that hate smoke will come back to pool halls because of this law... and the smokers that truly love pool will just smoke outside...
financially this pool hall would have to be a BIG money maker to be enough to quit my job... and i doubt right now it would.. but could it in the future? who knows... someone needs to come up with another color of money movie and drive people back into the pool halls....
The Kiss said:
well thats the other thing... there is a pool hall in NJ that is made just FOR BANGERS>... there is rarely a good player in that room except for thursdays... (which is nice because on any given day i may be the best player in there.. and I STINK)... and this pool hall makes an ASS LOAD of money... so i definitely know that it is possible...
the non-smoking thing is a good and bad... i think statistics will show that there are more non-smokers then there are smokers.. i think that more people that hate smoke will come back to pool halls because of this law... and the smokers that truly love pool will just smoke outside...
financially this pool hall would have to be a BIG money maker to be enough to quit my job... and i doubt right now it would.. but could it in the future? who knows... someone needs to come up with another color of money movie and drive people back into the pool halls....
wannaplaySOME? said:
You should keep a couple of the Gandys. Much if not most of your business will be bangers. They dont give a damn about Gold Crowns and with the G's you wont have to be so anal with them which would alienate them. You need the bangers.
60% GC's should be enough IMHO.
Rickw said:
Because he may think he can make money but there could be problems down the road he may not be aware of. There could be variances such as parking, or operating hours, maybe the operation of a pool room all together he is not aware of that could be taken away putting him out of business at the whim of the city commission. You need to know everything involved before you get started. I don't do anything without a lawyer, it should be his first stop and the best money he could spend.
I had a friend who bought a building that had a catch 22 with it. There was no city garbage pick up at a commercial property in that area and because of recent renovations he couldn't get a dumpster behind the place. He bought a building that could not be legally occupied or rented. He had to knock down a piece of the building to provide a garbage truck access to the back of the building to put a dumpster there.
People have no idea what can be involved with stuff sometimes.
My stupid mother in law bought a lot in the Florida Keys once cheap. Turned out there was no utilities (water) on her side of the street. If she wanted to build the city would have to tear up the street and run the line at a cost of $40,000. She ended up selling the lot at a loss. You better know everything before you start a project.
Btw...
innocent mistake!
- just an FYI, i am a SHE...macguy said:
innocent mistake!
Sargo said:
That would be suicide. Pool Halls make too much money of off alcohol. Furthermore you would lose the business of smokers if you ban smoking.
There is a pool hall chain named dooley's which is very high class. It is set up like a pub with menu's and everything and 50 tables. They enforce a casual dress code (less strict than golf courses though), and kids arent allowed in after 8:00 (I'm not sure if that is the actual time). They have a policy of no gambling, but with 50 tables they aren't able to enforce it. But these things seem to keep it higher class.
do you truly think that there are more "classy" people then "blue collared" people that enjoy the sport?
You'd be surprised
A lot of people that go to a pool hall to play have no clue what a good table is. I also think it would be a waste to put some people on a good table.
If you have an idea of how many good shooters you have then you can figure out how many good tables you need. My guess would be that you probably don't need any more than 4 really good tables. Btw, there is nothing wrong with a Gandy table if it is properly taken care of, imho, that is the slate is smooth with no cracks or pits and the cloth is good.
Also, I wouldn't worry about getting all the tables done, reclothed etc., right away. Get one table done at a time and start with your best tables. Watch the guys doing the work and experiment doing it yourself on your worst tables. After a while, you might even be able to do a good job of recovering a good table yourself.
A lot of people that go to a pool hall to play have no clue what a good table is. I also think it would be a waste to put some people on a good table.
If you have an idea of how many good shooters you have then you can figure out how many good tables you need. My guess would be that you probably don't need any more than 4 really good tables. Btw, there is nothing wrong with a Gandy table if it is properly taken care of, imho, that is the slate is smooth with no cracks or pits and the cloth is good.
Also, I wouldn't worry about getting all the tables done, reclothed etc., right away. Get one table done at a time and start with your best tables. Watch the guys doing the work and experiment doing it yourself on your worst tables. After a while, you might even be able to do a good job of recovering a good table yourself.
wannaplaySOME? said:
you think so?
THAT is an understatement! My number one income generating table year after year is a 50 year old Mueller table with a broken slate and backed Mali cloth. It is also right next to the sewer drain and has the most unlevel floor there.
Rickw said:
THAT is an understatement! My number one income generating table year after year is a 50 year old Mueller table with a broken slate and backed Mali cloth. It is also right next to the sewer drain and has the most unlevel floor there.
I would think long and hard about why someone is willing to turn over his business to you just for taking over the rent. What kind of lease is involved? What equipment are you getting? Does the liquor license get transferred to you? Does he have one?
How well do you know the person who is making the offer?
Sounds like you want to be an absentee owner. A sure fire plan to get robbed. By your partner. By your bartender. By your manager.
As far as getting pool rooms out of the slum I think pool rooms of today are far better than the pool rooms of yesteryear.
Jake
How well do you know the person who is making the offer?
Sounds like you want to be an absentee owner. A sure fire plan to get robbed. By your partner. By your bartender. By your manager.
As far as getting pool rooms out of the slum I think pool rooms of today are far better than the pool rooms of yesteryear.
Jake
answers...
thanks for the feedback.. and for those of you that i haven't gotten around to giving the infamous "reputation" to... i will... apparently i have "given too much reputation in the last 24 hours".. so after that passes i will be onto distributing more! thanks a bunch!
jjinfla said:
thanks for the feedback.. and for those of you that i haven't gotten around to giving the infamous "reputation" to... i will... apparently i have "given too much reputation in the last 24 hours".. so after that passes i will be onto distributing more! thanks a bunch!
wannaplaySOME? said:
I didn't say anything about the people. I don't know who is playing, I just know that the atmosphere is very comfortable. A place you would wan't to bring your entire family to, whoever you are.
Furthermore I don't think that your occupation has anything to do with whether or not you enjoy pool. It depends entirely on where you go. In small towns I see more blue collared people player primarily because its a small town and there are a lot of people in small towns who are blue collared. In cities I see a mix of white collar and blue collar people playing.
Cameron Smith said:
I realize this, but I just wanted to point out why it would almost be impossible for pool to become more popular in America. All major sports have kids participating, and they grow up loyal to their sport. No kids, no chance pool gets better.
jjinfla said:
She should think long and hard and examine every angle but provided you do that, it is possible that it is a good opportunity.
I know a guy who was given a pool room by the landlord, complete with tables and all. It had been a flop and abandoned by the former owner. He spent 40K fixing it up, got a popular 'pool guy' to run it and has made a living off it now for 7-8 years last i heard.
I wouldnt quit a VP job with Goldman Sachs for this and I dont know your personal situation Wannaplaysome but if nothing else is on your horizon, it might be worth taking a chance on. You will definitely gain experience and the downside seems to be limited.
SphinxnihpS said:
Thanks for bringing up about kids. My son and I travel once and a while to play. He is 10 now but there are many rooms around the country we can not play in because of his age. Strange isn't it? I thought I was his dad. Well I guess in some counties the government likes to be the kids dads by dictating what they can not do even with their parents, very strange.
Anyway, were I play the leagues are allowing kids in and they are having a great time. What is really great is that the kids play on a team with their parents. This is good stuff.....
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