Isn’t pool supposed to be dead?

[mdc]

Walked in to this place near my apartment 10pm Tuesday night, not one table available. I used to work at a pool hall when I was younger (back in the 90s). We had about the same number of tables as this place, ~20-25. We were never this busy on a week night. Is it booze? We didn’t serve alcohol. Was told it was league night so about half the tables were reserved for them. Came in last night also and it was the same.

 

[j2pac]

Walked in to this place near my apartment 10pm Tuesday night, not one table available. I used to work at a pool hall when I was younger (back in the 90s). We had about the same number of tables as this place, ~20-25. We were never this busy on a week night. Is it booze? We didn’t serve alcohol. Was told it was league night so about half the tables were reserved for them. Came in last night also and it was the same.View attachment 887203

Nice to see.

 

[JasonATX]

That's how most of the pool halls in Austin are on league nights. There's usually a waitlist after 7pm or so.

There are a bunch of different leagues here, but the APA league here is large enough that they split into a North and South division.

 

[Cuebuddy]

Just left Felt in Denvertown, many tables, nearly all were being played on.
League night, yes. But seems to be busy all the time. Lots of happy players, just not me...I dogged an 8 ball and suffered.

 

[BuffaloSlim]

Very nice. My Monday and Thursday league nights here look about the same with one place having 22 tables and the other with 25. I'm sure the full bar and good food for a hall probably help with filling the places up

 

[trob]

League pool is doing great.. pro pool is doing better than it’s been doing in decades. Just play pool support the game anyway you can and Don’t listen to the negative people

 

[fogboundturtle]

it is an older gentleman and gentlewoman sport. In my local pool hall, the average is way more toward retirement than young people.

 

[mikemosconi]

Pool participation is a very different dynamic today than, say, both post pool movie boom years of 62 to 69 and 87 to 2000.
Today league play dominates the pool room scene. Seven foot tables have all but taken over many, many rooms that still exist or even those that are opening as new.
Women are as much a part of the pool scene as men in many instances- just like you see in public gyms today .
The 1960s scene and the initial stages of the 1980s pool scene was 9 foot tables, men dominating the arenas, younger solo guys spending hours in rooms learning the skills, gambling, etc.
For the most part, it is just different, probably neither more dead or alive in terms of total participation- can’t comment on exact numbers because no such valid count exists.

Most of the older guys left in the game - 65 to 80s in age now either play in their own homes if they have a table or go to senior center and community center places that still have dedicated small billiard spaces and those dedicated billiard spaces in such centers are also dwindling bc the demand for space usage is pushing out the pool tables. In high retirement dominated states like Florida - many gated living communities still have a members rec building where one or two tables still exist - most are still used by the male65 to 85 group but the numbers of players are dwindling every year and many tables are coming into disrepair due to lack of support by HOA boards.
I have personally experienced every one of these pool participation developments and now am very happily back to a home table Gold Crown situation with an option to go to a room of choice when desired.