Just some of my non-expert opinions on the ISU Billiards Center where the tourney is held:
15 Gold Crowns that are set very low. Perhaps a good thing for the untall.
Lighting is pretty good, less shadowy than your usual pool room fixtures.
The music is now via satellite (Sirius) and less obnoxious than it used to be. If you don't like it, have the director tell them to turn it off.
Watch out for obstructions...the high chairs that are chained to the wall are a pain because you can only move them so much. The tables are also close enough for there to be some inter-table traffic.
Bring a backup cue. The house cues are Cutec fiberglas with unbelievably high coefficients of friction.
Hopefully they will have special balls for the tourney, because the house balls are high mileage, and not great quality to begin with. If they will allow you to use your own balls, or at least your own cue ball, by all means, see if you can. Some of the house cue balls feel light and have craters.
Cloth is green, worsted, and in some cases, really loosely applied.
Pockets: Most corner pockets are generous at the opening, narrowing at the throat, which is a design that tends to rattle balls if you hit the facing. The pocket shelves are not very deep, though. These are old Brunswicks, not new Diamonds. I don't think all of the tables have identical dimensions for pockets. Some of them tend to reject shots coming up the rail, so I suggest that pre-match warm up include trying some of these.
Rubber: I regard the cushions and facings as being hard, and I personally don't like the way they play. I will qualify that by saying that I like Championship cushions, which some people say play too soft. So the problems I encounter banking on these tables may strictly be my own.
Despite my criticisms above (when in doubt, blame the equipment), ISU is a pretty good place to play pool. It is alcohol and tobacco free, and clean. The campus can be safely walked around during the day and evening.
Normal police strictly enforce speed limits, and they confiscate your license if they write you a ticket. This pretty much terrorizes locals and furriners alike into behaving themselves behing the wheel.
Have a good tourney.
