Largest Pool Halls in the USA?

tomatoshooter

Well-known member
The jukebox has classic rock, country, some modern stuff but no hip-hop or ultra hard metal rock.
That's the bad thing about the digital jukeboxes a lot of places have now. Pretty much anything is available. I liked how some places used to curate the selection to fit the ambiance of the place. A British pub has nothing but British music, the local music venue had local bands well represented, etc.
 

Flakeandrun

Well-known member
That's the bad thing about the digital jukeboxes a lot of places have now. Pretty much anything is available. I liked how some places used to curate the selection to fit the ambiance of the place. A British pub has nothing but British music, the local music venue had local bands well represented, etc.
I think music selection is part of running a great establishment, I don't think the jukebox should belong to the customer in a hall with 20+ tables. Why should I suffer someone else's bullshit music choice? 🤣
 

Ghost of OBC

Well-known member
Damn. In DC proper, there are just two and half legit pool rooms with a combined total of ... 18 tables.
And that's generous. With all the empty real estate downtown, I sometimes think it would be cool to get a private key club together. An otherwise great city with fewer than 20 pool tables, and none newer than 20 years or so is pretty shameful.
 

book collector

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Bull Shooters in Peoria, AZ has a mix of 7 and 9 footers, they claim a total of 44. From memory, that sounds about right.
Plus they had darts and ping pong , thats the biggest place I was ever in .
I might be wrong ,but Bullshooters seemed bigger to me, than Romines.
Anybody know for sure?
 

ChrisSjoblom

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
That's the bad thing about the digital jukeboxes a lot of places have now. Pretty much anything is available. I liked how some places used to curate the selection to fit the ambiance of the place. A British pub has nothing but British music, the local music venue had local bands well represented, etc.
The digital jukeboxes (TouchTunes et al) can be programmed by the establishment owner to ban specific songs, artists, or even whole genres. If your room owner says they can't, have them contact the coin machine company that placed them and they will train them on it.
 

straightline

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I think music selection is part of running a great establishment, I don't think the jukebox should belong to the customer in a hall with 20+ tables. Why should I suffer someone else's bullshit music choice? 🤣
I won't waste the 5 bucks in those. Phone selections override the playlist. Wait all night if you like.
 

tomatoshooter

Well-known member
The digital jukeboxes (TouchTunes et al) can be programmed by the establishment owner to ban specific songs, artists, or even whole genres. If your room owner says they can't, have them contact the coin machine company that placed them and they will train them on it.
The only time I've really had a problem was when someone put on the Velvet Underground. I like the Velvet Underground but this was one of their more "experimental" tracks, and a long one at that. Definitely not what I consider pool shooting music. I try to be open minded but I do have a limit.
 

Poolhall60561

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Cool.

What tables in there, please?
Looks like GC, from yelp

IMG_1031.jpeg
 

Dunnn51

Clear the table!
Silver Member
Hmmmm,
Nicest room I have been to is Ivory Billiards in Holyoke,Mass. It's like stepping back in time. Centennials and Anniversaries abound. I believe about 10 of them total. They also have about6-8Valley Bar boxes. Talk about ambiance.
I always likedthe atmosphere of a bar or club when playing. Twas soooo cool to playin a private club that I never paid a dime to play. Ican still see the drippy air conditioner coming out of the wall, No window, they drilled a hole in the wall just for the AC.
I guess that is why I always wanted to open a small private club .Many times I would smell "burning leaves," and the owner would always say things happen here that you would never see in a public place. (that is wayyyy back when possession of weed got you jail time!).
 

Flakeandrun

Well-known member
I won't waste the 5 bucks in those. Phone selections override the playlist. Wait all night if you like.
What I mean is, the place should have its own vibe. I don’t want to potentially have my ears raped by someone else’s nonsense haha give me the owners choice or my headphones (Naturally, the owner can and should be open to suggestion). Juke box is for the bar…
 

336Robin

Multiverse Operative
Silver Member
What I mean is, the place should have its own vibe. I don’t want to potentially have my ears raped by someone else’s nonsense haha give me the owners choice or my headphones (Naturally, the owner can and should be open to suggestion). Juke box is for the bar…

Having two rooms would be nice, bar in one section, pool room in the other, two separate juke boxes and volumes.
 

#Cruncher

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Cool.

What tables in there, please?
21 oversise 8’ gold crowns, 17 9’ gold crowns, 1 9’ old Diamond, 2 10’ billiard tables, 1 10’ snooker table set up for golf, 1 12’ snooker set up for golf, 7 7’ valley tables. The room was the gold standard 30 years ago. Nothing has changed unfortunately.
 

straightline

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Having two rooms would be nice, bar in one section, pool room in the other, two separate juke boxes and volumes.
There was a joint in SanDiego with a live music room adjacent to a pool room. Don't know the name. Somebody I can't recall happened upon it on vacation.
 

ChrisSjoblom

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
There was a joint in SanDiego with a live music room adjacent to a pool room. Don't know the name. Somebody I can't recall happened upon it on vacation.
I don't know if it is still that way, but McGoo's in Tulsa had a live music stage adjacent to the pool room as well. A few years back I was spending some time checking out pool rooms between Texas and Wisconsin, and I spent a few pleasant days at McGoo's. As soon as the band opened up on Saturday night, though, I was out of there, and on my way to Wichita the next morning.

Miller Time Billiards in Davenport Iowa did live music in a separate area of the building many (35) years ago - maybe still do. Although you could hear it in the pool room it wasn't obtrusive or maybe I was still young enough to fade it. :)
 

jbart65

Active member
Plenty of sharks in DC, but not the pool variety.
Five years ago, the city was quite safe. Safest it's been since I moved to Washington in the late 1990s. The good schools are also good schools. And it actually is a pretty, livable city in many parts. Lots of greenery, no big skyscrapers.

Then the pandemic happened, and George Floyd. The city has regressed mightily for all the reasons astute readers would expect.

Wework, of all places, killed off the biggest DC pool room, Buffalo Billiards, in 2019. BB got priced out after a 25-year run. Shame, too, because now there's lots of empty real estate.

I don't see much chance of a new and big pool room opening in DC.
 
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