Personal Pool Hall

Johnnyt said:
I believe there are a lot of the that type of poolroom, but with 2 to 6 guys. They don't tell anyone because they don't want non members coming there. Johnnyt
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Oh, yeah, Johnnyt -- I think you'd want to keep this to just a few guys you can trust and who will take care of the room and equipment.

Lou Figueroa
 
phishman said:
My cpa differs--I have a two room "shop" and one room is a Man Cave she sees no problem with it all tho I do have some work related items on shelves in the "cave".
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Home office tax deduction
NOLO: Requirement #1: You must regularly use part of your home exclusively for a trade or business.
 
Bob Jewett said:
I don't know of any personal pool halls, exactly, but there are a lot of micro-clubs. There is a 4-table club in Minneapolis in a former factory building that has three heated carom tables. Jamie Sibley used to have one carom table in the basement of a restaurant in Omaha and had tournaments on it. Several snooker players in this area pooled resources and opened a three-table club in San Mateo (at which I'll be playing tomorrow).

Around here you can get monthly memberships at a couple of pool halls (which both have all four kinds of table) for about $100/month. That would be hard to match in a solo operation.
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Bob, I think a personal room would be too expensive to do almost anywhere in California. Like you said, a micro-club, with the expenses spread out is more doable for high cost areas. But here is St. Louis (and probably a lot of other areas) there are a lot of places around town where you might be able to get some cheap space.

Lou Figueroa
 
lfigueroa said:
I wondering if "climate controlled" just means they don't freeze you out in the winter nor roast you during the summer? It's be nice to be comfy.

Lou Figueroa
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far as i know they are designed for people to keep valuables where temperature differentials can damage the items. i.e. antique furniture and art. also, alot of guys keep their antique cars and motorcycles in the climate controlled units.

i assume these type of units are costly.
 
JCIN said:
Louis Ulrich did something along the lines of what you are talking about. Strip mall space, four tables by invitation only. It turned into a job for him though and he closed it up due to time reasons.

I have seen some shooting clubs where you pay a yearly fee, get the rules indoc and then are issued a key or keycard and can come and go as you please. One way to keep it on the up and up is install a surveillance system so everyone knows if they trash the joint or act like a dick with equipment its going to be found out.
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lol, I don't know, Justin... surveillance system, key cards, next I will have to be looking into getting some waitresses :-)

Lou Figueroa
 
Red Shoes said:
Along those lines....there was a guy (Wally Porter...passed away some years ago....God rest his soul) who lived in a condominium in northern Indiana and BOUGHT a small house down the block for 2 pool tables (9ft.& bar box). All that was in the house was those 2 tables, a refrigerator and 2 chairs (maybe a radio). His idea was...I might want to play and everywhere else might be closed. ALSO..The Illinois Billiard Club (Willow Springs, Illinois) got it's start like that. Jim Parker (owner) bought a 3 cushion table and put it in his basement. So many guys were coming over to play, he started giving out keys to his house so the guys could play when he was not home. After a while I guess it got CRAZY...He opened the IBC on 103rd st. in Oak Lawn (?) renting a place in the 70's....moved it to 71st Street (bought the building) in Chicago in the 80's AND moved that to Willow Springs, Illinois with a restaurant/bar in the 90's....nice place. To this day the "billiard club" aspect of the business is "members only". It all started though in Jim's basement.
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Yeah: a house for your pool tables -- *that's* the ticket :-) John, I don't thing "Honey* would goferit. Actually, we have room -- the great room, or "living room" as she likes to call it, that's big enough for a 9' footer, but when I describe the Diamond table and the Diamond "chandelier" in the middle of the room, for some strange reason she doesn't envision it the same way I does.

Lou Figueroa
 
Salamander said:
Lou,

We did this in Colorado. Got a brunswick GC cheap. Converted stand alone garage into a room, added heat. Members. Open 24x7 w/ key entry.

It was good for practice, but missed the action at the pool hall.
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Yeah, you're right, Salamander, about the action. But there isn't that much of it around here nowadays anyway. I'm thinking that word would get around and some of the action could happen at the PPR. But it's still be the nuts for practicing and cheap games with friends.

Lou Figueroa
 
cleary said:
In some parts of the world, this may work out.. just not where I'm at. To rent a place large enough, you'd have to spend at least $1500/month and no way I could spend that in table time.

But I would guess it would work out the same anywhere, right?

Lou, how much do you spend in table time per month?
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It depends on how much I'm traveling, what the weather is like, whether I''m in extended action or practicing for a tournament, and whatnot, but it's somewhere between $150 and $250 a month. I'm thinking in might be doable in an industrial or depressed section of town...

Lou Figueroa
 
Gazelli said:
I'm a member of a private club in the area. It has 3 heated billiard tables and 2 GC. We have less than 40 members and membership is $280 a year. All members have a key to the place and we can play 24/7. It's a fantastic deal, IMO.
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THAT sounds like the nuts, Gazelli. I'd join that and play more 3C in a heartbeat.

Lou Figueroa
 
kybill9 said:
Home office tax deduction
NOLO: Requirement #1: You must regularly use part of your home exclusively for a trade or business.
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Start a company, write a book about pool and you get five years of R&D tax write off. Publish the book. Sell a few copies and everything is legal.

Not too difficult to do.
 
lfigueroa said:
Yeah: a house for your pool tables -- *that's* the ticket :-) John, I don't thing "Honey* would goferit. Actually, we have room -- the great room, or "living room" as she likes to call it, that's big enough for a 9' footer, but when I describe the Diamond table and the Diamond "chandelier" in the middle of the room, for some strange reason she doesn't envision it the same way I does.

Lou Figueroa
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If I had the room, I'd do it no matter what anyone says. There are pool tables that convert into dining tables - then you both get what you want.
 
YEah, I was going to mention this too...

JCIN said:
Louis Ulrich did something along the lines of what you are talking about. Strip mall space, four tables by invitation only. It turned into a job for him though and he closed it up due to time reasons.

I have seen some shooting clubs where you pay a yearly fee, get the rules indoc and then are issued a key or keycard and can come and go as you please. One way to keep it on the up and up is install a surveillance system so everyone knows if they trash the joint or act like a dick with equipment its going to be found out.
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Hell Eric's house was kinda like this in Vegas for a while, even when he wasn't there, there were two or three people usually playing on his tables...

Jaden
 
TheThaiger said:
If I had the room, I'd do it no matter what anyone says. There are pool tables that convert into dining tables - then you both get what you want.
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Well, yeah. I will confess that every once in while I think about it... Me, playing Efren in the finals of the US Open... me and Angelina Jolie in a hot tub... the expression on my wife's face when she walks in the door and I go, "Hey, Honey, look what the Diamond Truck dropped off today!" That last one doesn't turn out quite as good in my mind, as the way the first two do.

Besides, we already have a separate dining room :-)

Lou Figueroa
 
lfigueroa said:
It depends on how much I'm traveling, what the weather is like, whether I''m in extended action or practicing for a tournament, and whatnot, but it's somewhere between $150 and $250 a month. I'm thinking in might be doable in an industrial or depressed section of town...

Lou Figueroa
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Of that 150-200/month, how much of that is playing alone and how much of that do you win back playing others?

I want a table for myself but it cannot replace the pool room and action/sparing.
 
I have actually looked into the climate controlled storage places around my area but seems like they are all like 10 x 20 or so, so not really a viable option here. I'd really like to get involved in a private room somehow, since I work graveyard shift mostly. Hard to find a room to practice in at 7am, or even before lunch,,,,,,,and going in for a couple of hours before work just isn't the same.
 
I just had this conversation with a friend a few weeks ago. We felt that a warehouse space in an industrial area would be the most economical way to do it. Find some tables, and you are on your way.

Have a select group as members, and it should work. Of course "profit" is not an option. More than likely the name on the lease will be in the red on a yearly basis, unless rent is real cheap.

I like the idea, just don't have the seed money to get it started.

Mike
 
cleary said:
Of that 150-200/month, how much of that is playing alone and how much of that do you win back playing others?

I want a table for myself but it cannot replace the pool room and action/sparing.
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hmmm, well, that would be classified information, but I get your point about the action amortizing my table time costs :-)

Lou Figueroa
 
One more thing to take into account Lou...Some guys around here (I won't mention names...but good players and gamblers...you would know most of them), did something like that about 15 years ago (4 tables...card tables...etc..) in a strip mall. Well in less than a year, they attracted to attention of the "cops". One of the problems with the "club" thing is that "if" the place is in full operation (say 4 tables) plus a few side line guys, all of a sudden you have 20-25 cars parked out in front...Local "constables" are always interested in things like that because they think something "illegal" is going on inside. They will try to "charge" you with running an unlicensed bar or retail operation without a license. Plus "if" your doing any actual gambling there and they get "wind" of it....there are no shortage of charges they can trump up (generally around election time...every politician wants the "tuff on crime" vote). As a side note: You mean Gail doesn't want to have candlelight dinners on the "fancy eatin table" (aka Beverly Hillbillies)? What if you threw in "Jethro and Ellie Mae"??
 
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