Possible reason why pool isn't popular with the masses.

Id Rather Not be Right

JoeyA said:
After a few months of donations, I doubt that there would be enough money to send one AZB horse to a regional tournament.

JoeyA
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I am beginning to agree that might be the case, but Id rather not be right and its frikking sad, I ask myself why do I care when no one else does, guess I just love pool ....guilty as charged.
 
gxman said:
Rent in the mall is absurdly high. Space is very precious and limited. No business in the mall is going to keep a couple bar box in their establishment when it brings in zero revenue.
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The arcade at my mall has a couple barboxes. I only go by it when I'm hitting the food court for lunch (very rarely) but I have only seen people playing a couple times.

But it's an arcade, not a bar/restaurant so the ambience is very different than it could be.
 
Anyone in the US playing pool for a living should be thankful for the great development of the European and Asian players and their leagues, tours and tournaments... Other wise, playing pool for a living in the US would have dried up years ago...

As to the original question, there is just no overwhelming demand to play pool for fun or for a living by the masses. Current Pool room owners and future room owners will have to create the demand themselves, for recreational players (give someone a reason to leave the house) . In Ohio, I have NEVER seen a TV commercial for ANY pool room and well in Las Vegas. Disappointed to say the least. The best room in Ohio is FiddleStix in Canton, owned by Chris Szuter (pro player) and family a well run combination of bar/food/bar boxes/9 footers/ tournaments.

Watching pool on TV is boring for the recreational player. TV will never be a major hub of excitement for pool unless Accustats has its own block of time or its own station.
 
Pool in the Live

JustPlay said:
Anyone in the US playing pool for a living should be thankful for the great development of the European and Asian players and their leagues, tours and tournaments... Other wise, playing pool for a living in the US would have dried up years ago...

As to the original question, there is just no overwhelming demand to play pool for fun or for a living by the masses. Current Pool room owners and future room owners will have to create the demand themselves, for recreational players (give someone a reason to leave the house) . In Ohio, I have NEVER seen a TV commercial for ANY pool room and well in Las Vegas. Disappointed to say the least. The best room in Ohio is FiddleStix in Canton, owned by Chris Szuter (pro player) and family a well run combination of bar/food/bar boxes/9 footers/ tournaments.

Watching pool on TV is boring for the recreational player. TV will never be a major hub of excitement for pool unless Accustats has its own block of time or its own station.
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Pool in the Live is much more exciting. I would gladly pay $5 bucks to go in and watch a match up of local players, ones that are good. Right in our own neighborhoods are guys who can really play and they are good to learn from. The problem in my neck of the woods is seating. Also one of the rooms doesn't collect email addresses and you never know what they are doing. An email blast can do a lot.
 
gxman said:
Rent in the mall is absurdly high. Space is very precious and limited. No business in the mall is going to keep a couple bar box in their establishment when it brings in zero revenue.
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It can be worse then that. We tried to do an exhibition in a mall where the COM was opening. I wanted to set up a table in the concourse near where the movie complex was. We were going to do it for free. They wanted to "CHARGE us". They value every Sq. foot in that place and want to make money with it.
 
There's lots of great, solid concepts in this thread.

But I'm not coming off any significant donation dollars until an entity comes in with a multi-layered master plan that my pool educated ass believes in. F this fragmented alphabet soup.

There is an open economic market for pool. It's more wide open than any time in recent history IMO. It's going to be sooner than later when a Messiah or a fool, reads threads like this - and takes a shot.

The next 12 months is going to be... real interesting. Let's hope for the best.
 
336Robin said:
If I had those numbers as quoted in another post above I think it was 2982 and lets just say that those people wanted to do something to help pool. I think this use is the best thing they can do.

2982 x $10=29,820 dollars and that's not a paltry sum

How much does the cheapest bar box cost?
Brand New Im guessing 3k at most and I would be that you can get a used Bar Box for pretty cheap.

My idea is this: You go around with a truck full of Bar Boxes and you use this money to subsidize the cost for the places you are going to install them.

So if a Bar Box cost you $1200 you knock off 700 and when you put it into a local store you tell the guy this:

This Bar Box will create people standing around wanting to play. The money you will make off of it will be small, kind of like darts. So use it to get the kids in here and keep some adults entertained. They will buy sodas, drinks, cakes, snacks and pick up things they normally wouldn't because they are busy on the table. Don't charge over a quarter for the table and let the table work its magic for you will make enough to get it covered and then some but the activity will make your place the place a lot of people come to gather. Leave it at a quarter and people will come and play.

This way the table does all of the work for you. It says Pool to the masses. It is cheap to play and people need entertainment and they will. Especially the kids. When people tried to make a living off of Pool alone it started its down hill track. Paired with a business it created an atmosphere of togetherness that created a social situation where it was possible to make money at.....The Place.

That's they way I see Pool working out, you get Tables out in the Community, one table or two here and there where kids can find them. You get the Grass Roots efforts we all harp about. You spend some money but you can afford what you spend. When people see and hear that their money is doing some good then it wont be hard to get people to ante up some more.

A $10 donation isn't going to hurt anyone, especially if they are prone to enter pool tournaments for much more. If you have 2982 people who put in 50 or even more in a years time you can have very positive results for the game.

2982 x 50=$ 149,100 dollars / 700 of subsidize money= 213 Bar Boxes Subsidized

If you put 213 bar boxes out in 1 State that's a lot of Bar Boxes and it wouldn't take long for people to start thinking about Pool because when they go to the store they would see it. They would see people having fun, playing pool.

That's all of the message that you need to send.

Pool is fun and kids love to play. Then someone buys a home table, some cues, some supplies and Pool gets the facelift it needs with the General Public.
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Kids without strict supervision when they get around a pool table try to play for like 5 minutes before they are hitting the balls around with the sides of the sticks, throwing the balls around the table with their hands, or playing like air hockey with the balls. Ask anyone with a home table who has kids.
 
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Day for Fools?

KoolKat9Lives said:
There's lots of great, solid concepts in this thread.

But I'm not coming off any significant donation dollars until an entity comes in with a multi-layered master plan that my pool educated ass believes in. F this fragmented alphabet soup.

There is an open economic market for pool. It's more wide open than any time in recent history IMO. It's going to be sooner than later when a Messiah or a fool, reads threads like this - and takes a shot.

The next 12 months is going to be... real interesting. Let's hope for the best.
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KoolKat9Lives,
I think the day for fools is done. I believe the promoters are looking real hard at the projected revenues and if they don't see it coming back in some way its not working. However I think the best we can hope for is someone finding the interest in forming an association of some sort at a higher level than player that will address grass roots efforts and then let regular players support it sort of as you suggest.

There are people like yourself who would donate to the cause. Having the organization necessary is going to take a lot of dollars to put together and it has to benefit someone in order for that to happen.
 
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