ioCross said:
While these events didn't happen today, i found out two of maryland's few remaining player's poolhalls are closing down. Bluejays, maryland's oldest poolhall, having opened it's doors around 1910 i believe have decided to close down. Barry, the owner apperently just came in one day, and said "f*ck it im done" and closed down. He sold most of the tables and such. It's a shame, it was one of the few PoolHall pool halls left.. no jukebox, beads used for straightpool strung about the lights, sigh....
but you can't blame him for shutting down. rent was 10k a month for a place that probably made nowhere near that per month. i had noticed that after the smoking ban, business had fallen a lot, and in the back of my mind worried if that would effect business, but never would've believed/guessed that it would shut down.
I was truely saddened when i heard about this news.
to add salt to a fresh wound, i found out jack and jills was closing also. this was the poolhall featured in tony anglioni(sp)'s book, when he went to maryland and played danny green. Jack and jills used to be THE action room in maryland. a lot of the best players/roadies/hustlers went through that room throughout the years. there was a point in time a few years ago that you could find 1k - 5k action there on several tables every night.
it's a sad state of the sport we all love and enjoy when tons of history are being closed down just because owners can't afford to pay rent any more.
With those two rooms, and bill and billies having shut down a few months ago because the house man there was a dickhead who decided to sue the owner maryland has lost 3 quality poolrooms in the span of 5~6 months.
Quality pool rooms, may you rest in peace.
i will now mourn a beautiful game which deserves better than what it's at now.
I thought I would read all posts before responding so here goes:
I started playing at the Blue Jay in the 80's and was considered a regular there until the mid-90's when I stopped going. I did not know that it was the oldest room in Maryland, but it was a crappy room. I say that with some authority because of the number of years I spent/wasted there. So why did I remain? Because there was "something" about that place...maybe the familiarity of the people, the workers etc., something kept pulling you back. We used to joke about the room being just a front for the poker machines (the cherry machines came later). Even the food (cardboard pizza and hotdogs, one candy machine, one coffee machine and one soda machine) was sub-par...but we kept coming back. No real players ever came through there, except maybe to steal, and they did not stick around because no one at the Jay ever bet heavy. Sure, you had your high-dollar games once in a great while, but everyone knew the Jay was NOT the place to be for action. Yet somehow we preferred to bet amongst each other occasionally, and we preferred the Jay to VIP across the street, and NOBODY went to Centennials up the road! Frank the house man was VERY cool, and nice to everyone. Barry was a headcase but people really liked him too. He was harmless, and Al always had an interesting story or three...
The equipment, from the lighting to the felt and the ventilation, was really bad, but we still kept coming back...
To be fair, I have not visited in at least five years so I really can't make any comments about the state of the place when it closed...but it is the end of an era.
Regarding poolrooms closing in MD, the first one to close in recent years was a popular establishment in Laurel called USA Billiards. I became a reg there after I stopped going to the Jay, and my game improved as a result...or so I'd like to think...
They shut their doors due to high-rent as well, and they did not have machines or alcohol, so they made their money from the bangers.
Bill & Billie's was next, but the comment about the houseman being a dickhead could not be further from the truth. I know the houseman, and he is quite simply a decent guy.
The Blue Jay and Jack & Jill's were next. I also heard that Hot Shots closed on Pulaski Highway, but I am not sure.
Another poster mentioned that pool halls need to make their money by upscaling and attracting the mainstream crowd. The days of sauntering into a "poolhall" seem to be fading fast.
End of an era indeed.
I'd like to add that Big Daddy's is a very nice place. The owner is a player who understands what pool players want/need. Plus he is expanding soon. Some people have complained that the tables are too close but that will change in the next month and a half or so.
I would imagine this place may be the spot for the Tiger Tour when all is said and done, at least I hope so.
