Same tables at poolhall.

F

fxskater

Ryan The Salmon Arm Lynn
Silver Member
I was looking to open a pool hall so i can start playing pool 8-12 hours a day. Ideally i would love to have 12 Gold Crown tables in there. Unfortunately i don't have $120,000 cdn. I am thinking of getting 2 deluxe 9 foot tables - Gold Crown, Diamond, Dufferin Challenger, Olhausen Championship Pro, black Crown etc. - and prolly 4 low end 9 footers by the same company, and 6 or so bar boxes to keep the kids off the nice ones. I would still be planning on putting simonis or championship cloth on all the 9 footers, along with Super Aramith Pro Balls. I might actually even double shim one of the high end tables. My question is this: Would this be a poolhall you wanted to play at? and would the difference be too big between the high end and low end 9 footers that people would be upset at my tournaments for the inconsistency? What do you guys think on this?

My whole reason for doing this is to basicly provide myself with a perfect playing environment, as there is no poolhalls within 45 mins of me. But obviously i want to turn it into a successful business. Any suggestions?
 
FX, have you looked around for some used tables. You can find used Gold Crowns in the U.S. for 15-1700 each. Try to keep the tables close to the same if you want to run tournaments. Good luck, Sam
 
Oriinally posted by fxskater
I was looking to open a pool hall so i can start playing pool 8-12 hours a day.
Click to expand...

The moment you open a pool hall your poolplayer cariera will be over!!! Don't think, that you can run a pool hall and play 8 hours a day! I never had my own, but I've been working in more than 10, because I thought the same way as you. Finally I quit working in such a places and bought myself a table. People will always boder you for something. You will have to take care of ordering things like drinks, food etc. You will never have a time for serious practice! But its up to you.
As far as pool tables I'd put only 9footers. Most players prefer those. Also as satman said, don't buy whole bunch of different tables. If possible try to get Diamond or Olhausen. Most serious tournaments are on those tables right now. Goldcrowns are great tables too.
Bar tables are money makers, but if that would be me, I wouldn't have them. You can make money on 9 footers if you know how. It would be nice if you'd have 12footer snooker and 10footer 3 cushion. Those will bring prestige to your place.
Need more advices. I can talk all day about this. I was thinking about openning one too, but I haven't won anything in a lottery yet :D
GOOD LUCK
 
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I have been in business for myself since April, 1972. I have seen a lot of businesses come and go in that time. One thing I do know, most seem fail due to lack of investment capital. You are going to find that everything you do will take more time and cost more money than you figured on.

Personally, unless you are just hip deep in money and looking for a way to spend some, I think you are going into this for the wrong reason. Sorry, just my humble opinion.
 
fxskater said:
I was looking to open a pool hall so i can start playing pool 8-12 hours a day. Ideally i would love to have 12 Gold Crown tables in there. Unfortunately i don't have $120,000 cdn. I am thinking of getting 2 deluxe 9 foot tables - Gold Crown, Diamond, Dufferin Challenger, Olhausen Championship Pro, black Crown etc. - and prolly 4 low end 9 footers by the same company, and 6 or so bar boxes to keep the kids off the nice ones. I would still be planning on putting simonis or championship cloth on all the 9 footers, along with Super Aramith Pro Balls. I might actually even double shim one of the high end tables. My question is this: Would this be a poolhall you wanted to play at? and would the difference be too big between the high end and low end 9 footers that people would be upset at my tournaments for the inconsistency? What do you guys think on this?

My whole reason for doing this is to basicly provide myself with a perfect playing environment, as there is no poolhalls within 45 mins of me. But obviously i want to turn it into a successful business. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
I hear GREAT WHITE billiards in Calgary closed last week so you might get tables from Paul Hanson.They had about 20 9 fts,not sure what kind.
 
fxskater said:
I was looking to open a pool hall so i can start playing pool 8-12 hours a day. Ideally i would love to have 12 Gold Crown tables in there. Unfortunately i don't have $120,000 cdn. I am thinking of getting 2 deluxe 9 foot tables - Gold Crown, Diamond, Dufferin Challenger, Olhausen Championship Pro, black Crown etc. - and prolly 4 low end 9 footers by the same company, and 6 or so bar boxes to keep the kids off the nice ones. I would still be planning on putting simonis or championship cloth on all the 9 footers, along with Super Aramith Pro Balls. I might actually even double shim one of the high end tables. My question is this: Would this be a poolhall you wanted to play at? and would the difference be too big between the high end and low end 9 footers that people would be upset at my tournaments for the inconsistency? What do you guys think on this?

My whole reason for doing this is to basicly provide myself with a perfect playing environment, as there is no poolhalls within 45 mins of me. But obviously i want to turn it into a successful business. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
You cannot play that much if you run a poolroom. My father, grandfather, and uncle all owned pool halls. My grandpa actually never played when he owned his business. My uncle and father both would play when they were working, and they both would get frustrated with the customers interurrupting their practice time. It seems to me, for most guys that open their own poolrooms, their game does get better at first but eventually it goes down because there is just so much involved with the poolroom. I believe if you want to open your own room you should do it for business reasons and not to improve your game. You will most likely be dissapointed with the results.
As far as the tables go, alot of roomowners will have a section of top of the line equipment with simonis cloth and then another section of lesser quality. You can use the nice tables for tournaments and your regular customers who play often will use the good equipment. You might be surprised how quickly and how much abuse the tables will take from your non serious players. I would definately have at least a couple of coin ops in the rooms as well. You can get a Valley 3 1/2 x 7 for about $2,500 brand new and it will pay for itself in less than a year. A lot of people prefer bar tables to regulation and they are great money makers and save space as well.
One last thing, I don't know if you are married or not but I have seen this business end a whole lot of marriages. I just thought I would share that, something to think about. Its not an easy lifestye for sure.
 
Tables

There will be a WPBA tour stop coming up at Casino Windsor. Perfect place to pick up 8 GCIV's at a very good price. If not there are posts on AZ where guys are selling tables, check them out.
 
Gold Crowns

I am going to look at a 4 by 8 Gold Crown tomorrow.The guy says he does'nt
know the difference between II III IV ect.Neither do I the price sounds right
I would appreciate your input ASAP THANKS
 
Hey guys im new to this

I dont even know where to start I would like some input ,But if this is
somekind of CLICK then hell with it
 
oldroller said:
I dont even know where to start I would like some input ,But if this is
somekind of CLICK then hell with it
Click to expand...

Yes- then hell with it. Why not? Don't get yourself one pissed off!

-pigy
 
Used tables

oldroller said:
I am going to look at a 4 by 8 Gold Crown tomorrow.The guy says he does'nt
know the difference between II III IV ect.Neither do I the price sounds right
I would appreciate your input ASAP THANKS
Click to expand...

The older tables have heavier frames...tops are similar...usually hard to find 8' footers..
 
oldroller said:
I am going to look at a 4 by 8 Gold Crown tomorrow.The guy says he does'nt
know the difference between II III IV ect.Neither do I the price sounds right
I would appreciate your input ASAP THANKS
Click to expand...

THE DIFFERENCE IS PRODUCTION YEAR OF TABLE,EACH YEAR THAT PASSES EACH MODEL GETS FINE TUNED AND UPDATED.
GOLD CROWN FROM 1961 TO 1976
GC 11 FROM 1976 TO 1978
GC111 FROM 1977 TO 1997
GC1V FROM 1997 TO PRESENT.
HOPE THIS HELPS...
 
Be sure that the table is in decent shape. Check rail cushions for response, also look under the table. Looking at the slate screws to make sure they are in tact will give you a good idea of how many times it has been moved.
 
I have never worked in a poolhall, but i do think i can work on my game a little for a few reasons. I will have a minimum wage Rack Boy there to deal with most the losers....er.... i mean.... customers that wanna bug me. The town i am in is very small (25,000 pop.) so i think my plan is pretty solid. I like the idea of getting used GC's. Snooker tables are easy to get and i would have one in there for sure. Gotta get my seniors afternoon golf game going. Any other words of wisdom.
 
fxskater said:
I have never worked in a poolhall, but i do think i can work on my game a little for a few reasons. I will have a minimum wage Rack Boy there to deal with most the losers....er.... i mean.... customers that wanna bug me. The town i am in is very small (25,000 pop.) so i think my plan is pretty solid. I like the idea of getting used GC's. Snooker tables are easy to get and i would have one in there for sure. Gotta get my seniors afternoon golf game going. Any other words of wisdom.
Click to expand...
Good luck to you........ I hope things work out for you, wasn't trying to be negative but I have seen this go bad for a lot of people. Just remember to keep a separate life away from the business and if you can avoid partners that would be good as well.
 
While Gold Crowns are awesome tables they are really expensive and IMO a waste of money for a pool hall to load up on. Get all Black Crowns as they play virtually identical to a gold crown at about half the price. A Black Crown is IMO also a better table then almost all the other tables by other makers, alot better then the Dufferin Challengers I have played on. A old pool hall called the Black Wolf in Calgary had 12 black crown 9-foots and they were solid tables that looked brand new after 5 years of play.

Any pool hall I would build would stay to the same table type, dont get afew of this and that table types, pick a type in your price range and get all the same tables so that they are consistent throughout your hall.

The Great White in Calgary had some Gold Crowns and some Medalists as far as their 9-foots.
 
Great Post!!

Great post Bigdog! I just worked weekends in a pool hall so I could play for free and you are absolutely right about how hard it is to play when people are always coming up to you asking questions. Even when I wasn't working, people would bug me. It was so bad, I stopped going to this pool hall after I quit working there, even though they were still letting me play for free!!

I used to play in your grandfather's old pool hall in Stockton. A lot of people still call it Boyce's even though the name has been changed umteen times! :D



thebigdog said:
You cannot play that much if you run a poolroom. My father, grandfather, and uncle all owned pool halls. My grandpa actually never played when he owned his business. My uncle and father both would play when they were working, and they both would get frustrated with the customers interurrupting their practice time. It seems to me, for most guys that open their own poolrooms, their game does get better at first but eventually it goes down because there is just so much involved with the poolroom. I believe if you want to open your own room you should do it for business reasons and not to improve your game. You will most likely be dissapointed with the results.
As far as the tables go, alot of roomowners will have a section of top of the line equipment with simonis cloth and then another section of lesser quality. You can use the nice tables for tournaments and your regular customers who play often will use the good equipment. You might be surprised how quickly and how much abuse the tables will take from your non serious players. I would definately have at least a couple of coin ops in the rooms as well. You can get a Valley 3 1/2 x 7 for about $2,500 brand new and it will pay for itself in less than a year. A lot of people prefer bar tables to regulation and they are great money makers and save space as well.
One last thing, I don't know if you are married or not but I have seen this business end a whole lot of marriages. I just thought I would share that, something to think about. Its not an easy lifestye for sure.
Click to expand...
 
Skater...just buy your own table and play on it if that's what you're looking to do. I don't know of anyone in a sports related business that partakes in their love of the sport just because you're on the scene all day, fact is, it's far less. Golf pro's and assistant pro's hardly ever get out to play on their own course...health club owners or employees work out less than ever or are forced to do it at the end of the day just before or right after closing...tennis pro's are playing with beginners while they're giving lessons. PJ Wiley was right up there on ESPN amongst the best players regularly until he opened a pool room. Now he's like everyone else, a struggling businessman who keeps very long hours trying to bring in the money.
 
drivermaker said:
......PJ Wiley was right up there on ESPN amongst the best players regularly until he opened a pool room. Now he's like everyone else, a struggling businessman who keeps very long hours trying to bring in the money.
Click to expand...

Actually it was CJ Wiley... Not trying to get nit picky.
But you are right, go in it for the intention of making money, you may be sadly disappointed if you plan to get a bunch of playing time. That is if you plan to run the business right and keep it open. Just IMHO...

Cheers, Joe
 
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