What's the shadiest pool hall you've ever been to and why? Sound off.
Shadiest Pool Hall
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Subs Pool Hall in Bridgeville, PA; late 1960's, early 1970's. Fringe-mafia guys, juvenile deliquents over 21, prisoners of modern chemistry, thugs, goons, depressed factory workers. If you were allowed in, you'd have to fight your way out. The beer was warm, the food was terrible, the tables would have to be overhauled to be called scuzzy. The only way I got to see it was to go with my best friend, the baddest MF'er east of the Mississippi. The level of play was poor, the atmosphere worse. It made those dives in the movie "Chalk" look like palaces.
Can't recall the name, but it was dark old place in Gainesboro, Tenn., down a few steps from the main square. Great old benches down there and it all looked frozen in time at about 1926 maybe. Still something about it and the town gave me the vibe that if you won anything there you'd be looking around, hoping Burt Reynolds could save your ass and get you out of "Deliverance 2."
I can't remember the name of the place, but it was in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in the mid 1970's.
When we first drove up to the place, there were no windows and only one entrance with a swinging front door just like a saloon from the Old West. There was a long wooden bar on the left, and most of the patrons looked like they were feeling no pain, drinking whiskey in shot glasses. If I remember right, there were about four or five 9-footers. The front table had a sign over it designating it as the "Challenge Table," open to any and all comers.
There was a young boy on site who was wearing a black apron with pockets, and each time a game ended, a player would yell out "Rack," and the young tike would scurry up to the table and rack the balls for a quarter.
Way in the back on the left, there was a set of stairs which led to a tall stall or booth which had about a foot opening on the bottom. This was the ONLY bathroom; a unisex one, if you will. Every single patron in the joint could see the bottom part of one's legs and feet while they were, shall I say, relieving themselves.
When we got there, my road partner walked up to the challenge table and asked if he could play some. One of the three players looked at him like he was a martian and said, "We're playing for a hundred a game. You want in?" Not a very warm welcome.
After my friend won his first game, the players began to huddle, shooting dirty looks in our direction. We decided it was a good time to depart. They were visibly angry that the strangers in town won one. Visions of being tarred and feathered came to my mind, and I wanted out of there. Like any smart road player, we parked our car close to the entrance and beat feet.
JAM
When we first drove up to the place, there were no windows and only one entrance with a swinging front door just like a saloon from the Old West. There was a long wooden bar on the left, and most of the patrons looked like they were feeling no pain, drinking whiskey in shot glasses. If I remember right, there were about four or five 9-footers. The front table had a sign over it designating it as the "Challenge Table," open to any and all comers.
There was a young boy on site who was wearing a black apron with pockets, and each time a game ended, a player would yell out "Rack," and the young tike would scurry up to the table and rack the balls for a quarter.
Way in the back on the left, there was a set of stairs which led to a tall stall or booth which had about a foot opening on the bottom. This was the ONLY bathroom; a unisex one, if you will. Every single patron in the joint could see the bottom part of one's legs and feet while they were, shall I say, relieving themselves.
When we got there, my road partner walked up to the challenge table and asked if he could play some. One of the three players looked at him like he was a martian and said, "We're playing for a hundred a game. You want in?" Not a very warm welcome.
After my friend won his first game, the players began to huddle, shooting dirty looks in our direction. We decided it was a good time to depart. They were visibly angry that the strangers in town won one. Visions of being tarred and feathered came to my mind, and I wanted out of there. Like any smart road player, we parked our car close to the entrance and beat feet.
JAM
Shadiest pool halls
I was living in D.C. and took a computer class near Raleigh N.C.. I was stoked to find a pool hall near the hotel and I went and played the first day I got there. After about 5 minutes of everyone eyeballing me a guy came up and said "Ya ain't from round here are ya boy?" Talk about the theme to deliverence playing in the background. So, I did what any pool player would do.. I kicked his ass in 9-ball then got the hell out of there.
I was living in D.C. and took a computer class near Raleigh N.C.. I was stoked to find a pool hall near the hotel and I went and played the first day I got there. After about 5 minutes of everyone eyeballing me a guy came up and said "Ya ain't from round here are ya boy?" Talk about the theme to deliverence playing in the background. So, I did what any pool player would do.. I kicked his ass in 9-ball then got the hell out of there.
ANybody know if JAck& Jill's in Glen Burnie MD is still in business? I can remember being a bit frightened leaving there more than once. It was in this back lot, auto repair type of area. Totally hidden from everything, only 1 or 2 ways out and lots of places to hide. Never had any trouble there myself, but I know some did.
The old "Le Q" in Manhattan, NY. NYC is a melting pot of culture and at this joint, it was a melting pot of gangsters. You had Italian Mafia, Chinese Triads, Japanese Yakuza, Russian Mob, Latin Kings. The street level floor was okay for you to walk in and play maybe for a short time. If you had balls, you went to the basement level. How's that old saying go...come in standing up, go out lying down....
Black-Balled said:
LOL. Yep, Jack and Jill's in Glen Burnie is still rocking and rolling.
I can't remember when, but about 20 years ago, the now "Jack and Jill's" was called "Bill and Billie's," and it was a really cool pool room, kind of a family-like atmosphere of regulars. Linda Haywood [now Shea] was the pride and joy of the State of Maryland, and she frequented the place quite often. I remember sweating a few of her games sitting railside.
The soda fountain was comfortable and CLEAN, and they served homemade delicacies. I liked the tuna fish the best. There was always a pot of fresh coffee brewing, the drink of choice for most. With Pimlico Racktrack nearby, the track rats would gather in the mornings studying their Racing Forums. There were a lot of horse lovers that used to congregate during the day.
Those who enjoyed games of stake would never show up to Bill and Billie's until at least 12:00 midnight. Most of the local action players were out hitting the bars and wouldn't make it to the pool room until they closed for the night. Bill and Billie's was on every road player's list of places to hit because there was NEVER a shortage of action. Witnessed an on-the-road Efren Reyes there once!
Poor old Glen Burnie's Bill and Billie's of yesterday is no more, but today's Jack and Jill's still has a little personality to it. It's at least action-friendly.
JAM
ironchef. said:
never knew there was a basement.
there was a gang shooting there once. the gang got caught because le cue was next door to the police athletic club. several years ago, there was a mamouth billiards on 26th st that got robbed at gunpoint while we were playing. and vietnamese gangs would come in and start trouble with ANYONE.
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Almost all the rooms in Utah can get a little shady. A guy got shot in the nuts at the Ritz (where I mostly play) and once a guy put an unloaded gun up to a guys head(the victim didn't know this) and pulled the trigger. At EO's out on the west side a guy got beat to death out front. That place is kind of cleaning up but there used to be vomit and blood stains on the floor. The Cushion and Cue (which is closed now) had syringes all over the parking lot and hookers used to hang out in there a lot. A lot hi-jackings have happend at all three places. The best thing to do is avoid these places on Friday-Sunday nights. It is usually pretty tame through the weekdays.
-Andy
-Andy
JAM said:LOL. Yep, Jack and Jill's in Glen Burnie is still rocking and rolling.
I can't remember when, but about 20 years ago, the now "Jack and Jill's" was called "Bill and Billie's," and it was a really cool pool room, kind of a family-like atmosphere of regulars. Linda Haywood [now Shea] was the pride and joy of the State of Maryland, and she frequented the place quite often. I remember sweating a few of her games sitting railside.
The soda fountain was comfortable and CLEAN, and they served homemade delicacies. I liked the tuna fish the best. There was always a pot of fresh coffee brewing, the drink of choice for most. With Pimlico Racktrack nearby, the track rats would gather in the mornings studying their Racing Forums. There were a lot of horse lovers that used to congregate during the day.
Those who enjoyed games of stake would never show up to Bill and Billie's until at least 12:00 midnight. Most of the local action players were out hitting the bars and wouldn't make it to the pool room until they closed for the night. Bill and Billie's was on every road player's list of places to hit because there was NEVER a shortage of action. Witnessed an on-the-road Efren Reyes there once!
Poor old Glen Burnie's Bill and Billie's of yesterday is no more, but today's Jack and Jill's still has a little personality to it. It's at least action-friendly.
JAM
Seems to me I remember a Jack and Jill's around Baltimore more than 30 years ago (not the J and J's in Arlington, VA, but one in Baltimore). Could it be that Bill and Billie's resurrected the former name?
blah blah
Shoebat
I never went into Lazlo's Billiards in Bakersfield. I was there on a work trip and looked in the yellow pages. I drove by twice, realllly slowly. It was next to where prison buses would make drop- off releases, and on the other side was some kind of pay-per-day labor place.
The whole sidewalk in front of these three buildings was just covered with sitting and squatting rough men.
Decided to try the room on Ming instead.
The whole sidewalk in front of these three buildings was just covered with sitting and squatting rough men.
Decided to try the room on Ming instead.
Does anybody remember Paddy's 711 (sp?) in Manhattan? I remember stopping in there one night around one a.m. and this fellow came up to be and asked if I would like to buy a diamond ring. I asked him to show it to me. He pointed to a gentleman standing several feet away and said, "See that guy? He's wearing it!"
Wasn't E.O.'s Billiards in Utah where Poolhall Junkies was filmed? Too bad the guy who got beat to death wasn't Mars Calahan.
Yep, it was filmed at the Ritz(the very first part) and EO's. That is pretty funny about Mars. I hated that movie just like every other player in Utah. Too bad they didn't pan out when they showed EO's because it is really next to a gun shop and an ultimate fighting club.StraightPoolIU said:
The bathroom scene in the movie isn't EO's bathroom (you'd have to pay me to use the real one) That scene was filmed at the Rio Grande building in downtown SLC.
Jack and Jill's
I grew up in Arlington about a mile from Jack and Jill's. Rode my bike to the place and used to sweep the floor for table time when I was about 10 back in the mid to late 60s. I remember watching several elderly black guys play one pocket for money all day long. They were always dressed to the nines and played in a way that can only be described as "elegantly." Wish I'd have been old enough to appreciate it at the time. To a ten year old, it was just a cool place to go.
Lupo said:
I grew up in Arlington about a mile from Jack and Jill's. Rode my bike to the place and used to sweep the floor for table time when I was about 10 back in the mid to late 60s. I remember watching several elderly black guys play one pocket for money all day long. They were always dressed to the nines and played in a way that can only be described as "elegantly." Wish I'd have been old enough to appreciate it at the time. To a ten year old, it was just a cool place to go.
Brian in VA said:
I only stepped foot in there one time in my life. I was a teenager, and a couple of girls and me got the nerve to go down those steps into a billiard parlor -- with no windows, as I recall.
Being a native Washingtonian, one can't help but remember that this Jack and Jill's in Arlington [Seven Corners actually] was owned by none other than Weenie Beanie, a legend in his own right. He used to have hot dog trolley cars in the Arlington area which sold an assortment of hot dog delights, and rumor has it that he made a bundle.
One-pocket was definitely in vogue. This action room was on every road player's map, late '60s/early '70s. Luther Lassiter, Cornbread Red, and even Willie Mosconi, they all stepped foot in there at one time or another.
I remember a pool room in Petersburg, Virginia, right on the main thoroughfare. We were "on the road" and happened to drive by and wanted to check it out. It was an old wooden structure with a front porch. There was a huge sign displayed on the window that said: "No Women Allowed." I couldn't believe it. This was in the mid '70s. If only I had had a camera!
JAM [Walked in, anyway, and nobody said a word!
]
ironchef. said:
Hay thats not fair i use to play in le q ..And yes there were some gangster but thay love to gamble ..
and the worst pool room is a place down in Augusta Club 25 ..All bar box's, one way in 1 way out .Bugs dead on the spider webs .A real trap..tables all rolled Bad real bad ... After the break u'll have tops 5 balls layin on a side rail. nuts ..
a removable ladder
I once played in an all Puerto-Rican spot in Chicago that was in a cement floor basement. The entrance was a trap door and you had to climb down a portable ladder. It had 2 bar tables and nobody spoke English. Once you were in, the ladder was removed. I won about $900. I had no real problems getting out. Of course I made sure all the worst looking people down there were kept filled up with the drinks that I would buy them. If I had to do it again today, I would only do it with a squad of Navy SEALS as my backers.
Bank on brothers! Old school pool.
the Beard
I once played in an all Puerto-Rican spot in Chicago that was in a cement floor basement. The entrance was a trap door and you had to climb down a portable ladder. It had 2 bar tables and nobody spoke English. Once you were in, the ladder was removed. I won about $900. I had no real problems getting out. Of course I made sure all the worst looking people down there were kept filled up with the drinks that I would buy them. If I had to do it again today, I would only do it with a squad of Navy SEALS as my backers.
Bank on brothers! Old school pool.
the Beard