Where is the pool community HEALTHIEST in the US
- Thread starter Bamacues
- Start date
Depending on your skill level, you can play every night of the week in a different place in the greater Phoenix, AZ area.
i think the memphis area is doing pretty well .
we had one pool hall close last year but the others are doing ok from what i see.
tracy at high pockets is doing an oustanding job providing for the pool community besides being an all around nice guy.
he recovers every table when needed, mostly twice a year, put in all new flat screen tv's, replaced all the stools, added 2 more bar tables .
he has put on some tournaments bringing some of the better players from the tri state area. he hosted archer and varner a few weeks ago and when their plans fell through at another venue he brought them back for a 2nd show. he brought in mike massey this weekend for a show.
there are 14 apa divisions in this area playing every night of the week. 2 memphis pool league divisions on mon and tue nights. 2 napa league divisions playing on wed and thur nights.
also several places hold in house leagues. you can find several cheap tournaments to play in every weekend, some handicaped and some not.
with all that going on i think the memphis area is doing pretty good.
we had one pool hall close last year but the others are doing ok from what i see.
tracy at high pockets is doing an oustanding job providing for the pool community besides being an all around nice guy.
he recovers every table when needed, mostly twice a year, put in all new flat screen tv's, replaced all the stools, added 2 more bar tables .
he has put on some tournaments bringing some of the better players from the tri state area. he hosted archer and varner a few weeks ago and when their plans fell through at another venue he brought them back for a 2nd show. he brought in mike massey this weekend for a show.
there are 14 apa divisions in this area playing every night of the week. 2 memphis pool league divisions on mon and tue nights. 2 napa league divisions playing on wed and thur nights.
also several places hold in house leagues. you can find several cheap tournaments to play in every weekend, some handicaped and some not.
with all that going on i think the memphis area is doing pretty good.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island and southern Mass have some great places to play!
There is actually a problem getting a table at times.
The APA has taken over a lot of nights, and for those of us who aren't fans it's a problem. Weekends in the colder months means getting there early or waiting for a table due to casual players playing.
Good problems for owners, not so much for players.
Rhode Island and southern Mass have some great places to play!
There is actually a problem getting a table at times.
The APA has taken over a lot of nights, and for those of us who aren't fans it's a problem. Weekends in the colder months means getting there early or waiting for a table due to casual players playing.
Good problems for owners, not so much for players.
Houston, TX. And, things aren't bad here in the South Florida area. You can find something every weekend if you are willing to drive up to an hour.
Have you looked in your own backyard? When All Star closed a lot of those players went to Champions in Frederick, MD. Some went to Belles' which is also doing well. Champions has a lot of league players with league nights on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with a new league (non APA) possibly coming on Wednesdays.
How is Hagerstown doing? I always thought pool was alive there as well.
There were a few places for players in MA/RI area that I am in, but one of them, Country Club USA, closed down, I think Snookers is the only room in the area with a good population of regulars that know how to play. I think at least one other room in MA has players head there but it's a bit dingy, I went there once with my son, did not like it much. Tables needed work, rails were very random in how they reacted, carpet was held on with duct tape.
The Billiards Cafe in Ayer MA gets filled up pretty good, but there is no type of "action" to be found there. People play for a few dollars but the only time I see that is if they are playing 3-6-9 in a group so they have a chance not to lose much.
Phoenix also has 7 or 8 different Pool Leagues. Seem like that is about 4 or 5 too many.
I'm out in the sticks a little, but... Northern VA (not so far from you bamacues) seems very healthy to me.
- within 20 miles I have 2 places to shoot, a hard times that's meh and a true pool hall that recently renovated and supposedly is on the verge of redoing the cloth (which is way overdue).
- within 35 miles, an excellent "player's hall" with all diamonds, packed on league nights, with an actual pro as the house pro, and another one who shows up from time to time. There's another great place that just redid their tables even though they were just done 4 months ago, and shimmed the overly large pockets. There's also 2 fast eddies, both terrible equipment, but one of them has a good busy league night and atmosphere. Another place, red zone, just opened up with diamond bar boxes and a promise to add 9-footers in due time.
- within 45 miles, there's springfield, maybe a reasonable drive for a MD resident. Decent fast eddies, another meh hard times, and an excellent player's hall (Q-ball) with the best gold crowns in northern va.
- within 20 miles I have 2 places to shoot, a hard times that's meh and a true pool hall that recently renovated and supposedly is on the verge of redoing the cloth (which is way overdue).
- within 35 miles, an excellent "player's hall" with all diamonds, packed on league nights, with an actual pro as the house pro, and another one who shows up from time to time. There's another great place that just redid their tables even though they were just done 4 months ago, and shimmed the overly large pockets. There's also 2 fast eddies, both terrible equipment, but one of them has a good busy league night and atmosphere. Another place, red zone, just opened up with diamond bar boxes and a promise to add 9-footers in due time.
- within 45 miles, there's springfield, maybe a reasonable drive for a MD resident. Decent fast eddies, another meh hard times, and an excellent player's hall (Q-ball) with the best gold crowns in northern va.
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I think it depends on how you define "healthy" here in SD, we have one REAL world beater, SVB. (He is seldom here, and mostly somewhere else, so...) Other than him, there are a few decent guys but probably only a handful of guys that you could begin to consider a "short stop" With a certain fellow from eastern Iowa moving back home, Danny Olsen is now the strongest player in the state by quite a bit, but still far from "pro"
That being said, there are a thousands of league players, and the only game in town for 95% of those is bar box 8-ball. Almost NO 9' tables in an actual pool hall. I can count all of them on one hand here in Sioux Falls. Taking that into count, I would say there are 30-50 players in the state that can play most/all games (1P, 8,9,10-ball, banks, etc.) at a decent level, me not being one of them, but learning fast to balance my game.
With all of the above taken into consideration, I would say that pool here is healthy in quantity, but not huge in quality. I think that is because we have a lot of bar go'ers that turned into "pool players." On a side note, if you run a Triathlon tournament, bean bags, darts, pool, or any three bar games. I think you would be hard pressed to find a stronger state.
I would think Las Vegas, or New Orleans, (Buffalo Billiards, The Worlds Pool Hall, LOL, is located.) is probably the pool hot spot right now.
best,
Justin
That being said, there are a thousands of league players, and the only game in town for 95% of those is bar box 8-ball. Almost NO 9' tables in an actual pool hall. I can count all of them on one hand here in Sioux Falls. Taking that into count, I would say there are 30-50 players in the state that can play most/all games (1P, 8,9,10-ball, banks, etc.) at a decent level, me not being one of them, but learning fast to balance my game.
With all of the above taken into consideration, I would say that pool here is healthy in quantity, but not huge in quality. I think that is because we have a lot of bar go'ers that turned into "pool players." On a side note, if you run a Triathlon tournament, bean bags, darts, pool, or any three bar games. I think you would be hard pressed to find a stronger state.
I would think Las Vegas, or New Orleans, (Buffalo Billiards, The Worlds Pool Hall, LOL, is located.) is probably the pool hot spot right now.
best,
Justin
From the looks of it, New York City looks to have a thriving pool scene. Southern areas from Louisiana to Texas to Arizona look to be doing well also.
Dallas/Ft. Worth area is not doing badly either, unless you throw out the many different leagues around here (I don't think the OP intended us to).
Take out the leagues, and I'd say business is so-so.
Maniac
Hi Ray...good to hear from you.
I know that Champions has taken up a lot of the slack. I still play Senior's there on Fridays (Similar to Master's League). Hagerstown is hurting, for sure. With Hagerstown Billiards closed, all we have left are the bars and Hard Times. The folks at Hard Times won't take care of the tables, which caused some of the leagues to move to Waynesboro, PA. I am down to only playing the 1 day, which makes it hard to maintain any skill level.
When I asked about pool "Health", I wasn't necessarily referring to one single room in particular, unless it was the only or primary room in the area, but rather pool in general. The person who referred to Mass and RI was sort of what I was looking for.
Are the rooms, in general, having good turn-out and doing well financially? I know that percieved vs real income, etc may be quite different, from the perspective of the player who thinks the room is doing great, and the owner who is wondering how he will pay next month's rent, but generally, where do most of the rooms in the area have business most of the nights, leagues, etc that will keep the places happily running for years to come.
Joe
Southwest Missouri is not doing so well. Lots of bars with lots of bar tables, but bonafide pool rooms are few and far between.
I hear the St. Louis area is good, but as for Kansas City, I do not know. :smile:
I hear the St. Louis area is good, but as for Kansas City, I do not know. :smile:
DrOnePocket
Banned
Memphis is doing well and Tracey is one of the main reasons. He really seems to understand what it takes to give the customer a reason to come in to his place.
NYC pool scene is indeed doing well. Multiple league options for all. Beginner to advanced. Local tournaments such as Tri State and Predator for intermediates to Pro.
A welcoming and cool vibe from all players. Have to love playing in the beginner 8 ball league on a 9 foot Gold Crown or Diamond table with pro's such as Mika, Tony Robles or Jennifer Barretta practicing on the table next to you.
Here in Kansas
things are going okay. In Wichita, we have 6 main Pool rooms, and several bars with 4-7 Valley tables.
Stix, the Pool room I prefer, has 4 main tournaments a year, 2 9 ball, and 2 8 ball. They also have 5 weekly tournaments on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in which they match the pot 100%.
We, also, have Saturday Night Challenge Matches (we call them Grudge Matches) on a big table for $500/1,000 a match. We tape the matches,and they are uploaded to youtube. We also have a commentator that posts game by game on Facebook. We have a 3rd party Rack Girl for each match.
So far, we have had 33 Grudge Matches.
I am playing in 2 good tournaments the next 2 weekends, and then
the Shooters Thanksgiving Weekend tournament (128 players, allways fills) Handicapped 9 ball tournament.
Olathe has big tournaments, usually the Midwest 9 ball tour.
Hutchinson has 32 player tournaments. Salina has a couple of good tournaments a year.
So, in Kansas, Pool is pretty healthy compared to the rest of the country.
things are going okay. In Wichita, we have 6 main Pool rooms, and several bars with 4-7 Valley tables.
Stix, the Pool room I prefer, has 4 main tournaments a year, 2 9 ball, and 2 8 ball. They also have 5 weekly tournaments on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in which they match the pot 100%.
We, also, have Saturday Night Challenge Matches (we call them Grudge Matches) on a big table for $500/1,000 a match. We tape the matches,and they are uploaded to youtube. We also have a commentator that posts game by game on Facebook. We have a 3rd party Rack Girl for each match.
So far, we have had 33 Grudge Matches.
I am playing in 2 good tournaments the next 2 weekends, and then
the Shooters Thanksgiving Weekend tournament (128 players, allways fills) Handicapped 9 ball tournament.
Olathe has big tournaments, usually the Midwest 9 ball tour.
Hutchinson has 32 player tournaments. Salina has a couple of good tournaments a year.
So, in Kansas, Pool is pretty healthy compared to the rest of the country.
Bruce...Such a great attitude...NOT! Why do you even bother to post? You don't even play in a league...and never would (you're too cheap).
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com