Will the poor economy make pool popular again
- Thread starter Kevin Lindstrom
- Start date
Maybe will help. Here in NYC, two local dives have been saved recently by the meltdown. The landlords apparently couldn't find anybody (i.e. Citibank, Starbucks, McD's or upper-crust boutiques) to gouge so they gave new leases to a pair of cheap-beer joints. Hopefully, we see more of that for mom-and-pop biz here, and poolhalls, too.
Kevin Lindstrom said:
Kevin, that's a great question. IMO it will hurt pool. Pool used to be a poor mans game. Pool rooms used to be quiet, dark, smoked filled places, where the only noise you heard, were the clicking of the balls, and low whispers. (The way it ought to be, and wish it still was, although some might not agree.)
When I was kid, pool was between .50-.90 cents per hour. In my dads day, it was something like a nickel. Like I said, it was a poor mans game. If you were rich, you had your own table, and had no need for a pool hall. So, the game was a great passtime, even during the depression, because it was affordable, even for the poor.
Not so today. Today we have the brightly lit, brass, glass, cocktail waitress, blaring juke box, "yuppatoriums", that pool has become. It became somewhat of a yuppy trend, and far from the game it was, even 30 years ago. At $10.00-$15.00 an hour table rates in most cities, (and even small towns), it's no longer a the poor mans form of cheap entertainment. Unless your a gambler, and you can run 'em, pool is not the cheapest way to have a good time any more. Sad, really. I'm not rich, but I'm not poor either, and if wasn't that I have access to pool tables that I can play on for free, I wouldn't be able to afford to play myself.
Just my $0.02.
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Pool players will find ways to make it to the pool hall regardless of the economic hard times.
The retail crowd has always found Pool Halls to be a cheap place for entertainment. Beer, activity (pool, darts, video machines and such) cost and of course the fine food offered.
Then again... poor management can ruin a pool hall regardless of the economic climate.
The retail crowd has always found Pool Halls to be a cheap place for entertainment. Beer, activity (pool, darts, video machines and such) cost and of course the fine food offered.
Then again... poor management can ruin a pool hall regardless of the economic climate.
Economy
Where I live, two rooms within 5 miles of each other are going in opposite directions. The first is much larger and used to be a great place, but is now being run by someone who has run it into the ground with poor decisions. Its a big leased property with high overhead, heating in winter and air in the summer. The other is much smaller, but the property is owned. Both have full service bars. Prices were increased on pool time, drink and food at the first of the year in the smaller place, but it seems no one has noticed. Business is good because of management. The other probably won't last the year.
Where I live, two rooms within 5 miles of each other are going in opposite directions. The first is much larger and used to be a great place, but is now being run by someone who has run it into the ground with poor decisions. Its a big leased property with high overhead, heating in winter and air in the summer. The other is much smaller, but the property is owned. Both have full service bars. Prices were increased on pool time, drink and food at the first of the year in the smaller place, but it seems no one has noticed. Business is good because of management. The other probably won't last the year.
I think this is a good question, and it might be a good topic for a thesis. In my opinion pool has thrived in down economies in the past due to it being an accessible, inexpensive blue collar activity. In McGoorty by Roberty Byrne McGoorty states that pool thrived in the depression because it gave out of work men a place to go and stay during the day when they had nothing else to do. There's probably some truth to that, but one I don't think our economy is in that bad of shape and I don't think people would act that way in a post industrial economy instead choosing to go back for further education or get a job in a service industry. Although, to some extent people are looking for less expensive ways to have fun and get away from negative things in their lives and pool can be a beneficiary of that.
StraightPoolIU said:
If you are thinking of the topic as a thesis you need to read Polsky's book Hustlers, Beats, and Others if you haven't already. His argument is that the pool demographic was not so much an issue of the economy but that of demographics. Pool was big when there were a lot of bachelors. The economy may promote people delaying marriage now, or at least delaying having kids. That could help. Believe me, it is harder to get to a pool hall when you have a couple young kids. Hard enough to get quality time on your own table. From 1850-1945 there were more bachelors. The '30's were a baby bust given the depression. Once the war ended and people got married, moved to the suburbs, had kids, had television, etc... pool went into decline. Also check out the new Malcolm Gladwell book Outliers for a discussion on some of the interesting effects of the birth rate in the '30's.
Rumor control says a "NEW" Room will soon open in Glendale, AZ. Called Sweet Tooth Billiards, (near PHX) it will be 7 x 24 x 365, and wil only serve Ice Cream, and Coffee. Will have Diamond Tables, this could be a sign that someone has a vision for the future in AZ of Pool. Personally I think that a miminum of BEER would be nice but that is just my opinion.
Kevin Lindstrom said:
it will help, i have a well thought out reason why that i will be glad to share(in its own thread) I have been awake for 24 hours at the Derby and am to lazy to go into detail, but again YES-to a extent, the internet/video games are still a hinderence to pool and shall remain so!
Fatboy said:
Let me know when you post the thread as I would like to read it.
Thanks to all who have offered opinions so far.
Kevin
Pool and the economy
Here in portland there are three pool halls that I have been frequenting for the last few years. Two are in the nicer parts of town and one in a crappy side of town. For some reason, I don't remember the last time I paid for pool in the nicer parts of town, but I always pay at the other one. It may have something to do with the nicer ones also being bars/restaurants(?) where the majority of there income is not from the tables. They charge 10 bucks an hour. The one that is still a pool hall is 5 an hour, but feels more like a pool hall to me. No hard liquor and no good looking women to distract one from the game. I haven't noticed a decrease in customers at any of them, because each fills their own niche. The one that feels like a pool hall is probably the last place in town to get action any time you walk in there. When people complain about 10 bucks an hour for a table, I usually tell them that 2 or 3 games of bowling will cost them the same. For some reason that statement is something that they can understand. Pool will live on, owners will just have to think of alternate ways to bring in income to profit instead of staying aflloat in these times.
Here in portland there are three pool halls that I have been frequenting for the last few years. Two are in the nicer parts of town and one in a crappy side of town. For some reason, I don't remember the last time I paid for pool in the nicer parts of town, but I always pay at the other one. It may have something to do with the nicer ones also being bars/restaurants(?) where the majority of there income is not from the tables. They charge 10 bucks an hour. The one that is still a pool hall is 5 an hour, but feels more like a pool hall to me. No hard liquor and no good looking women to distract one from the game. I haven't noticed a decrease in customers at any of them, because each fills their own niche. The one that feels like a pool hall is probably the last place in town to get action any time you walk in there. When people complain about 10 bucks an hour for a table, I usually tell them that 2 or 3 games of bowling will cost them the same. For some reason that statement is something that they can understand. Pool will live on, owners will just have to think of alternate ways to bring in income to profit instead of staying aflloat in these times.
I think at this point, for pool to become popular again has got little to do with the economy and more to do with the people governing this sport needing to get their acts together.
TheNewSharkster...Maybe in Seattle, but in much of the rest of the country the cost is $1 per game. All national tournaments and many regional ones are $1/game. On the east coast, in NYC, I've seen barboxes go for $2 a game (not to me, of course, as that's highway robbery).
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
TheNewSharkster said: