You"ve been granted a wish and.....

S

socopool

Registered
can open your own pool room! How would you do it? What kind of pool tables? What kind of cloth, balls, lights, house cues? Would you put in a billiard table, snooker table, russian pyramid table, bar tables, a 10 footer perhaps? Would it be a player's room or banger's room? Leagues, tournaments , exhibitions? How would you set up the room? Bleachers, theater seating, regular chairs? TV's, flat screens, projection screen? Camera's for a live feed so people can see what's going on or videotape their play? Would you have a house pro for lessons? A bona fide house man or pro who can play anybody that walks in or a hot chick behind the counter or both? A bar? What kind of food?
This is a hypothetical question, but remember you still wanna turn a profit or at least break even and have a sweet place to hang out and have fun and feed your pool fix!
 
I would love to get involved in this thread and tell all but I'm afraid I will get all carried away with myself and live in a dream world for 30 min. Only to comecrashingback to earth and know I can't afford one :( Good idea for a thread though.
 
Honestly, I'd just buy Fargo Billiards or The Crooked Cue.

I'd like to live the dream of a billiards hall with great food (read: not just a deep fryer and a microwave), great tables, straight house cues, cue rentals, swag on sale, fireplaces, big screens, a real lounge, etc but I'm not sure you'd be in business that long. Stuff's expensive.

I know what I don't like as far as layouts:

When you walk in, you should not immediately face a table. The bar should not be in the back. You should not have to edge past players to get to where you want to go (the lounge/seating area, bathrooms, bar, kitchen). The problem is that sometimes you have to live with how the building and fixtures are laid out.

The reasons I don't like that layout (which is far too common):

A pool table should not be near a door that is opened/closed on a regular basis. The differences in temperature and humidity make it a pain to play on and having random people collect/gather next to it is just annoying.

If the bar is in the back, people have to cross the whole room, often getting in everyone's way. It also means you lose control over the door. If there's a problem I want my staff closer to the entrance. A set of rails that confine newcomers/leavers to an alleyway and guides them to the bar/service area can suffice for this though.

Layout is big for me. Random bangers have no idea how ignorant it is to stand at the side of your table, draping their digits into the corner pocket while they have a conversation waving a pint glass around to illustrate the emotion of their banter. Unless you're playing, stay the hell away from my rails. I'm paying $10/hour for them, go find your own. I am a one pocket player, and I seem to find the corners regularly; grimey pinkies in them or not.
 
I have this daydream often, and have put a lot of idle thought into it. Problem is it would take way too much space to detail it, and I'm certainly not gonna try to do so on my phone :)

I will enjoy reading what others post, though.
 
Damn it soco, when I opened this thread I thought I was gonna end up with 10 million dollars, or a mansion on lakefront property, or a weekend with Pauley Perette (Abbey on N.C.I.S.) :(. Dang it!!!

Maniac (doesn't want the hassle of poolroom ownership)
 
I have been collecting tables for the previous several years and am working toward opening my own place.

The original question is what would I do. I am trying to move away from all of the high tech stuff. I have several 12' snooker tables, 10' carom tables and a lot of 9' pool tables. I do not want a "pool hall". I want a place where all cue players can find what they are looking for. There are so many people that unaware that most of the other games even exist. It would be great to walk into a place where people have the opportunity to experience the entire gamut. In doing so I also want hall with the old feel, not a lot of bells and whistles, just well maintained tables and a relaxing atmosphere. Wooden floors, background music, cheap food, dim lights, cell phone jammer, and a payphone in the corner.
 
Do I have to turn a profit within the first 2 years or do I have unlimited funds to stay open indefinitely?
 
3 Pro Cut Diamond Pro-Ams, 3 standard Diamond Pro-Ams, 3 standard GC V's, 3 shimmed GC V's, 3 Pro Cut Diamond Smart Tables, and 3 standard Diamond Smart Tables on the main floor. I'd also like to have a billiard table and a 12' snooker table.

Tournament room with stadium seating with 10 Pro Cut Diamond Professionals, and a side "action" room off it with 1 4" Diamond Professional and 1 4" GC V.

All tables on the main floor would have Simonis 860, tournament and action room would have 860HR, and the billiard/snooker tables would have 760. Standard Diamond/Brunswick lights on all tables on the main floor, Gabriel lighting in the tournament/action room.

Your choice of Aramith Super Pro or Brunswick Centennial ball sets, and your choice of cueball.

I'd have a professional chef make the food menu, then train the cooks on how to make the food. Everything would be under 10 bucks, and daily specials would run. Full bar. House Pro would be nice, but not neccesary. Full service Pro Shop, including cue repair.

I'd have a large seating area that is slightly raised and overlooks the main floor. 4 seats per table on the main floor. 2 seats per table in the tournament/action room.
 
I'd put very little money into the tables and "player wants/needs". All of my money would go into marketing to the young crowd, alcohol sales, music, and food. From my travels, that is the only type of pool room that I have ever seen be really successful.
 
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