INTERVIEW
Speaking from experience,
location owners answer these questions
1. Does a location owner make more mon ey owning his
own pool table?
2. Is operating a pool table compatible with ru nning a bar
or other types of business?
3 . Is operating a pool table on time more profitable,
perhaps, than coin -op?
4 . Do pool table supplies present a problem for lo cation
owners?
5 . Is a pool table a one -time investment?
6. Is servicing and maintenance an easy task with a poo l
table?
For the location owner who is thinking about buying his
own pool tables , there are several things he ought to
consider before making such a leap. From behind the bar
or over a counter, the operation of a pool table can
appear to be a simple procedure. But many location
owners who thought this way and decided they would
make more money if they operated the tables themseives
are beginning to find out that it really is not the case .
Location-owned tables quickly fall Into disrepair, not
because they are location-owned tables , but because
there's a lot of intertia one has to overcome to keep the
tables earning at their maximum efficiency . The natural
tendency is to put off until tomorrow what should be
done today. The table needs to be reclothed, for
instance, but that is postponed until you have time to do
it. But, almost everyone will tell you , there is never any
time . And meanwhile, the tables , falling into more and
more disrepair, become less enticing for players' quarters.
And some things are just never considered when
buying your own pool tables, things such as replacing old
sticks, replacing lost or stolen balls, having enough chalk
around, maintaining the table's level-these are the little
pet peeves which location owners who tried operating
8
their own tables complain about most often . Of course ,
there are the major problems of reclothlng the tables, but
for those operators who have tried it, it appears that
operating a pool table is just so many headaches -
headaches they can do without.
This month , In a special three-part interview , PLAY
METER Magazine learned just that from three location
owners who tried operating their own pool tables and
then decided to have an operator, who specializes In
games and amusements, do it for them . In all three cases,
the location owners' responses were the same - the
pester of having to attend to the table on a daily basis
took them away from what they were really in business
for. They realized that a table controlled and maintained
by a professional operator is far more profitable for them
and is more appealing to players .
These candid interviews explore the little hassles of
operating a pool table (or pool tables) which are
oftentimes overlooked or ignored by those looking to buy
their tables - and, most certainly, are never mentioned by
those who are selling the tables . But the testimony is here
nonetheless, and it speaks loud and clear - a location ·
owned table can spell trouble . It can mean lower income
PLAY METER, September, 1980