Here's Our View......
Aside from pool halls, bars and amusement arcades, pool tables have begun to creep into ever more unusual and innovative spaces in recent years. From providing some much-needed R&R in the breakout room of a working office to helping hotel guests unwind in the front lobby, the humble pool table is now available far and wide.
Nonetheless, we believe that it still has more ground to cover. How about a quick frame while you’re waiting for your restaurant reservation? A chance to win money at your local casino? Or maybe even a game played underwater? Here are some of our ideas for where we’d like to see pool tables within the next decade.
Restaurant Foyers - There’s nothing worse than arriving on time for a dinner reservation, then being told you’ll have to wait because the previous guests haven’t yet settled their bill or vacated your table. In most cases, patrons are invited to take a seat at the bar until their spot becomes free or, worse still, wait by the foyer. But what if there were a number of pool tables provided for exactly such a scenario which were available to play, free of charge, for those waiting to eat? Nothing whets your appetite like a game of eight-ball, which is why we think this idea has real potential.
Casino Floors - When you think about it, it’s kind of amazing that pool tables aren’t already present in more casinos. Sure, more and more people prefer to play casino online these days, but that doesn’t mean that brick-and-mortar establishments have become obsolete. Given that people often enjoying laying wagers on the outcome of their pool games, a pool table would make an excellent addition to any casino floor. The house could even employ a resident shark, against whom budding punters could pit their skills to try and win some cash.
Airplanes - Pool tables are already becoming more commonplace in airport waiting areas, but what about on the plane itself? The game is widely popular on cruise ships, so why not transplant it into other forms of transportation, too? Railway carriages could provide a good location for them, though the narrow widths of most trains could leave you a little short on elbow room. But the expansive dimensions of 747s and the suchlike could make for a perfect place to position a pool table while up in the air and make the journey go that little bit faster.
Swimming Pools - At first consideration, the idea of swimming pools and pool tables seem so far removed from one another to appear nonsensical – and perhaps they are. However, there are already some prototypes of underwater pool tables in development, wherein the balls contain special weighted properties to keep them grounded. Although this is certainly a novelty idea and nothing more, we think it would be lots of fun to shoot some solids and stripes while holding your breath underwater.
As a fast-paced and hugely enjoyable game, there’s a place for pool in many more environments than it’s currently featured. These are some of our favorite ideas for the future.