Pool is cool [again]

The post-World War II image of a pool hall calls to mind characters — mostly men — smoking cigars and shooting pool, tossing dollar bills on the table.

But as decades passed, that once-shady image dropped away and pool hall owners learned to treat pool as either a competitive sport or a nightly hobby.

'I think it will always have the taboo of being the dingy sport that the hustler has played,' said Michelle Siversten, the manager of Corner Pocket in Cedar Rapids.

'But it has rounded out to be anyone's game. It has cleaned up its image a lot, and I don't see the competitiveness going away.'

Dennis J. Wolrab has owned Corner Pocket for five years. The original 2,500-square-foot location was located only a few blocks from the current venue at 602 Second Ave. SW.

The city bought his other location to be used for the proposed Cedar Crossing Casino.

He moved into the new space roughly three years ago, and it afforded him 6,000 square feet, with space for up to 12 pool tables. But it took almost two and a half months of work to create the pool hall from the building's shell.

Wolrab and Kurt Luedtke, the owner of Fat Wally's in Cedar Rapids, agreed space is necessary in a pool hall, with each having their pool tables set aside from their bar areas.

Wolrab himself is a pool shark. He started playing pool as a child and later worked at A Leisure Time, a billiards and sports bar in Cedar Rapids that since has closed.

While working there, he and a co-worker would shoot pool once the bar closed until the wee hours of the morning, perfecting their craft, he recalled.

He then traveled to pool tournaments, and before opening Corner Pocket he asked his fellow players if they would consider playing in his pool hall. Once they voiced their support, he moved forward.

To his advantage, there aren't many pool halls in Iowa, he said.

Wolrab, who said he's probably played pool in more than 50 halls, took aspects he liked from several of them — from the amount of space surrounding the pool tables to the types of tables themselves.

Wolrab has traveled to Las Vegas for annual pool tournaments, scoring in the top 25 among hundreds of pool players. And he hopes to bring the national attention to a local level.

This fall, he intends to host the first annual fall classic, with 200 pool players from around the world.

Wolrab said he has 29 league teams playing pool in Corner Pocket. One of his walls is lined with plaques from state competitions, with many pool players who play in Corner Pocket taking home first or second place finishes.

One of his next ventures is to create a women's league for pool. While the women who play at Corner Pocket have won state championships in pool, he is hoping to increase their participation in the weekly leagues.

Fat Wally's, a pool hall that has been in Cedar Rapids for roughly 17 years, hosts pool tournaments every Friday, depending on the number of interested players.

But in addition to accommodating the competitive pool players, Luedtke said pool halls also have become slower-paced hangouts, shedding their rough-and-tumble image. He has hosted bachelor parties with fathers and sons, along with couples looking for a date night.

Pool halls, in general, are more low-key than other types of bars because patrons simply come to play pool, he added.

'I don't have the drama of other bars,' he said, 'and I don't have the abuse of alcohol.'

But Wolrab believes the gradual rise in billiards could fade. Most of his customers are between 25 and 32 years old, with few customers below that age.

Siversten said Corner Pocket struggled to have 12 children join a summer league, noting, 'It just isn't what it used to be.'

Wolrab recalls visiting pool halls as a child, eager to learn to play, but that same youthful excitement is missing from current pool halls.

'I'd beg my parents to take me there, even though I could barely look over the table,' he said. 'Now, there's Wii bowling.'