![]() I say, "sure," and he grabs a house cue off the wall and asks me what I'd like to play for. Then, around 8pm or so, a guy comes over and asks me to play. The first time I ever went there I played from early in the day to early in the evening for free, beating everyone I played for the table time. Man, I miss Chelsea's!Ĭhelsea Billiards has to be my favorite pool room of all time. ![]() Even on nights when I showed up & Johnny wasn't there, Ginky always made it point to say hello, or if he was playing, at least acknowledging me with a smile or a quick friendly glance. He introduced me to Ginky who in spite of having the most intimidating table presence I've ever seen, was a really nice guy. My dear, but departed, friend Johnny B, aka New Rochelle Johnny used to all but live there for a period of time in the early 90s. Whether it was playing all night with my friends or sweating ridiculous high stakes action, Chelsea Billiards was thee place to be in NYC on any given night of the week, but especially on weekend nights (with all proper respect to The Golden Q in Queens). I can remember like it was yesterday the feeling of the adrenalynn racing through my veins as I would walk through the front door 2 full size 12 foot Snooker tables to my left and 2 full size 12 Foot Snooker tables to my right, then the walk to the desk, all the while clocking which resident players were holding court (or hiding in the shadows). I was hoping to prevail on anyone who might read this, and had some pictures of Chelsea's, to perhaps post them here as a tribute to one of the truly great & remarkable rooms of the past. It was to Pool what St Patrick's Cathedral is to Catholics (and so many others) a behemoth of a palace to both worship & participate in the faith.Ĭhelsea's (as it was called) gave way to the hipster Slate before the digital age could really capture and show what a phenomenally great room it really was. Ah yes, the upscale 24/7 room on West 21st in NYC that was a Mecca for the Action & Nouveau player alike.
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