HUB Billiards room offers cheap fun

There are sharks in the HUB.

Pool sharks, that is.

Located near the Cellar in the HUB basement, the HUB billiard room attracts many students who wile away their spare time playing pool.

Some students may visit the billiard room sporadically, but the majority of the students who trek to the HUB billiard room are regulars who list shooting pool as one of their recreational activities.

"I see a lot of the same people here all the time for two to three hours," said Cope (freshman-chemical engineering). "Honestly, I don't know where they get the time for it."

Even though the weather recently reached record-high temperatures, Cope said it has not deterred the regulars from hanging out in the billiard room, which has no air conditioning.

Alan Gong (freshman-finance) said he plays pool in the HUB an average of four times a week. With each visit, he stays about two hours with his friends. Although he had always played pool before arriving at the University, Gong said he has been shooting pool now more than ever. His reason -- cost.

"Where I live in New York City, it costs five to $10 an hour to shoot pool," he said. "It's a lot cheaper here."

The cost to use a pool table at the HUB is $2 per hour. When players split the cost two or more ways, shooting pool for more than an hour does little damage to players' wallets.

Another regular at the HUB billiard room, Angie Li (junior-psychology) said she shoots pool practically every other day for three to four hours per visit.

Although she arrived at the University as a novice pool player, Li has come to excel in the game. Earlier this semester, she participated in "Challenge 98," a series of billiard competitions. Li reached the collegiate regional tournament at Towson State University in Maryland.

Whether one comes to the HUB billiard room as a beginner or as a pool shark, Li said shooting pool is a convenient and relaxing hobby for students.

"There's nothing better to do than play pool when you don't have a car," Li said. "It's just something to do to release the stress after a day of classes."