BAR: THE POOL HALL
The Pool Hall at the Wynkoop Brewing Co., 1634 18th St., is on the second floor of the beery LoDo bar and restaurant. It’s a big, woody room with 22 pool tables lit in classic style with three lamps above each, shaded by green glass. You expect to see Fast Eddie lounging in a nearby chair. Sixteen stools are cued up at the bar; dozens of tables fill the hall in clusters. Local art is scattered on the walls. Flat screens abound. A shuffleboard game sneaks in for those uninterested in the pleasures of pool. Dartboards are safe against one wall. And you can play it free here 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday; other times it’s $3.50 per person, per hour. Rack ’em up.
GRILLED: MELISSA LITTLE
Melissa Little, 40, is the house pro at the Wyn- koop Pool Hall. They call her The Viper, with respect. She has her own tournament table at the Wynkoop, where some VIPs can play and where she gives lessons, to pros, to old-timers, to children. She’s from Boulder, a product of Boulder High and a few years at CU-Boulder. An admitted tomboy who played football and was never afraid to get down and dirty, Little first met a pool table when she was 17, and it was love at first break. But she resisted making it a career until she dropped out of CU at 24. When she’s not at the Wynkoop, she’s touring the pro circuit, ranked fourth in America, 17th in the world. She orders an iced tea.
BH: So what do you love about pool?
Little: I love the competition. I love competing. If I was playing any other sport, I would be just as vicious. That’s what it is.
BH: Is pool very physical?
Little: Absolutely. Any kind of game takes a toll on your body. I had reconstructive surgery on my shoulder. I have to get a back operation. You’re on your feet a lot, and you walk around that table for miles and miles, going in circles, hour after hour.
BH: What’s your game?
Little: Nine ball.
BH: Should I know what nine ball is?
Little: Well, if you watch pool on TV, that’s all they play. A ball goes in and it stays in. They changed the rules about 20 years ago. It’s also called Texas Express, and that means all balls stay down. This is for ESPN coverage so we don’t bore the audience.
BH: What’s the difference between women and men in pool?
Little: I think it’s evolution. Women didn’t start playing pool until the ’60s, really. And the women who played it then, were, well. . . . Over the years it has become more of a family sport and you see beautiful women playing pool on TV. We just haven’t been around the game that long, but we’re closing the gap.
BH: Do you play against men?
Little: I played in the men’s event last week at the Bar Tables Championships. Two hundred men and two of us women, me and the Texas Tornado. I finished 25th, and that’s not bad. But she won the women’s event. I think I tired myself out playing against those guys.
BH: You think there will come a time when a woman is world champion?
Little: I think that we can compete with the men, but maybe not on a regular basis. There are so many great men players and not so many women, just a handful.
BH: Is it a kind of sisterhood?
Little: Absolutely. Off the table. You get on the table and it’s all business.
BH: What about men in your life?
Little: I am engaged to Mark Haddad; he’s a professional player out of Sacramento. We’ve been together seven years. We just never have time to get married. We both travel a large amount of the time.
BH: Do you play each other?
Little: Very rarely. We’re too close, if you know what I mean.
BH: How is this job?
Little: I’ve been here for eight years. It’s hard to find a job playing pool, and you can’t make a living off of tournament wins. So the Wynkoop is my sponsor, and in return I get this beautiful pool room and they said, “Do what you can with it.” So I teach pool, I give lessons and I have a kids boot camp. You have to get kids involved in pool when they’re young. It takes 10 years to be half-decent.
BH: How much do you play?
Little: I play every day, on my table that’s here. I come in early, before the place opens.
BH: What about etiquette in pool?
Little: There’s a lot of it. You leave the chalk facing up. No jump shots. Amateurs like to scoop the ball, and they don’t realize they can rip the cloth and it takes $400 and four hours to re-cover a table. You don’t sit on the table, and you don’t put drinks on the table.
BH: Can you smoke during a tournament?
Little: No. There is no drinking and no smoking in professional pool at all.
BH: Not even a cigar?
Little: Not even a cigar. And no cussing, and no cellphones. Nothing. Just a little quiet music in the background, that’s all you get.
BH: Do spectators ever yell out before a shot?
Little: No sharking. That’s a shark move, and in pool that’s a big no-no. We’re so disciplined in some respects, but any distraction to a pool player can set him off.
BH: What’s your idea of happiness?
Little: Playing pool all day long.
BH: What about bumper pool?
Little: I tried it once. It’s stupid.
BH: What trait don’t you like in yourself?
Little: I’m real stubborn.
BH: What don’t you like in other people?
Little: Their driving. I hate the way people drive.
BH: Do people reveal their character while playing pool?
Little: Absolutely. Your whole life is on your shoulder when you’re playing pool. I can tell if you’re disciplined or undisciplined. Some of the girls have real poker faces. You can’t tell if they’re upset. But if you show me any emotion while playing the game, well, that’s why they call me The Viper. If I sense any weakness, well, it’s all over.
BH: Do all pool women have nicknames?
Little: Yes, the tournament director creates them from the characteristics of your game. We have the Duchess of Pool, The Striking Viking, The Black Widow. And I am The Viper.
BH: What’s your greatest extravagance?
Little: Shopping. I love to shop. I go to the outlet malls, all over the country. I love the Coach outlets.
BH: What do you think is overrated?
Little: I would say hip-hop.
BH: Who or what is the greatest love of your life?
Little: God and pool.
BH: When and where were you happiest?
Little: Representing the United States at the World Championships. To represent your country is something else. Oh, man.
BH: What talent would you like to have?
Little: I would like to play a sport where I could make more money, like golf. Anything.
BH: Alcohol?
Little: No. I quit drinking seven years ago. Alcohol and professional pool don’t mix. You really have to have your marbles upstairs in order to play pool.
BH: If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what would it be?
Little: A fish would be good.
BH: What’s your favorite thing to do?
Little: Go on vacation without my pool stick.
BH: What do you consider the lowest depths of misery?
Little: Losing two and out in a tournament.
BH: What’s your most marked characteristic?
Little: I have a lot of heart.
BH: Books?
Little: I liked the book “90 Minutes in Heaven.” I lost both my grandparents within a month, and I promised myself I would read the Bible from beginning to end. I’ve been reading it for five months now.
BH: Do you listen to music and wear headphones when you practice?
Little: I do. If I take away one of my senses, like hearing, it forces me to stay down on a shot.
BH: Do you practice with women?
Little: Never. I only practice with me and men. I play like a man. I don’t even know how to play like a woman.
BH: What do you dislike?
Little: Beets and liver. Oh my God.
BH: What’s your greatest regret?
Little: Not having kids. Not many people can say they love what they do, and I truly do. But the one thing I miss is having kids. I love kids. That’s why I teach so many kids, I think.
BH: Movies?
Little: We need a new pool movie, one that’s not about gambling and drinking and hustling and suicide. There can be a dramatic pool movie that doesn’t revolve around all of that. Like that boxing movie, “Million Dollar Baby.” It reminded me so much of me when I walked into a pool room in the early ’90s. I stuck out like a sore thumb. And I had a mentor who came out of retirement to help me with my game. So I’m like that movie, except for the ending. God forbid, I don’t want to go the way she did.
BH: Who do you like to play?
Little: Challenging celebrities is one of my favorite things. I played Charles Barkley. I played Manny Pacquiao. Some of these people think they can play, but they can’t beat me, I’ll tell you that.
BH: What has pool taught you?
Little: A lot of things. It teaches you about discipline, manners, being social, It’s interesting and exciting to watch those balls go into pockets. It teaches you ethics.
Interview conducted, condensed and edited by Bill Husted: 303-954-1486 or bhusted@denverpost.com.
