Aiming to pool in business

By Paul Clinton

With people staying at home for entertainment in the post-Sept. 11 world, Joe Fiscella expects a merry holiday season for sales of pool tables and other gaming equipment. If his projection materializes, it would be a dramatic turnaround from last year's dire winter at Triangle's Game Room Gallery. "Last Christmas was the worst I've ever seen," Fiscella said."[Sept. 11] just gave it the one-two. It just killed everybody's Christmas spirit."

And even though the economy is still slumping, Fiscella has seen his sales pick up, especially from customers who have recently bought homes in Newport Coast and are looking to Fiscella to stock their game rooms. He derives about a third of his yearly sales from the months of November and December.

In addition to pool tables, Fiscella offers jukeboxes, darts, foosball tables, air hockey games and shuffleboard. He also sells much of the accompanying accessories, including cue-stick wall racks, balls, lighting, bar stools and even large faux marlins for wall decorations. Of course, the pool tables are his bread and butter.

As the exclusive Orange County dealer for the Brunswick Corp., Fiscella offers a wide range of tables—everything from the solid mahogany Windsor and Montebello—selling for $7,000 and $9,000, respectively, to The Anniversary, a 1940s-style table with a $7,000 price tag. His average table sells for $3,000 to $5,000, with a range of $300 to $25,000.

Even though many of his tables sell as luxury items, Fiscella says he still tries to give his customers a lot of bang for their buck. "We like to give people good value," Fiscella said. "We have to service the community. We're here to bring a little joy and fun into people's lives." Fiscella, who also owns a store in Orange, sold his first pool table in 1978, a $300 Falcon table.

As for the table in his Garden Grove home, Fiscella, 50, said he owns The Cardinalle, a hand-carved 1978 model created by master carver Raymond Enkeboll. There are only several hundred worldwide.