Carom Café

Location in Queens

The Carom Cafe is a pool salon and international tournament venue in Flushing , Queens , New York City .

history

The sports facility was founded in 2000 by world and US champion Sang Chun Lee and his friend and business partner Michael Kang , who is also a successful three-cushion player . With around 2,800 m² it is likely to be one of the largest billiard halls in the world. The salon alone operates 11 carom tables in tournament format. Since the Verhoeven Open 2017, the number of collision tables has been increased to 14.

In 2005, the international three- cushion tournament Sang Lee International Open (SLIO) in memory of Lee, who died in October 2004, was initiated by his wife, Ira Lee, and was held annually until 2008 by the United States Billiard Association (USBA) as a member of the Union Mondiale de Billiards aligned. Due to the number of participants of 96, the real “Open” status and its high prize money (2008: total US $ 125,000 , winner US $ 25,000), it was one of the largest and most renowned tournaments at world level.

After a four-year hiatus, the 2012 tournament was re-launched by Cindy Lee under the new name Verhoeven Open Tournament . Promoter is the company "Dragon Promotions", whose CEO Cindy Lee has been since 2005. She is not related to Sang Lee.

In 2017 the tournament was held for the first time with a record participation of 138 players.

The café has also committed itself to promoting disabled sports, so a handicapped three-cushion tournament is held there every week.

Pool and snooker play a smaller, but not unimportant role . National tournaments are also held there in these disciplines. The café is an official venue recognized by the USBA. The US players who take part in the Verhoeven Open etc. receive ranking points for the national evaluation.