How disappointing.

I’m pretty sure virtually every pool player or fan on social media has seen at least some reference to the annual “Pro Classic” at Buffalos in Jefferson, La., just on the west edge of New Orleans.

The somewhat formal and profession-sounding “Pro Classic” title is actually a tad misleading. Sure, it is a legitimate tournament featuring many of the pool world’s top professional players and one-pocket specialists. And the added money and “official” tournament prize fund are decent.

But let’s be realistic here. The bustling poolroom’s annual one-pocket tournament (accompanied by a 9-ball event) turns the pool world on its collective ear for five days every May for one reason — gambling. In typical New Orleans style, Buffalos is wide open during the Pro Classic. Players, backers and action-crazed gamblers from all over the country roll into Buffalos with duffle bags filled with wrapped stacks of $100 bills. Buffalos is cash friendly.

There is no shortage of game-making on the tables, with skill levels playing second fiddle to sheer intestinal fortitude. But the pool tables at Buffs are just as likely to be accommodating coin-flip action and card games. In some ways, Buffalos’ annual event can make the Derby City Classic look like Sunday school.

Of course, what makes Buffalos know around the pool world is the Calcutta that takes place prior to the main event. Over the past several years (ironically, since high-stakes but admittedly average player Carl Bolm paid Buffalos owner James “Buffalo” Leone to make the event smoke-free), the Calcutta has produced blind bids that top the entire Calcutta a most events. The 2023 Calcutta topped $200,000, and the 2024 auction weighed in at a hefty $314,800. With the Calcutta paying out to the top eight finishers and payout percentages gifting nearly forty percent to the winner, it makes for a pretty fair payday to the money man (or “corporation”) who bid on the eventual champion. And with players often being afforded the opportunity to “buy” a share of themselves, the winner can count on a nice bonus to his “official” top prize.

All of which makes Buffalos the place to be in May.

For several years, I’d earmarked Buffalos during the Pro Classic as a bucket list story. In fact, Billiards Digest had planned to send a writer to the event in 2023, but we just couldn’t get it dialed in. And we even heard about our lack of attendance from Mr. Leone himself in the form of a questionable social media post. (All in good fun.)

But this year we didn’t miss the opportunity, sending Houston-based sportswriter Peter Warren to NOLA and hiring a terrific local photographer for a Buffalos Emersion class, so to speak. And, again, while the tournament itself is worthy of coverage, it was the atmosphere and subculture that we sought to capture.

It’s gritty and wild and eye-opening at Buffalos, and we loved every minute of it. It’s stark contrast to the professionally staged tournaments that Billiards Digest generally covers to fill its pages.

But make no mistake, events like Buffalos are as much — and probably more — a part of the fabric of this sport as Matchroom’s and Predator’s and Pat Fleming’s high-profile pro tournaments. It’s much like the days of Johnston City, where the blend of gambling and hustlers and Runyonesque characters was what drew ABC Wide World of Sports television and magazines like Sports Illustrated to the doorsteps of that dusty little Southern Illinois burg.

It always gets me wondering what would happen if someone managed to comingle the two.

If that happened, pool might find its sweet spot in the sports/pop culture world.