Pool tournament brings all skill levels to Mike’s Break Room

LANDSTOWN — Among the competitors on a recent Friday night were a married couple who have both had success in national pool tournaments, a young sailor, and someone celebrating her 21st birthday. 

Some were serious about their pool. Others less so. But the the tournament, with a $5 buy in, is about fun, said Bob Cowan, who runs it and also shoots pool himself.

“We don’t come here to make money,” he said. “We come here to have a good time.”

 The tournament has been a fixture for more than two years at Mike’s Break Room on Tiffany Lane, just off Princess Anne Road. It’s casual, Cowan added, with rules against cheating, gambling and side bets.

Among the players were Jacki Duggan, 49, of Landstown, who this year won a women’s 8-ball championship in Las Vegas, and her husband, Bill Duggan, 43, with whom she took second place in a doubles tournament, also in Las Vegas. During a break in their games, they sat with their friend, Eric Moore, 37, of Kempsville. “This is a fun little tournament for a Friday night,” he said.

Owner Mike Wilson, 58, of Salem Lakes worked for 37 years at Southern Amusement before opening Mike’s Break Room, a sports bar with a passion for pool.

Wilson said a focus for the business is charity, and an autographed John Riggins football is being raffled off through the first week of the coming pigskin season. Some of the players bought tickets when they weren’t playing or catching up with friends.

Wilson is raffling the football to raise fund for a charitable group his son supports, Hard Places Community, which fights human trafficking of children. His son, Michael Wilson, will be taking a trip to Cambodia with his wife to support the group next year.

Reach Mike’s Break Room for information on the raffle via (757) 963-2229.