Terrified patrons were forced to lie on the ground as they were robbed at gunpoint at a Hamilton snooker club last night.
A woman knocked on the front door of the Waikato Snooker and Eight Ball Club on Rostrevor Street about 9pm and was buzzed in by staff, police said today.
She was followed by two balaclava-clad men who were armed with a gun. They "menaced" patrons and staff and demanded money.
They fled with cash and may have driven off in a black hatchback, police said.
Club president Bernie Endres told NZPA his staff and patrons were left shaken by the incident, and the club had remained closed today.
"The main thing is our members are customers are all OK but they were pretty shaken up," he said.
The pool hall was busy last night but nobody was hurt during the robbery, Mr Endres said.
Police described the woman as a light-skinned Maori or Pacific Islander, in her early 20s, with dark long hair and a chubby face. She was wearing sunglasses and a dark, anorak-style coat with long, black trousers with a red stripe.
One of the men was short and stocky and wearing a dark-coloured jacket, while the second man was also short and was carrying a blue and black bag with a small red logo on the front.
One witness said at least one of the men was carrying what appeared to be a sawn-off shotgun.
Police were at the snooker club until lunch-time today carrying out a scene investigation.
CCTV footage was expected to be released tomorrow but police asked anyone with information in the meantime to contact them.
