I bought my table a few years ago and it didn't have a whole on the sides for dropping the ball in. The new tables have it. This is a pretty good table for the money. The safety tubes are a great idea but often need retightening (not a big deal). The ball does seem to stop on the table at random locations, I found this is due to the texture on the ball as a totally smooth ball is constantly rolling. All in all a fun table - you'd have to break into the $1000 range to get a better table.