I researched some more about the relationship between Allen Ginsberg and Carl Solomon. They met in a mental hospital in New York. I think that there was a good chance that they played ping pong with one another(as part of their treatments) which is why it was showed up several times in the poem. It was probably one of the good memories that Allen Ginsberg had of Carl Solomon, because it stood out well among the other much more serious and depressing things within the poem.
In response to Benjamin, I don't think the placement was random. It almost seems like a bit of comic relief in a series of dreadful treatments. In addition to that, I definitely agree with it being a metaphor for something. Benjamin and Josh both had very good ideas about what it could stand for, but I'm still not sure which one of the those is what was intended(or if both or none was intended by Ginsberg).
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