What is Billiards Digest?
Billiards Digest is “a monthly, full-color, glossy magazine covering every aspect of billiards worldwide”, published by Luby Publishing of Chicago — the company that also published Bowlers Journal until 2020 — and owned since 1994 by its editor, Mike Panozzo, and president, Keith Hamilton.[1] [2]
What does it cover?
Tournaments, player profiles, editorials, instruction and industry news in pool and billiards; an annual cue issue each April; the magazine’s Architecture & Design Awards, running since 1989; and a “Power Index” ranking of its own. Instruction columns come from professionals — Nick Varner, Mike Sigel, Jeanette Lee — with history from Mike Shamos and R.A. Dyer.[1] [3]
What is its reach and standing?
No circulation is disclosed, even on the advertising page, and no audit exists. It is a long-running independent print magazine, privately owned and advertising-supported, with no federation or betting ownership.[1] [4]
Since when?
1978, spun off from the Billiard Review section of Bowlers Journal with Jim Rempe on the first cover; bi-monthly until 1998 and monthly since. Panozzo has edited it since 1980.[1] [2]
Why does it matter in pool?
Because pool has no governing-body magazine and its digital press is thin; a Billiards Digest profile is the durable print record of a player’s standing, and its Power Index and awards are among the few published honours the sport has.[1] [3]
References
- Billiards Digest — About. Accessed September 2026.
- Luby Publishing — History of LPI. Accessed September 2026.
- Billiards Digest — home (Power Index). Accessed September 2026.
- Billiards Digest — Advertise. Accessed September 2026.