The fun pool hall in New York’s Capital Region!

Diamond Eight and all the APA players of the Greater Albany area want to thank Mike and Kathy Murray for their exceptional work in starting and maintaining the Greater Albany league for the past five years. Their enthusiasm for the league and love of the game was contagious. While Kathy deciphered our paperwork and made sure all the details were in place, Mike was building strong relationships with his players and helping build a strong foundation for the future of the league.

Although we are sad to see them leave their positions within the APA, we understand that change is inevitable. We are so happy to know both Mike and Kathy and owe them a debt of gratitude for their hard work, honesty and patience. More importantly, we want the Murrays to know their legacy is secure: their league is one that is based on having fun, the love of the game, and a great way to meet new people. We wish them luck in their future endeavors!

Diamond Eight sends a big welcome to Steve and Lisa Blaney, who have recently taken over the operation of the APA of Greater Albany league from our previous league operators, Mike and Kathy Murray.

Steve and Lisa met many of our league players during the 2008 Local Team Championship, held at Diamond Eight in June. We are very impressed with both Steve and Lisa’s enthusiasm for the league and they have expressed lots of ideas to help grow the Albany league. “We won’t be making any drastic changes just yet,” said Steve, “I really want to hear from the players; how things are working now and how we can work together to move forward. Mike and Kathy did a great job of starting the league and we want to build on their successes.”

We are happy to welcome Steve and Lisa and look forward to working with them! Do not hesitate to contact them through their web site to express your opinion or just say hello!

Don’t miss your chance to register to golf with us for a good cause! Sunday, July 20th is the date for our 8th Annual Edward M. Skawinski Memorial Golf Tournament. Read more about the tournament and download the registration form.

Even if you don’t golf, you can still be a big part of this great day! Join us for the “19th hole” (after-golf reception) starting at 2pm at Diamond Eight. We will have a great hot-and-cold buffet, cool raffle prizes, free table time and lots of fun! Mark the Shark may even make an appearance later for a special edition of karaoke! Don’t miss the fun! The tournament benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region, so mark your calendar now!

We are still accepting last minute donations for our tournament; any little bit will help us reach our goal! Thanks again!

Diamond Eight announces its “Summer Series” 9-Ball Tournaments, to be played Thursday nights during the summer, starting June 26th. Players who compete in 5 of the 10 tournaments will be invited to the final money-added tournament, to be held Thursday night, September 4th.

Tournament play starts at 8pm, with practice at 7pm. Sign-up by 7:45 pm. Your $15. entry fee includes $10 to the weekly prize find, $3 for table time, and $2 towards the final tournament jackpot. Diamond Eight will also add money to this jackpot!

The tournaments will be single elimination, BCA rules (Texas Express), and handicapped. The tournament director determines player rankings. As always, all decisions made by the tournament director are final.

The schedule for the Thursday night 9-Ball tournaments is as follows: June 26, July 3, July 10, July 17, July 24, July 31, August 7, August 14, August 21 and August 28.

Mike Goodspeed’s “Rack ‘em Up” advanced to the 2nd Annual Northeast Challenge, to be held at Big Shot Billiards in East Windsor, CT in August. Congratulations and good luck in CT!

More details and photos coming soon!

The first Northeast Challenge was won by none other than a Diamond Eight team, led by Tom Acciavatti! It was great fun, and Big Shot Billiards is a great room!

The 2008 APA of Greater Albany Local Team Championship is history and Cindy Dominy’s “No Clue” emerged from the fray as the tops in both 8-Ball and 9-Ball, earning the trip to Las Vegas to compete in the National Team Championships (NTC) in both formats.

This is the first time in the Greater Albany league’s history that one team was victorious in both 8- and 9-Ball. The other 8-Ball spot for the Vegas NTC was captured by Mulligan’s Bar in Comstock, NY, who squeezed out a victory against Diamond Eight’s “U Rack, We Run,” led by Wes Hotaling.

Congratulations to the two teams and good luck in Las Vegas!

More details about the weekend and the great competition will be coming soon, with lots of pictures, too! Stay tuned!

The APA Local Team Championship weekend is fast approaching. We open at Noon on Friday the 6th for you to get some last-minute practice! The sportsmanship “play-in” matches will be held Friday night at 7pm. Don’t miss the early action!

We will be open at 8am on Saturday morning (the 7th), the first day of the official LTC tournament. We have a special breakfast menu planned and plenty of coffee. (Please note: we don’t allow outside food or drink and there are no exceptions) We have also lined up a great lunch and dinner menu to get you through the day and night! We also have some great (cold) drink specials throughout the (according to the forecast, very hot) weekend.

We will be open 1 hour before start time on Sunday also.

We wish you the best of luck in the tournament and are looking forward to help make your weekend memorable!

Just a reminder that Summer Session starts this Sunday, June 8th.

Tom Acciavatti is probably the most dominant local pool player in the Capital Region. His successes in the APA and other leagues and tournaments are (almost) countless.

Tom has recently taken a trip down memory lane while renovating his downstairs family room and organized all of his pool trophies (and one horse racing trophy) into a beautiful display of his accomplishments. It is quite a testament to his ability and competitiveness. The awards go back over 25 years. We sat down with Tom and asked him a few questions. Click the link to read the interview and see more photos of Tom’s collection.

[Read more →]

After a grueling week-long business trip, our good friend Jackie Ford couldn’t wait to go home. So he went straight home…to Diamond Eight! “I was away for a week and didn’t play any pool. I was at the airport, and I had to pass Diamond Eight anyway…,” said Jackie. We love you, Jackie!

Jackie has been a Diamond Eight regular for many years and you can usually find him shooting 9-Ball or Straight Pool. “Straight Pool is my favorite but I don’t get to play it enough.”

Jackie is president of Adirondack Area Network, a not-for-profit telecommunications company, involved in distance learning, telemedicine and videoconferencing.

Stacy Mendrick is the First Lady of Trick Shots! Stacy is the first woman to compete with the men in a ranking Artistic Pool tournament! She was dubbed “The First Lady of Trick Shots” by the Magician himself, Mike Massey. In addition to being a competitor on the trick shot circuit, Stacy also sits on the board of the Artistic Pool and Trick Shot Association, the governing body of artistic pool.

Stacy’s husband Stefan also begun to compete in trick shot tournaments and made a strong showing at the 2008 Masters Championship in March. The couple have two beautiful children, who occasionally accompany them to Diamond Eight for practice.

Although Stacy has been a part of the Diamond Eight family for a few years now, she has recently accepted a part-time position at the front counter. Welcome aboard Stacy!

Stacy is also available to do trick shot exhibitions for your Diamond Eight party or event. Stacy puts on a great show and is especially great with kids!