# DPP #6 "News update from Spooky Pinball! Location review ULEK in Michigan! Pinball storytime!"

**Source:** Don's Pinball Podcast (regular feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2023-01-17  
**Duration:** 20m 48s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/donspinballpodcast/episodes/DPP-6-News-update-from-Spooky-Pinball--Location-review-ULEK-in-Michigan--Pinball-storytime-e1tir4j

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## Analysis

Don explores Spooky Pinball's production update for Scooby-Doo (entering full production with cabinets and boards being manufactured), reviews the company's history and game catalog, spotlights ULEK arcade in Monroe, Michigan (a unique mall-based pinball and laser engraving business with 30+ machines), and shares a nostalgic personal story about playing Elvira and the Party Monsters at a Santa Rosa pizza place around 1999.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Spooky Pinball's Scooby-Doo is the only announced pinball machine currently entering production among major manufacturers — _They've got the only one that's announced and actually is entering production. Naps Arcade posted photos of 20-30 machine cabinets with back boxes, boards being made, playfields being populated._
- [MEDIUM] Spooky Pinball's America's Most Haunted was produced in approximately 150 units and sold out — _I believe it's only about 150 of these that were made. They did sell out, and then from there they went on to go ahead and make their successive games._
- [MEDIUM] Spooky Pinball started as a small business incubator project in southern Wisconsin, founded by someone with a printing background — _There's actually a documentary I found on YouTube from the early days of this company. Basically, it's a guy who's into pinball with his family...from the printing background...in his town in southern Wisconsin, there was a business incubator...he put together a pinball machine._
- [LOW] Dennis Nordman (designer of Elvira and the Party Monsters) is developing something with American Pinball, either a new game called Galactic Tank Space Megaforce or a Whitewater sequel — _A name that I've been hearing in some of the other podcasts and news sites because he is developing something with American Pinball. One of two things. Either it's this new Galactic Tank Space Megaforce game that keeps getting rumored...The other one was a sequel to Whitewater._
- [HIGH] Elvira and the Party Monsters is the first of three Elvira-themed pinball games, followed by Scared Stiff and House of Horrors — _This was the first of the three Elvira games from what I could find. Elvira and the Party Monsters. The second one being Elvira Scared Stiff with that big snake bone ramp. And then of course, Elvira's House of Horrors._
- [LOW] The Jetsons pinball game at Spooky was designed by another company (possibly 'The Pinball Company') and contracted to Spooky for production — _Jetsons wasn't, I don't believe, their design. I think it was designed by some other company, something called the Pinball Company, maybe, if I'm remembering correctly. And then there was a contract billed for them._
- [HIGH] ULEK (Unique Laser Engraving and Keepsakes) is a company based in Monroe, Michigan that operates arcade locations, makes pinball mods, and does laser engraving — _This company apparently is called unique laser engraving and keepsakes ULEK...They also make a lot of pinball mods and they actually look super cool...They also own machines. They run tournaments._
- [HIGH] Don met his wife while working at Roundtable Pizza in Santa Rosa, California around 1999 — _She was working the counter when I came in to ask for a application. So and then I just pestered her until she agreed to hang out with me._

### Notable Quotes

> "They've got the only one that's announced and actually is entering production, and that's what the news brings us to."
> — **Don**, early in content
> _Establishes Scooby-Doo as the most imminent new release among major manufacturers_

> "This thing is like really entering into production. I mean, it's not surprising. I mean, it's exactly what they told us. They'd come back from the winter break holiday, and boom, they'd hit right into it."
> — **Don**, opening segment
> _Confirms Spooky Pinball is on schedule with Scooby-Doo production after holiday break_

> "I mean, this is the kind of thing that I would totally be vibing with, right? And so by that time, you know, thing was already sold out, but I learned about the company."
> — **Don**, company background section
> _Shows how collector interest drives discovery of manufacturers and their back catalog_

> "I mean, it miles better than what my first game would have been for sure. And so just kind of reviewing this play field...So it's got that Deadpool design where it starts down on the play field, makes a left turn, and then shoots up a ramp."
> — **Don**, America's Most Haunted gameplay review
> _Positive assessment of Spooky's first game despite it being a debut release_

> "I found out that this company apparently is called unique laser engraving and keepsakes ULEK...among the many products that they make, they do a lot of laser engraving, it looks like. They also make a lot of pinball mods and they actually look super cool."
> — **Don**, ULEK arcade section
> _Identifies ULEK as a diversified pinball/arcade business model beyond just location operation_

> "So cool place. You're killing time before a flight. It's less than an hour to the airport. Um, it does exist, uh, bring some cash. They do have a change machine."
> — **Don**, ULEK location review conclusion
> _Practical travel guide for pinball enthusiasts; validates ULEK as a real, playable location_

> "when I play Elvira and the Party Monsters and I hear that boogie down music and I hear that end of ball drain, you know, adding up your score music, I mean, I'm right back there. I could smell the french fries even."
> — **Don**, Elvira nostalgia story
> _Emotional connection between pinball games and personal memories; demonstrates game's cultural/nostalgic impact_

> "I was strictly to chase teenagers down on their skateboards and call the police on them. This was heavily in the skateboarding is not a crime days."
> — **Don**, Santa Rosa mall story
> _Cultural context of late 1990s/early 2000s mall security and skateboarding culture_

> "Shout out to Roundtable. They always made sure I had cash in my pocket from tips. They always made sure my belly was full of pepperoni pizza."
> — **Don**, conclusion of Roundtable story
> _Personal testimony to Roundtable Pizza company culture and employee care_

> "So I'm really excited for that. Moving over to this arcade. I want to do an arcade location spotlight now for this place I found in Michigan."
> — **Don**, transition to ULEK section
> _Introduction of new recurring segment: arcade location spotlights_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Spooky Pinball | company | Wisconsin-based pinball manufacturer; now in full production of Scooby-Doo widebody; manufacturer of America's Most Haunted, Rick and Morty, Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle, Halloween, Ultraman, Jetsons, and other licensed and original games |
| Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? | game | Spooky Pinball's upcoming widebody game; in active production; features five wireforms and large upper playfield; based on classic arcade theme |
| America's Most Haunted | game | Spooky Pinball's first commercial game; produced approximately 150 units; paranormal investigative show theme; features magnet ghost, drop targets, swinging door mech, VUCK, jump ramp, elevator dumbwaiter mech |
| Don | person | Podcast host of Don's Pinball Podcast; new to pinball industry; from California originally, now in Wisconsin; pizza delivery background; married to woman he met at Roundtable Pizza in 1999 |
| Charlie Emery | person | Founder/leader of Spooky Pinball; started with printing background; small business incubator origin story |
| ULEK | company | Unique Laser Engraving and Keepsakes; based in/operates in Monroe, Michigan; operates arcade location at Mall of Monroe with 30+ pinball and arcade machines; makes pinball mods; does laser engraving; runs tournaments |
| Mall of Monroe | location | Shopping mall in Monroe, Michigan; houses ULEK arcade storefront with 30+ pinball machines; economically depressed mall with half-occupancy |
| Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle | game | Spooky Pinball game with Alice Cooper theme; features big upper playfield, many ramps, guillotine ball-drop mechanic; castle/Gray Skull aesthetic |
| Elvira and the Party Monsters | game | Bally Williams pinball game designed by Dennis Nordman; first of three Elvira games; features fiber optic display, campy cookout theme with classic movie monsters (public domain), fast orbit, giant left ramp, two popup party monsters; 1980s/early 1990s release |
| Scared Stiff | game | Second Elvira-themed pinball game; features big snake bone ramp |
| Elvira's House of Horrors | game | Third Elvira-themed pinball game from Stern; currently backordered |
| Dennis Nordman | person | Pinball designer of Elvira and the Party Monsters; reportedly developing new game with American Pinball (either Galactic Tank Space Megaforce or Whitewater sequel) |
| American Pinball | company | Smaller pinball manufacturer; reportedly working with Dennis Nordman on new game project |
| Galactic Tank Space Megaforce | game | Rumored new ground-up design by Dennis Nordman for American Pinball; unconfirmed project |
| Rick and Morty | game | Spooky Pinball licensed game; contemporary theme; sold out; Don was able to find one fairly easily in secondary market |
| Halloween | game | Spooky Pinball game; Don owns this game at home; same playfield layout as Ultraman, which helped him perform better on Ultraman |
| Ultraman | game | Spooky Pinball game; plays well at ULEK location; same playfield layout as Halloween; Don found it fun and improving on it after owning Halloween |
| Jetsons | game | Pinball game played at pizza place in central Wisconsin; not designed by Spooky (possibly by 'The Pinball Company'); produced by Spooky under contract; fairly straightforward gameplay, limited depth |
| Whitewater | game | Classic Williams pinball game; Don played in childhood arcades; features plastic ramps similar to those in Elvira and the Party Monsters; potential sequel rumored with Dennis Nordman and American Pinball |
| Roundtable Pizza | company | California pizza chain where Don worked as delivery driver circa 1999; thin crust California-style pizza; Don met his wife there; company car provided for deliveries; employee benefits included free food and tip income |
| Naps Arcade | company | Pinball arcade venue/community hub; posted production photos of Spooky Pinball Scooby-Doo on Facebook; has America's Most Haunted and other pinball machines; tracked on pinball app |
| Batman 66 | game | Pinball game at ULEK arcade; premium version; Don had solid play experience there after previous mediocre experiences |
| Deadpool | game | Pinball game at ULEK arcade; mentioned for its jump ramp design influencing Spooky's America's Most Haunted design |
| Rob Zombie | game | Spooky Pinball game; Don hasn't tracked one down to play yet; playfield appears more bare from photos |
| Texas Pinball Festival | event | Pinball convention/festival; Don attended and found America's Most Haunted at pay-one-price arcade there, but it was out of order |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Spooky Pinball production and company history, Scooby-Doo widebody game announcement and production status, ULEK arcade location review and pinball venue discovery, Pinball nostalgia and personal gaming history
- **Secondary:** Pinball game design and mechanics (jump ramps, wireforms, spinners), Spooky Pinball game catalog and licensing strategy, Dennis Nordman and American Pinball development, Late 1990s California mall culture and skateboarding

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.82) — Don is enthusiastic about Spooky Pinball's progress, impressed by their game designs and production quality, excited about Scooby-Doo release, positive about ULEK arcade discovery, and nostalgic/warm about personal pinball memories. No significant criticism or controversy discussed. Tone is conversational, celebratory, and community-focused.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Spooky Pinball utilizes contract manufacturing for some games (Jetsons contracted from 'The Pinball Company') while producing others in-house; flexible production model (confidence: medium) — Jetsons wasn't, I don't believe, their design. I think it was designed by some other company, something called the Pinball Company, maybe, if I'm remembering correctly. And then there was a contract billed for them, so I'm sure they were happy for the work.
- **[community_signal]** Pinball app successfully drives discovery of obscure arcade locations by listing machines; demonstrates value of location/inventory tracking for community (confidence: medium) — It was called you like ULEK...It didn't make any sense to me when I found this place...I happened to find this place...It happened across this place. So opening up my app...They had America's most haunted. So I mean, that's what put it on my, my map to go check this place out.
- **[event_signal]** ULEK arcade runs tournaments and operates as community hub despite being in economically depressed mall location; demonstrates grassroots pinball community resilience (confidence: medium) — They also own machines. They run tournaments...from the outset looks fairly economically depressed...there's like 30 pinball machines at this mall, uh, along with some hobby shops and a bunch of closed storefronts.
- **[design_philosophy]** Spooky Pinball demonstrates design evolution between early games (Jetsons: straightforward, limited depth) and newer releases (Scooby-Doo: complex, feature-rich); shows learning curve and maturation (confidence: medium) — you could see what a great leap the Scooby-Doo design is over Jetsons if you go look at pictures of that...Fairly straightforward game. I mean, not a lot of depth that I could find. Fun enough.
- **[market_signal]** Scooby-Doo is explicitly identified as the only announced major manufacturer pinball game currently in production, indicating a production gap or pipeline constraint across the industry (confidence: high) — They've got the only one that's announced and actually is entering production...in the current landscape of things in the world of pinball, as we're looking at new machines and what's up next, these boys are on deck.
- **[community_signal]** Don establishing 'arcade location spotlight' as recurring podcast segment; signals intent to expand content beyond news/reviews into location discovery and community service (confidence: high) — I want to do an arcade location spotlight now...I want to introduce a new segment to this, and something, I don't have a name for it, but basically it's pinball stories from the past, or my past, or you also got a personal connection and story.
- **[announcement]** Spooky Pinball's Scooby-Doo confirmed entering full production with visible manufacturing progress (cabinets, boards, playfields being produced) (confidence: high) — Naps Arcade posted production photos of 20-30 machine cabinets with back boxes, boards being made, playfields being populated by workers
- **[product_concern]** America's Most Haunted (Spooky's debut game) praised for mechanical complexity and variety despite being first commercial release; exceeded expectations for debut product quality (confidence: high) — I was I was also pretty surprised with how well it played and the variety of what was in it especially for somebody first game I mean it miles better than what my first game would have been for sure
- **[rumor_hype]** Dennis Nordman working on unannounced American Pinball project; either new ground-up design (Galactic Tank Space Megaforce) or Whitewater sequel being developed (confidence: low) — A name that I've been hearing in some of the other podcasts and news sites because he is developing something with American Pinball. One of two things. Either it's this new Galactic Tank Space Megaforce game that keeps getting rumored...The other one was a sequel to Whitewater.
- **[sentiment_shift]** Ultraman game receives improved appreciation after Don gained experience with Halloween (same layout); location/operator quality and player experience vary significantly even on same game titles (confidence: medium) — Same with Ultraman that they had too. I had a fairly decent game on Ultraman. Possibly that's because I now have a lot of experience on Halloween owning that at home and the layout is the same. But I was starting to feel some love for Ultraman and I do think, you know, it's not reflected in the price, but you know, it's fun.
- **[licensing_signal]** Spooky Pinball has successfully licensed multiple IP properties across diverse themes (Rick and Morty, Halloween, Ultraman, Scooby-Doo, Alice Cooper); indicates strong licensing capability for boutique manufacturer (confidence: high) — They went ahead and they made games with licenses barely right off the bat after their first one. I mean, they made a Jetsons game...Domino's Pizza...Ultraman Halloween...Scooby's coming.

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## Transcript

 Are you afraid to die? I'm a scary nun, but I am afraid of life. I'd rather be a zombie phantom. Are you afraid to die? I'm a scary nun, but I am afraid of life. I'd rather be a zombie phantom. Wow, what's up everybody? Welcome back. I'm bringing that spookiness of Halloween in. Because today, I want to focus on our friends down there in southern Wisconsin, the boys up at Spooky Pinball. because when I looked at the news starting this week and really what's been popping off over the weekend, boom, there Spooky is, and no surprise. I mean, in the current landscape of things in the world of pinball, as we're looking at new machines and what's up next, these boys are on deck. They've got the only one that's announced and actually is entering production, and that's what the news brings us to. So there was a posting that kind of went around the horn there on Facebook. Check it out, Nap Arcade has got photos of it. They have posted and released photos of production of Spooky's next game, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, of which I'm very excited for this new wide body based on a classic arcade theme, man. This is right in these guys' wheelhouse. So looking at the photos, the first thing they dropped is about 20 to 30 machine cabinets that are put together with back boxes, and a third of them have the toppers on even. They're all on the carts waiting for their boards and everything. And then going through the photos, they're sharing photos that the boards are being made, the playfields are being populated, the girls are cranking out the graphics. This thing is like really entering into production. I mean, it's not surprising. I mean, it's exactly what they told us. They'd come back from the winter break holiday, and boom, they'd hit right into it. So I just want to cover this company, okay? Like I said, new to all of this, and so, you know, as I'm diving into the world of, wow, there's pinball events and tournaments and conventions and things, I'm starting to learn about the companies. And Stern I've been familiar with, and Gottlieb from back in the day, Bally Midway with things like Whitewater. And then it came across Rick and Morty, this contemporary theme, which looked fantastic to me. I mean, this is the kind of thing that I would totally be vibing with, right? And so by that time, you know, thing was already sold out, but I learned about the company. And so in researching and seeing more, I started looking at the games that they produced and kind of where they started. There's actually a documentary I found on YouTube from the early days of this company. Basically, it's a guy who's into pinball with his family. They had been kind of hobbying, shopping machines around. And then he's from the printing background, you know, like large format printing, it looks like. And so in his town in southern Wisconsin, there was a business incubator, basically a program where there's a suite of rooms and some infrastructure that you can use to get a small business kind of up off the ground. And so in that small business, he put together a pinball machine and made it commercially available. something called America's Most Haunted. And so I believe it's only about 150 of these that were made. They did sell out, and then from there they went on to go ahead and make their successive games. So when I was learning about this company, you know, I sought out a Rick and Morty. I was able to find one fairly easily. I saw they were working on Halloween, but I started looking through their back catalog, and I'm seeing things like, whoa, what's this? Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle? Are you kidding me? Like, what a neat theme that is. um you know for this classic rocker that uh kind of from my dad's age but i became aware of them you know like most people my age 90s kids from wayne's world right um i did go to a haunted house in arizona in the phoenix region that was uh sponsored or you know otherwise involved alice cooper so i mean that was cool and when i looked at the playfield got to see pictures of this thing i mean it looks like um you know like some spooky kind of castle gray skull castle-y game almost It's got this big upper play field, a lot of ramps. There's a guillotine that drops the ball. I was able to play this out in Pennsylvania, one of those large brew pub places. Yeah, and so that was a lot of fun. So I was like, well, let me find out what other games they've made and see if I can track them down. And the one that was a little bit hard was their first one because, again, there was only 150 of them made. I did happen to track one down when I was out of town at work. I had to fly out of Detroit and had about an hour. So, you know, after I got a buddy's pizza, Detroit style, what up, shout out. I did go and kill an hour at this mall in this town called Monroe, Michigan, where they had this little arcade in this mall, which I'll speak about in a bit. But they had an America's Most Haunted there. And so I had seen one once before, and that was after Texas Pinball Festival at another kind of pay one price arcade. But it was out of order. So I got to see it, but I couldn't play it. So, you know, understandable. These things do break or, you know, require resets. Maybe it was a stuck bumper or something. But I did finally get to play in America's Most Haunted. And, you know, going in, I knew this was the first game from the first manufacturer or from a manufacturer's first game he made. So, I mean, I didn't expect, you know, something completely polished. But I was I was also pretty surprised with how well it played and the variety of what was in it especially for somebody first game I mean it miles better than what my first game would have been for sure And so just kind of reviewing this play field I mean the whole premise is that this is one of those paranormal investigative shows It's non-licensed, but it borrows heavily from that sort of format. Obviously a parody. But it's got a little magnet ghost figure that's prominently featured in the play field. I believe there's some drop targets you can knock down, and then you can go in there and he grabs balls. There's a swinging door mech that opens and closes almost like it's a basement or a cellar. I don't remember which, but it leads to a Vuck once it is opened, and then we'll throw it up onto one of the two wireform ramps. Pretty cool for right off the bat. I mean, this guy's got a freaking jump ramp, right? So it's got that Deadpool design where it starts down on the play field, makes a left turn, and then shoots up a ramp. Only this is going up what looks like a themed staircase. Then there's a jump, and then it kind of comes around the corner. and feeds that upper wire form on the left. And on the right, there's another ramp that has a quick turn at the top and to another wire form to return to the right flipper. But it's got this crazy, like, elevator dumbwaiter mech, like halfway through it, like at the top of the ramp, or at the incline of the ramp, where when it's ready to lock a ball, this dumbwaiter kind of thing elevates up, and then you can shoot the ball in there. It captures it and takes it down below deck. So, I mean, that was cool, right? So I got to play that. I did get to play Alice Cooper. I still haven't tracked down a Rob Zombie yet. That play field looks a little more bare just from the pictures that I've seen, but I haven't got to play it. I would like to play it at some point. Manalis Cooper is sitting on my list of games I think I would like to own at some point just to get some real time on it. Should I come across an interesting one? But what was great about this company, the family owned, they started down there. I mean, they're my home state here now of Wisconsin, or at least my adopted home state. But they went ahead and they made games with licenses barely right off the bat after their first one. I mean, they made a Jetsons game. I just recently got to play that up here in central Wisconsin. There's just a random pizza place that happened to have a Jetsons. Now, Jetsons wasn't, I don't believe, their design. I think it was designed by some other company, something called the Pinball Company, maybe, if I'm remembering correctly. And then there was a contract billed for them, so I'm sure they were happy for the work. Fairly straightforward game. I mean, not a lot of depth that I could find. Fun enough. You know, if they were to revisit this theme, like what they're doing with Scooby-Doo, I mean, you could see what a great leap the Scooby-Doo design is over Jetsons if you go look at pictures of that. There was another, I think it was a contract game they did with Domino's Pizza, which that's just fantastic, you know. That's an off-the-wall theme I wouldn't have expected to see. And then, of course, you know, we've got Ultraman Halloween. They just dropped. Scooby's coming. wide body. I've talked about it before. I'm excited about it. Just giddy, you know, based on the old episodes, the original series, there's five wire forms. You all know how I feel about those. Got that big upper play field, man. Captain Culver going nuts up there. So I'm really excited for that. Moving over to this arcade. I want to do an arcade location spotlight now for this place I found in Michigan. And of course, I was waiting for a flight. I was looking for a place to go and happened to find this mall shop. So, um, you know, it popped up. I'm like, does this, is this like a real place? It was called you like ULEK. Um, and that didn't make any sense to me when I found this place, it was basically an open storefront in the mall, just full of pinball games and some classic arcade machines. And it was even spilling out a bit into the, the midway, the open area there with, with some more games. Um, I found out that this company apparently is called unique laser engraving and keepsakes ULEK. and I think they're based off site, but among the many products that they make, they do a lot of laser engraving, it looks like. They also make a lot of pinball mods and they actually look super cool when I was flipping through there. And then they also own machines. They run tournaments. This place at the Mall of Monroe in Monroe, Michigan, a place I never would have known about was it not for that pinball app. It happened across this place. So opening up my app, I mean, these guys are loaded with games. Whenever I see these, I'm kind of like, well, you know, has this been updated? Does this really reflect what they have? And in fact it did. I mean, they had America's most haunted. So, I mean, that's what put it on my, my map to go check this place out. They have a pro infinity quest. They had a Batman 66 and it's a premium version and kind of for the first time when this game actually had a decent play on it, you know, it hadn't really, for whatever reason really impressed me that a couple of times I played it was okay, but nothing I'd really run back to, but I had a solid play on there and I was starting to kind of vibe with it a bit. Same with Ultraman that they had too. I had a fairly decent game on Ultraman. Possibly that's because I now have a lot of experience on Halloween owning that at home and the layout is the same. But I was starting to feel some love for Ultraman and I do think, you know, it's not reflected in the price, but you know, it's fun and it would be a good score for you if you were looking for a brand new game with great art for kind of a more affordable price right now based on that old pinball market What else do they have Cactus Canyon remake Deadpool Pool Fishtails Flash Funhouse Future Spa What a weird game that is. Godzilla Pro. I know they had a rush there. Iron Maiden Pro. Just a ton of games. Way more than I would have expected from this mall that from the outset looks fairly economically depressed. It probably was a pretty burgeoning mall like most at one point. And then it seemed about half full when I was walking around in there. Um, so of course, you know, first thing I do is bail out of the car, go in there and see, is this a place that actually exists? Cause there's not really much signs from the outside. And sure enough, there's like 30 pinball machines at this mall, uh, along with some hobby shops and a bunch of closed storefronts. Um, I was able to run over to the local, uh, what do you call it? Place where you used to pay money to watch movies, a movie theater. Remember those things? So they had an ATM. I got my 20 bucks out of there, popped into a comic book shop to buy something little for my daughter at home. So I had some cash for the change machine at ULEC. And then, you know, I spent about 30 minutes there, played about five or six games, including a couple of games on America's Most Haunted. It was me and one other dude. The other guy was just kind of glued to rush. I wanted to play it, but I didn't want to wait. So I played everything else. Even there was a Batman Forever that was kind of out in the main walkway. So cool place. You're killing time before a flight. It's less than an hour to the airport. Um, it does exist, uh, bring some cash. They do have a change machine. There is an ATM at the movie theater. If you want to, you know, buy yourself a $5 box of Butterfingers and pay three 50 to get 20 bucks out. Can totally do that. Um, the comic book store fairly legit, uh, about the kid, one of those, um, squish mellow plushy things that, that the kids dig it was on clearance. Um, so that worked out for me. All right, moving And another thing, I was trying to introduce a new segment to this, and something, I don't have a name for it, but basically it's pinball stories from the past, or my past, or you also got a personal connection and story. And so one thing that I wanted to talk about was taking you back to around 1999, just barely 20 years old, going to the junior college, doing some prereqs for an x-ray tech program, and I'm delivering pizzas for Roundtable Pizza in the evenings. This is a fairly good pizza place, Chain, in California. They're available other locations as well now. This is in the northern California town of Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, one valley over from the Napa Valley. And so, you know, right by this mall, there was this Roundtable Pizza place. They make good pizza. It's thin crust, kind of California-style. Docking, if you know what that means, makes the crust kind of really thin but doesn't bubble up. And good toppings. And so for me, you know, if I'm going to work for minimum wage, try to work my way through junior college, I figured at least I get a job where the food is free. So by a pro tip, that saves you a lot in your monthly budget. So actually met my wife there. She was working the counter when I came in to ask for a application. So and then I just pestered her until she agreed to hang out with me. So, you know, good ups for perseverance. Now, in that same parking lot for this pizza place, there was this diner. It had some name like Sam's or Bill's Diner or whatever. It was basically a food counter, a couple of booths, but they had two pinball machines. And for the life of me, I can't remember what the one was, but the other one, the one that I played all the time, was Elvira and the Party Monsters. So, you know, working at this fairly grueling job, slanging pizzas all over town. when I would get a break, myself and my at the time girlfriend, you know, we just reached a point where we had our fill of pizza. And so we can at least go over, grab a grilled cheese sandwich, some fries and throw some quarters in a pinball machine. And so Elvira was the one that was over there. So this was the first of the three Elvira games from what I could find. Elvira and the Party Monsters. The second one being Elvira Scared Stiff with that big snake bone ramp. And then of course, Elvira's House of Horrors, the new charming game from Stern that's, you know, backordered all the heck. But Elvira was great. Bally Williams. So it had that not a, it wasn't before the dot matrix display. It just had that kind of eight character not LCD, fiber optic. I don't know. You kind of like clock radio numbers. That's what I had. And so it had some quick little animations it would play, but I dug the music. The theme was very campy. It's Elvira. She's, you know, I don't know, at some kind of cookout or something with the classic movie monsters, which are public domain, which makes it easy. And it was just a great game to play around with. There was a pretty fast orbit. There's this giant ramp on the left side that feeds one of those really cool Bally Williams era plastic ramps that just kind of turns and twicks all over the place. Kind of like with Whitewater. You know? I come to find out this was designed by this Dennis Nordman guy. A name that I've been hearing in some of the other podcasts and news sites because he is developing something with American Pinball. One of two things. Either it's this new Galactic Tank Space Megaforce game that keeps getting rumored. which apparently is a brand new ground up idea that he had. The other one was a sequel to Whitewater, which I mean at this point Whitewater is a license to me I mean I know that theme That was a game I always enjoyed you know classically playing the arcades in my childhood I would love to see a sequel to that And it had those cool plastic ramps so it totally fits I mean, this ramp in Elvira, looks like you could put that out and stick it in Whitewater and it wouldn't look out of place. So, fun game, cool sounds. It's got those two party monsters that pop up and down in the background. And most of the games that I saw, they actually had those little rubber finger puppets stuck on there, like the ones that you would win for tickets to Chuck E. Cheese or whatever. And so I always used to think, like, you know, was that just the dude that owned the machine, needed something to put on there, and he put those on there? Or were those, like, production finger puppets? So to date, I believe it's the only game that probably has production finger puppets. Does every game have the same finger puppets? Were people putting other things on there? Who knows? But this is a game that we used to play quite a bit when we'd have time. Now, sadly, Bill's or Sam's or whatever the place is called is gone. It's a check cashing place now. My round table pizza, that medieval themed pizza chain restaurant that had that theming indoor of like being outdoor has been completely redone. And just looks like, you know, you're walking into a modern dominoes or something now. So, you know, the vibe that we had there was just a product of its moment. It was turn of the century. I was 20 years old going, I became 21 there. And it was just a game from a certain time, when I'm grinding through classes at the junior college. I didn't have a car. I used my skateboard to get around town. It was back when mall security existed, not to ensure that people weren't stealing things out of your car, not to make sure that single women felt safe when they were walking back to their car with their purses, but strictly to chase teenagers down on their skateboards and call the police on them. This was heavily in the skateboarding is not a crime days. and for me you know between where I was staying and pizza and school was this giant mall Cotting Town Center um you know the mall like any other big paved parking lot you know circumferentially navigating the entire place several uh you know a big box store uh what do you call them not chains but uh the locations that like lock down the the mall anyway so uh the quickest way was straight across the parking lot. And so you had to be strategic. The roving security, they had their little vans with the lights on them. And you could, you know, if they started to gain on you, what you could do is go down a long row of cars and then about halfway through, just slip through the cars to the next lane and then double back. And they wouldn't be able to turn around. They'd be left to, you know, try to drive to the end of the row, flip around to try to get you. And by then I'm five rows down. Maybe I'm back on the sidewalk and I'm back to safety, right? But man, what a time like um if i would have had a bicycle right i just rode my bicycle through the parking lot would have been zero problems at all it was strictly the i mean i could have been walking it'd be fine i could have skipped i could have galloped i could have done cartwheels through the parking lot no issues at all but because i was on a skateboard i was targeted i was a criminal at that point um you know i was subject to you know injunctions and trespassing and things and I'm like literally barely out of my teen years and just on a skateboard because I can't afford a car, you know, and bro's got a plan to run me now. Luckily, times have moved on and now not only are, you know, skateboarders not criminals, but, you know, actually embraced by the community. Parks are being built, you know, it's recognized as the activity for children that it is and young adults. You know, at this point there would have been, you know, a skate park or security would have been there to protect me and make sure I have a free place to skate. But man, those days, dude, I've had security people grab my board and throw it in the back of their truck and try to drive away. And then, you know, here I am, like 17 years old, jumping in the back of a moving truck trying to get my skateboard back out. I mean, it was wild. Wild times, wild time and place. Definitely can't go back to that time. That time has moved on. The mall has been remodeled. The anchor chain stores have changed. Bills is dead. Round Table has been rerouted. but when I play Elvira and the Party Monsters and I hear that boogie down music and I hear that end of ball drain, you know, adding up your score music, I mean, I'm right back there. I could smell the french fries even. How did I deliver pizzas on a skateboard? Well, they gave me a company car to use while I was there. So, you know, shout out to Roundtable. They always made sure I had cash in my pocket from tips. They always made sure my belly was full of pepperoni pizza. And so the rest of my money went to renting a room and trying to keep my skateboard working. All right. I'm glad I was able to share some story time. Um, what else was I wanted to cover? I believe that's about it. Uh, mentioned my Dennis Nordman. We got that location spotlight with you. Like shout out to them. Uh, anything else we need to do? That's right. Just hit that sweet outro music. I hope I made your Monday commute a little bit better. Uh, shout out, throw me an email at don spinball podcast at gmail.com go to the facebook page for don spinball podcast there's a link to the discord you can engage with me right there drop me some ideas what do you guys want to hear what do you guys not want to hear hit me up

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 091109a9-e2dd-426a-8c2f-a53b4697df62*