# Episode 3 – Freedom Firewood?

**Source:** Slam Tilt Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2016-07-25  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.slamtiltpodcast.com/2016/07/25/episode-3-freedom-firewood/

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## Analysis

Ron Hallett and Bruce Nightingale of the Slam Tilt Podcast discuss their preparations for Pinburgh (a major 700-person pinball tournament), share restoration projects (Ron's Stars and Freedom machines, Bruce's Nine Ball and Centaur), and take listener requests for naming Bruce's 36-game collection. Ron recounts how he won a free Ghostbusters Premium Edition from Project Pinball's charity drawing and is waiting for delivery while also dealing with a temperamental Freedom machine. The hosts debate game preferences and tournament logistics ahead of the event.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Pinburgh expects 700 players, a significant increase from the first Pinburgh at Papa which had approximately 300 or fewer — _Ron Hallett stating attendance figures for current vs. inaugural Pinburgh_
- [HIGH] Ron won a Ghostbusters Premium Edition in a Project Pinball charity drawing in March despite having only one entry, after previously donating to the charity at Pintastic without requesting sweepstakes entry — _Ron Hallett recounting his charity donation story and subsequent drawing win_
- [MEDIUM] Ghostbusters Premium Edition is expected to ship in early September (go date mentioned by Bruce who claims to have 'inside info') — _Bruce Nightingale stating 'first week of September' as the production timeline_
- [HIGH] Freedom (a solid-state Bally) is the first solid-state Bally game, and its schematics are not available online, complicating troubleshooting of a persistent switch matrix issue — _Ron Hallett discussing his restoration challenges with Freedom and lack of available documentation_
- [MEDIUM] Pinball Life sells flipper assemblies for Stern machines for $45 plus shipping and does not include Stern bats or (according to Bruce's earlier recollection) bushings — _Bruce Nightingale discussing Pinball Life flipper kit components; some disagreement about what's included_
- [HIGH] Ron has won Project Pinball drawings twice: once winning a Translight (after being entered despite declining sweepstakes entry) and once winning the Premium Edition draw with one $75 entry — _Ron Hallett's detailed charity drawing story_
- [HIGH] Matt Scott (from Glens Falls, NY) modifies vintage Stern and MPU pinball games to add features like free play and custom rule ROMs that display scores like MPU 200 games — _Ron Hallett describing Matt Scott's modification work while planning custom Stars ROM_
- [HIGH] Bruce Nightingale owns 36-and-a-half pinball games and is seeking community input on a name for his game room — _Bruce Nightingale requesting listener suggestions for his game room name via email or Facebook_
- [HIGH] Ron has played Ghostbusters only three times (twice at Papa, once at Pintastic) and is still waiting for his free Premium Edition as of the podcast recording — _Ron Hallett discussing his limited Ghostbusters experience and current wait status_
- [HIGH] Bruce won a Points tournament at Pins and Needles in Syracuse the previous Thursday with 14 participants, increasing his upstate points lead by 3.2 points — _Ron and Bruce discussing recent tournament results and points standings_

### Notable Quotes

> "I'm ready to make one of my games into firewood soon... That goddamn solid-state Freedom I have."
> — **Ron Hallett**, mid-episode
> _Expresses frustration with Freedom machine's persistent switch matrix problems and foreshadows its fate_

> "It's going to turn into firewood. Yeah. It's going to turn into firewood."
> — **Bruce Nightingale (confirmation)**, mid-episode
> _Both hosts agree Freedom is beyond practical repair_

> "You just won a game... holy shit, Ron, you just won a game."
> — **Matt Scott (voicemail, relayed by Ron)**, mid-episode
> _Memorable moment when Ron learns he won the Ghostbusters Premium Edition drawing_

> "The game is a one-shot wonder. Too much luck. It's hard to control."
> — **Bruce Nightingale**, late episode
> _Bruce's critical view of Ghostbusters as a game design_

> "That's why I've never gotten upset at this point, waiting this long, because, hell, I didn't pay anything for it."
> — **Ron Hallett**, mid-episode
> _Explains his patience with the delayed Ghostbusters shipping_

> "I am patiently waiting, but see, if all parts, which are doing good, but they're going to in between do a run of Pro. So I am patiently waiting."
> — **Ron Hallett**, mid-episode
> _Acknowledges production scheduling impacts his delivery date_

> "Bank 31 for me, baby... Metallica, Mars Trek, Space Station... That's my favorite bank."
> — **Ron Hallett**, early-mid episode
> _Shows enthusiasm for specific game banks at Pinburgh tournament_

> "We've mentioned Zach Sharpe, ourselves, and I talked about Steve before, so there's the four continuing people. Is that going to be a gimmick?"
> — **Bruce Nightingale**, late episode
> _Notes recurring character mentions across episodes_

> "I'll settle with – because I can't go in D. That's impossible. So it's C, B, or A."
> — **Ron Hallett**, very late episode
> _Discusses division placement strategy for Pinburgh_

> "Ballywood... just like from 1941. Hollywood!"
> — **Ron Hallett**, mid-episode
> _Proposes game room name based on movie reference; shows podcast banter style_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Ron Hallett | person | Co-host of Slam Tilt Podcast; pinball collector, restorer, and tournament player from upstate New York; winner of Ghostbusters Premium Edition charity drawing |
| Bruce Nightingale | person | Co-host of Slam Tilt Podcast; owns 36-and-a-half pinball machines; tournament organizer; recent winner of Pins and Needles tournament in Syracuse |
| Matt Scott (Glens Falls) | person | Pinball enthusiast from Glens Falls, NY; calls Ron during charity drawing to inform him of win; watches drawings live and enters Project Pinball sweepstakes |
| Matt Scott (custom ROM developer) | person | Programmer who modifies vintage Stern and MPU pinball games to add features like free play and custom rule ROMs; has large classic Stern collection; referred to by first name only initially by Ron to protect privacy |
| Zach Sharpe | person | Pinball collector/enthusiast mentioned across multiple Slam Tilt episodes; owns Black Hole machine; previously congratulated Ron at first Pinburgh |
| Keith Elwin | person | Professional pinball player; competed against Ron and Bruce in first Pinburgh tournament |
| Steven Bowden | person | Host of 'Wide World of Pinball' podcast; known for performing poorly on EM games; mentioned as fellow enthusiast |
| Chuck Webster | person | Organizer from Northeast Pinball Club/New England; organizing PISA events including Trash Talker tournament at Pinburgh |
| Neal | person | Business partner with Bruce Nightingale on Viking machine restoration; known for meticulous restoration standards |
| Pinburgh | event | Major 700-person pinball tournament held Thursday-Sunday at FreePlayFX in Pittsburgh (formerly at Papa); expanded significantly from original ~300 players |
| Slam Tilt Podcast | organization | Pinball podcast hosted by Ron Hallett and Bruce Nightingale from upstate New York; three episodes released as of this content; covers tournament prep, game restoration, community discussion |
| Project Pinball | organization | Charity that supplies pinball games to children's hospitals; runs ongoing sweepstakes where donations ($50 Pro, $75-$200 Premium) enter donors for drawings of Stern machines |
| FreePlayFX | venue | Gaming venue in Pittsburgh hosting Pinburgh tournament; described as three-to-almost-four acres of gaming with no carpeting; will have chairs and couches in 2016 |
| Pins and Needles tournament | event | Points tournament held in Syracuse where Bruce Nightingale recently won with 14 participants |
| Pintastic | event | Annual pinball tournament where Ron previously won in 2015; venue for Project Pinball charity drawing participation |
| Ghostbusters Premium Edition | game | Stern pinball machine; Ron won a free copy via Project Pinball drawing (March, first week September ship date expected); Bruce critical of game design; Ron has only played three times |
| Metallica Premium Edition | game | Stern pinball machine; Ron has one on order; Bruce's game choice for 'like' category |
| Freedom | game | First solid-state Bally game; Ron owns and is restoring; has persistent switch matrix issue; schematics unavailable online; Ron jokes it's becoming 'firewood' |
| Black Hole | game | Pinball machine at Papa facility; Ron dislikes it; had negative experience attempting multiball; criticized by Bruce as poor game design with unkind ball ejection |
| Lethal Weapon 3 | game | Pinball machine; Ron's father preferred this game; currently in Bruce's 'like' category; Ron previously dislikes music but acknowledges it can be changed |
| Centaur | game | Pinball machine owned by Bruce; had auxiliary driver board light issue (three blown chips); recently repaired and socketed |
| Nine Ball | game | Pinball machine owned by Ron; recently received new flipper mechanism from Pinball Life; improved spinning spinners |
| Viking | game | Pinball machine recently acquired by Bruce in partnership with Neal; needs restoration work; back glass peeling condition |
| Pinball Life | organization | Aftermarket pinball parts supplier; sells Stern flipper assemblies for $45 plus shipping |
| Demo Man | game | Pinball machine; Ron was working on when he received call about Ghostbusters drawing |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Pinburgh tournament preparation and logistics, Pinball machine restoration and repair (Freedom, Nine Ball, Centaur, Viking), Project Pinball charity and sweepstakes experience, Ghostbusters Premium Edition availability and shipping delay
- **Secondary:** Game preferences and dislikes (Black Hole, Ghostbusters, Lethal Weapon 3), Tournament results and points standings, Game room naming for Bruce's 36-game collection, Aftermarket parts sourcing (Pinball Life, All-Tech boards)

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.72) — Despite frustrations with equipment problems (Freedom, Ghostbusters shipping delay), hosts maintain upbeat, joking tone. Excitement about Pinburgh dominates conversation. Ron's fortune with charity drawings adds positive energy. Bruce's tournament win and game room project are celebrated. Occasional negativity about specific games (Black Hole, Ghostbusters) but handled with humor.

### Signals

- **[event_signal]** Pinburgh expansion to 700 players from ~300 at inaugural event; logistics discussion around divisions, qualifying, finals scheduling (Thursday-Saturday with Sunday optional/consolation) (confidence: high) — Ron states '700 people coming to play' vs. first Pinburgh 'like 300? less, less actually'
- **[product_launch]** Ghostbusters Premium Edition expected first week of September ship date after March drawing; Ron has been waiting since March (approximately 5-6 months) (confidence: medium) — Bruce: 'first week of September. If all parts, which are doing good, but they're going to in between do a run of Pro'
- **[restoration_signal]** All-Tech replacement boards (solenoid driver, lamp driver, CPU) used for restoration; Pinball Life flipper assemblies source for Stern machines (confidence: high) — Ron discussing replacement of Freedom boards with All-Tech units; Bruce discussing Pinball Life flipper assembly
- **[community_signal]** FreePlayFX described as expanding venue with improved comfort (chairs, couches) at Pinburgh 2016 vs. previous years; three-to-almost-four acres of gaming space (confidence: high) — Ron: 'FreePlayFX... three acres of gaming... almost four... no carpeting... there will be chairs and couches, supposedly, this time'
- **[restoration_signal]** Freedom (first solid-state Bally) has persistent switch matrix issue; schematics unavailable online; troubleshooting hindered by lack of documentation (confidence: high) — Ron: 'solid-state Freedom schematics are not online since it was the first solid-state Bally. So if I want to get one, I'm going to have to buy one'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Bruce expresses strong negative opinion of Ghostbusters Premium Edition ('one-shot wonder, too much luck, hard to control'); describes it as his 'hate' game (confidence: high) — Bruce: 'The game is a one-shot wonder. Too much luck. It's hard to control.' and 'I'm not a fan. No, I'm not. No, not at all.'
- **[competitive_signal]** Bruce wins Pins and Needles Points tournament (Syracuse) with 14 participants; increases upstate points lead by 3.2 points ahead of Buffalo pinball event (confidence: high) — Ron: 'You padded your points lead in the upstate. 3.2 points... guess what, in there, two weeks or three weeks, it's going to be shrinking because of the Buffalo pinball'
- **[business_signal]** Project Pinball runs ongoing donation-based drawings ($75 for Premium Edition entries) for free Stern machines to children's hospitals; continuous raffles fill and reset as donations reach threshold (confidence: high) — Ron: 'they take donations... $75 for a Premium Edition, where it's like $100, $200... they have these drawings, and they will continuously have them. As soon as they fill up the $200, they'll do a drawing'
- **[community_signal]** Zach Sharpe, Steven Bowden, and hosts themselves mentioned across all three Slam Tilt episodes; Bruce jokes this may become running trivia (confidence: high) — Bruce: 'We've mentioned Zach Sharpe, ourselves, and I talked about Steve before, so there's the four continuing people. Is that going to be a gimmick? Maybe.'
- **[content_signal]** Slam Tilt planning Episode 4 as 'Pinburgh recap' with potential win announcements; mentioned as 'no Jar Jar allowed episode' if Ron wins (confidence: high) — Ron: 'The next podcast is meza gonna talk about Pinburgh... if I win Pinburgh, I won't talk about Jar Jar'

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## Transcript

 When we return to our planet, the High Court may well sentence you to torture! Torture! We are the supreme race! We have the supreme weapons! We have the supreme pizzas! Coming to you from beautiful upstate New York, This is the Slam Tilt Podcast, a show about all things pinball. I'm Ron Hallett, here with my co-host, Bruce Nightingale. Hey, hello. And welcome to episode three. Return of the Jedi. Yes, we are officially at the end of the trilogy. Hopefully not the end. No, we've still got four more movies. Four more movies, oh God. So, this will be the Pinberg Preview Edition. Yes, yes it will be. Hence the reason we're putting this out a little early, because we will be predisposed, I'm sure, winning Pinburgh. Of course. Hey, we'll meet in the finals. That's what will happen. Yes, yes, yes. So be sure to stay by for the Twitch feed, as you will see us in the finals of A Division. Yes, unless we don't make A. Oh, yeah. My problem is I usually make A, which guarantees I'll never get in. That's the problem. I make last year I made C and I made it to sixth in C I just gotta I gotta learn how to sandbag that must be the no you just gotta suck like I do oh yeah I'm good at that I really do freaking suck well that happened to like the first first spinberg I went to the first one at Papa I I think I had yeah I think I had a cold I just felt like I felt like I had a cold coming on and I played like crap the first day I ended up in C division and then got some meds, and it felt much better the next day and ended up doing very well in C division. So you did roids? Yeah, I did roids. I did roids. Then I got to the finals, and everything fell into place, and I got my biggest career victory, C division at POP. Yes. That's not a bad thing. Not a bad thing at all. C in division in the first pinberg is always the most impressive. Your name is still even up on the Papa website. Yes, yes. I was congratulated by Keith Elwin himself. I think that's just because we were in the first group with him. Yes, because we both did beat him in that first pinberg. Yeah, the first pinberg, me, Bruce, ended up in a group with Keith, and it was a three-player instead of the four-player because of the way it worked out with the numbers. So that was the first group. Do you remember the games we played? I kind of do. I beat him on Space Invaders. Then we played nine ball, I believe. Yes, and I beat him on nine ball. And then what was it? I can't even remember. AFM. AFM. Was it only three games then? It was three for three, and it was, and yes, and he beat us both on AFM handily. Ah, yes. But I can always say, I took him on. And I beat him on nine ball. Yeah, and after I won, I think it was Keith Hellman, and actually, Zach Sharp came over to congratulate me. He actually, at least he kind of knew me. I think Keith Elm was more like, oh, it's that guy I played in the first group. He won. So this will be the Pinburgh Preview Edition. But first we got some – Bruce had some things he wanted to talk about. Yes. Well, first we'll just go right into the Pinburgh Edition. You know, we'll see what's going on there with the Pinburgh. Don't forget, it's this Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. There actually Sunday, Chuck from the Northeast Pinball Club – What's the one up – where is he from? Northeastern New Robert Englunds. Isn't he New Robert Englunds? That's it. Yeah, he's New Robert Englunds, I think. Yeah, Chuck Webster. He's one of the New Robert Englunds guys. He's got all the PISA stuff, like the Wicked PISA pinball tournament, the Trash Talker. Oh, that's actually what you're going to talk about. Yeah, well, he's going to have a Trash Talker on Sunday at Pinburgh, and he's looking for people. And if you get a team of minimum of six, max of eight, you can play. And he's looking for four more teams. If you hear this and you want to get a team together, that's where you want to go and hang out with and see if you can go with the best because there's going to be a Super League team, a Northeast team. There's a couple of teams that are going to be there. I think there's one actually from the Virginia-Maryland guys or also the Free State guys. Is trash talking required? Of course. That's a given. When you're not in tournament play, this is more for fun and hanging out. And that will be on Sunday. Yes, Sunday. Sunday it is. So I'm looking at the game list here. The game list was released. And I like to look at the last column, which is the early solid state. Bank 31 for me, baby. Bank 31. Yeah, Bank 31. Okay, Bank 31 is Metallica, Mars Trek, Space Station. Oh, and Starz. Oh, yes, yes. That's a great, that's my favorite bank. And since I want that bank, I'm not going to get it. Okay, what's your least favorite bank? I think it was 32, actually, right above it. Okay, so KISS, Casanova, Lethal Weapon 3. Oh, come on. I love Lethal Weapon 3. 8-Ball Deluxe. Oh, come on. That's two games I like right there. I know, but knowing my luck, I'll get Casanova and I'll bomb on it. Like Steven Bowden says, you know, he just bombs on EMs. If you listen to his Wide World of Podcasts, he talks about how EMs just level him down to us mortals. Yes, yes. I'm just looking at some of these. I don't know which ones would be my least favorite. I like pretty much almost any game in the early solid-state column I will like. Oh, except Six Million Dollar Man. Oh, I hate that game. Ah, Six Million Dollar Man, it's evil can evil. Yeah. I hate it for a different reason. Not necessarily because it's a bad game, because that was at one of the pin manias, I think, the second or third one, where I had a chance to get into the playoffs and there was like a five-way tie. So they decided to break the tiebreaker by, I think it was like, yeah, five-way tie for four spots. So they said, like, let's play $6 million man. One ball. Low score. It's eliminated. So I was kind of pissed with them. One ball? Really? and sure enough, if you ever play $6 million, man, it's one of those ballets with the saucer in the center. So I plunged it into the saucer, went out of the saucer, right down the middle, never hit it. Never hit the ball. So like a whole day of playing, trying to get in, and just to get screwed over like that, that still burns me. At least give me a full game. It's not like they would have taken that long. I mean, it wouldn't have taken that long to play a game. so pinberg yes thursday friday and saturday uh the finals are saturday which is nice so sundays is kind of like i guess hangout day or in my case it'll be drive home day uh actually if i don't do well saturday i'll be driving home saturday night because uh i want to get at least the next week for work is going to be heck for me I need to be prepared so, Pinburgh as I said, 700 people coming to play 700 what was the first one, like 300? less, less actually yep, that was my best Pinburgh ever actually I finished 49th in that one so that was the one year I actually opposite of you, you did, I did okay yeah, so So, as I said, the door is open at 8 a.m. Thursday. If you're in Pinburg, you must be signed in by 9.30 a.m. And we start right at 10. And it would behoove you, if you can get to the Westin Hotel, they are doing early check-in between, I think, 6 and 10. Yes, 6 and 10. On Wednesday Wednesday night But that ain happening for me I leaving work at 5 so I won be down there until late But Ron will be down there Yeah I be down there Stop and say hi and say, I love Slam Tilt Podcast Pinball. Or you guys suck. Or I guys suck, which I expect more of. Yeah, you guys suck. It's unbelievable. So, Ron, what did you do this past weekend in repairs and or anything else besides your Stars video in Part 6? Well, I confirmed that the two things that weren't working were the knocker and the bizarre lighting issue, which I figured were board issues, which were board issues, because I have a couple of all-tech boards in there now. Solenoid driver board and a lamp driver board. And, in fact, the game now works 100%. So I will probably... The driver boards, if it's something simple, I'll fix it myself. The CPU board has started to misbehave. It will intermittently not boot. You just turn it on, no flashes, turn it off, turn it on, then it will boot. It's kind of getting a little temperamental. All tech, all tech, all tech. Well, no, actually what I want to do is I'm going to probably send that out to get fixed, and I'm going to get it modified for the larger ROMs, and then I'm going to have a custom. Oh, my. Custom Stars ROM by a guy I know. Yes, we both know him very well. Yeah, I don't know if he wants his name, but his first name is Scott. I'll just say that. And he has large classic Stern collection, and he modifies his games. He does a lot of programming, and he has, like, all his Sterns work on free play, but he also modified some of the older, like, MPU 100 games to be more like MPU 200 games, where they will only show, like, the score. Like, if it's a one-player game, it will just show one score instead of all four. And one of my favorite features of the Stern games where it shows you the high score to date right before your third ball. So it does that. So I want to get that in there. And if I want to get that in there, I'll have to have an original CPU board, not the all-tech. All-tech. All-tech. So I think that's it for my – I have one pesky drop target, one of the two banks that doesn't want to reset fully. but I think I might have figured out the issue. I was actually working on it just before the podcast, and I think I have it working a little bit better now. I'm ready to make one of my games into Firewood soon. Firewood. Okay. Has there ever been a game called Firewood? That would be interesting. No, but this one's ready to be. That goddamn solid-state freedom I have. Freedom. Yes. If you hit the second drop target from the bottom, it automatically starts registering the switch instantaneously all the time, even if the switch is separated from the body. So I'm like, ah, it's got to be a switch or a diode. So let's put a whole new switch, whole new diode, and while I'm at it, let's put a cap on it just to rule out any issues. Still doing it. Pull the CPU out, put a new CPU, all tech in there, just test it out. Still doing it. So I have either a switch matrix problem or something else going on there. Unfortunately, solid-state freedom schematics are not online since it was the first solid-state bally. So if I want to get one, I've got to buy one. Well, maybe it could be some other switch in the switch matrix that's actually causing it. That's something also, but I need to see the switch matrix. That's the problem. Well, well. I could figure it out by looking at the color wires and everything like that, but that's a pain in the balls. Maybe there's something wrong with one of the other diodes. Check the diodes on every other Switch. Yeah, every other Switch in the Switch Matrix that I don't know. Well, just go through every Switch and test the diode. Yeah, there's only 32. Yeah, there's only 32. Well, it's not that many Switches in Freedom. No, but the side Switches do stuff. The in-lane Switches do stuff. Yeah. Test them all. Come on. How long does that take? Well, if I didn't have to do this goddamn podcast. No. If you didn't have to do this stupid podcast, you'd be down there doing what he really wants to do. Exactly. God damn it. uh also uh i put new flipper mech from pinball life into the nine ball and we are now spinning spinner fast so that's a nice thing pinball life sells the whole uh flipper assembly for the sterns really nice job they do it's 45 bucks plus shipping and well worth into my book the only it doesn't come with is the bat which ron's talked about on his videos that of course stern bats, somebody needs to reproduce. It's two things it doesn't come with, if you wanted a full kit. It doesn't come with the bushings either. Yeah, but no, it comes with the bushings. The bushings are on there. Does? Yeah, bushings are right on the mount. Does? Everything's on there. The only thing it doesn't come with is rubber and a bat. What the hell am I thinking then? I don't remember getting the bushings. Well, maybe you were, maybe it was a new early, you know, when they first did it. Yeah, maybe Yeah, because I'm thinking about it. Because what he also has as part of the kit is these little nylon washers. Yes. And if you're not sure what they are, if you get one of them, they're supposed to go between the flipper and the bushing. Yes. That's actually because they make it sit up a little higher. Yes. If anyone gets the kit and wonders, what the hell is that for? That's what it's for. And then what else do we do? Oh, I fixed the Centaur auxiliary driver board for the lights. That was three chips that blew out all at the same time. One is actually missing when I got the game and got the board. Replaced all three and socketed the chips, and we're good to go on that. Still haven't gotten to the solenoid problem yet, but that's probably a couple weeks from now. And I also picked up Viking. Viking. Yeah, it's a little rougher than I thought. The back glass is peeing a little bit. the guy who I went partners with it, Mr. Neal, took it actually yesterday and he's already started working on it and cleaning the pig up. I call every game a pig until it's actually up to my standards, which is, you know, I try to be pretty anal with my games. I know Neal's the same way. Actually, Neal rivals me when it comes to anal-ness. Oh my. Oh my. And yeah, That's about it with my repair stuff, except for the Freedom, which is going to soon turn into firewood. Yeah. It's going to turn into firewood. Okay. We're going to do a segment here. Well, this ain't a segment. This is a request from our listeners. Bally Bruce is trying to think of a name for his game room, because you've got to have a name for a game room. Well, especially if it's how many games again? 36. If you have 36 games... 36 and a half. You really need a name. I had two ideas. Because I have a name for my game room. I know, he does. My game room is Level Zero, which someone at work actually came up with that, and I just thought, yeah, that's... And for me, it's more of a... It's not even a pinball reference. It's actually a Galaga reference. It's a video game where if you get past, I think it's for 256, it goes to Level Zero. So I just thought that was... And it's in the basement, so level zero, basement. Perfect. So what is Bruce? I have two suggestions from other people. First, Ballywood. Ballywood, okay. But what about all the other games you got? I know, but, you know, since I am more Bally than anything else, you know. Or Ballyland. Ballyland, okay. I like Ballywood better than Ballyland. Yeah, I know. Ballywood, Ballywood. You know, just like from 1943 or 1941. Hollywood! Hollywood! So 1941, you're one of the five people who've seen that movie. Oh, of course. Jim Belushi. Dan Ackley. Yes, and directed by Steven Spielberg, I believe. Yes, exactly. Or at least produced by him or something. It was one of his few bombs of his golden era No not a bomb It was a bomb No Okay Bally says it wasn Bally Bruce says it wasn a bomb so you can look it up I want people to give me some ideas So if you can actually either email us at... SlamTiltPodcast at gmail.com. Or you can actually post on the Facebook page. I will put the... When we post the video or audio or podcast, I will actually put a questionnaire up also where people can actually get some of the suggestions. Positive suggestions, guys. I don't need no wise-ass comments. I have plenty out of my own mouth. And nothing vulgar. Unless it's very funny. Then I'm sure that's... Yeah. So, yeah. So that's my hope and guide for trying to get a name for it. Now, we're going to talk about, I think, somebody brought it up last episode. He wants to talk about what Mr. Hallett is so into and why he's so worried about Ghostbusters Premium. I'm not worried. But there's a reason I'm not worried. But, yeah. Well, first of all, this will be, hopefully, not too long a witness story. So I'll try to keep this as interesting as possible, as interesting as these type stories could be. The Pentastic show that just finished up, we talked about it, I believe, the last show. The previous Pentastic, last year, in 2015, when I won the tournament, and after I won the tournament, Project Pinball, if you're familiar with them or are listeners, they supply games to children's hospitals. and they also have drawings where they take donations. Well, they're basically donations, but they'll take, I think it's like $50 for pro, $75 for a premium, where it's like $100, $200? I can't remember how many are in the drawing. I think it's $100. No, it's got to be $200. $200, okay. Yeah. And they have these drawings, and they will continuously have them. As soon as they fill up the $200, they'll do a drawing, and the winner gets a machine, either a pro or a premium, a Stern pro or premium of their choice. So at the Pentastic show, when I won, I went over and I donated to Project Pinball, and they're there like, would you like to enter in the sweepstakes? And I was like, actually, no, I've just given money for the charity. I don't want to enter in the sweepstakes. My hero. That's what she said when I said that. But I donated, and when they had their drawing, like a month or two later, I get a call from my fellow pinhead, Scott. Not the same Scott we were talking about earlier. This Scott lives in Glens Falls, New York. And he's there like, man, you won. You won something in the drawing. I was really hoping you'd win the game, but at least you got a Translight. I'm like, what are you talking about? I have no idea what he's talking about. It's like the drawing. It's like you want to kiss Translight. So it turns out, even though I said, you know, don't enter me in, they entered me in. They entered me into the drawing very nice of them, and so I basically won a Translight. So your name was taped to the bottom of the bucket. So I won something for a drawing I never entered. So that's good karma there. so then one of the future drawings one of the premium drawings i i entered 75 one entry and um this was in march they had the drawing and i got an email from them they send emails out to all 200 people or well i guess it might not be 200 people but all the people who entered that say you know we're having the drawing whenever and the drawing was going to be i I think it was Friday. I think it was Friday, like at 8, something like that. It was. Yeah. So as being someone that owns 20 games, I'm where I usually am, which is in the basement working on one of them. I think it was Demoman when they were having the drawing. Dun, dun, dun. I get a call from Scott, the same Scott, who must obviously watch these things live. He must enter in the drawings also. So he calls me at like 8.05. I see my phone ringing, and I'm right in the middle of something. I got something apart where I can't really answer the phone. I was like, oh, I'll call him back. And I see he leaves a voicemail. And I see that I look at the time, 8.05. It's like, the drawing was at 8 o'clock. Oh, please tell me I won a game. I'm literally thinking that. Please tell me I won a game. Please tell me his voicemail is going to tell me I won a game. Sure enough, I listened to the voicemail. It's like, holy shit, Ron, you just won a game. so i won i won the the premium drawing like holy shit so i that's that's two of them and that's with one i had one entry so but here's the worst part is there's no worst part no no no there is a worst part because you already purchased a premium oh yes i i had purchased i already had a metallica on order so that was that was delayed um so i kind of had like do i do i cancel that and do i use like that for my drawing? I mean, because I already budgeted for the Metallica. So what do I do? Do I cancel the order? Do I get the Metallica with the freebie? And I decided, no, no. I had committed the money to the Metallica, which as it turns out, I think it came just a couple weeks after that. It actually finally was ready. So I put it for the Ghostbusters premium. Little did I know in March when I put it in, it would be July, actually almost August, and I'm still waiting. Very patiently. Go for September, man. We have a go for September. Oh, we have a go for September? That's what I'm hearing. That's what Bruce and his inside info is hearing. Inside info gets once in a while. I heard the first week of September. If all parts, which are pretty good, but they're going to in between do a run of pro. So, I am patiently waiting, but see, That's why I've never gotten upset at this point, waiting this long, because, hell, I didn't pay anything for it. Yeah. Thanks. Thanks. So I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait to hit Slimer and use the Ecto Goggles. Because I've actually only played Ghostbusters now, I think, three times. I played it twice at Papa and once at Pintastic. So I've only played it three times. Three too many times. Oh. Yeah. So Bruce is not a fan. No, I'm not. No, not at all. No. The game is a one-shot wonder. Too much luck. It's hard to control. Sorry. So I know what I'm going to pick against him in a tournament without a doubt. Oh, yeah. Definitely. Everyone pick it. Please. I can still play it. I just don't like it. He just doesn't like it. No. Not at all. So is that, if we do our list this week, the game that you like and the game that you hate, is that going to be the game that you hate, Ghostbusters? No. No. No. Right now it's Firewood downstairs. Okay, so freedom is the game you hate just because it's being temperamental. That's pretty mean. Temperamental? It's been a two-week temperamental thing. Freaking goddamn cocksucking bastard. Good thing we got the parental advisory on there. So, okay, what game do you like? Now, again, these can't be games you won't. Metallica Premium Metallica Premium so are you going to be getting one of those who knows it's a possibility anything is in the realm of possibilities yes in Ballyworld anything in Ballyworld anything is let's see so I guess I have to come up with one yes you do so what is your worst what's your hated game that I hate another easy one Black Hole oh easy very good I hate Black Hole and my story behind that is if you go to the Papa facility every year, there'll be if you go throughout the facility you will find at least one or two games that they forgot to put on token play that just be on free play for whatever reason and this particular year it was Black Hole so I figure like I going to play this thing until I get multiball I don think I ever got multiball on it And it just frustrated the hell out of me. Zach, you can. Actually, Zach has one. You can. Oh, so he's one of the few people that we've actually talked about in all three shows. We've got Zach, ourselves, and I talked about Steve before, so there's the four continuing people. Is that going to be a gimmick? Maybe. Maybe it'll be trivia someday, what four people are mentioned every episode? Maybe. Possibilities. Anything can happen. But just the whole concept of that, I go down to the, I was going to say basement, but that's haunted house. Whatever it's called. I'm in the black hole or whatever. If I don't complete a bank of drop targets, it just gives me the middle finger and ejects the ball into the out lane. It's like, are you kidding? That's just a poor concept. Poor concept. It's just like every Gottlieb. Oh, I got a multiball. Maybe next ball, what I get to say, oh, nope, it just kicked out the ball on me. Oh, yeah, where it doesn't save the locks. Yes, that's beautiful, too. I love the way it does that. No, it doesn't. And the way the relay works, a lot of times it will kill the flippers right before it releases it. So you almost think you can hit it, but you can't. Yeah. Okay, a game that I like that I don't own. I'll pick one here. Lethal Weapon 3. Let's see. Everybody dance now. Yes. I am a big fan of Lethal Weapon 3. I just won a few games when I didn't really play pinball, and the only time I ever played pinball was against my dad, because that's all he would play. He wouldn't play video games. That was the one game that the bowling alley had. They had a Terminator 2, and then they took it out and replaced it with Lethal Weapon 3. Yep, so that's a good pick. I don't mind that pick, except for the music. But you can change your music. Oh, yes. You've got to play C&C Music Factory. Yeah, great. Or ZZ Top. Or ZZ Top. Or just, I think it's Lethal Weapon. Yes, it is Lethal Weapon. With the soundtrack. So the shows are still the same in our list from last one, except for the Pins and Needles tournament, which was last Thursday in Syracuse. They had 14 people, and yours truly won. Of course you did. Of course. So padding, it was at a points tournament? Of course it is. So he pads his points lead in the upstate. 3.2 points. 3.2 points. Yes. Yes. Excellent. Excellent. Just padding the lead because guess what? In two weeks or three weeks, it's going to be shrinking because of the Buffalo pinball. So have you got your speech ready for when you win Pinbur? You know what you're going to say? You know what you're going to thank? Yeah. Okay. Slamtail Pinball, thank you! Slamtail Pinball, thank you, yes. You know, you hated me when I was here. No, I know. I got the speech. I got the speech. The speech. I was a pinball player, like my father before me. You'll never turn me to the dark side. I've already been turned to the dark side, so. Because we had to tie it back into Return of the Jedi. Yes, yes, okay. It all circles through. So it only took 32 minutes, but we circled it back. So Bruce has been thawed out of the Carbonite, and he is ready for Pinberg. Yes, I am, and I'm ready to go see some small people, we call them. Not Ewoks, we call them small people. So it's FreePlayFX. Yes, it is. Where Pinberg will be, three acres of gaming. Yes, almost four. They said almost four, but no carpeting. So wear some comfy shoes. Wear some comfy shoes, although there will be chairs and couches, supposedly, this time. Supposedly, yes. And I can't wait. Looking forward to it. And honestly, last year, I didn't make the playoffs. It was the best thing. All day Saturday, I just got to play everything I wanted to. And most of the games in the tournament area were open at that point, Saturday, after the playoffs. So that was great. That was my best. Most fun I had, actually, is after I got eliminated. But there will also be some, what is it? They don't call it a consolation tournament. It is a consolation tournament, though, really it is. Everyone can join in for Sunday if you want. Is it Sunday or Saturday? I think it's Saturday. No, I think the finals are Sunday. I think that's the point. It's not consolation. Finals are Saturday. They are? I could have swore they were Sunday. Thursday is the first day of finals. No, no, no, consolation tournament I'm talking about. I thought it was Saturday. No, I thought the whole gimmick was that even if you were in, like, it was for everybody. So even if you were in, say, the Denver playoffs, you had to a certain amount of time, and then the finals were Sunday morning or something like that. I believe that's what it was. Instead of the usual consolation tournament, which was just this huge long line of everyone entering, which I have just no desire to stand in lines. So thanks, everyone, for tuning in this week. Hey, Mr. Ron, I will see you tomorrow. Yes, I will be at the Hotel Nightingale. Yes, Chateau Nightingale. Sorry, Chateau Nightingale. Arriving in Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Yes, I will be there Wednesday night. You'll be there Wednesday night. And hopefully we'll have some good stories for the next podcast. A long podcast, I hope. Hopefully it'll be how our victories, and we'll be talking about all the awesome comfort behind wins we had. And don't forget what the next podcast is. Yes. The next podcast is meza gonna talk about Pinberg. Episode four. Yeah. No. No. It's the no Jar Jar Jar not allowed episode. Guess what? If I win Pinberg, I won't talk about Jar Jar. Oh, God. So does that – any division? Any division. Any division. Okay. Any division. I'm not going for King of the Hill. I'll settle with – because I can't go in D. That's impossible. So it's C, B, or A. Even if I make the top four, how's that? What's your ranking? Can you do C? What's the limitations now? Top four. If you made C last year in the top four or B or A. Yeah, but isn't there rankings? Like if you're in the top so-and-so, you can't. 100. Well, it's 100 for A, 200 for B. Oh, okay. 291. Ah, okay. I wasn't sure about that. And then it's 500 for C. All right. So it's a little different than Papa, I think. Yes. Because Papa, it's like if you're in the top 200, you have to play an A. Yeah. Okay, so it's different. All right. So, again, thanks, everyone, for tuning in. I'll warn you, as these podcasts continue, they will have a tendency to get goofier, I think, as we get more comfortable. I think we had our first – did we have an F-bomb this show? No, no, I think we – Oh, no, no, we had a – It's different. Yeah, a certain word. I called it and got second-busted it. Yes, okay, so there it is again. Actually, I think we had to have Bob on the first show. I'm not thinking about it. But I was quoting someone, so it didn't count. All right. All right. See you. See everyone next time. The website email page is? Oh, yeah. Plug. Yeah. See. You're just going right past. You're trying to hang up. I'm trying to hang up. Okay. So I'll do the full spiel. Be sure to find us on Facebook. Just search for Slam Tilt Podcast. Like us. And questions, comments, or just to say how much you think we suck. Send emails to slamtiltpodcast at gmail.com. That's slamtiltpodcast at gmail.com. And be sure to search for us on iTunes. Also, I think I covered everything. I think you did. You paid the bills. I paid the bills. So I'll say goodbye. And Bruce, good luck with your freedom. And please don't make it firewood. You might see firewood tomorrow. Okay. Thanks, guys. Thanks, guys. bye bye

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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