# Gene Therapy

**Source:** Pinball News Website  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2000-10-12  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.pinballnews.com/news/williams.html

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## Analysis

Illinois Pinball, founded by Gene Cunningham, acquired Williams' pinball replacement parts inventory and manufacturing rights in October 2000 following Williams' pinball division closure. The company also previously acquired parts from other defunct manufacturers. Illinois Pinball demonstrated early products (Pool Player rebrands of Capcom BreakShots) at trade shows with mixed results, though the company's broader manufacturing intentions remained unclear at the time of publication.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Gene Cunningham attempted to purchase Williams' entire pinball division after its November 1999 closure announcement — _Article states 'When Williams announced the closure of their pinball division in November 1999, Gene attempted to buy it. Sadly, those discussion came to nought' — contextual summary of failed acquisition attempt_
- [HIGH] Illinois Pinball purchased Williams' remaining pinball replacement parts inventory and licensed manufacturing rights to use Williams tooling for replacement parts only (not new games) — _Official Williams announcement dated October 12, 2000: 'Illinois Pin Ball Corporation has purchased the remaining pinball replacement parts inventory' and 'we have granted to Illinois Pin Ball Corporation a limited license to use the tooling specifically for the replenishment of pinball replacements parts inventory'_
- [HIGH] Gene Cunningham had previously acquired replacement parts stock from Capcom and other defunct pinball manufacturers — _Article: 'he picked up when he bought the remaining Capcom stock' and Williams announcement: 'Illinois Pin Ball Corporation, owned by Gene Cunningham, purchased and is currently operating the replacement parts business of two other former pinball manufacturers'_
- [HIGH] Illinois Pinball demonstrated Pool Player games (rebranded Capcom BreakShots) at the AMOA Las Vegas show with significant quality and reliability issues — _Article: 'Gene was at the recent AMOA show in Las Vegas showing 3 games, but reports have been largely negative citing the facts that neither game was fully working and both broke down frequently during the show until they were unplayable'_
- [HIGH] Pat Lawlor Design was providing website hosting services for Illinois Pinball's domain but had no operational connection to the company — _Article: 'PLD picked up the "illinoispinball.com" site for Gene when the company started up, but as Gene presently has no web design facilities, the domain is being looked after by Pat & Co'_

### Notable Quotes

> "Illinois Pin Ball Corporation has purchased the remaining pinball replacement parts inventory and will operate the replacement parts business for our former product lines."
> — **Williams (official announcement via David Vitullo)**, October 12, 2000
> _Official confirmation of asset sale; marks transfer of Williams parts business to Illinois Pinball_

> "we have granted to Illinois Pin Ball Corporation a limited license to use the tooling specifically for the replenishment of pinball replacements parts inventory. Also, we did not sell our liabilities in this transaction."
> — **Williams (official announcement)**, October 12, 2000
> _Critical limitation: tooling licensed only for replacement parts, not new game manufacturing; Williams retains liability_

> "reports have been largely negative citing the facts that neither game was fully working and both broke down frequently during the show until they were unplayable."
> — **Pinball News (reporting on AMOA Las Vegas show)**, October 2000
> _Early quality control and reliability issues with Illinois Pinball's products_

> "The flyer looks rather amateurish with the picture clearly showing the reflection of the photographer's tripod in the backglasses."
> — **Pinball News**, October 2000
> _Professional presentation concerns noted in marketing materials_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Illinois Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer and parts reproduction company founded by Gene Cunningham; acquired Williams replacement parts inventory and manufacturing license in October 2000 |
| Gene Cunningham | person | Founder and owner of Illinois Pinball; acquired parts from multiple defunct manufacturers including Capcom and Williams |
| Williams | company | Historical pinball manufacturer; closed pinball division in November 1999; sold remaining parts inventory and granted limited manufacturing license to Illinois Pinball |
| Stern | company | Rival pinball manufacturer mentioned as producing Sharkey's Shootout at the time Illinois Pinball was establishing |
| Pat Lawlor | person | Legendary pinball designer; through Pat Lawlor Design, provided website domain hosting services for Illinois Pinball |
| Capcom | company | Defunct pinball manufacturer whose remaining parts stock was acquired by Gene Cunningham |
| Pool Player | game | Illinois Pinball product line; rebranded versions of Capcom BreakShots with variations in ball launchers and cabinet colors |
| Capcom BreakShots | game | Original Capcom game that Illinois Pinball rebranded as Pool Player with modifications |
| AMOA Las Vegas show | event | Trade show where Illinois Pinball demonstrated Pool Player games with reported quality and reliability issues |
| David Vitullo | person | Williams representative who signed the official parts sale announcement |
| Kim Carter | person | Illinois Pinball parts manager listed in official announcement |
| Sharkey's Shootout | game | Game Stern was producing during the period when Illinois Pinball was establishing |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Parts manufacturing and replacement inventory acquisition, Manufacturer consolidation following Williams closure
- **Secondary:** Product quality and reliability concerns, Game rebranding and adaptation strategy, Trade show product demonstrations, Licensing and tooling restrictions

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.35) — Article reports Illinois Pinball's acquisition positively as continuation of parts services, but tone shifts notably negative when describing product quality issues (non-functional games, frequent breakdowns) and marketing professionalism (amateur flyer with photographer's tripod reflection). Uncertainty about company's broader intentions dampens overall assessment.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Uncertainty about Illinois Pinball's broader manufacturing strategy; unclear whether company intends new game development or parts-only focus (confidence: high) — Article: 'So what will he do with his new purchase? So far his intentions are unclear' and Williams license explicitly prohibits new game manufacturing ('limited license...specifically for the replenishment of pinball replacements parts inventory')
- **[business_signal]** Illinois Pinball acquisition of Williams parts manufacturing rights represents significant consolidation in pinball industry following manufacturer closures (confidence: high) — Official Williams announcement of parts/inventory sale to Illinois Pinball; represents continuation of parts service for defunct manufacturer product lines
- **[market_signal]** Industry expectation that parts prices will increase without immediate manufacturing resumption following Williams closure (confidence: medium) — Article: 'it's hoped that manufacturing will start soon before parts prices hit the roof'
- **[community_signal]** Pat Lawlor Design provides infrastructure support (domain hosting) to rival manufacturer Illinois Pinball despite no operational connection (confidence: high) — Article: 'PLD picked up the 'illinoispinball.com' site for Gene when the company started up' and 'the domain is being looked after by Pat & Co'
- **[product_concern]** Illinois Pinball's early products demonstrated significant reliability and functionality issues at trade shows (confidence: high) — AMOA Las Vegas show reports: 'neither game was fully working and both broke down frequently during the show until they were unplayable'

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## Transcript

Story originated 3rd October 2000, updated
16th October 2000

With
Stern busy producing Sharkey's
Shootout, rival start-up Illinois Pinball in the shape of founder
Gene Cunningham has been busy.

When
Williams announced the closure of their pinball division in November
1999, Gene attempted to buy it. Sadly, those discussion came to nought,
but it now seems that Gene didn't give up.

It
is thought that he has partly had his way and bought the parts manufacturing
rights and remaining stock. Of course the stock situation had been
severely depleted since the closure but Gene can now arrange the manufacture
of replacement parts.

The
announcement from Williams reads:

October
12, 2000

Dear Valued
customers and vendors,

It is with
great pleasure that we announce to you today the sale of certain

pinball specific assets and rights of Williams Parts and Service.

To Our Customers
: We are happy to announce that Illinois Pin Ball Corporation

has purchased the remaining pinball replacement parts inventory
and will

operate the replacement parts business for our former product
lines. As you

are probably are aware, the Illinois Pin Ball Corporation, owned
by Gene

Cunningham, purchased and is currently operating the replacement
parts

business of two other former pinball manufacturers. It is their
intention

to continue the relationship with our vendors as well as to
satisfy our

customer's pinball replacement parts needs.

Please note,
we did not sell our oustanding receivables to Illinois Pin Ball

and customers should continue to make payments on Williams invoices
as in

the past. Any orders serviced by Illinois Pin Ball and invoiced
directly

by them should be paid to Illinois Pin Ball. Please direct any
questions

with regard to open Williams invoices to Fred Muenz at (773)961-2158.

With regard
to all currently unfilled or future orders, please contact Illinois

Pin Ball's parts manager, Kim Carter, phone (309)828-6993, fax
(309)828-1182,

street address #10 Georgiana Lane, Bloomington, IL 61701.

To our vendors
: please be informed that we did not sell our tooling as a

part of this transaction. However, we have granted to Illinois
Pin Ball

Corporation a limited license to use the tooling specifically
for the

replenishment of pinball replacements parts inventory. Also,
we did not sell

our liabilities in this transaction. Therefore please continue
to work with

our accounts payable department on all currently open invoices.
You have our

assurance that we will work with you to quickly resolve all
open invoices.

Please direct
any questions with regard to Williams open payables or tooling

to Dave Vitullo at (773)961-1899.

We are pleased
that Illinois Pin Ball will continue to fulfill the future

Williams pinball replacement parts needs. We have had a great
long-term

relationship with our customers and vendors. We have always
taken great pride

in our tradition as well as the outstanding relationships that
we had

established with our customers and vendors.

Continued
success to you in the future,

David Vitullo

Thanks
to Jonathan N Deitch for reproducing this announcement.

The
announcement leaves a number of questions unanswered. No mention is
made of the prototype games - Wizard Blocks and Playboy, Pinball 2000
games 3 & 4 - nor the expected sale of the rights to the William's
or Bally names. Also, William's keeps the tooling for the parts and
has only sold the rights to re-manufacture for replacement, not
for new games from Illinois Pinball.

Cunningham
visited the old Williams factory to inspect the inventory, and it's
understood he will be moving the parts to the Illinois Pinball location
to add to those he picked up when he bought the remaining Capcom stock.

So
what will he do with his new purchase? So far his intentions are unclear,
but it's hoped that manufacturing will start soon before parts prices
hit the roof.

Flyer
scan courtesy of Duncan Brown.

Click on image for larger version.

Meanwhile
Illinois Pinball has released a flyer of Pool Player which shows
three games looking like rebranded Capcom BreakShots, with a number
of differences between them.

Two have automatic ball launchers, while one has a manual one.
All three have different coloured legs (silver, black, gold) with
side rails and lockdown-bar to match.

The flyer looks rather amateurish with the picture clearly showing
the reflection of the photographer's tripod in the backglasses.
Most strangely is the spelling of Illinois Pinball itself which
is spelled out as "ILLinois Pin Ball Co." in the banner
and ILLINOIS PIN BALL INC. at the foot.

Gene
was at the recent AMOA show in Las Vegas showing 3 games, but reports
have been largely negative citing the facts that neither game was
fully working and both broke down frequently during the show until
they were unplayable.

Finally,
it seems that there is no current connection between Illinois Pin
Ball and Pat Lawlor Design. PLD picked up the "illinoispinball.com"
site for Gene when the company started up, but as Gene presently has
no web design facilities, the domain is being looked after by Pat
& Co. Don't expect any immediate developments at the site then.

Back
to the news index

Back
to the front page

©
Pinball News 2002

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 1d9e23b3-8483-4449-b708-ea69928363cf*