# Expo wrap up

**Source:** Don's Pinball Podcast (patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2024-10-22  
**Duration:** 27m 25s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/expo-wrap-up-114459107

---

## Analysis

Don recaps Pinball Expo covering ABBA game reception, homebrew highlights (Pinball Circus cease-and-desist controversy), industry talent migration, Masters of the Universe licensing loss at American Pinball, community drama involving a banned Canadian personality, Turner Pinball's strong sales, and personal moments with industry figures.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] ABBA has weak flippers and plastic ramps; game designed but not enthusiastically received by Pinball Brothers designer — _Don discussing ABBA gameplay and conversation with Pinball Brothers designer at Expo_
- [HIGH] Pinball Circus homebrew was built and functional but Planetary Pinball issued cease-and-desist to prevent it being displayed at Expo — _Don witnessed Pinball Circus hidden in tent, was told about legal threat preventing public display_
- [MEDIUM] American Pinball had Masters of the Universe license but lost it due to not meeting payment deadline or having product to show — _Don discussing unconfirmed backstory heard at Expo; corroborated by Naparcadist post; details withheld per request_
- [HIGH] Canadian personality banned from Pinball Expo was invited back by Dutch Pinball as media representative but organizers limited visit to one day with security — _Don recounting incident where banned individual attempted re-entry; organizers and exhibitor negotiated compromise_
- [HIGH] Turner Pinball's Ninja Eclipse machines sold out before Expo; customers allowed games to be displayed as show units — _Don discussing Turner's success and customer accommodation strategy_
- [HIGH] Industry figures (Jack Danger, George Gomez, Keith Elwin) closely observing homebrew area and considering how to integrate talent/innovations — _Don observing manufacturers examining Pokemon homebrew and discussing implications_
- [MEDIUM] Cuphead delayed; unclear if due to code issues or Masters of the Universe retheme situation — _Don speculating on official narrative vs. licensing explanation; no confirmation obtained_
- [MEDIUM] Jack (Jersey Jack founder) appeared to have reduced mobility and energy at Expo — _Don's personal observation noting slower movement and expressing private concern_
- [HIGH] Electric Playground developing plug-and-play lighting system for toppers, targeting ~$200 price point — _Don given prototype kit and feedback request by Electric Playground founder_

### Notable Quotes

> "the flippers are weak dude hell man it's like playing a game in applesauce"
> — **Don**, Early in ABBA discussion
> _Colorful critique of ABBA's gameplay quality and weak flipper response_

> "what kind of complete bs is that this is a homebrew man you're telling me that i can't build a pinball circus if i want to for my own personal joy and amusement"
> — **Don**, Pinball Circus C&D discussion
> _Strong reaction to Planetary Pinball's cease-and-desist against homebrew project_

> "They're telling on themselves, man, when they do that. And I love it."
> — **Don**, Observation about manufacturers checking out unreleased games
> _Noting that manufacturer interest in unlicensed machines reveals upcoming IP targets_

> "I don't hold chris turner personally responsible... he came out with an original theme and put the time and stuff in there to get it launched"
> — **Don**, Turner Pinball discussion
> _Defending Turner's legitimacy despite Deep Root association; credibility endorsement_

> "beating Roger Sharp at pinball was a moment even though I'm sure the second game he played he like tore me to dust"
> — **Don**, Ninja Eclipse gameplay moment
> _Self-aware humor about brief victory against pinball legend Roger Sharp_

> "I'm not sure how long he's gonna be around with us to be honest"
> — **Don**, Jack (Jersey Jack founder) observation
> _Subtle concern about Jack's health and presence in industry going forward_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Don | person | Host of Don's Pinball Podcast; collector, homebrew enthusiast, podcast creator attending Expo |
| Jack Danger | person | Founder of Jersey Jack Pinball; observed at Expo checking homebrew machines; reported to show reduced mobility |
| George Gomez | person | Pinball designer; observed examining Pokemon homebrew machine at Expo with other industry figures |
| Keith Elwin | person | Pinball industry figure; observed examining Pokemon homebrew machine at Expo |
| Chris Turner | person | Founder of Turner Pinball; developed Ninja Eclipse; previously associated with Deep Root; strong Expo sales |
| Chris Franchi | person | Artist now signed with Spooky Pinball; attended Expo; dinner companion of Don |
| Carrie Hardy | person | Spooky Pinball figure; hosted dinner at Expo; involved with banned Canadian personality controversy |
| Roger Sharp | person | Legendary pinball figure; observed playing Ninja Eclipse at Expo |
| Dave Fix | person | Pinball community figure known for mustache and hat; associated with 'Doc Pinball' persona; met at Expo |
| Rob Burke | person | Expo organizer; involved in banning decision for Canadian personality; firmly opposed to their attendance |
| Planetary Pinball | company | Rights holder of classic Bally Williams licenses; issued cease-and-desist against Pinball Circus homebrew |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer; Chris Franchi now signed artist; present at Expo |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Premium pinball manufacturer; Jack Danger observed at Expo; held machinery giveaway; checking Harry Potter licensing |
| American Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer; had Masters of the Universe license; lost it due to missed payment/deadline |
| Chicago Gaming Company | company | Pinball manufacturer; representative observed at homebrew area at Expo |
| Dutch Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer; invited banned Canadian personality as media representative; owner 'Dutch' |
| Turner Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer; Ninja Eclipse had strong pre-show sales; games sold out before Expo delivery |
| Pinball Brothers | company | Pinball manufacturer; developed ABBA; designer spoke with Don about game's design |
| Electric Playground | company | Topper manufacturer; making officially licensed Bally Williams toppers; developing plug-and-play lighting system |
| Don Best | person | Host of Bash Pinball Podcast; professional audio technician; collaboration prospect with Don |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer; Stern Army event held at Microphone Brewing; checking Pokemon homebrew |
| ABBA | game | Spooky/Pinball Brothers licensed game; four units at Expo; received mixed/negative community reception |
| Ninja Eclipse | game | Turner Pinball original game; production models fully sold out before Expo; strong show presence |
| Pinball Circus | game | Classic prototype game; homebrew recreation built; subject of Planetary Pinball cease-and-desist |
| Cuphead | game | Licensed pinball in development; delayed; possibly rethemed from Masters of the Universe |

### Topics

- **Primary:** ABBA game reception and gameplay criticism, Pinball Circus homebrew cease-and-desist controversy, American Pinball Masters of the Universe licensing loss, Homebrew innovation and manufacturer interest in talent
- **Secondary:** Banned personality incident and community politics, Turner Pinball success and Ninja Eclipse sales, Industry figure observations and personal encounters
- **Mentioned:** Don's personal equipment sales and collection management

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.55) — Don expresses frustration with Planetary Pinball's legal action against homebrew, criticism of ABBA's weak design, and concern about banned personality situation. Balanced by enthusiasm for homebrew community, appreciation for Turner Pinball's execution, and joy from personal industry connections. Overall positive toward community and innovation, negative toward corporate legal overreach and community conflict.

### Signals

- **[product_concern]** ABBA experiences weak flipper response and unresponsive ramp mechanics; described as inferior to arcade alternatives (confidence: high) — Don: 'the flippers are weak dude... like playing a game in applesauce'; 'it's plastic ramps you know putting the ball on the freaking helicopters was like again like okay'
- **[regulatory_signal]** Planetary Pinball issued cease-and-desist against homebrew Pinball Circus reproduction to prevent public display at Expo (confidence: high) — Don: 'they get a cease and desist warning or attack from planetary pinball... to not display it on the show floor'; game hidden in tent behind Mothership
- **[licensing_signal]** American Pinball lost Masters of the Universe license; cause unclear but appears tied to missed payment deadline or inability to show product (confidence: medium) — Don: 'American Pinball did have the license... they couldn't and the thing just timed out or whatever'; corroborated by Naparcadist post
- **[community_signal]** Banned Canadian personality attempted re-entry to Expo via Dutch Pinball media invitation; organizers compromised with single-day limit and security escort (confidence: high) — Don recounting detailed incident: banned person 'was there walking around live stream and the organizers caught wind of it'; negotiated compromise; 'dude can stay today only'
- **[design_innovation]** Multiple high-quality homebrew machines displayed at Expo; manufacturers (Jack Danger, George Gomez, Keith Elwin) actively observing and discussing integration of homebrew talent (confidence: high) — Don: 'I saw Jack danger, George Gomez and Keith Elwin all huddled around a Pokemon just like playing it... they are very much aware'; 'I think they're looking at ways to like... get them a job... give them a contract'
- **[product_launch]** Turner Pinball Ninja Eclipse production models sold out before Expo; customers accommodated showing units as display machines (confidence: high) — Don: 'All four machines were sold... before he went to the show... they're heading towards selling out which i think that's phenomenal'
- **[technology_signal]** Electric Playground developing plug-and-play lighting system for toppers; prototype distributed for feedback; targeting ~$200 retail price (confidence: high) — Don: 'gave me a kit... thinking of making this a product selling it for around $200... why don't you take this home and see what you can do with it'
- **[personnel_signal]** Chris Franchi signed as artist with Spooky Pinball; no longer independent; working on undisclosed projects (confidence: high) — Don: 'he's like their new signed artist... Didn't have his own booth. They're just like hanging at the spooky booth now'
- **[business_signal]** Jersey Jack founder Jack Danger observed with reduced mobility and energy at Expo; Don privately concerned but respecting privacy (confidence: medium) — Don: 'He's definitely walking a little slower. He's got a little less energy. I'm worried that something may be going on with the guy'
- **[content_signal]** New pinball podcasts emerging (Bash Pinball, Retro Ralph); Don positioned as established creator mentoring new content creators (confidence: high) — Don: 'now I'm seeing like there's other people involved now like bash is involved... now it's like, okay, I'm, I'm established now. So like, let me reach down and help up some of the new guys'
- **[rumor_hype]** Strong speculation that Harry Potter in development at Jersey Jack; Stern and JJP observed checking competitive unlicensed machines at Expo (confidence: medium) — Don: 'folks from JJP were checking out the Harry Potter machine... they're telling on themselves, man, when they do that'
- **[product_strategy]** Don liquidating X-Men LE and other machines to free space for incoming premium Stern games; expects continued strong releases (confidence: high) — Don: 'I listed X-Men today... honestly, it's just... Metallica is better than I thought... know that there's bangers coming and they're not going to stop coming'

---

## Transcript

 money money money must be funny in the rich man's world money money money always sunny in the rich man's world thank you abba for that entertaining intro music what's up patreons of which we're plus one today dude somebody else joined that's awesome i of course if you listen to the the regular podcast episode that just went up just got back from expo my voice is freaking gone man it was three days of like screaming on the show floor and also like like interacting with folks a little behind the scenes you're having such a great time man so i wanted to recap kind of everything especially the things like that i heard and talked about i can't really talk about in public that's for y'all so um no major reveals or anything but like a lot of internal intrigue so let's get into it abba take a seat all right how do we really feel about abba abba sucks the flippers are weak dude hell man it's like playing a game in applesauce um it was okay it was okay it's plastic ramps you know putting the ball on the freaking helicopters was like again like okay like play it on location don't buy this game don't buy it i don't i don't think anybody's in danger of buying this one i know jeffrey jones got himself one that's awesome dude um if you like abba the music like literally unironically you'll probably have fun with this game there's some modes and stuff but like i was talking to one of the designers i guess from pinball brothers um and he's like yeah that you know the game is designed and i'm like oh oh it's abba that's what we're doing like he wasn't even like all enthusiastic about it and then he was like uh yo like what he can say yo but he's like i guess in the united states like it's not as popular and i'm like well you know if you were at a wedding say in 1985 um it probably would have been there and would have still seemed a little dated i don't know if he got my joke but or my gist or whatever, but like, you know, they were trying, they were trying. There was, there was four ABBA games. They held up the whole show, weren't lifting glasses or breaking glass like happened on alien last year. Um, they had one queen, they had one alien. They had didn't, they barely had a booth. They did like some kind of, um, uh, contest one day, some kid won it. Uh, he won like a, like an autograph poster with like ABBA signatures on it. So I mean, that's cool, you know? Uh, but get a better fricking theme, dude. Come on. What does ABBA? what abba pinball machine come on uh in the pantheon of bad themes right one step up from barrio's barbecue challenge is abba holy crap uh game played okay it shot okay um you know it wasn't like breaking shots or anything you know it was fun enough but like i'd rather go and play uh space hunt so abba was like you know when you go to the magic kingdom or you go to disneyland and it's like crowds are kind of everywhere you know like indiana jones is a huge line jungle cruises a huge line you're like well we can always jump on small world like even the lines long and moves fast and you know it's not the best ride but like it there's a lot going on there you know so it's fun so like abba was like old reliable you know when i was wandering around it's like i want to go play something but i don't want to wait in like long lines you know i could go and wait one person to go play abba and be like all right that's cool you know whatever uh gosh abba abba abba abba let's cut to this dude because i haven't really heard anybody talking about it pinball circus was there right you know pinball circus that crazy multi-level game that only made it on the prototype stage one of them exists in a private collector's home somewhere one of them exists broken at the pinball hall of fame in vegas and that's it well sorry some mad lad took it about himself or herself or themselves to go ahead and do a homebrew pinball circus and damn it they freaking built it um it's not complete yet you can only get to like the first or second levels tiers you know but like the rest of them are built they're just the mechanisms weren't quite there yet and then apparently they were gonna i mean they were gonna put this out for everybody to play which would have been freaking amazing and then they get a cease and desist warning or attack from planetary pinball holders of that license to like not display it on the show floor what kind of complete be it like capital bs is that this is a homebrew man you're telling me that i can't build a pinball circus if i want to for my own personal joy and amusement and then go, like, let people play it at Expo. Bull mother flip it. This was, like, just legal threats for the sake of legal threats, you know, because it's not like, you know, some company's announcing, like, we're building this game now, Planetary Pinball. So this game was there. I didn't see it until late in the evening on Saturday. It was inside of a black tent behind Mothership, the huge, like, super exclusive biggest pinball machine ever made that was there with Brian Allen Art. That thing was phenomenal, man. you play with a freaking cue ball, basically. It was made out of resin. They put a Hercules right next to it and it dwarfed Hercules. And it looked like an awesome game. Like I could take the ball and throw it around. It's not flippable yet because they have to find like the right coils that'll power it to actually work. But my God, man, that thing's amazing. So they had this booth behind there and I figured it was just a place to like store stuff. But no, in there, in the second area of it was like a full table of like liquor bottles and then this underneath a moving blanket there was a game right so you lifted it up and it was freaking pinball circus i was led back there and i was told like lift up that blanket stick your head in there and like i was all right pick it up and and in there was freaking pinball circus like functional holy crap i got to play it like a couple of times dude what the hell planetary pinball you're losing cool points with me man And, you know, part of the thing with homebrew is that is where we can make the themes that we want regardless of licenses and copyright. Like, it's never going to exist. Like, I'm doing that right now with Legend of Zelda because no one can do that. No one can get that license from Nintendo. But Nintendo, they don't want to build pinball. So, you know what? I'm making it myself. It's mine. I'm not making them commercially available. I'm not treading on anybody's copyrights. This is fair use. So, that's, oh, God, I'm, like, so mad now that they did this to this person. Because, like, that would have been the hit of the show, man. so now who knows what's going to come with the fallout of that but that's what was in there that nobody was allowed to talk about um but man we were all in there playing it it was phenomenal man i should have took pictures dude because because just a big middle finger to planetary you know that they lost so many cool points so many cool points with me every homebrew there was awesome everybody that brought them i'm so like uh spurred on by them i'm gonna try my level best to get a game flipping um if i can achieve that like every game there even if it's terrible if it's working or at least flipping balls, it's already amazing because these are hard as hell to make. And if I can get there, then, then damn it, let's do it. I'm so inspired by those guys. Later, I started noticing industry people to wandering through there. I saw a dude from Chicago gaming company was over there. Jersey Jack folks were over there. I saw Jack danger, George Gomez and Keith Elwin all huddled around a Pokemon just like playing it and like pointing at it and like looking discussing things and stuff So like they are very much aware of what going on in the homebrew area And like, it's no joke, like cool stuff is happening over there. I think they're looking at ways to like, how can we incorporate that in a way that won't break the bill of materials and we can do it in a new and innovative way. And you know, who can we take from this, this knowledge pools, talent pool, and like give them a job, you know, give them a contract, get them a 1099. let's get it going like that's i'm super into that man i would love to come up through that way you know jack danger did that kate allen did that you know like the greats have come from like the ranks of the players so like let's do that power to the playbers man let's take this place down let's take this place over from the inside out man bottom up inside to out top to bottom dogs to cats let's go man let's go i had a dinner with um all the spooky guys carrie hardy uh and uh and and uh selena Gomez. No, Christopher Franchi, man. What a dude. That guy was around like the whole time. Didn't have his own booth. They're just like hanging at the spooky booth now that he's like their new signed artist. And dude, we were like joking and like just making inappropriate comments and things like the whole time, man. What a like jewel of the earth that guy is. So I heard a lot about the whole story behind Masters of the Universe and American Pinball and all that. And I was asked not to repeat the details that I heard, but the gist of it, Naparcadist posted. So I feel like I can talk about it. But basically, it seems like American Pinball did have the license to the dismay of a lot of people that don't jive with American Pinball to try to operate their games on occasion and also have a love for that license. But apparently, it was a situation where somebody didn't steal the license from them. They had it, but they had to kind of put up at a certain point and basically, they couldn't and the thing just timed out or whatever. So I think at this moment, I don't know if anybody has picked it up, but I think there is interest on, you know, getting out there and grabbing it. So essentially, it seems like American Pinball secured this license, put in the work to get it, was probably developing a game, and then just didn't have either anything to show or like a payment was due when they didn't have it. And so it's just kind of like, I guess anybody can go in and get it now. so is Cuphead was that supposed to okay if Cuphead comes out and there's obviously a Castle Grayskull there and a Snake Mountain and no He-Man then that was He-Man and they they went and got Cuphead instead or something so I don't know I didn't hear like all of the details other than it seems like some major bunglage had occurred uh that led to the losing of that license um He-Man you know beloved cartoon but really that cartoon was designed to sell toys in the 80s and what is pinball but a giant toy so so he-man he masters the universe is really a toy product line and like it should just translate perfectly into pinball you know hot wheels did that uh you know ghostbusters did that um you know trying to think some other toy lines that did i think any toy line of the 80s would be fun to play thundercats is a number two but definitely he-man is a number one if he-man comes out unsuccessful then i could see other licenses um kind of getting picked up too like thundercats uh maybe smurfs you know stuff like that things that they had your play sets for back in the day classic gi joe with sergeant slaughter man that would be amazing dude um so yeah maybe we'll see that uh you know transformers you know of course a pretty famous one um you know so that was interesting a lot of other stuff had happened uh poor man's pinball tribe was having like a huge banquet in the hotel restaurant when i was there and uh they're just loud and super fun guys um Oh, I did hear about the Canada presence that was here. So here's what happened, right? I'll give you this because you're all on Patreon. So if you want to skip ahead to skip Canada content or whatever, go ahead. But I think it was relevant because it happened. All right, so dude was banned from Pinball Expo because basically he's a giant asshole. Also, he's like throwing drinks at people and is threatening people online. It's just generally like a bad news, right? Just kind of like stomach cramps. You just don't want him there. so when he was at pinball expo that one year like two or three years ago and he like broke into the show floor um you know before he was allowed to and was going around live streaming and stuff then it was like all right now we got something where clearly he's violating rules clearly he's like being a tool anyway like just don't come just don't come right so he got banned and so that's why he wasn't there for like the last three years in a row so somehow he's he's you know kind of cuddled up with dutch pinball right and they brought him on as a media uh you know influencer or whatever, along with Kerry Hardy, you know, and again, like, nothing wrong with that, dude, totally fine, you know, it's Dutch's decision, he's got a reach, he's got an audience, they want to go with it, capitalize, whatever, cool, so I guess, like, they invited him, you know, there, like, you know, you're our media guy, so come on, and so he probably saw that and was like, okay, well, I guess I can go back now, because, like, an exhibitor has invited me, well, no, like, he's still banned, right, because, like, you know, Rob Burke and Dave Fix and some others, you know, like, firmly don't want the dude there, so I guess he was there walking around live stream and the organizers caught wind of it and walked over and told him like, dude, you got to go. And then Dutch was like, no, we invited him. If you kick him out, then we go. And I would have totally called their bluff at that point, but that's not what happened. So essentially they were like, all right, dude can stay today only, then he's got to go, but you have to have security with you the whole time. So if you act up, you're gone. So apparently that happened. So I saw him, but it was in the hotel. He was hosting some kind of thing in the hotel bar. And then he did walk over onto the restaurant place, and then he was talking to the poor man's tribe and stuff, which, again, totally fine. Like, he doesn't bother me or something. I think he must have saw me because the rest of the time his back was just to me the whole time he was there, and then, like, he went off. And then he was at the Stern Army event, which, again, was held off-site. It's at Microphone Brewing, which I've been invited to to go do an event. I can't wait to kick that off. Maybe we'll do that next year. But regardless, you know, he was there, and then, like, that was it. He was gone. Didn't come back the whole time. So I don't think the guy just flew out just for a day. I think he probably flew out intended to be there the whole time. But like, no, bro is still banned. And, you know, that's fine. You know, with me, it's obvious, like, we don't get along. The reason for that isn't because he has a successful podcast. It's not because he has a reach. It's not because he tells it like it is, you know, but it's because like the personal attacks against myself and my wife do like I'm not going to. And then being told like I need to choose him or my wife. Right. And put a leash on and all that stuff. And it's like, no, dude, I'm not going to do that. You know, go kick rocks, man, you know? And so, you know, he tried to talk to me at the JJP thing, and I was like, I'm not interested in anything you have to do. Just, like, go away, please, and have a great day, you know, is what I told him. You know, just trying to be polite and professional about it, but firm, right? So anyway so like you know that had all happened And like I feel like I human I get human emotions I feel sorry for the guy to be honest because like I think he may really like enjoy pinball and stuff But, like, getting just, you know, he can't be getting as much joy and fun out of it as he could have if he just, like, didn't attack people freaking personally, you know. Be abrasive online, you know. Tell it like it is, you know, sleek stuff, spoiled stuff, whatever. Like, you're allowed to do that and have your fans and stuff. But the personal stuff is kind of weird. So that's what I had heard there. So actually, I saw that he was there, and then I didn't see him anymore. And someone volunteered to me, like, here's actually what happened. So there's a story as I heard it. Speaking of Dave Fix, I ran into him a couple of times later on in the show. I actually met his wife. She was manning the booth for a while there. Donna, super cool lady. So happy to have met her. I was like, dude, where's he at? Does he wear the hat at home? I guess he doesn't wear the hat at home. But she told me the story about how somebody called him Dr. Pinball or something because he was fixing pinballs at some kid's house. And the kid's like, oh, you're like Doc Pinball. And he took that to me in Doc Holiday, and so that's what led to the hat. Anyway, it was just cool hearing the David Fix lore backstory. I think as a character, we all love Dave. Come on, how could you not? like that mustache that hat that confidence you gotta have that confidence to bring something out like barrio's barbecue challenge um you know into the industry my god what's even going on so we'll wait and see uh what's going on with cuphead is cuphead delayed because really like the code was lagging behind that was the official story i heard or is it lagging behind because it was masters of the universe now it's getting rethemed will we ever really know i i don't know we'll see what we find out um but that was what was on nap arcade and i got like more of a backstory so i can corroborate that um this is interesting stuff in pinball man interesting stuff in pinball uh for real dude uh don best from bash pinball podcast is a solid guy um you know i started pinball podcasting like two or two years ago and like i was the new guy right so like that i had that energy and now i'm seeing like there's other people involved now like bash is involved um retro Ralph is getting into it. I ran into B Kong. Um, that was kind of what need interaction. Um, you know, like these sorts of things have happened and, uh, you know, like now it's like, okay, I'm, I'm established now. So like, let me reach down and help up some of the new guys. Uh, so I want to do some collaborations with bash. They were totally open to that, which is fricking awesome. These guys are actually audio guys professionally, like they do audio and recording. Um, so they're new to podcasting, but not new to like the tech that's involved with it. Um, so hopefully we can do a positive collaboration and I can kind of like learn stuff from them audio wise. And, uh, you know, I'll try to teach them whatever I know about like how to post this, that, and the other, and you know, connections and things. So like, that was super fun. Damn it. I just recorded a whole podcast. I didn't mention, I forgot to mention Turner pinball. Uh, so Ninja eclipse, right. Was functioning phenomenally, uh, had people on all four machines the whole time. All four machines were sold, uh, before he went to the show. These are the first production models to come off. So those are going to customers. he reached out to the customers and he's like hey do you mind if i like do you want to pick up your game with the show and then i can have show games to show off and they're like yeah sure that's fine um but there were a lot of sales too from turner and actually from what he's telling me like they're they are heading towards selling out which i think that's phenomenal um now some people do have grudges held over from deep root and you're totally entitled to that i don't hold chris turner personally responsible i think you know he was involved in deep root i think he gave his level best. I don't think he was bilking old ladies out of their retirement. And I think he struck when things were available to go ahead and pick up and he's doing something good with it. And he didn't turn around and release Raza, right? You know, he came out with an original theme and put the time and stuff in there to get it launched. And then I think he probably did pretty good on the deal with Dutch Pinball when he sold them the assets to probably Magic Girl and Alice. So, you know, that's cool. I, you know, I'm, I'm cool with it. Um, I see why some people would want to stay away just because of having like anything tangibly to do with deep root. Um, but like, you know, I feel the dudes like doing everything, you know, on the up and up level best and can be trusted and is building machines and the machines are good quality. Um, and so like, I'm happy for him. Damn it. Like I forgot to talk about him on the main podcast. I'm gonna have to do a supplemental or something. But I was hanging out there. Oh, and I walked up to him randomly at one point and I was like, Chris, what's up? And they just got some Culver's, right? Which is a fast food chain here in the Midwest and around the country. And I was like, oh dude, you got the onion rings. He's like, yeah, you want one? I'm like, yes, I do. So I ate an onion ring from Chris Turner. That was cool. So thanks, Chris. Anybody that buys me food, like you're cool with me forever, man. You know, I spent times of my life where I was hungry and you know, people fed me were like super cool. So anybody that gets me food is like, like cool forever, man. Like, like that's solid. Um, speaking of which at that dinner, Christopher Franchi ordered this hamburger that had onion straws on it and he gave me one and I'm like, yeah, dude, cool. So that was like my second fried onion of the day that I got from, from pinball people. So like the industry has given back to me in fried onion form. So, so that's awesome there. Um, I ran and had some discussions with Jack Danger, cool guy. He's always been solid. You know, I wore my Phantom Tilt shirt for Ryan Barry from the Phantom Tilt podcast. And he couldn't be there, but he's going to be at Expo next year in this big US tour that he's doing. So I threw my shirt on to represent Saturday and I went around to every like notable pinball personality and like took a selfie with the Phantom Tilt shirt and kept sending them to him. He was like blowing up. So speaking of blowing up, I played Chris Turner in Ninja Eclipse. and you know I did he got like 10 million I got like 68 or something I'm like hell yeah dude I'm good at pinball this is amazing right and then guess who was standing there watching with a mustache himself not Dave Fix Roger freaking Sharp the man who saved pinball and I looked over at him and I'm like oh hey Brian Cosner friend of mine a tribe member he found one of these 1970 books that Roger Sharp had made about tanning it was like all instructions on how to tan precautions, what the dermis is made of, you know, the vitamin D from suntanning. It was like a guy on how to suntan appropriately, just just like something he made for a paycheck. Super funny. And I turned on like, Oh, man, my friend of mine's got a book on tanning that you wrote, man. And I was flipping through it. And like, there was some good information on like the vitamin D and stuff. And he's like, Oh, my God, rolling his eyes like this again. So I try not to embarrass myself too much. And let the man you know, play ninja clips, but I stood back and watched and I noticed that his first game was like sub 20 million points so I think that means that for a brief moment in time I had a better game on pinball than Roger Sharp did And like that was probably like my third pinball moment I forgot to mention this on the damn podcast So I get for not having notes. Um, God, it was such a cool moment. So blowing up Metallica with Don from pinball bash brothers, bash pinball podcast and other people like watching like, yeah, dude, that was cool. That was a moment. Um, playing pinball circus was definitely a moment. Uh, dinner with the crew was a moment. beating Roger Sharp at pinball was a moment even though I'm sure the second game he played he like tore me to dust and hanging out with the folks at the electric playground they're making those pinball toppers the officially licensed Bally Williams ones now they're making toppers for EM machines they have a topper for Brown Dirt Cowboy that first Elton John machine dude gave me a kit that I can use to make toppers and add lighting effects to them and he's like here we're thinking of making this a product selling it for around $200, but it's like kind of plug and play. And it just like puts interactive light shows up. So whatever topper you make, you can add a light show to it. And he's like, why don't you take this home and see what you can do with it and give us feedback. And I'm like, this, I love fricking pinball, man. How cool is that? Right. Um, I've got a homebrew project I'm working on. Um, I make toppers and now like, you know, this guy from the industry that's making toppers is like giving me stuff to go do. Um, like I want to keep rolling this into, I don't know where I'm heading with this, but like somewhere, somewhere awesome, somewhere awesome. What else did I hear while I was there? I'm trying to think of some other like, like good juicy tidbits. You know, people were getting inebriated and just like kind of letting stuff flow. And it was kind of super cool. I didn't get confirmation on Harry Potter or anything, even though it's kind of like nosing around trying to get it. But I did notice, you know, folks from JJP were checking out the Harry Potter machine. Folks from Stern were checking out the Pokemon machine. They're telling on themselves, man, when they do that. And I love it. I love it. I can't wait. Uh, so recently I recently is today. I put up my, uh, my X-Men LE for sale. I just reveal out to Patreon and some close friends right now, just putting some feelers out there. I'm going to be getting, uh, the first of the premiums that I'm making over here soon. So I thought, well, why don't I go ahead and free up some, uh, so, so money and space and, uh, pass a deal to you know my listeners and stuff uh and offer up this modded x-men le for 12 we can work on shipping or whatever if you guys want it and then you know as i get the premiums in i can have those to play somebody can get a modded out le um and we can work on it i'm still planning on powder coating the door and the uh the speaker grill to match and i'm working on a topper as well so i'll probably be able to include those as well um so it'll be like kind of a nice package and stuff. I haven't put it on pin side yet. I may do that over the next couple of days, but if you want to get in on it or shoot me an offer, like now's not a bad time to do that. Also my blood red kiss is available and my ultra VP 5.0 virtual pinball machine are also available, essentially their best offer. So if you want to talk about more of them, more about them, just, you know, get at me and I'll get you a deal. I'll ship it to your house. I'll ship it to a terminal. You know, that's not a problem. Tales from the crypt has left. So, you know, hopefully crew is happy. Well, they are happy with that. I've already heard back from them. So I'm finally starting to free up some space and get some new stuff in here. Now, I saw that I listed X-Men today and they're like, you know, what did you hear that made you come home and put it up there? And honestly, it's just, you know, Metallica is better than I thought. I would like to get a premium at some point. And then I know that there's there's bangers coming and they're not going to stop coming. So I'd like to keep games moving through here. I would like to hold on to John Wick still because I'm waiting for some good code. X-Men's got some good code. I got some X-Men coming. if you yourself are interested in a modded refinery style machine by Don let me know we can work out something ahead of time and I offer very favorable rates too so essentially you can pay near MSRP and get something that's already completely made over if you'd like so get at me um gosh what else happened while I was at pinball expo all right so I'm sitting on the bench of the registration area uh waiting on a guy that i'm giving a uh pulp fiction uh dust cover to and like jersey jack himself comes walking out and uh you know i'm sitting on a bench with two other guys and then you know jack was like the guys recognized him so he's like shaking hands and stuff and he sees me he shakes my hand and then just sits down next to me and starts talking and i'm like does just jack know who i am like honestly like how freaking awesome would that be maybe he just wanted a sit and he was tired um but he's like talking to him about like you know life and pinball and like how the show's going and like where it's going in the future and like what he'd like to do and i'm trying not to be like a fangirl and totally crush and be like oh my god i'm getting an avatar it's gonna be so great but it's just like you know just just i didn't even like remember or write down what we were talking about i didn't want to like pull out my phone and live stream it it was just like cool just sitting down having a conversation with like jack himself man um you know i'm not sure how long he's gonna be around with us to be honest so it was cool to have a talk with him. He's definitely walking a little slower. He's got a little less energy. I'm worried that something may be going on with the guy. Respecting his privacy, not prying and not trying to put out there what I think is going on. I'm just celebrating the times that we're having together with everybody. I think that's important. Speaking of Jersey Jack, being there for the giveaway of their machine and like seeing the joy on that guy's face that one like him and his kid and he's like just beside himself i can't wait to see more they're recording i'm sure they're gonna put out like a tiktok or a facebook reel or something about what went on there but like that was super fun um i feel good about my avatar purchase i still can't wait to get it and just start you know going through the eclipses and stuff i think it'll be a game that i'll hang on to until the next jjp comes out and then i'll just offer it up for whatever the market rate is but I just don't want to have it for a while. It just looks like a really well-made machine. It's got the Bader Playfield. You got to see the UV in person. Seeing like the UV oranges that were on some of the plastics with like the full UV aspect that was going on was really popping, man. You know, super cool. God, I'm like scrambling. My brain is scrambled from being up for like three days straight. but just so much good times were had at the pinball expo I know I've been talking for longer than two minutes what happened did I make some some terrible adjustment I'm going to try to wrap this up here and then we'll get back into it as soon as I know some more thanks for being cool I'll try to think of some more stuff to say here's some Metallica Metallica I'm your source of self-destruction.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

---

*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 4c9dfb6c-aaf2-4033-8992-d1ebfa45f6cb*