# SDTM Episode 60: Zach Takes Over!

**Source:** Straight Down the Middle  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2018-05-11  
**Duration:** 42m 57s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh5iDRKWsWA

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## Analysis

Zach Sharpe hosts a solo episode of Straight Down the Middle covering recent pinball industry news, including Jersey Jack Pinball's decision to swap release order (Willy Wonka before Toy Story), rumors of upcoming Stern titles (Deadpool, Monsters, The Beatles, Superman '78, Beetlejuice), Chicago Gaming's Monster Bash remake topper excitement, and commentary on trending games like Pirates of the Caribbean and Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle. The episode includes spontaneous phone calls with Ryan C and another guest, discussing machines Zach has sold (Houdini), and confirms upcoming trash talker invitational tournament appearances.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Jersey Jack Pinball is swapping their release order, with Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory coming before Toy Story — _Zach discusses this as a confirmed swap in response to rumors, though he notes these are unconfirmed_
- [MEDIUM] Pat Lawlor is working on Toy Story pinball — _Zach references a rumor that Pat Lawlor is the designer on Toy Story, questioning if this explains the release swap_
- [MEDIUM] Stern Pinball has upcoming rumored titles: Deadpool, Monsters, The Beatles, Superman '78, and Beetlejuice — _Zach cites a 'This Week in Pinball' budget leak of two upcoming Stern titles, then lists additional rumors with varying certainty_
- [MEDIUM] Chicago Gaming Company's Monster Bash Limited Edition topper will be special, potentially exceeding Attack from Mars LE quality — _Zach references secondhand intel: 'somebody said if you thought Attack from Mars LE was special watch out for Monster Bash LE especially the topper'_
- [HIGH] Pirates of the Caribbean received artwork changes, with the apron redesigned to be more vibrant with ships and oranges/reds replacing a muted matte finish — _Zach directly observed and praised the apron change, noting it was more vibrant than the previous darker version_
- [MEDIUM] Spooky Pinball's Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle is trending down due to tough shooter mechanics and excessive post thuds — _Zach reports community sentiment shift: 'it's trending down a lot of people are saying that it's a tough shooter a lot of thuds a lot of thumps on posts'_
- [HIGH] Houdini Master of Mystery received new updated code by Josh Kugler — _Zach confirms new code update and credits Josh Kugler for the code work_
- [MEDIUM] American Pinball is working on a second machine called Wipe Out after Houdini — _Zach speculates: 'I think they're probably already starting on that second machine they're making Wipe Out stay tuned'_

### Notable Quotes

> "I am going Tee'd Off be doing my own damn episode... Greg is at home right now sleeping and he kept dragging his feet"
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~0:45
> _Sets up the premise of the solo takeover episode due to Greg's absence_

> "I don't like the red... do you really want to spend that much more money on a Premium Edition I don't know I don't think I do"
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~2:30
> _Expresses skepticism about premium tier pricing for Iron Maiden, indicating potential market concern_

> "Highway pinball crashed and burned they are liquidating right now... Pinball Brothers are jumping in here and they're starting their own thing but these are the investors of old Highway pinball"
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~4:00
> _Confirms Highway Pinball liquidation and Pinball Brothers connection, with speculation about potential acquisition strategy_

> "if you thought Attack from Mars LE was special watch out for Monster Bash LE especially the topper don't tell anybody"
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~16:30
> _Reports insider intel on Chicago Gaming's Monster Bash Limited Edition quality expectations_

> "When you're like me you don't have much money... I can't grow a collection like you guys can... there's no location pinball so I cannot really play Pinball unless I drive a long way"
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~18:45
> _Explains reasoning for selling Houdini to maximize return, justifying secondary market trading_

> "Pirates of the Caribbean is trending up... Alice Alice Cooper is trending down... Iron Maiden trended up... I love watching the different market and the different fluctuations in popularity"
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~26:00
> _Provides meta-analysis of community sentiment shifts and game popularity cycles_

> "Tim Burton's Beetlejuice... that's going to be phenomenal if that's true... if it is true mean you guys are killing it killing it"
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~11:15
> _Expresses enthusiasm for rumored Stern Beetlejuice title as a premium IP_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Zach Sharpe | person | Host of Straight Down the Middle who is taking over solo episode from Greg Bone; Stern Pinball marketing director and competitive pinball player |
| Greg Bone | person | Co-host of Straight Down the Middle who is absent from this episode; Zach makes mock phone call to his voicemail |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Manufacturer announcing release order swap for Willy Wonka and Toy Story; also updating Pirates of the Caribbean artwork apron |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major manufacturer with multiple rumored upcoming titles including Deadpool, Monsters, The Beatles, Superman '78, and Beetlejuice |
| Chicago Gaming Company | company | Producing Monster Bash remake with anticipated premium limited edition topper |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle, which Zach reports is trending down in community sentiment |
| American Pinball | company | Producing Houdini Master of Mystery with new code updates; reportedly working on second machine 'Wipe Out' |
| Pat Lawlor | person | Legendary pinball designer rumored to be designing Jersey Jack's Toy Story machine |
| Ryan C | person | Pinball personality interviewed via phone call by Zach; co-host of head-to-head pinball podcast; known for his long hair |
| Josh Kugler | person | Code designer at American Pinball credited with recent Houdini Master of Mystery code updates |
| Eric Meunier | person | Jersey Jack Pinball designer; credited with Pirates of the Caribbean artwork apron redesign |
| Pinball Brothers | company | Emerging manufacturer formed by old Highway Pinball investors; rumored to be making Queen and Alien pinball machines |
| Highway Pinball | company | Liquidating company; assets and investors transitioning to Pinball Brothers |
| Iron Maiden | game | Stern Pinball machine that Zach is planning to review with Greg; discusses premium edition pricing concerns |
| Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory | game | Jersey Jack Pinball title being released before Toy Story; Zach excited about prospect |
| Toy Story | game | Jersey Jack Pinball title delayed after Willy Wonka; Pat Lawlor rumored as designer |
| Monster Bash | game | Chicago Gaming Company remake with special Limited Edition topper; trending as highly anticipated |
| Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle | game | Spooky Pinball title currently trending down in community sentiment due to difficult shooter mechanics |
| Houdini Master of Mystery | game | American Pinball machine that Zach sold; recently received code updates; new accessories in development |
| Pirates of the Caribbean | game | Jersey Jack Pinball title trending up; received vibrant artwork apron redesign |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Jersey Jack Pinball release schedule changes, Stern Pinball upcoming titles (rumors), Community sentiment and game popularity trends
- **Secondary:** Game pricing and premium tier concerns, Hardware Pinball liquidation and Pinball Brothers formation, Chicago Gaming Company remake quality and toppers, Code updates and post-release support
- **Mentioned:** Secondary market resale and collector strategy

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.55) — Zach is enthusiastic about upcoming machines and industry developments (Beetlejuice, Monster Bash, game design quality) but expresses concerns about premium pricing tiers, community criticism fatigue ('stop it okay'), and market saturation. Generally optimistic about manufacturer pipeline while acknowledging price and accessibility barriers.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Highway Pinball liquidating; Pinball Brothers (formed by old Highway investors) assuming operations and rumors of acquiring Queen and Alien licenses (confidence: medium) — Zach reports: 'Highway pinball crashed and burned they are liquidating right now... Pinball Brothers are jumping in here and they're starting their own thing but these are the investors of old Highway pinball'
- **[event_signal]** Trash Talker Invitational at Replay FX tournament announced; Straight Down the Middle hosts invited but uncertain about attendance due to logistics (confidence: high) — Zach reports: 'Greg and I from Straight Down the Middle: a pinball show were invited... they said we were nice and then they crapped on... the title of our show'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Game popularity trending analysis: Pirates of the Caribbean trending up, Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle trending down, Iron Maiden trended up post-announcement (confidence: high) — Zach directly observes community momentum: 'Pirates of the Caribbean is trending up... Alice Alice Cooper is trending down... I love watching the different market and the different fluctuations'
- **[design_philosophy]** Chicago Gaming Monster Bash LE topper anticipated to be exceptional based on insider feedback; expectation-setting for premium remake quality (confidence: medium) — Zach cites insider intel: 'somebody said if you thought Attack from Mars LE was special watch out for Monster Bash LE especially the topper don't tell anybody'
- **[personnel_signal]** Potential indication of Pat Lawlor involvement with Jersey Jack Pinball's Toy Story title; designer rumors circulating (confidence: medium) — Zach references rumor: 'I don't know who the rumor was that Pat Lawlor is actually the one working on Louis Toy Story so does it make sense that they're going to swap it'
- **[personnel_signal]** Josh Kugler credited with recent Houdini Master of Mystery code updates; active development on American Pinball titles (confidence: high) — Zach confirms: 'Josh Kugler is killing it with that code you guys killing it with that code'
- **[market_signal]** Community questioning value of premium edition pricing for Iron Maiden; Zach skeptical about $4k+ premium premium tier premium cost justification (confidence: medium) — Zach expresses hesitation: 'do you really want to spend that much more money... I don't know I don't think I do'
- **[announcement]** Jersey Jack Pinball swapping release order: Willy Wonka coming before Toy Story, reversing initial plan (confidence: high) — Zach discusses as confirmed swap: 'Jersey Jack pinball swapping their releases so we'll see what happens'
- **[product_strategy]** American Pinball's second machine 'Wipe Out' timeline uncertain; Zach speculates development status (confidence: low) — Zach speculates: 'I think they're probably already starting on that second machine they're making Wipe Out stay tuned'
- **[product_strategy]** Pirates of the Caribbean received artwork redesign on apron/gear, changing from dark/muted matte finish to vibrant colors with ships and oranges/reds (confidence: high) — Zach directly observed: 'everybody said it was too dark... so they spruced it up a little bit... with a nice vibrant... ships battling one another with oranges and reds'
- **[rumor_hype]** Multiple unreleased Stern Pinball titles rumored from 'This Week in Pinball' budget leak: Deadpool, Monsters, The Beatles, Superman '78, and Beetlejuice (confidence: medium) — Zach cites 'This Week in Pinball dropped a bombshell' reporting upcoming Stern lineup; emphasizes these are rumors with no confirmation
- **[licensing_signal]** Tim Burton's Beetlejuice confirmed/rumored as upcoming Stern title; Zach notes hopes it's not the late '80s cartoon version (confidence: medium) — Zach expresses: 'that's Tim Burton's Beetlejuice oh that looks... I think it's Tim Burton's Beetlejuice I'm hoping it's not the late '80s early 90s cartoon'

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## Transcript

are you ready for your next pinball machine call flipping out now and choose from the newest and hottest pinball machines from Jersey Jack pinball Stern Pinball Chicago gaming company and American pinball flipin out also offers the escalera stair climbing hand truck visit now at flip inout pinball.com the wait is over a revolution in LED lighting for your pinball is finally here full F customizable Full Spectrum Lighting from pinstadium lights order yours now at Pin stadium.com check out pin graphics for the latest and greatest in pinball enhancements Power blades blade skins pin blades and even more visit ping graphics.com now to see what's available for your pinball machine Marco Specialties same day shipping accessible website exceptional customer service and with over 50,000 different pinball Parts in stock Marco Specialties is a must for every pinball Enthusiast and operator treat your pinball machine right by visiting marcos.com now let's kick this [ __ ] you hit it off with bumping on straight down the middle again you had a flame with a slingshot and you're rolling out the outlan again you got something something something all a shame it was all a shame baby baby baby why are you doing me wrong you remember hey what's happening everybody this is Zach and where's Greg you guys don't see Greg because this is the episode where Zach takes over that's right I am going to be doing my own damn episode Greg is at home right now sleeping and he kept dragging his feet and he kept [ __ ] around and I thought you know what I'm going to record my own damn episode so you're stuck with me for the next I don't know 10 15 hour and a half something like that we're going to do some fun stuff what I thought we could do today is we could go over this month in pinball talking about recent events um and what's been going on in pinball so got my facts that just came in here sound effects you know okay so what what what's going on Iron Maiden Iron Maiden is going on you guys see it right here right love Iron Maiden Iron is a lot of fun you're going to see a review coming up pretty soon uh by Greg and I from straight down the middle we're going to do a review on Iron Maiden but what we don't know is where in the hell are the premium picks we've seen the Le now right I mean come on what do you guys think about the pre or the LA myself I wasn't that thrilled I was kind of glad that I got the pro to be quite honest um you spend a lot more money on the Le I get that um but I don't like the red no and then what was it dead flip dead flip does all the best streaming he streamed the Ellie at the factory there and it was cool it was really cool I liked all the mechanisms I love that ramp the ramp that goes up and then goes behind that love that love that damn thing but but do you really want to spend that much more money from a pro to a premium I don't know I don't know I don't think I do but maybe it's just me cuz Iron Maiden uh is just not my type of theme now do I love it love it do the game uh rules work phenomenally uh what about the layout layout is killer but the theme I don't know so what what I've uh talked to people about whether or not the premium or the Le is better we don't know what the premium looks like maybe by the time you guys see this it will be revealed but I haven't seen it yet the artwork is cool um I like the gloss sides I like all the mechs in it but I'm not really feeling the extra the extra what four let's see Pros are 57 to n yeah now if you are thinking about doing a premium Le I don't think it's that bad to jump up to the LA because you do get the powder coat you do get the um the different mechs you do get the back glass you do get uh the high gloss decals on the side so all of that stuff is super cool but I just don't know about spending that extra unless you want those accessories and then yeah sure so we did see that we're waiting for the premium if you guys haven't already seen it if you have seen it maybe I'll throw it up here if not then go to this week in pinball they've got all the pig shell every one all right what else is going on so Highway pinball crashed and burned they are liquidating right now um liquidating liquidating that's kind of what happens to Greg bone uh the following warning of a drunken stooper he does a lot of liquidation yeah was that a good joke it was fair it was fair fair joke so they're liquidating Highway pinball is liquidating and it is thought that they uh the pinball brothers are jumping in here and they're starting their own thing but these are the investors of Old Highway pinball but whenever they invested people are thinking maybe just maybe they had this evil scheme all along with the little cat and all so people think maybe they just bought this company to liquidate it later on and take all the assets I don't know but are you going to trust pinball Brothers making a pinball machine whether they're making Queen they have the rights to queen or whether they're making alien I don't think I don't think but you know what happens people make badass pinball machines and we soon forget so who knows we'll see what happens with pinball Brothers uh Andrew Highway did an interview with pinball news is it pinball news did the interview um I didn't really pay attention to it because I really didn't care to hear what Andrew Highway had to say uh because I kind of knew what he was going to say and he kind of said everything that I thought he was going to say so I skimmed through it I listened to actually Canada uh Canada and his fiance read it over his podcast so check that out all right so do we care about alien pinball I care because I hate that some of you guys lost money on that deal um another very very important Rule and lesson when buying pinball machines always go through a distributor and better yet um I would say try to play the game first before you buy it either that or listen to our opinions on it because I mean come on we have the best opinions in pinball um that's a joke that that was actually good joke cuz that that wasn't true at all all right so this weekend pinball dropped a bombshell this last week uh they told us that Georgy Jack pinball was going to come out with Toy Story next that's the rumor uh and then Willie Wonka was going to follow it but they did a little flipper rusi little flipper rusi so it's said now that Wily Wonka is coming out before that's right before Toy Story is this a good move is this a good move I think it's probably not the move that they were going to take uh but it was probably the move that they had to do who is texting me God all right so I'm really excited about willly wonan I'm really excited about Toy Story if these are true they are only rumors there's nothing confirmed to say that these machines are actually being made but if they do make them I'm going sharen my pants yep right through full Flowage sorry that was that was really inappropriate God Ryan see you're killing me oh he's cooking Something Good Can you guys see this this is what Ryan sees cooking chicken I don't know if you can see it but it's chicken you know what let's introduce our new segment we'll get back to this this is a new segment we're going to call phone a friend to the answers it takes a long time to call Australia because it's like on a different planet so yeah is it g day did you really answer the phone with good day just for my American friends what are you doing man good day good day Lads what the hell are you doing what time is it there am I doing it's 11:30 I'm cooking some some early lunch get breakfast it's like 9:00 at night here man I'm bummed out how's how's the day going good just uh woke up did some work still got some work to do but I work from home so it's like I'm just yeah I know everybody in the pinball World tells me you're like Scrooge McDuck you just swim in money that's it that's it man Ryan you're gonna you're gonna you're going to kill me man I've got you live on our video right now okay I'm I'm sorry brother put you on the spot but I figured if I I figured if I called and asked you to be on the show you'd say no anyway so I thought you know what you you were we were texting back and forth so I thought I'd call you and say what's up what are you up to today anyway uh what am I GNA do I've got a I've got a friend who wants to buy a Mustang um from a different state that he wants me to go and check out it's local to me um should try and talk him out of it or what Mustang pinball machine or Mustang caring I was going to say I'd say probably no to both um what else I've got plans got go gotta hit the gym I got a I got a it's a joke on our podcast that I go to the gym and and try work out I I just suck at it but um I haven't given up yet so I've got a new program from a guy who's actually knows what he's talking about so the triceps are coming is is this is this guy Eric Minor is that who's training you it actually a guy I used to work with right yeah literally 100 sorry about 70 kilos over 100 pound I was going to say kilos means nothing to me and not lost the now he's just this like mus tank just it's just embarrassing because I'm like skinny fat if you know what that means I don't know what that means what does that mean's got a lot there we call that over here in the states we call that Dad bod so Greg Greg screwed me over this week and he was supposed to come record and I want to give the people a show so I'm doing a show where Zach takes over and I talk about pinball news because quite frankly he doesn't know [ __ ] anyway when it comes to pinball or pinball news so I figured I'd just carry the show and I thought I'd call you because I have a really important question for you that's right okay so who gives a [ __ ] about the pinball stuff right what I want to know my friend I am obsessed with your hair can you tell us just a little bit about your routine of of taking care of that beautiful head of hair of yours maybe even the products you use and and Ryan you think I'm joking right now but I I am not I'm not joking all right I'm going to I'm going to open my St up here to I know this is going to become a thing and think people going to B to share me right yeah let's do it my wife has a thing my wife has a thing for Loki right not not the actor who plays Loki okay Loki okay like the comic book character no like the guy in The Avengers oh okay I got you got you got you she she He's the hottest guy ever right okay bad taste but all right hayles horrible taste horrible horrible taste like a a pasty weird looking weasel um I'm not I'm not pasty I got the weasel thing do for me yeah you're very tan and hairy yes as as a joke I was like uh I'll grow I'll grow my hair out you know because I'm always saying like she cut her hair short once right she went for like the cor look yeah yeah yeah nice and hate I hated it it's just like I'm like allergic to to women with short hair iide the counts so so she she grew her hair back and and I was and as a joke I was like okay well you know I'll grow my hair out for you oh well and it's just it's as a joke you know and it's just it's so hard because having long hair as a guy sucks because it gets in your face absolutely when you put product in there it takes forever to to wash it out it's true horrible so I'm the worst person to ask about Hair Management because I don't I don't know what I'm doing it's the longest hair I've ever had in my life um you're just being you're being koi you're being Koi No you're being koi right now you there I swear to God you probably own like four or five hair products that are sitting on your vanity right now I swear to God I that's why I wear hat all the time that's why Jeff to's always gives me crap about wearing a hat it's because I I wear a hat to pretty much hide my hair I don't want to wear a headband I don't want to wear like a hairnet um I wear a hat to cover my hair so I have to put product in it because it just seeps down to my sculp and flakes off it's horrible having long hair sucks I don't know how R oh I'm almost there I'm almost there oh I almost feel sorry for you so you're going to sit here and I I'm admiring your gorgeous ass hairir and you're going to downplay it and and hide it under a hat and act like you don't really take care of it I appreciate that man I should I should be like that um an girl that um gets paid to go to the Marco booth that could be me I love it that could be my next gig it could be your next gig all right man well I will I will uh I'll leave you alone I know you're cooking I I know you're cooking and doing lunch and stuff I appreciate you picking up the phone man I just want to call a buddy and I thought who better uh than the most famous one of the most famous pinball personalities and that is Ryan C speechless thanks buddy all right have a good one brother see you later bye so there you have it that was Ryan C and his have you guys seen his hair like I'm a straight guy you know happy happily married uh children all of that but the guy's hair is something to be seen it really is and then that kind of bummed me out though I'm not going to lie kind of bummed me out because um I would love to have hair like that and he just [ __ ] on his hair and he hides it under a hat but he's just pling Koy you know for a fact he's got like this whole he's probably got fluffers and he's probably got pics he's got a blow dryer and everything all right thanks again Ryan uh check out Ryan C and Marty on head-to-head pinball podcast um I smell tppy I really smell a tppy coming for those guys all right let's get back into it so jjp swapping their releases so we'll see what happens um I think that I'm going to buy probably both of those titles Toy Story and um Pirates not Pirates I'm going to buy Pirates too probably Toy Story and Willie Wonka um so I don't know who the rumor was that Pat Lawler is actually the one working on uh Toy Story so does it make sense that they're going to swap it but it's got to be some licensing issues or timing issues something got to be going on and it bums me out because I really did kind of want to see a Toy Story next but Willie Wonka is phenomenal too this week in pinball dropped another bomb last week they Dropped a Bomb of two upcoming rumored titles for Stern Pinball as if these guys cannot get better tit these guys have the best licensed titles that they come out with pinball so we've got recently Guardians of the Galaxy awesome Iron Maiden yeah and then we've got Deadpool coming up reportedly uh supposedly we have monsters as a rumor Beatles is a rumor and then now for 2019 we have Superman 78 sweet Jesus what a great license and then we have oh my gosh the license that I'm going to fall in love with and that's Tim Burton's Beetle Juice oh that looks I think it's Tim Burton's Beetle Juice I'm hoping it's not the late ' 80s early 90s cartoon even even if it is I love Beetlejuice love Michael Keaton that's going to be phenomenal if that's true that's going to be phenomenal but maybe this is just a red herring maybe they're just throwing that out there to see who's going to pass this stuff along I don't know but if it is true mean you guys are killing it killing it that's all I'm going to say killing it all right um now my my nerdy ass is like I wonder who's working on them I wonder who's designing them what F features will they have uh oh gosh who's coding it please don't be you thought I was going to say it I'm not gonna say that's mean that's mean I'm not going to say that all right what else we got Monster Bash Monster Bash is supposed to be the Remake uh they kind of flopped it upcoming show kind of flopped it out and said they were going to give away one and then they recanted that so Monster Bash we all know is going to be the Reas make and here's what I've heard I don't know if you guys have heard this anywhere but don't tell anybody but um somebody said if you thought uh attack from Mars leie was special watch out for Monster Bash leie especially the topper don't tell anybody you said it I've only have 12 people watching the show anyway don't tell anybody but save your pennies up because I heard this thing is going to kill all right all right what else we got Houdini oh Houdini you guys it was sitting right here and now it's gone I've gotten a lot of [ __ ] for selling my Houdini here's the thing right here's the thing uh when you're like me you don't have much money now I'm not bitching and moaning because I've got enough to go on vacation feed my kids you know I'm I'm fine I'm fine don't worry about Zach but I ain't got a lot of money not a lot of money so um I can't grow a collection like you guys can wish I could just can't and I'm in the middle of nowhere in Indiana literally in the middle of nowhere um so there's no location pinball so I cannot really play Pinball unless I drive along way so I look guys I got to sell [ __ ] whenever I play it for a while and I need something else for the show uh to review I don't know what this is all about so when I uh need stuff for the show we need to review we need to stream old you know Greg ain't going to do [ __ ] you know he ain't getting rid of his little lost world or his demo man he ain't going to do it so big Zach's got to step up I got to do the [ __ ] so that's why I sold Houdini and it's it's kind of uh it's business too in a sense like I know I'm going to have to get rid of it this is this is my thing I know I have to get rid of it um do I want to get rid of it no am I having a blast with it f and a yeah I love it but I know I'm going to get rid of it so do you get rid of it now and maximize your return or do you dick around and wait another five months until everybody gets their orders and then the thing thing sell for like 6,200 no thanks so I maximized my return um you know kind of regretting selling it but it is what it is I'll pick up one later so for all you haters out there that were hating on me for getting rid of who thought he liked it I do like it since when can you get rid of a machine and say that you don't like it or let me rephrase that since when can you not sell a machine that you like is it against the rules you can't sell a machine that you like so no Canada was giving me [ __ ] Canada listen listen you own one machine you own a Batman 66 super Le beautiful machine great game but for that money you could have bought so many other machines I know you have space issues don't give me [ __ ] brother you have you own one machine yeah scooch get a little scooch all right let's move on so Houdini anyway they have a new updated code check that out that's really awesome cougler is killing it with that code you guys killing it with that code and I think they're probably already starting on that second machine they're making wo stay tuned stay tuned hopefully straight down the middle will'll be able to get uh some good stuff once that's ready uh they got magic glass out now they've got the Shaker motor out so if you need a Shaker motor for your Houdini hop on there and get that and they there's talks that they may do a knocker kit yeah the old it kind of sounds like that but it's a knocker kit for Houdini that would be awesome okay so we talked about uh Jersey Jack Pirates of the Caribbean flip-flopping on their titles their upcoming titles rumored upcoming titles um but they did something else they changed their pirates of the gear being an apron uh they everybody said it was too dark and I tend to kind of agree it was a little muted uh it was a matte finish so it wasn't it wasn't the greatest look so they spruced it up a little bit uh with a nice vibrant uh ships battling one another with oranges and reds I got to say I like it a lot better so kudos to you guys Eric and the team up there at jjp design in Chicago for changing that up if that's where it came from um but everybody's still bitched and moaned and complained about it oh we don't like that one either guys come on pick your B battles pick your battles um you guys picked your battle on the spinning disc I get it it didn't come out for us but they said look okay we'll listen to these guys they don't like the apron we'll change the apron and you still bitching stop it okay Alice Cooper you guys remember Alice Cooper they're making that pin here soon um but it's trending on the trending down a little bit right now Charlie and them are making Alice Cooper's nightmare Castle I thought it was pretty cool when I saw it at Texas but um it's trending down a lot of people are saying that it's a tough shooter a lot of thuds a lot of thumps on posts instead of standup targets but then you have Houdini with standup targets people [ __ ] about that so whatever but it's trending down right now people are kind of down on it kind of down on it am I down on it no I still want to play it a lot I want to get some good time on that uh but I would say even if we're talking about trending uh Pirates at the Caribbean by Jersey Jack is actually starting to Trend up a little bit I love watching uh the different market and the and the different fluctuations in popularity and discussion about these pinball machines because you'll see them wax and weigh and go up and down and right now Pirates of the Caribbean is trending up and Alice Cooper is trending down Iron Maiden trended up we didn't see the Le and it was up everybody was like oh my God I got see the Le they saw the Le and everybody's like oh [ __ ] that doesn't look good and then everybody was like but it looks good enough so it Trends back up again and now it's still apexing up a little bit cuz people want to see the premium so I love I love doing that type of um maybe observation love that kind of stuff all right what else should we talk about this is my damn episode you guys this is all me this is all Zach ain't no dumbass Greg S I love that guy I'm just messing with you Greg but ain't no Greg sitting beside me he's sleeping right now should we call him let's call him [Music] I can guarantee he won't message theone record your message what should we say when you recording you may hang up or press one for more options hey Greggy baby this is me Marty meley your agent oh man oh man I really needed you to answer the phone brother because I had the deal of a lifetime a roll that would have put you to the top but you done messed it up Greg you done messed it up and didn't answer the phone so I'm going to go to the next guy the guy called Zach one of your partners for me a little [ __ ] pinball nerdy thing so uh sorry buddy thought I'd call you with the roll of a lifetime but you jacked it up see you what a dick not answering the phone for his Bud whatever what else we need to talk about oh the trash talkers invitationals coming up at replay FX and guess what uh Greg and I from straight down the middle were inv fight it uh they said we were nice and then they crapped on what they crap on the title of our show yeah said something about um it sounds like something that you would get in your crotch from a lot lizard uh at a trucker station so Chuck thanks appreciate that so Greg and I are looking into uh Logistics and looking into scheduling to see if we can make it up to replay and if we do absolutely we'll be in but I can't be sure do you guys think we should do the trash talker Invitational reach out to us let us know what you think I just I don't see it in the books but we haven't said no yet because we would really like to go up there and talk some serious [ __ ] yeah okay what else we got okay so let's phone a friend you guys ready who's it going to be answers hello he did answer hey what's up dude what's up man hey I know how you love being put on the spot right and you work uh yeah and you work really good on your feet right sure and every time I've asked you to come on to the straight downthe middle show you reject me right yeah I'm not coming on that is that what you're talking about I I knew you were gonna say that so um yeah you're on the show right now because I know that you're not going to be an [ __ ] and you're not going to hang up on all of these nice people so I figured this was the I'm sorry man this is the only way I'm going to get you on I'm like getting red inside CU I'm kind of afraid actually Jeff is going to be really mad he's asked me like five times on to come on pinb profile but yeah but he's all the way up in Canada who cares I know I love Canadians you love everybody I do so what are you up to man um I was just texting with my brother-in-law actually oh nice little pinball date or something no he uh just downloaded all of the uh Aly Williams stuff for the iPad oh nice going away it is going away I heard that man see I can't even call you as a friend you you still have breaking news for me I love it he downloaded all of them and he said he doesn't like the physics on the how they feel really didn't like the physics that good well it's not play Real pball oh I got you he spoiled so what did you uh what you end up doing today you went to work then what' you do give it give everybody a little rundown on what Jeff from this weekend pinball did today I know you love this really put me on the spot here uh we're having a uh bathroom remodeling happening right now okay serious stuff home and my um we have two cats they were locked upstairs what are your what are your uh the names of your cats I got to hear this I wish they were pinball names that'd be better let's hear how horrible these names are Bandit and bogey Bandit and bogey okay so the flying themes Bandit is the only uh cat that's ever actually only animal in the world that's ever liked me looking at him right now you're looking at give me the eye I hate cats by the way they're filthy beasts you like dogs whatever you don't like any animals no I deal with Greg bone every day I I don't no not really he's he's enough to deal with so the reason I was really calling you uh to put you on the spot number one number two what' you eat for dinner anything good uh I had chicken from the grill from the from the grill huh was that your grill or somebody else's Grill I grilled it you grilled it very nice are you any good at cooking no it wasn't very good it was just okay just was it dry I don't know how to make I mean you heard it here guys Jeff from this week in pinball cannot cook worth a [ __ ] I mean it was uh solid eight out of 10 I think okay so who should I call up I'm gonna call somebody up next who should I call franie franie yeah I love that guy maybe I'll call franie I know you got some you got some franchy love you got that Guardians of the Galaxy didn't you I do that was uh probably the first pinbo machine that I bought based on the art I I mean okay wow the I like the I like the theme my wife likes the theme is huge that's that's important it shoots pretty well um shoots well it it shoots great stop it the rules are getting better I was never going to buy a machine until it had like the rules fleshed out okay but I love the artwork on that and and I know you like fleshing stuff out too big flesher big flesher here okay um so yeah I got it put on the end so what's uh give the people here a little nugget what's coming up on twip this next week anything good juicy you can give us a little uh little coming soon well it's a little early in the week because it's only Wednesday I don't tell people when I'm recording I got to edit this I'll probably drop this on Sunday the hell it's a little early in the week because it's that's right thank you okay what do we got any new titles you're just going to drop on people no I'm not I'm done doing that that was a hey you work for the people you work for the pinball people Jeff I do work for the people and I'm I'm got relationships with the manufacturers and I'm trying to like juggle everything but sometimes it's hard man it is hard I know I know so what do you got for us give us something good I literally have like 14 things already for next week I'm not gonna go all through 14 have you started editing it now no okay okay I'll tell you that I'll tell you a couple good ones um okay the deep root pricing we're g dive into that a little bit wow deeper pricing how do they hold up you think they've got machines built they know the the boom to to price these things oh he's going to plead the fifth okay so we got Deo pricing Deo pricing uh hoping to get another quote from Deep which is never boring no no it's not and what else uh I'm literally looking at my uh notes on my iPhone right now I bet people would kill to have those notes I know I would I would uh oh yeah um monsters I don't know should I say this or not moners monsters is a go it's not just a rumor monsters.com the uh what's a little kid in Monsters I've never watched monsters Eddie Eddie I think it's Eddie yeah is that the the like a weird kid the werewolf kid yeah it's the it's the werewolf kid yeah okay I think he might be at tpf next year oh wow well that is an exclusive you didn't even keep that for twip thank you buddy so you guys you guys heard that Eddie monster is going to be he's probably like 70 by now yeah he's probably getting up there very nice any other announcements no that's all I got okay well that's all I got although we may uh we may be announcing something special uh between the straight down the middle and this week in pinball at some point are you going to let us host a tippies again we're already working on the tippies dude I know we got special stuff for that don't we yeah oh yeah gonna be that is gonna be a fun night that's GNA be a really fun night and early morning possibly what does that mean that means we're Jeff it means we're going to party because we did so well that we're just going to party into the night and into the morning that's all that meant oh okay yeah I'm not so so you said we so something else that we have to announce do I know about this well not yet we'll talk we'll talk all right you guys heard it here this is Jeff from this week in pinball Jeff tell all these beautiful people goodbye goodbye everybody see you Jeff all right bye oh my gosh you guys since I've talked to you guys last there's probably 24 nude podcasts uh for pinball I [ __ ] you not uh and I listen to every one of them uh some are great some are need a little work but they're all new pinball content so I love it uh I want to welcome Mrs pin to the pinball media World Mrs pin how's it going we love you already we love your little attitude we love the way that you speak to people we love uh you chewing up all the knowledge you can and pinball and we freaking love Dr pin too Dr pin's like the sidekick uh that you talk about and then he chimes in every now and then we love love Dr pin so kudos to you guys for starting a podcast and a different take on uh pinball media and a different take on the on the uh the experience so Mrs pin welcome oh the Rip Tide Rip Tide pinball podcast I love the feminist to me just freaking loves all of these women joining in the pinball and joining into the pinball media I love it so Rip Tide pinball podcast welcome from straight down the middle uh rip tide is with uh pinball princess Steph and with our buddy Crystal I'm not going to mess up your last name Grimes something Chicago girl these two are awesome um I've never really met Steph but I've met Crystal I vouch for freaking one of the coolest girls ever so check out Rip Tide pinball podcast as well and we also have meltdown I think it's meltdown Stevie Bowen if I'm messing that up I'm sorry buddy Steve M got his new podcast called meltdown pinball podcast with Nikki make me want to eat a de lasagna I think it's de lasagna I'm not sure if it is it's a cool last name really cool last name but check out meltdown pinball podcast now I will say uh their first episode little sloppy and by sloppy I mean they were really drunk so welcome to the pinball media we love uh that you just jumped into there and had fun with it and we really want to hear some more podast podcast so thank you and we have pinball you have to change this name you've got to change this name it's too much pinball news pinball magazine podcast with Jonathan the juices lose juon and Martin from pinball news now I guess it's a conglomerate it's like the love child of these pinball Medias and I can't leave out the podcast that I'm most looking forward to is none other than Christopher Franchi he presents Silver Ballers Legends of the pinball creators that's right Christopher Franchi is gonna have his own show guess what it's going to be live guess what else he's going to be talking to the pinball legends that you and I all love that thing is going to be awesome I was talking to him the other day about it and it's going to be phenomenal fomena it's going to be awesome so stay tuned for that that I think he said he's going to roll that out here couple weeks month or so so check that out as well let's finish up let's wrap it up here Zack takes over straight down the middle of pinball show Greg is nowhere to be found uh you can catch us on Facebook you can catch us on uh catch us on Twitch too we haven't been streaming lately but we're going to we're going to ramp that back up we're going to ramp up production on the streaming we've got a lot of cool stuff uh Jeff from this week and pinball alluded to so that's going to be fun uh also check us out on YouTube share our videos let everybody know about us uh and if you don't like us just you know just kind of leave us alone then I don't know but by a t-shirt buy a t-shirt send a donation whatever you want to do to help out us we would much much appreciate it check out all of those other podcast all our friends in the industry and you're going to have to check out our sponsors too because our sponsors really help us a lot we we kind of love them there's Pinn Stadium lights they're they're on my machines because I love them um people been giving me [ __ ] because I say Iron Maiden in the middle of the Playfield is dark guess what guys it's a little dark if you play in the dark so light that bad boy up Star Wars is lit up with it as well use sdt in the checkout to save yourself 10% also ping Graphics oh wow I've been talking to Joe and he told me a couple little things what he's working on yeah you're going to want to stay tuned for that um also Marco Marco Specialties think about that machine right now every time I talk to you guys and tell you guys about Marco Specialties you think about that one freaking broken part or that one shopping you need to shop out your machine or something do it now do it right now and also whenever you're checking out and they say you want to add anything tell them uh yeah sdtm sent me because they're freaking awesome so marro Specialties and last but certainly not least one of my best buddies in the world Larry at flip in out pinball buy a machine and an escaler from him buy them both because you need them both look you guys if you guys have like I don't know more than one machine and you got it in a tricky situation and you don't want to kill your back I an escalera because guess what they literally are the easiest thing ever to deal with so buy an escalera buy a Brand New Jersey Jack Stern Pinball American pinball Chicago gaming company he's got all of them so buy one from him and until next week I love you guys thanks for dealing with me for an entire hour uh we missed the bone I miss the bone I need my buddy so next week the bone the the kind of confrontational guy that's annoying at times that's me Zach from straight down the middle you it off with the bumper I straight down the middle again midle again you had a FL with a slingshot you're rolling out the again I try to crle you with my flier it was all

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 5dfe5c20-e0da-4a48-8478-6d6965d5c115*