# Lebowski trip recap

**Source:** Don's Pinball Podcast (patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2023-09-11  
**Duration:** 25m 3s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/lebowski-trip-89086837

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## Analysis

Don recaps his recent trip to Cleveland where he traded a Rick and Morty machine for a Big Lebowski with Jeff at Mad Pinball, streamed at Quarter Up Arcade in Akron, and tested Honey Factory. He praises Big Lebowski's build quality and theme integration, discusses aftermarket toppers and streaming equipment upgrades, and outlines plans for future content including machine selections and a game room photo contest.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Big Lebowski has a bowling alley mechanism that weighs 60 pounds and is flawlessly engineered — _Don speaking from personal experience after disassembling the game_
- [HIGH] Big Lebowski uses three-quarter to seven-eighth inch plywood, thicker than what Stern uses — _Don, self-identified hobbyist woodworker, comparing build quality_
- [HIGH] Big Lebowski weighs 350 pounds total — _Don providing specific measurement_
- [HIGH] Big Lebowski back glass is double-sided with LEDs and weighs 20 pounds — _Don describing physical inspection_
- [HIGH] Honey Factory layout was done by Dave Sanders — _Don discussing Honey Factory experience_
- [MEDIUM] Big Lebowski has three flippers and the best upper playfield gameplay Don has played — _Don's opinion comparing to other machines he owns_
- [MEDIUM] Venom is Stern's B-team release and will flood the market like Foo Fighters — _Don's opinion based on market observation_
- [HIGH] Sterling Martin from Balls of Steel Pinball League is becoming Don's producer — _Don announcing new producer credit and equipment donation_
- [HIGH] Barry from Dutch Pinball sent Don a white Russian sculpture from Big Lebowski unsolicited — _Don describing interaction and merchandise received_
- [HIGH] Leor Ahsen from Art of Pinball is now working with Dutch Pinball on toppers — _Don reporting on industry personnel move_

### Notable Quotes

> "when talk about like a theme integrated pin like this is the one"
> — **Don**, early in episode
> _Don's first impression of Big Lebowski theme integration quality_

> "every shot like felt fair. You know, if I was missing them, it was because of my own lack of skill. It wasn't because the game was bad."
> — **Don**, during Honey Factory discussion
> _Praise for layout design quality by Dave Sanders_

> "The engineering that is in that machine is fantastic. The thing weighs 350 pounds. It is no joke."
> — **Don**, Big Lebowski build quality section
> _Strong endorsement of Dutch Pinball's manufacturing quality_

> "I've owned JJP. I've owned a lot of Sterns. I've owned Spookys. And this thing is built like a high-quality wooden cabinet."
> — **Don**, comparative build quality assessment
> _Direct comparison putting Dutch Pinball ahead of major manufacturers_

> "It's Stern's B team release. There it is. There's Venom in a nutshell."
> — **Don**, Venom discussion
> _Don's market positioning assessment of Venom_

> "We're not getting rid of the big Lebowski. No way."
> — **Don**, conclusion of Big Lebowski section
> _Strong signal that Don is keeping the machine long-term_

> "I built a new streaming rig. It's amazing. I can do chin-ups on the damn thing."
> — **Don**, streaming equipment discussion
> _Don's enthusiasm for new DIY streaming infrastructure_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Don | person | Host of Don's Pinball Podcast, pinball collector and streamer |
| Jeff | person | Operator at Mad Pinball in Cleveland, facilitated Big Lebowski trade |
| Dave Sanders | person | Pinball layout designer, created playfield layouts for multiple games including Honey Factory |
| Sterling Martin | person | Runs Balls of Steel Pinball League in Savannah, Georgia; became Don's producer, donated streaming equipment |
| Barry | person | Representative from Dutch Pinball, sent Don white Russian sculpture unsolicited |
| Leor Ahsen | person | Designer from Art of Pinball, now working with Dutch Pinball on toppers including Big Lebowski topper |
| Mad Pinball | company | Pinball operator/venue in Cleveland where Jeff works |
| Dutch Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer producing Big Lebowski with high-end wood construction and aftermarket toppers |
| Quarter Up Arcade | venue | Arcade in Akron, Ohio where Don streamed on Honey Factory |
| Balls of Steel Pinball League | organization | Tournament league in Savannah, Georgia run by Sterling Martin |
| Big Lebowski | game | Dutch Pinball machine based on The Big Lebowski film, recently acquired by Don in trade |
| Honey Factory | game | Pinball machine at Quarter Up Arcade with layout by Dave Sanders |
| Rick and Morty | game | Spooky Pinball machine that Don traded away to acquire Big Lebowski |
| Venom | game | Stern Pinball game found at Interium arcade, described by Don as B-team release flooding market |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer, produces Venom and other recent releases |
| Interium | venue | Arcade featuring Pulp Fiction, Venom, and Star Wars machines; described as a great arcade |
| Pulp Fiction | game | Pinball machine at Interium arcade that Don played |
| Star Wars | game | Pinball machine at Interium; Don mentioned considering modifications and resale |
| Scooby-Doo CE | game | Premium machine in Don's collection with strong upper playfield gameplay |
| Foo Fighters | game | Premium Stern machine in Don's collection; noted as flooding the market with poor resale value |
| Pinball Adventures | company | Manufacturer using high-end wood construction similar to Dutch Pinball approach |
| Art of Pinball | company | Aftermarket topper designer/manufacturer; Leor Ahsen now collaborating with Dutch Pinball |
| Godzilla | game | Stern Pinball machine in Don's collection with aftermarket topper option |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Big Lebowski machine build quality and construction, Dutch Pinball manufacturing standards vs competitors, Streaming infrastructure and content creation strategy
- **Secondary:** Aftermarket topper market and competition, Secondary market flooding and resale value trends, Tournament venue operations and community
- **Mentioned:** Pinball arcade venue quality and machine availability, Playfield layout design methodology

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.82) — Don is enthusiastic about Big Lebowski's quality, thrilled with streaming equipment upgrades, and positive about tournament community support. Critical but fair on Stern's recent releases (Venom, Foo Fighters). Overall tone is upbeat and community-focused.

### Signals

- **[product_concern]** Don reports Big Lebowski has superior build quality to Stern and JJP, with thicker plywood, heavier gauge materials, and flawless engineering (confidence: high) — Detailed comparative assessment after physical inspection: '350 pounds', 'three-quarter to seven-eighth inch' plywood vs Stern's thinner materials, 'flawlessly engineered' bowling mech
- **[market_signal]** Venom and Foo Fighters are flooding the market with poor resale prospects (confidence: medium) — Don: 'I see these flood in the market just like the Foo Fighters are flooding the market now and it's probably not going to be a lot of good resale on it'
- **[content_signal]** Don expanding streaming operation with new DIY rig, producer hire, and multiple content initiatives (confidence: high) — New streaming rig with black gas pipe construction, Sterling Martin hired as producer with equipment donation, planned giveaways, game room photo contest, upcoming content schedule
- **[venue_signal]** Quarter Up Arcade in Akron and Interium arcade noted as quality venues with diverse modern machines (confidence: medium) — Don traveled 10 hours to stream at Quarter Up, called Interium 'a great arcade', both had recent releases like Honey Factory, Venom, Pulp Fiction
- **[personnel_signal]** Leor Ahsen from Art of Pinball now collaborating with Dutch Pinball on toppers (confidence: high) — Don: 'Leor Ahsen prime of the art of pinball is now working with Dutch pinball which I'm super excited about'
- **[collector_signal]** Don acquired Big Lebowski through trade (Rick and Morty for Big Lebowski) and is actively collecting across manufacturers (confidence: high) — Don lists 10 machines in basement: Foo Fighters Premium, Scooby-Doo CE, Elvira Premium, Rush LE, Star Wars Premium, Halloween, Godzilla Premium, Big Lebowski, Ultra VP, and trading activity
- **[design_philosophy]** Big Lebowski praised for exceptional theme integration into gameplay mechanics (confidence: high) — Don: 'holy garbage I mean when talk about like a theme integrated pin like this is the one' and repeated emphasis on theme integration throughout review
- **[community_signal]** Positive collaboration between streaming content creator and tournament operator (Sterling Martin), demonstrating cross-community engagement (confidence: high) — Sterling Martin donated equipment to Don, received producer credit in exchange, both benefit from exposure
- **[product_strategy]** Don planning to hold Big Lebowski long-term but will resell Venom and Foo Fighters at loss due to market saturation (confidence: high) — Don: 'We're not getting rid of the big Lebowski' vs 'I don't mind taking a bath' on Venom/Foo Fighters
- **[technology_signal]** Aftermarket topper market expanding with interactive, motorized options from independent designers (confidence: medium) — Discussion of new Godzilla topper design inspired by console aesthetic, motorized functions, interactive elements, and platform for third-party mods
- **[operational_signal]** Don conducted first solo streaming at Quarter Up Arcade in Akron with live audience reaction (confidence: high) — Don: 'it was just me and my streaming equipment for the first time' and detailed interaction with venue regulars during hour-long Honey Factory session
- **[sentiment_shift]** Dutch Pinball gaining reputation for superior build quality among collector-streamers compared to established manufacturers (confidence: medium) — Don's repeated praise for Dutch Pinball engineering vs Stern and JJP, comparison to 'high-quality wooden cabinet', explicit statement of preference

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## Transcript

 I think you're too. Fuck sympathy. I don't need your fucking sympathy, man. I need my fucking Johnson What do you need that for? You've got to fuck up man. You cannot drag this negative energy into the tournament Fuck you Walter Exactly. Wes. What's up everybody man? I just got done watching the Big Lebowski again after taking this machine home and holy garbage I mean when talk about like a theme integrated pin like this is the one so guys I'm back from my trip out to Cleveland I'm going to do a show, just kind of, you know, not a show, F a show. We're just going to do a recording amongst our friends, our core group of people here. Um, and just kind of recap like what's been going on. So I got the word from my boy, Jeff over at Mad Pinball. He had a big Lebowski. He was looking to move. I had a Rick and Morty that I could consider parting with. We worked out a deal and then I worked out a 10 hour drive to Cleveland, uh, among other things, uh, out at quarter up arcade there in Akron, Ohio. If you're watching 911, call 9 mil. most mening The And so it was just me and my streaming equipment for the first time. Luckily it went off without much of a hitch there. And I was actually able to play Honey Factory. And like my first games on it were live and streaming. Which, you know, the regulars that were hanging out there, a lot of them weren't, I guess, used to that, you know. This drunk uncle guy came up to me a couple of times and he was hilarious during the stream. Oh man. You know, he said, well, are you like, are you famous? And I'm like, no. But we're streaming online right now. This is a weird exchange I had, but I played, you know, a straight hour on Punny Factory and I gave my reviews and then that show I did recently. But here's the thing, man. Dave Sanders did the layout. He's done the layouts for a ton of their games. And I guess this dude just likes doing layouts, man. Anyway, like a shot. Well, like if you want to get up to the orbits, if you want to get into the very target, even hitting into the punny press, like every shot like felt fair. You know, if I was missing them, it was because of my own lack of skill. It wasn't because the game was bad. Atogeneous Southwest creo blush ó Trot button ó Outpost ó The Ball is in the Shooter Lane, bouncing back and registering as a drain. I reached out to Andrew about all of my concerns I had. Everything came up in the stream, everything after the stream. And most of the things that I found, little issues here and there, he's already addressed. And we're looking forward to elements. So I spent about an hour there, and then I went over to Costco because I needed some flip-flops. I had left mine at home. All that kind of stuff to get into the differs Razascream480 The WPPR Podcast is brought to you by WPPR.com. These two interviews in which we discussed the one слож错 greatness of这个範ius在我不爱觉得 안å WPPR-) loosely an 을 mid Всё残yeah cwl allergy The style of the Sherman unfortunately like to the a s so those out all Clemes and Andrew Daniel Griff live in Sidots Sounds like Arnyuea Dawi Ongar or They had their schedule where you have you know myself and a co and we can kind of banter back and forth about like what going on Like so far you know I do my show and you know I kind of hit on what hot at the moment mixed in with my own speculation you know And I get through it and people dig it. They don't want to change doing that. But you know, there was something else to be said about just like having kind of a casual conversation back and forth. Maybe some funny segments and things, you know, but it would be something separate, you know, something new, like some new flavor. Tom domu Hugo coû, Kevin Horner Jr. Tom Gorey www.tftig Garr 살� frogs.com And then now he's set to release like this new Godzilla topper which looks like the computer console the zillions or the xzillions are using. You know by all accounts looks pretty cool. I mean these guys are designing, they're doing the art themselves, cutting the acrylics and then LEDs and then it's actually interactive a bit and there's some motorized function there. And they're considering their topper as like a platform so like other people can make mods for their topper too and sell them on their own. You know so I'm a It's kind of cool. Like you may not want one of these toppers. You might want to stick with the stern ones Okay, and then that's fair But what these guys are doing is adding more competition into the market So, you know if these guys put out, you know some more complex toppers and things I'm hope that they'll be that pressure on Stern to continue to like innovate not just kind of Laurel rest You know what I mean? Like not just say like hey, let's just make it, you know And acrylic on a metal backing and then some LEDs there, you know and 난al se toujours 그래서 kilogramfluer PNC I might have to break it the other way in. Timing commencer realistically if you're taking inенко, Amenaka Depot, John Popadiuk, Thudje. a pero, and you get to say that snooki was single in the phone, it is like me talking to somebody on a speaker phone. It's like not as tight. I love jason's got some recording of equipment now. I uploaded all the contents and what have yous, packed up everything and then finally made it out of there and I drove back home yesterday, man, all the way from middle of Ohio. From there, it was only about eight hours to my home. I did stop at Interium again. What a great arcade that is. So funny, like I pretty much just drove straight. I stopped at a Sbarro at a truck stop, you know, a couple of times. But other than that, I just drove straight through, pulled right into Interium and then, you know, I went up there and went right to Pulp Fiction. www.pulpfiction.com ventures, stuntmasters, spherical parting seranor, jimbrigan, From the You know, and so far the feedback's been really good and I still have more ideas for things I want to do. I built a new streaming rig. It's amazing. I can do chin-ups on the damn thing. It's built out of a three-quarter inch black gas pipe and it's inexpensive and it works fantastic. So I do want to put this out there, a little assignment for you guys. You know all my machines. I'm looking at them right. I've got them all lit up right now. I got 10 machines in the basement now. Foo Fighters Premium Iron Premium Scooby-Doo CE, Elvira Premium, looks like a 40th, RushLE, Star Wars Premium, Halloween, which is going to be going out soon, Godzilla Premium with the topper, Big Lebowski's here and I got the Ultra VP. What do you guys want to see me stream next? I basically plan on coming down and playing pinball every night anyway. So which of these machines would you like to see? Go ahead and drop me a comment and whoever answers the most or answers first will get it. Yeah, I want to get back Hi, I'm going to do some giveaways. I've got a producer now. Well, a guy that I'm giving producer credit to Sterling Martin runs the Balls of Steel Pinball League down in Savannah, Georgia. He's been very kind to me like he's reached out. He had a lot of streaming equipment he wasn't really using because he mainly runs the tournaments. And so he offered it to me for a pretty good price. And he even sent me a free Sony camera to that I can use for playfields. So you know, I was like, dude, I'm giving you producer credit. Thank you so much for the hookup. So we got more stuff coming. I got I got home yesterday and I had a whole bunch of boxes that had come in I really should have did a live unboxing video of all these things Barry what a sweetheart the guy from Dutch Pinball I had emailed him saying man I want to buy one of your white Russian sculpts from Big Lebowski Just cuz I liked it you know And he's like don't worry man I'm gonna send you one and it finally came and the same day that I get to unbox and open up my sculpt of that white Russian I also set up my Big Lebowski So now I have two white Russians one in-game and one sitting on the bar counter right next to it I did a little YouTube short. You guys could check out Riddle De You know, that theme is not like 100% for me, but if Dutch Pinball is making it, I'm going to strongly consider purchasing it. Big Lebowski, I've wanted since I first heard about it. I mean, I love the movie. I just watched it again, and it holds up, man. The characters in that movie are great, the story is just bonkers, and just great performances, like Philip Seybore Hoffman is in there. He plays like the Smithers character. I don't want to give anything away if you haven't seen it, but see that movie. This Week in Pinball, Trash Talks, and the Terms of Interest in Pinball, Trash Talks, and the Terms of Interest in Pinball, Trash Talks, and the Terms of Interest in Pinball, Trash Talks, and the The theme integration in the game is fantastic. Okay, we know that. The build quality, though, on this game. Now that I've been able to actually pull the lock bar off myself, pull the glass, flip up the playfield, holy fucking shit, man. That bowling alley mech in there is no joke. That thing is huge. It's bigger than a bowling bag. It's got to weigh 60 pounds. It's engineered flawlessly. C próxim decorating whalesじ chipså pajəòšć histoire tavaませんlə Awesome Gatorade Please like, comment and subscribe to doggypotty . This week's Pinball Podcast is brought to you by the The thickness of the plywood that they use is like a full three quarters or seventh eighth inch. It's bigger than what Stern is using. You can barely nudge the cabinet because it's so heavy, so big, it's so solidly well built. You know, as a hobbyist woodworker myself, what Dutchpinballdoing is a big step up from even JJP or Stern or anybody. So, like, the engineering that is in that machine is fantastic. The thing weighs 350 pounds. It is no joke. The back glass is double-sided and has LEDs within it. So you lift that thing up and it's like 20 pounds. It's nuts, man. I love how this thing is put together. I've owned JJP. I've owned a lot of Sterns. I've owned Spookys. And this thing is built like a high-quality wooden cabinet. Similar to actually some of the design I saw from Pinball Adventures. They're also going with high-end wood. So it's quality. It's a great playing game. This week's topic is the most popular topic in the game. There's three flippers there. There's probably the best upper playfield as far as gameplay that I've played. You know, close. Scooby's close because there's a lot of cool stuff that's in there. But, you know, my review was sugar frosted because that's a sugar-coated game. That game's great. My wife loves it. I love it. We're not getting rid of the big Lebowski. No way. It even came with the light-up starry apron, which has to be seen in person to appreciate. N subscriczysaw focuses on Gutterball's topper. Leor Ahsen prime of the art of pinball is now working with Dutch pinball which I'm super excited about to see what he has to put into the next game. Kjungram Hey functional centers in the inventor's office. I've also heard he is working on a big Lebowski topper. Leor does top-shelf stuff. He also charges top-shelf prices. Nalsa invert Major holeendorff, Richords alderde center, sea-sicle wisely and LGBinn years. But if I got the cash, it will really be a hard to not insta-buy. I'm heading back to work again, but here locally. I got a whole week set up, and then I picked up another job in southern Wisconsin, just north of where Spooky's at, actually. I'll be doing that for a week. So the loans got paid off, but now I'm broke. So I gotta make some money up. Anyway, back to Interium. Like, I go in there, and I go write the Pulp Fiction, and I was excited. Nobody was there, so I got to play that. And then I was checking my text messages, and someone's like, hey, they got Venom there now, too. And I turned around, and Venom was sitting behind me. There was a Live caption constructor gehen, Cnapp, Irpar, Ian Hart, Often V싸 NS per sistemae teorits, nyn Àш, Byrd, Willie vibes, Stephan Small톡 Good to see you all For any questions schmoozeoutcribe Quit a team N Day month as long as you have to wrap up by reciprocity when he finds you replying star wars even or rekening more we hardly need to select a big link for a dollar frame and a abrupt tailored 29 just because one thing in their just taking up space uh... stupid need like I got out there was excited that the pick i was go you have to try to pick characters asks i'm flipping through them and muck at play so John Youssi which ch疫 inhabit This weekend for morgenin' Star Wars Imp edible 1933Ooh bunker Parallel ration without bag nuanceselong Repeat I will sell it to you for a great price. So if you want to wait a little bit and get one that's already had all the upgrades put into it, just wait and buy mine. You know, we can work out a deal or something. I'm not going to fleece you for charges. This is something I'm doing fun for the community. I'll offer it to the Patreons first. But regardless, it was fun. You know, it's a stern. It plays as good as a stern does. It feels really empty in the middle, man. And I mean, it's as empty as Elvira is in the middle. Spкивoy boosting Copyrightги precautionsансapolis MercyِDleeaPopnyy++ Re proporciona All right, man. Yeah, it's it's very much just like it's it's Stern's B team release. There it is. There's there's Venom in a nutshell. It's fun to play. Go play it. If buy one if you really have to have the newest Stern, but I see these flood in the market just like the Foo Fighters are flooding the market now and it's probably not going to be a lot of good resale on it. I don't mind taking a bath because I'm going to, you know, use some secondary gain here and use it to kind of drive traffic to the channel. You know, so and plus I get to have the newest Stern but I'm sure when I sell it, I'm not going to 8SPinballSpgroond I'll be streaming. I'll make appearances. I'm a fan of the game room photos for Stern's Game Room of the Month. I've been getting nowhere. Probably there's a hundred other people, so it's not like it's Stern's fault or anything. This Week in Pinball, Tricky Pinnacle Podcast, Terminate So why don't I do a contest of gamer of the month where people can send photos of their game rooms to me and I'll just randomly choose one, I'll post it and then I'll give them some prizes just like Stern's doing. And that way, you know, maybe I was thinking of doing one just looking for the shittiest game room and that one wins it every month. But I think it'd be more fun to just have everybody enter and I'll just randomly draw somebody and give them stuff and feature their game room. So there's a good sporting chance for everybody. I thought that might be fun and people might dig that. by am equiv doing like and to grow한다 channel growth autant keep not stuffed as have been doing ambush still so many more ideas and things they want to do i'm not getting tire that is having fun with everything i do you everything and bake are superpress you guys listening so i want to give you guys more content to easier when i fall metal novellas for several weeks i'm leaving up to excello so uh... i get ready for a holy huge Of content everybody. I'm not even gonna... Should I play my outro music? What do you think of the Denisee track I got? This thing is freaking fire, man. I'm still learning how to like talk over it and do my intro, but like thump, thump. Oh, dude. This dude was on it. Here comes the hi-hat. Doom, doom, doom. I mean, this is so much better than that Fiverr stuff I was using before. Here we go. Here it goes. Man, knock down the block to this. Have yourselves a great week everybody. It's gonna be fantastic. I got all the games lit up here. I'm gonna be playing. I'm gonna be streaming. I'm gonna be contemplating life. And hanging out. And I'm gonna finish this summer shandy. Cause summer's over y'all. We're into the fall times. Alright. Take care of yourself and each other. Goodbye.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 787c6255-17a6-49a0-a689-9eb1bbe0517f*