# Waterworld

**Source:** Pinball News Website  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2004-09-29  
**Beat:** Pinball

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

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## Analysis

Hurricane Ivan caused catastrophic flooding at PAPA's Pennsylvania headquarters in September 2004, destroying 233 pinball machines and the facility. Water rose to five feet, causing severe damage from contaminated floodwater including sewage and silt. PAPA leadership estimates machines are beyond repair but will salvage components like backglasses, boards, and plastics for potential resale.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Water rose from a few inches to over four feet in a couple of hours at PAPA facility — _Direct reporting on Hurricane Ivan flood damage at Pennsylvania PAPA headquarters_
- [HIGH] 233 pinball games were set up at the facility for recent and future tournaments — _Article states specific number of machines affected_
- [HIGH] Kevin Martin believes no single game will be restorable — _Direct quote from Kevin Martin, PAPA organization leader_
- [HIGH] The facility had never flooded in 100-plus years prior to this event — _Kevin Martin quoted regarding insurance denial due to lack of flood coverage_
- [HIGH] PAPA 7 was the first tournament at the new facility after revival efforts following their last championship in 1998 — _Historical context provided in article about PAPA's organizational resurgence_
- [HIGH] The facility had no flood insurance despite 100+ year history without flooding — _Kevin Martin explicitly states 'There is insurance but no flood insurance' and 'There won't be any insurance payoff'_
- [HIGH] Contaminated water contained sewage due to merged drainage system in Carnegie township — _Kevin Martin explains sewage contamination from municipal infrastructure_

### Notable Quotes

> "The water apparently crested overnight at approximately five feet inside the facility. That means every machine had water up on the backglass... I doubt any single game will be restorable, but I do believe we'll be able to pull glass, backglasses, some boards, most of the plastics, and coin mechs."
> — **Kevin Martin**, September 2004
> _PAPA leadership assessment of damage scope and salvage prospects; establishes irreparability of machines while identifying recoverable components_

> "It's a thick slimy mixture of silt and sewage (yes, sewage, because there is a merged drainage system in Carnegie, as in most older townships). The quarter-inch you see sitting on the playfield glasses is matched by a quarter-inch sitting on the playfield itself, and a half-inch or more inside the cabinet of every machine."
> — **Kevin Martin**, September 2004
> _Detailed description of contamination severity and distribution throughout machines; explains why restoration is infeasible_

> "There is insurance but no flood insurance. The facility had never flooded in 100-plus years.... There won't be any insurance payoff."
> — **Kevin Martin**, September 2004
> _Critical financial impact statement; organization will receive no insurance recovery despite major loss_

> "We've been cutting playfields out of games, pulling backglasses, washing some playfield glass, and salvaging a bunch of boards. On some games, we've just stripped playfield plastics rather than cutting out the playfield."
> — **Kevin Martin**, September 2004
> _Description of active salvage operations and component recovery strategy_

> "We'll have some backglasses, a lot of boards, assorted plastics, and about a hundred playfields. Mind you, the playfields are moldy and warped, but some of them could be worth a decent amount for the parts."
> — **Kevin Martin**, September 2004
> _Inventory of salvageable components and planned liquidation strategy to recover funds_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| PAPA | organization | Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; headquarters flooded by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004; had recently revived operations after dormancy since 1998 |
| Kevin Martin | person | Owner and leader behind PAPA's resurgence; managed facility and tournament operations; oversaw damage assessment and salvage operations |
| Hurricane Ivan | event | Natural disaster that caused catastrophic flooding at PAPA facility in Pennsylvania in September 2004 |
| PAPA 7 | event | Pinball tournament held at PAPA's new 30,000 square foot facility; occurred five days before flooding; featured $27,000+ prize fund across six divisions; crowned Lyman Sheats as champion |
| Lyman Sheats | person | Champion of PAPA 7 tournament held just five days before the facility flooding |
| Carnegie, Pennsylvania | organization | Township location of PAPA facility; has merged drainage system that contributed sewage contamination during flood |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Natural disaster impact on pinball infrastructure, Contamination and water damage to pinball machines
- **Secondary:** PAPA organizational history and resurgence, Pinball machine salvage and component recovery, Insurance and risk management in pinball operations

### Sentiment

**Negative** (-0.85) — Article documents catastrophic loss and organizational crisis. While tone is respectful and sympathetic to PAPA leadership, content focuses entirely on damage, irreparability, and lack of insurance recovery. Brief expressions of support provide minimal positive counterbalance to overwhelming negative circumstances.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** PAPA's revival efforts severely impacted by uninsured flood loss of 233 machines and facility damage; organization unable to recover through insurance due to lack of flood coverage despite 100+ year facility history without flooding (confidence: high) — Kevin Martin confirms 'There is insurance but no flood insurance. The facility had never flooded in 100-plus years.... There won't be any insurance payoff.'
- **[community_signal]** Multiple offers of help, financial aid, parts donations, and discounts received from pinball community in response to PAPA disaster (confidence: high) — Article states 'Many offers of help and financial aid have been received' and invites continued support via info@papa.org
- **[event_signal]** PAPA 7 tournament successfully held at new facility with $27,000+ prize fund across six divisions, representing culmination of organizational revival efforts after dormancy since 1998 (confidence: high) — Article documents PAPA 7 as first tournament at new 30,000 square foot facility and notes it was 'the culmination of several years of effort to revive the organisation'
- **[product_concern]** Catastrophic water and sewage contamination of 233 machines renders them beyond restoration; contamination includes quarter-inch silt and sewage on playfields, plus half-inch or more inside machine cabinets (confidence: high) — Kevin Martin describes 'thick slimy mixture of silt and sewage' with pervasive internal contamination, stating 'I doubt any single game will be restorable'

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## Transcript

Story  dated
September 29, 2004

Tragedy struck the Pennsylvania headquarters of the professional amateur pinball association a mere five days after their
tournament at which Lyman F. Sheats Jr. was crowned champion.

Rain falling in the area from Hurricane Ivan resulted in flood
water that rose from a few inches to over four feet in a couple of hours and continued rising after that. As a result, not
only is the PAPA facility in a bad way but so are the 233 pinball games set up there for the recent (and future)
tournaments.

This picture shows the high water mark on the walls.

As you can imagine, pinball machines standing in five feet of water (1.5m) are going to be badly damaged
and that damage is not just from the water, but the sludge, grit and sewage mixed in with it.

The recent PAPA 7 tournament was the culmination of several years of effort to revive the organisation after their last
championship in 1998. A 30,000 square feet building was acquired and the pinball games were installed together with
several video games as a home for the organisation and its tournaments. This year saw the first of these at the new home
and included a total prize fund of over $27,000 spread across six divisions.

Kevin Martin, the man behind the resurgence of PAPA and the owner of the games thinks they are beyond repair. "The
water apparently crested overnight at approximately five feet inside the facility. That means every machine had water up
on the backglass...

I doubt any single game will be restorable, but I do believe we'll be able to pull glass, backglasses, some boards, most of the plastics, and coin mechs."

He says that the mud coating the playfield glass is only the tip of the iceberg. "It's a thick slimy mixture of silt and sewage
(yes, sewage, because there is a merged drainage system in Carnegie, as in
most older townships). The quarter-inch you see sitting on the playfield glasses is matched by a quarter-inch sitting on the
playfield itself, and a half-inch or more inside the cabinet of every machine." Asked about insurance, Kevin said "There is
insurance but no flood insurance. The facility had never flooded in 100-plus years.... There won't be any
insurance payoff."

Many offers of help and financial aid have been received but no decisions are being made about the future of the
tournaments or attempting to salvage any games. Donation of parts or offers of discounts can be e-mailed to
info@papa.org as well as messages of support or assistance but financial contributions are not being accepted. In addition, web hosting or domains purchased through  Pair
Networks contribute directly to supporting PAPA.

Now the work is under way to recover what can be saved from the games. Although most of the playfields and cabinets are damaged from the water there is still much of value inside. "We've been cutting
playfields out of games, pulling backglasses, washing some playfield glass,
and salvaging a bunch of boards. On some games, we've just stripped
playfield plastics rather than cutting out the playfield."

Kevin is now considering a sale of salvaged parts in a couple of weeks. "We'll have some backglasses, a lot of boards, assorted plastics, and about a hundred playfields. Mind
you, the playfields are moldy and warped, but some of them could be worth a

decent amount for the parts. It's just not worth our time to strip them
all."

Thanks to Kevin and his colleagues at PAPA for the pictures and  help at this difficult time. We wish them all the very best in their efforts. You can see a full selection of pictures here.

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: bd3573de-ca33-4ff4-b7df-e34dddb6fb7c*