# Kaneda Pinball Podcast Saturday Morning Spectacular September 20

**Source:** Kaneda Pinball Podcasts YouTube Lives  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2025-09-21  
**Duration:** 74m 26s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc4VRdWoo0E

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## Analysis

Kaneda delivers a wide-ranging Saturday morning livestream commentary on Stern Pinball's market troubles, Spooky's momentum with Beetlejuice, and broader industry dynamics. He argues Stern has an identity crisis, overpriced their machines, and is losing demand; praises Spooky and Jersey Jack as the excitement leaders; and addresses community interpersonal issues ahead of Expo. Key signal: Stern reportedly cut production to four days per week.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] Stern Pinball has cut production to four days per week — _Kaneda states 'I've heard from sources in the industry that they've cut production to four days a week. That's not good.'_
- [MEDIUM] Beetlejuice will sell out faster than any game in the last 5 years — _Kaneda: 'Name me a game in five years that is going to sell out as fast as Beetlejuice with Franchi artwork. Name me.'_
- [HIGH] Harry Potter, Evil Dead, and Dune all look significantly nicer than recent Stern releases — _Kaneda comparing boutique games to Stern: 'All three of those games look significantly nicer than what Stern is bringing to market.'_
- [MEDIUM] Stern LE cost of goods is approximately $4,000 — _Kaneda estimates: 'We all know the bomb on an LE Stern. We all know it's four grand... at most the bomb is five grand.'_
- [MEDIUM] Stern's identity crisis stems from chasing younger demographics who don't buy machines — _Kaneda: 'Nobody in their 20s is dropping six to $15,000 on a pinball machine... they thought they could expand pinball if they simply shoved it in front of a bunch of young people who have no money.'_
- [LOW] Christopher Franchi is happier at Spooky than Jeremy is at Stern — _Kaneda opinion: 'I think Franchi's having more fun over at Spooky than Jeremy's having over at Stern.'_
- [LOW] 90% of survey respondents wanted Tremors over Dune — _Kaneda: 'I put up a survey. Uh 90% of people wanted Tremors over Dune.'_
- [MEDIUM] Multimorphic revealed Portal in March with no units shipped as of early October — _Kaneda: 'it's almost October and you revealed the Portal in March and not a single one has gone out'_

### Notable Quotes

> "We are all on the same page now. There is nobody now who looks like there's they have any any common sense if they're buying these new in-box games now uh from Stern."
> — **Kaneda**, ~3:00
> _Core thesis on community consensus against Stern's current pricing and quality trajectory_

> "There's nobody in pinball having a good time at wait in pinball having a good time as I am at Spooky. We're making gold over there, dude."
> — **Christopher Franchi**, ~27:00
> _Direct endorsement from prominent artist (via chat) comparing Spooky work culture favorably to Stern; used as proof point by Kaneda_

> "Spooky doesn't need to do anything to sell this game. They've done all the the marketing already. They've developed something that will be consumed with so much not consumed that's the wrong word. It will be consumed with a level of enthusiasm we haven't seen in 5 years."
> — **Kaneda**, ~13:00
> _Forecasts Beetlejuice will achieve historically dominant market reception_

> "The entire hobby now is is all on the same page... There is nobody now who looks like they have any common sense if they're buying these new in-box games now uh from Stern."
> — **Kaneda**, ~3:00
> _Claims consensus rejection of Stern's current value proposition_

> "Stern Pinball is in big trouble. They're in trouble because I think Stern has a has sort of like an identity crisis happening over there."
> — **Kaneda**, ~45:00
> _Core diagnosis of Stern's market position_

> "Nobody in their 20s is dropping six to $15,000 on a pinball machine."
> — **Kaneda**, ~21:00
> _Critiques Stern's demographic targeting strategy as economically unrealistic_

> "When Kaneda's Pinball Podcast and your content or you're a pinball personality, heck, if you're a pinball company, if we're getting along fine, it's good for business."
> — **Kaneda**, ~36:00
> _Articulates influence and leverage in the community; frames business relationships as transactional_

> "I've never lost a pinball debate to anybody. Never."
> — **Kaneda**, ~51:00
> _Assertion of authority and confidence in critiques_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Kaneda | person | Host of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast, independent pinball podcaster and industry analyst; claims 1,138 podcasts over 12 years; working in marketing/advertising; traveling to Expo with first-class ticket from White Plains, NY |
| Christopher Franchi | person | Artist/designer at Spooky Pinball; birthday September 25; collaborated with Kaneda in chat; previously at Stern; creating Beetlejuice artwork; expressed satisfaction with Spooky environment |
| Stern Pinball | company | Subject of major critique; Kaneda argues they're in identity crisis with waning demand, overpriced products, production cuts; attempting to target younger demographics; LE pricing at $13k criticized as unsustainable |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Positioned as excitement leader in hobby; Beetlejuice game anticipated to dominate market; characterized as having creative culture and happy team; Franchi transitioned here from Stern |
| Beetlejuice | game | Spooky Pinball upcoming release with Franchi artwork; Kaneda predicts fastest sell-out in 5 years; 80s nostalgia theme; referenced as game ending Fall season positively |
| Fall of the Empire | game | New Stern Pinball release; referenced as 'ominously named title'; Star Wars sales not meeting expectations; mentioned as symbol of Stern's market troubles |
| Harry Potter | game | Jersey Jack Pinball title; Kaneda compares favorably to Stern games; described as 'beautiful woman that is great in bed' (plays exceptionally well); looks 'leagues nicer' than King Kong LE |
| Evil Dead | game | Boutique manufacturer title; cited as looking 'much more premium' than Stern equivalents |
| Dune | game | Spooky Pinball title; Kaneda claims it's not selling (90% of survey respondents wanted Tremors instead); yet looks more premium than Stern games |
| King Kong | game | Stern Pinball title; compared unfavorably to Harry Potter CE in appearance |
| Star Wars | game | Recent Stern release; sales not meeting expectations; mentioned alongside Fall of the Empire in context of demand issues |
| Portal | game | Multimorphic announced game revealed in March; as of early October, no units shipped according to Kaneda |
| Multimorphic | company | Boutique manufacturer; Jerry (founder) criticized for announcing games 8 months before production; Portal delayed significantly |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Kaneda claims good relationship; positioned alongside Spooky as having most excitement in industry |
| Pinball Expo | event | Chicago annual event; Kaneda attending; plans to reconcile with Ralph on camera; frame as opportunity for drama resolution |
| Barrels of Fun | company | Boutique manufacturer; Kaneda dismissive of marketing approach; suggests David (owner) needs industry consultation |
| Electric Bat Arcade | organization | Run by Jamie and Kale; Kaneda collaborates with them in regular conversations about hobby trends |
| Jeremy (Zombie Yeti) | person | Head of Stern art department; Kaneda suggests he's in stressful position; compares unfavorably to Franchi's mood/satisfaction |
| Ralph (Retro Ralph) | person | Pinball content creator; had conflict with Kaneda; plans on-camera reconciliation at Expo |
| Glenn | person | Made insensitive 9/11 comment online; felt bad according to Kaneda (via third-party reports); failed to answer phone calls from Kaneda |
| Colin (Kineticist) | person | Made obnoxious comments on Kaneda's Facebook; attempted to connect Harry Potter to trans debate; blocked by Kaneda; plans civil interaction at Expo |
| John at Jack Bar | person | Community member; considering Star Wars order; ongoing running joke with Kaneda about 'definitely eventually' delivery timeline |
| American Pinball | company | Mentioned alongside Multimorphic/Turner as boutique manufacturers doing independent assembly lines; Kaneda suggests consolidation would be more efficient |
| Turner | company | Boutique manufacturer with simplified board system; mentioned as candidate for industry consolidation |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Stern Pinball market crisis and overpricing, Spooky Pinball momentum and Beetlejuice hype, Industry consolidation via M&A, Stern's demographic targeting and marketing strategy
- **Secondary:** Community interpersonal drama and reconciliation, Boutique vs mass-market manufacturer competition, Production delays (Multimorphic, supply chain)
- **Mentioned:** Kaneda's independent podcast brand and Patreon model

### Sentiment

**Negative** (-0.72) — Kaneda is highly critical of Stern Pinball's current trajectory, pricing, and market position. He is enthusiastic and positive about Spooky, Beetlejuice, and boutique manufacturers. Community engagement is warm and celebratory (Patreon supporters), but underlying market analysis is pessimistic. Tone toward competitors/critics is dismissive but not hostile—more 'I'm winning, they're not' than actively antagonistic.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** No M&A activity in pinball industry despite shrinking boutique manufacturer margins; consolidation would improve efficiency and innovation sharing (confidence: low) — Kaneda: 'the fact that there's never any M&A going on in pinball makes no sense to me... literally there's no mergers happening'
- **[business_signal]** Stern Pinball production cut to four days per week, signaling demand collapse relative to facility capacity (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'I've heard from sources in the industry that they've cut production to four days a week. That's not good.'
- **[community_signal]** Kaneda at Expo will attempt reconciliation with Ralph and Colin; frames conflict resolution as business-positive for all parties (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'Ralph will reconcile with me, but he wants to look me in the eyes when he does it at Expo. Okay, we're going to film it.'
- **[competitive_signal]** Spooky and Jersey Jack Pinball now positioned as market leaders with 'most excitement'; Stern relegated to struggling incumbent (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'I think Spooky and JJP are really the two companies that have the most excitement'
- **[design_philosophy]** Stern pursuing youth demographic targeting misaligned with actual customer base (35-55yr old collectors with capital); marketing focused on Gen Z imagery alienating core buyers (confidence: medium) — Kaneda on merch shop: 'You're ashamed of who is your real customer' and 'Nobody in their 20s is dropping six to $15,000 on a pinball machine'
- **[market_signal]** Dune Pinball slow sales; Kaneda survey indicates 90% of respondents would have preferred Tremors theme (cheaper license, higher demand) (confidence: low) — Kaneda: 'I put up a survey. Uh 90% of people wanted Tremors over Dune. And Tremors would have been 10 times cheaper to license'
- **[community_signal]** Christopher Franchi has transitioned from Stern to Spooky, and openly expressed satisfaction with Spooky culture vs Stern (confidence: high) — Franchi in chat: 'I don't think I'm having a good time as I am at Spooky. We're making gold over there'
- **[market_signal]** Stern LE pricing at $13k perceived as unsustainable; Kaneda argues cost of goods ~$4k making margin indefensible against boutique competition (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'We all know the bomb on an LE Stern... it's four grand... So you want to charge 13.'
- **[product_strategy]** Multimorphic's Portal revealed March, no units shipped as of early October; Jerry questioned on cash flow management (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'it's almost October and you revealed the Portal in March and not a single one has gone out'
- **[product_concern]** Harry Potter, Evil Dead, and Dune all visually outclass recent Stern releases despite boutique status (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'All three of those games look significantly nicer than what Stern is bringing to market... Harry Potter just looks leagues nicer'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Community consensus has shifted against buying new Stern games in-box; Kaneda claims universal agreement on value proposition failure (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'There is nobody now who looks like there's they have any any common sense if they're buying these new in-box games now uh from Stern.'
- **[business_signal]** Kaneda predicts Beetlejuice will achieve fastest sell-out in 5 years based on theme, artist, and Spooky momentum (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'Name me a game in five years that is going to sell out as fast as Beetlejuice with Franchi artwork'

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## Transcript

We good. We live. You can't stop Canada. It's not going to do it. Not going to do the shill videos. Ah, happy Saturday morning. Let's get the kids in here. Let's get them talking. Pinball. How can a dude be more entertaining than a $13,000 machine? Love it. How you guys doing this morning? It's going to be um It's going to be a good show. Let's go tell some people on Patreon that we live, baby. We live. We got more people on Facebook than YouTube right now. This is a first for that, man. Feel like YouTube, though. We're a little bit late. Some people might have uh might have taken that five minute delay as a sign that this wasn't going to happen, but this always happens unless I tell you otherwise. It will be 10:00 a.m. every Saturday morning. Got book got to book my um expo trip. It's happening. Canada going to expo? What's up, Brian Scott Jones? Mike Jones. The Joneses are in the house. We're keeping up with the Joneses. Um let's see. Copy video link Patreon. Oh man, it's like it's funny, man. It's funny just seeing people try to, you know, I I literally couldn't be happier with the support we have on Patreon every single month. There is now there is now basically even more content you're getting when you're a Patreon subscriber. We're doing live shows on Patreon. And you know what I love about Canad Patreon is everyone gets the same thing. You know the there's no tears of this and that and polo shirts and there's no shenanigans and I also don't I don't silly like I don't do silly stuff like oh here's something for free and if you want to hear the rest you got to go behind the payw walls. Stupid bad marketing. You would think by now, I mean, just think about it. The one dude who works in marketing for a living that trailblazed the way I did into P. I mean, I didn't invent any of like this stuff. It's just smarter to do it the way I did it. And nobody can do it. Nobody has followed me the way I've done it because I think people are afraid to take the whole show behind the payw wall. They just don't want to do it. they they still need that little bit of that little bit of a awareness and attention and it you know because they don't want to see the the true numbers fall off if you will Mr. Franchie, happy belated man. I hope you had a good Thursday birthday. My birthday franchie is next this Thursday coming up the 25th. We are a week apart, baby. Canada and Franchie not wearing socks. Not wearing socks. Enjoying pinball. It's going to be a great great fall. I uh for for many reasons, both literally, metaphorically, fall of the empire. We We are watching Stern Pinball struggle. We're going to talk all about that. It's going to be a great fall because the Carl Weathers's beautiful. And then it's going to be a great fall because when it ends, we're getting Beetlejuice. It's really a fun time to be in the hobby. Thank you, Fizzy. Appreciate the two bucks, bro. Where's Sad Boy? Where's Sad Boy? Um, it's really such a fun time to be in the hobby because I do believe I do believe that the entire hobby now is is all on the same page. Like we are all on the same page now. There There is nobody now who looks like there's they have any any common sense if they're buying these new inbox games now uh from Stern. Okay. Sad boy, my brother with the 50 bucks. Bro, you are you are just the man, bro. You are the freaking man. I This is just amazing. Literally, this dude comes in here and in one swoop basically donates what some of, you know, these other people can't even make in a month podcasting. It's amazing. It's amazing. They can't do this. What's good, brother? I torched $500 last night at the strip club trying to ease the pain of fully knowing that the empire truly has fallen. At least I got face to face with multiple Oh my gosh. without being consumed like boba. That is incredible. I don't I don't even know if that's PG PG-13 Rated. That is funny. Sad boy, thank you for giving us all a good laugh. Um, you know, as we watch. Oh my god, Franchie, you are you are out of your mind. Franchie just gave 50 bucks. Happy early birthday, dude. Seriously, man. Thank you. I really appreciate that. Uh, Chris, I'm going to I'm going to use that and and do a birthday toast to both of us. Um, and you know, I need to send you So, I got something for you, too. Um, are you gonna Frank, you're going to be at Expo, right? You're going to be at Expo. Wow. I I just It's just what's amazing about this community is is as as people try to push Canada out and they try to complain about Canada, like look what happens. Like we're just always having a good time. It's like the people on the outside are the people like are are really not having a good time. Um all right. Awesome. Good morning, Robert. Yeah, I'm going to Expo. I'm getting my first class ticket. It's about $1,000 to go to Chicago. First class from White Plains, New York. Uh, Fizzy, thank you so much. $1,000 plane ticket. Write it off on the taxes on my Patreon because I got Yeah, I got to submit a W2 for Patreon. So, I got to You got to pay taxes on podcast earnings. Um, first class, baby. Tiny planes. It's It's not even worth it. I mean, to be honest, but whatever. It's like I just like I think the world's the world's most prolific pinball podcast. Did you guys see that funny video guy made splicing my commentary about the stern shill day over the video footage is amazing. Vic, we love you. We're sorry you got caught up in that. Uh those people look as unexited as you could possibly be. It's unbelievable. Uh if I were Spooky Pinball, what I would do is I would get people under NDA. I would film their responses and reactions to showing them Beetlejuice and make that the first teaser video. No one's ever done this. Nobody thinks creatively anymore. Nobody. Spooky pinball. Here's a great idea. You film people's reaction to the game. You never show the game. I want to see people's jaws drop. I want to see their smiles form. I want to see their eyes light up. And make that your teaser for Beetlejuice. you you know this this hobby really needs to wake up when it comes you know to some of the marketing and getting people excited. It's the same old same look Spooky doesn't need to do anything to sell this game. They've done all the the marketing already. They've They've developed something that will be absorbed in uh with so much not absorbed that's the wrong word. It will be consumed with a level of enthusiasm we haven't seen in 5 years. I keep saying this. People think I'm like, "Name me a game in the last 5 years that is going to sell out as fast as Beetlejuice with Francon artwork. Name me. Name me a game in five years." The last time we had this level of excitement for a theme, I want to say it was like Ghostbusters. I want to say it was like maybe Batman 66. I think I mean I really I it's it's I don't think we've had an 80s nostalgic movie done right in maybe forever. Think about it. All the 80s movies we love all the nostalgia we love Harry Potter different right thing about Potter once we knew it wasn't limited you know Potter again you know Brett and company they did it right they they made the smart move and it worked out the reason why Potter worked out is the game is so enjoyable to shoot. You know, they they Jersey Jack games are beautiful, you know, but I've always said it was like some of those earlier games, it was like a beautiful woman that was bad in bed, right? I mean, nobody wants a beautiful woman that's bad in bed. And Harry Potter is a beautiful woman that is a is is great in bed. And it's not, you know, it's not the most perfect game there. I wish there was a little bit more magic in the mechs. do, but it just plays so well. And not only that, it it shows up so well. And the every time every time I see Harry Potter CE next to King Kong League, and I've seen it at dros, I've seen it at shows, uh, it really does just look leagues nicer. Like leagues nicer. And this is Stern's big problem now. is Dune, Evil Dead, and Harry Potter. All three of those games look significantly nicer than what Stern is bringing to market. You know, Stern tried to do it all. They They really tried to do it all. They should have stayed in the lane they were in, which was mass-produced games where uh we'll make 500LE with great themes, but we're not going to like overcharge. like we're going to give you the best value in all of pinball. And those days are over now. Those days are over. Ajax with the $20. You guys are very generous right now. And I want to say means a lot to me. Um and you're you're fueling my binge drinking habits on the weekends. So, thank you very much. Ajax said, "Happy early Bday. Keep doing what you do. Any insight on a 60th anniversary Batman?" Um, you know, Ajax, uh, Franchie, have they contacted you? We got Franchie here. Franchie, have they contacted you to, um, to maybe do a a 60th anniversary package for them? Uh, I I think there's a very very good chance that we will see a Batman 60th. I don't think they'll recycle the SLE artwork, but I think there's a very good chance if we look at Stern's track record of making anniversary edition games based on games that have strong secondhand market demand. I don't see why not. Why wouldn't they? You know, the game is a coded masterpiece. Uh elevating Batman 66 onto Spike 3. The problem with Spike 3, ladies and gentlemen, is like I just don't I I you know I don't feel this like it's elevating the game that much. So yeah, Franchie. No, Franchie, nobody wants you to work for them again. You know, I I think it's funny, man. Like I I the tables have really turned in a weird way. In a weird way. You know, we all love Zombie Yeti. We love Jeremy. We love his artwork. I I think he's in a stressful position over there. I I think I can say this without being wrong. I I think Franch's having more fun over at Spooky than Jeremy's having over at Stern, you know. And it's not about how much you make. It's not It's not about how many games come out a year. You know, you know my measure of success in life. How many days are you waking up in a good mood? And I think Christopher Franchie is waking up in a better mood these days than Jeremy is. And that's uh because now you know Jeremy's trying to steer that big ship in a different direction. My worry about Stern is I don't really know who's making the like the major decisions over there anymore. Big five. Thank you Dave Sanders for the five bucks. That is enough for a pint, which I will have. I will get a pint of Guinness, my friend, with your very generous donation. Thank you guys so much. You guys got to stop, man. When you donate money, uh, all the Canada haters get even more upset. It's It's not fair, man. Some of them are not making any money a month. Some of them, you know, have got more fingers and toes than they have uh subscribers, you know. It's not fair. It's not fair. Should you know shouldn't there be pinball podcast equality where everyone makes the same amount, right? I bet I I bet these dudes watch the WNBA and think that. No, it's about you should you should make money based upon how much value you create and how big your audience is. That's That's how you should make the money. I find it hard to believe that anyone in pinball having a good time at wait in pinball having a good time as I am at Spooky. We're making gold over there, dude. See this man? You see that right there? What Christopher Franchi just wrote? You seeing anybody at Stern say anything like that? Like legitimately Christopher Franchie saying there's nobody in pinball having a time like the crew over at Spooky. They're making gold. That's you just sold another hundred games in in one statement. You know, when you look at Stern and you look at the fake shills they're bringing through the door, like these are fake shills. These are not pinball fans. These are YouTubers that just want attention and and you know, Sharp doesn't re Mr. Sharp doesn't realize this, that's not a good look. The more Stern puts up fake people uh into, you know, you fake YouTubers are the ones who are getting invites, the more Stern, you know, makes their merch shop look like a Gen Z Mly crew, the more they they can they are like a it's like they're ashamed. They're ashamed of who is their real customer and who's going to fuel their business moving forward. It they they don't get it. You know, I put up a a slide once that showed Stern, this is what your merch shop looks like, right? And it was all like 20 year olds, you know, men, women, diversity, all of it in there, right? All the all everything's in there, which is fine. I don't really care. But you know, you know who wasn't represented? Like anyone that looks like you and me. anyone who represents the community. You're ashamed of like like I don't I walk around a pinball show and this is your audience. This is your consumer. And it really does keep going back to that fundamental belief over there that the audience they have and the consumer they have isn't the consumer they want. and they sort of for some weird reason uh thought they could expand pinball if they simply shoved it in front of a bunch of young people who have no money. Nobody in their 20s is dropping six to $15,000 on a pinball machine. You know what I'm saying? Nobody. They'll go to a barcade and play. They'll drink craft beer and enjoy League night, but they're not going to buy a game. Well, you know, the the rumors of Elwin and JJP, I'll tell you this right now. I I have a really great relationship with people over at JJP. Uh I don't talk about it that much publicly. I I've developed a a lot of respect for the folks over there. I think um I think there are a really I think Spooky and JJP I mean I look I've been saying this openly. I think Spooky and JJP are really the two companies that have the most excitement. I um I don't think Barrels of Fun is there yet. I was just laughing at uh one of their Facebook posts today where they're like if you know they're like thanking everybody and they they thank people who are rooting for them from afar and I was like that just sounds like AI wrote that and what does that mean? who's rooting who's rooting for barrels of fun from afar like that that they just I I literally you know and I talk to David a lot and I literally just think David needs to be like Canada here's 50 grand and you know we'll make that publicly known and I want you to give me advice and help me figure out what game to bring to market next. And if I pay you 50 grand, you will save me and make me millions of dollars. You'll save me money because I won't make a mistake and you'll make me He doesn't know. He doesn't know. I I I'm very I look, I really respect David. He got it done. They've made games. No one's getting burned. You know, there's a level of um of respect and admiration I have for any pinball company that figures it out, but there's also a level of confusion. Why any pinball company now would make a a boneheaded mistake with themes that aren't day one sellouts if you're only making a thousand of something. If you're only making a thousand of something, there is no way you should be slowly selling those games over six months. There's you got it wrong. You got it. You know, and this whole like, well, the more people that get in front of it, no, it's not. This is not that kind of hobby. No one will have been in front of Beetlejuice and they will sell 999 instantly. instantly. I can't wait. I can't wait. Bug and Luke have given me a few games to give out to some of my club members. So, if you get locked out, uh, I look, if I were all of you, I I would literally be knocking on my distributor's door. Can I please give you right now $2,500 non-refundable towards Spooky's next game? They will. They'll take it. You should give $2,500 non-refundable deposit on Spooky's next game. Just tell them that. Look, I want to give it to you now. Everything's a negotiation. Everything. Like, I know you have an email list. I know. I know what it I know you don't want to take money on a game that's not revealed. I want to give you this right now. And hey, if you were smart, I'd be like, "Oh, here's three grand. Just, you know, take the wife and kids out for a nice dinner." Is that is that is that unethical? I don't think so. Why Why can't you give a dro a tip if they hook you up? Isn't that the way the world works? When I go to my favorite restaurant here, Rowan Seafood, it's incredible iconic destination here. It's iconic establishment and the bill comes and it's 50 bucks and I love the bartender Suda, she's great or Jesse or Christina. They're amazing, right? Know them all. Firstn name basis. Wasn't like that a year ago when I first moved in. I think my first time at the bar there, I knew I was moving to this town. I think I had one drink. I left $100. just want to let you know I'm new to town. I don't have as much money as all these finance guys. I don't care. It's not about that. It's just like I want to let you know that I love this spot and I want this to be one of my spots on the short time I have on planet Earth. So when I go in now, you know, hey Chris, what's up? Everybody, it's like going into a TV sitcom. It's like walking into Cheers. Same is true with a dro. You make friends with your dro, you scratch my back, I'll scratch your back. That's the way the world works. These kids don't want to know that. They think it's unfair. Canada has privilege. Canada has an unfair advantage. And I remind everybody, I've done 1138 podcasts about pinball entertaining this community for 12 years straight. What have you done? Right? What have you done? Put up 38,000 posts on pinside. Going to expo. Going to expo, baby. And look, I'm just going to say this. Going to go to expo. There's going to be no drama. I'm not fighting anybody. I'm not yelling at anybody. I'm shaking everybody's hand that will shake mine. I will, you know what's going to be funny is all of the little pissing like pissing, is that even a word? All that pissing back and forth. I'll give you an example. like a guy like Colin, like I don't hate Colin, you know, at the kineticis at all. Like I don't know why he got, you know, he he started making obnoxious comments on my Facebook page. So, I think I I think he's blocked. I I just, you know, and I didn't like that he tried to go down the road of of like the trans debate with Harry Potter. Like, I just thought that was a level of woke virtual signaling that I just don't agree with. And I don't think most people in pinball agree with it. I don't care even if you're for uh you know everybody's rights and representation. It's just not really what Dan, I'm not fighting you. It's not what the pinball community wants to talk about and nor should they and nor should you thrust them into it. So like when I see Colin at Expo, it's be like, "Hey, what's up, man?" Like come on. Like let's just bury the stupid stuff, move on. And he's going to be like, "Cool. That's how it goes. That's how it was when we met up at JJP. it. You know, look, he needs I'm good for business. Like, let's just let's just remind everybody this. When Canadas Pinball Podcast and your content or you're a pinball personality, heck, if you're a pinball company, if we're getting along fine, it's good for business. Like, people want to see that. I mean, the moment I start talking about like dudes who have no subscriptions, I I basically like can double a dude's subscription base in one week just because I started talking about them. Nothing they did. And I don't even listen to the shows. But it just helps. It helps. You know, the crew right now that I'm just every day we're like laughing. And we're going to get Ralph back in it is Jamie and and Kale over Electric Bat. like we literally have like the most fun three-way phone conversations about pinball and what's going on in the hobby. Um and and so apparently Ralph will reconcile with me, but he wants to look me in the eyes when he does it at Expo. Okay, we're going to film it. We're gonna we're going to make it a whole thing. It's going to be amazing. You know, Brooklyn style, baby. Brooklyn style. Ralph is back, baby. Ralph is back. Yeah. What's up, gang? Um, you bring in security, man. I'm not bringing any security. Look, I also heard, you know, from people that spoke to Glenn, uh, that he feels bad about the comment he made. That's cool. He just never told me that. And I'll tell you this right now before I threatened to kick Glenn's butt for making that comment about 9/11, which I did. Threatened to kick his ass. Kick his ass. CBAS because I was really upset and emotional. Again, I was thinking about my friends I lost on 911. And what people don't realize is, you know, while the whole country and the world is is different degrees of separation from 911, people who lived in New York City were one degree of separation. And it's not a joking moment. And I don't understand anything that I said that deserved to be um you know deserved that kind of insensitivity. So look and I know Glenn feels bad and he and and I'll just say this before I before I threatened to kick his ass. I called him two times in a row because I was like and and I could see he was online. He had the little green dot. I called him. He didn't pick up. I called him again. He didn't. So like if you're gonna write something like that at least like pick up the phone because then none of it would have happened. Like none of the asskicking comment would have happened. I would have been like Glenn because I want I really just want to be like Glenn really man like what the f bro like what's wrong with you? And he would have been like I'm sorry man like and he would have taken it down and and that would have been that. But you know that's the world we live in. You know nobody no one ever wants to pick up the phone. um they just want to use social media as a cowardly way to insult people and then, you know, disappear. But I I'll talk to anybody on the phone. I'm not going to like I don't need to like interview people. I just want or go on people's shows. I just just give me a buzz. You know how to reach me. I'm not hard to find. I'm not hiding from anybody. I've never lost a pinball debate to anybody. Never. because I'm not debating any like there's nothing what what would you beat me what would someone beat me on a pinball debate that pinball prices are too high that Stern pinball is been cranking out like mediocre stuff and it's too expensive lately that Stern Pinball like fleeced us with $2,000 toppers that Stern Pinball lied to us about exclusivity ones when they remade right Wh where where was I wrong? That Toy Story 4 wasn't the Toy Story we wanted. That Willy Wonka without the movie musicals uh scores is not how you want Willy Wonka Pinball. Where have I been wrong? Guns and Roses shoots like a dog. What are you going to debate me on? Where are you going to win? What did I get wrong? Spooky pinball is now got all the juice in the hobby. Nobody really wants Dune Pinball. That's why it's not selling. I put up a I put up a survey. Uh 90% of people wanted Tremors over Dune. And Tremors would have been 10 times cheaper to license. So cool. You know, people can go talk to themselves in the shower with no followers and then everybody's here. It's cool. I love it. Keep doing my thing. Let's talk about the fall of the empire. Stern Pinmo's in big trouble. We say it all the time. They're, and again, I'm not even talking about Star Wars sales are not where they thought they'd be. They're just in trouble because I think Stern has a has sort of like an identity crisis happening over there. I just don't think they can sustain it. and and you know, three games a year plus remakes, plus anniversary editions, that huge factory, not just the one you guys walk into, but they also got the huge building across the street where they do all the woodworking and the, you know, the the CNC cutting of like everything, everything. Like they they've built such a large facility that they need demand to match what they can supply. It it's it's not any more complicated than that. Stern Pinball needs the demand for their product to match what that factory needs to supply to keep it operational and profitable. I would not want to be in their shoes. Okay. I I've heard from sources in the industry that they've cut production to four days a week. That's not good. And the the tragic part is the next move by them is they need to raise prices. How is that going to work? How are you going to navigate waning demand with an increase in price? What Stern needs to do is they need to lower the price of the Ellie to $11,000. Come on, gang. We all know the bomb on an Ellie Stern. We all know it's four grand, gang. It's a It's got to be around four grand. It It does not cost a lot of money to do anything that's really in that LE because you know they're making like double profit on every premium. So if a premium is 10, all right, at most the bomb is five grand at most. So you want to charge 13. You got to remember they're charging 13 for an LE without a topper, without even all the accessories. And then you look over at Harry Potter and it just looks twice as expensive. You look over at Evil Dead, it looks twice as good. You look over at Dune, it looks much, much more premium. You look over at anything CGC makes. You look over at a Bowski that's 10 years old and it looks way more expensive than a Stern. And so, you know, Stern just thinks they're going to keep doing this, like going to keep serving what is like ostensibly like the most expensive pinball that pinball has ever been on a mass volume. You're going to massroduce pinball at these prices and now you're going to raise prices. It's not going to work. So part of people's, you know, when we when in the fall of the empire, like an ominously named title of a new game, I think people are just kind of over them and they don't know how to get it back. They don't I mean, even when like that video, the video is hilarious. The that the the video that someone spliced up of me talking over the uh Stern media visit day, even in that video, look how unenthusiastic those people are. Wayne just sold four dunes at a show. Well, Wayne, it's like I you have the games in boxes, right? If you have a Dune in a box, people will buy it. It you know, the wait to get the stuff is is really the issue. I mean, I got the latest update from Jerry at Multimorphic. Have you I mean, what why does Jerry reveal a game like eight months before it can even go on the line? Like, what? Like, does he have no cash flow? Does he have like zero cash flow going on in that company? I was reading it and I'm just like I can't even believe this guy's like in business still with that delay. Like I I really don't get it. But I guess something else is on the line, right? Like some like something's going out the door every day at Multimorphic. I I but I was just like, "Wow, it's it's almost October and you revealed the portal in March and not a single one has gone out or or did the did the did the modular versions go out yet?" I I just But why not just like like Multimorphic, American Pinball, you know, Turner, they should all just unite. Like it's so stupid that you've got you had all these like smaller boutiques like independently trying to create assembly lines if you will, right? And in the end like you know it's it's weird. It's a it's a weird thing because they've all got something unique. I get it. Like they're not the same kind of manufacturing. American Pinball was making like traditional pinball multimorphic. You know Jerry's making his TV pinball. Um, and then you've got Turner with a with an all new sort of board system that really simplifies the manufacturing process. So, they've all got like unique ways of interpreting what people want in pinball, but them all doing it independently makes absolutely no sense. Absolutely no sense. And And like in a lot of ways, like they're all just failing independently. You know, the fact that there's never any M&A going on in pinball makes no sense to me. Like, how is there never any mergers or acquisitions happening in pinball or devestagures if you will? I mean, there's nothing to divest, but like literally there's no mergers happening in this entire hobby. Like, nobody went to business school, nobody has an MBA. Like, nobody realizes um the cost advantage of a merger. Like the reason why you merge is to um you know create efficiencies uh to have make more money and also to share innovations. Nobody decided to do that in pinball. I've been covering it now for 13 years like 12 13 years. Nobody. Let's just all keep doing it independently. Smart. Go out of business eventually. Mergers only occur in growing markets. Well, it's not true, John. Like, well, yeah. I mean, acquisitions I mean, my industry is shrinking a little bit. Like, so there's acquisitions going on. Like, our company got acquired because, you know, marketing and production world is is declining because of AI. John, did you order Star Wars? John, at Jackbard, did you order Star Wars, brother? Williams bought Bali. Yeah. In the 90s. Um, I was looking at pictures of Padre Gaming's Big Bang Bar. Any questions on it? I'm staring at photos right now. Big Bang Bar from Podreddy Gaming. It most likely will be revealed at Expo. Curious to see how many they make and what they charge. So, John's definitely getting one eventually. I love that. I'm There's nothing John. I'm going to make you a t-shirt that says definitely eventually. I think they're really those two words together are going to be my new John at Jack Bar. Get ready for your holiday gift. Definitely eventually. Definitely eventually eventually. Definitely eventually. Maybe. I don't know. Like what? Let's just throw all the spectrums of things that could possibly happen. I'm hearing like the pro is probably just the way to go. I I don't know. Like who cares? I'm not buying one. Another Another failed Star Wars. Leonard bought JJP. Yeah, he did. That was an acquisition. Brisbane lines. Magnificent. Nobody knows what you're talking about. Uh, no. No, it doesn't. I'll tell you I'll tell you what. Um I'll tell you like Stern's been trying to Stern's been for sale for a while. Like they're they they they've reached out to all the people you can probably imagine. No, it's just I think the attitude is like nobody wants to fix all of Stern's problems and absorb the size of that. And like the problem is like you know Stern's the kind of company whoever buys it will end up closing it down within like two to three years cuz they will start making crap. George once George retires Gary like once the the people that know what they're doing are out they would just start making crappy pinball machines and the sales would wouldn't be there and they would close doors quickly. Like you know what I'm saying? Nobody Nobody would buy Stern because the next 10 years look great. I was talking to um one of the prolific content creators and he was basically saying he's like Chris in 10 years time this hobby and community will be 60% smaller. I I was like dude I I think it's I think it's sooner than that. Um, you know, my my feelings. I think the future of pinball is boutique. I don't think new pinball ever goes away for the, you know, for a while. But I think the days of mass consumption of new inbox are going to be over. The days of distros making half a million dollars a year or more, like just just drop shipping stern machines are are going to be over. The um you know the hobby will transform itself into more about people being content with their collections, acquiring, you know, the great games that are readily available. Very few games are really going to be like collectible or sought after. A lot of people too are just going to get burnt out and move on to something else. I mean, Michael Schumacher is selling his car collection to focus on artwork. I think the the newbies who came in hot during COVID will will not turn their machines on for years and they'll eventually fire sale the product. Um, and I think there's just going to be a smaller reduction of what pinball is. And that's why I think boutiques are in the best possible position because there's always going to be at least a thousand pin heads willing to buy your new inbox game if that's all you need to sell. I just don't think there's going to be five to 6,000 lining up for every new game you have coming out. And Stern needs that 5 to 6,000 people to absorb uh all those games because they got to make that many. Remember, when you're making 800 games a week at full capacity, which is what you want to be at if you're them, you know, you're talking 3,200 games a month. Let's just say, let's just say 2500 a month. In two months, Stern needs 5,000 people to order games. 5,000 people every two months. Spooky Pinball just needs 999 people to order a game over 12 months, and they will sell out in 9 minutes. I I don't know who's buying all these machines. I really don't. I really don't. I don't know like how distros are placing an order for like 20 Star Wars games. It's It's more and for me it's more about like looking at the consumer and saying uh where like wake up wake up where you been like if you buy this game right now you're going to regret it and I'm seeing more and more stories from more and more people that are 100% regretting that they bought new in box like legit frustrated owners who are re like they they now look at their game with regret because they could have got it for so much less money. Now look, none of these are investments. Like rich people like losing $3,000 doesn't matter if you've got a few million dollars means nothing. It means I lost 1,500 bucks at a poker match the other night. I'm not even that rich. I'm not even like I I'm I I make no proclamations that I'm like this this wealthy, this rich, you know, I I have I I live a very rich life because of what's in my life. Um and I, you know, I'm in the green. I have surplus cash flow every month. And but that could end if my job goes away, right? But I've made good investments and I have everything I really want. I have a beautiful family, a beautiful house. I live in a town that I absolutely love. My neighbors are great. And you know, as long as I can raise these kids to be respectful men of character, I want to raise two gentlemen, to have a lot more class at times than their dad has had. But I also want to raise them with grit and some sarcasm and personality and to have a backbone, not be a damn snowflake like a lot of these kids nowadays, these scaredy-cats who pretend to be like I mean, think there's nothing lamer than being young and afraid. I I the amount of young people I meet that have no they they have no guts, no grit. Everything scares them and offends them. It's pathetic. It's like you're young. You should be the one rolling into the office hung over, not me. You know, I walked around in the company the other day. I'm like, who wants to go to happy hour? Tommy Jazz, greatest bar in the world. It is. I'm an I'm a senior executive at the company. Who wants to go grab a drink? Nobody. Nobody. My My guy on my team, Jason, came with me. But it's just funny to me. I can't like when I was young, man, and senior execs were like, "Let's go get a get a drink." We all were like, "Yeah, man. go like build relationships with people. That's how you get ahead in corporate America. It's like they literally just sit there and think they're going to get ahead like making decks and putting time into the system. No. Like when the when the hammers fall down in life, the people protected are the people that have the relationship. Not because you got your time in. They don't even know who you are. Out of sight, out of mind. All right, let's read some of your commentary. We all need to live. Hope Stern does not go out of business and that will regroup the sills and fix I um I don't like but whole the whole thing Robert about like we have to root for Stern not to go to business is weird to me. Like whenever people talk like that, nobody wants Stern to go to business. We want Stern to just wake the f up. Stern won't go out of business if they wake the f up. But they haven't woken up and they and they haven't made a move that shows they understand us and they understand the market. And in fact, they just keep they keep chugging along doing the same exact things. Why Why would they expect different results? I I just And you know, and and now they're becoming a little bit cranky. Oh, why aren't people saying nice stuff about our games? Like look at those people they invited over. Who are those people? Who are those people? Let's Let's see this. Hold on. Where's um Let me see if I can Did you guys all see the video the guy made of Let me see if I can go grab it. So, it's making me laugh. Like, it's so good of me making fun of the the shills at the content day. I mean, what what really? Why did they even make that video? It's like so weird. It's like It's like again, they just don't effing get it. 

 Oh, that's me. 

 What? Really? 

 That's me right now live. Let's do this. 

 You know, looking at the video. 

 Hold on. See if I can share. Let's get this here. See if I have to sign in over here. Why my Facebook getting signed in? Poor Vic. Vic, I love you, man. They got Vic on camera. If I was Vic, I would have been sort of slowly backing up like Homer Simpson into the bushes because you don't want to be on that video saying how fantastic the game is. And you could even see it in the people's impressions. They're not really ecstatic. They are like struggling to say something nice because they're a guest inside Stern's like headquarters. And I get it. Like they would have got me too. Like I would have something, I don't know, man. The leg bolts look really shiny on this version. They would have got me saying something. It's just seeing that video makes me really happy that I did not go. It would have been weird for me. the world's most prolific pinball podcaster who's been in this for 12 years to go through that door and see that cast of characters that has no relationship with the pinball community, you know, looking at the 

 I think he nailed it. I think he nailed it. I mean, that literally Yeah, I think he sped me up just a little bit. Just a little bit. Yeah, but here's the thing, gang. Here's the thing, gang. Um, why would they need to reach new people when they were doing so well with the people they had? They were doing so well with the people they had. Steve Ritchie's Star Wars will far out sell this Star Wars game. They were doing so well. They had it. They were in the driver's seat. 10 five would have crushed. You got to remember like imagine if Stern was making 10 five and Jersey Jack's were $15,000. You know, the reason they started losing the people they had is they got greedy. There's something that people keep forgetting. You know, Bill Brandis is in the house. Franchie's here. You guys all You guys will all understand what I'm about to say. My My dad is a man like this. Bill Brandice is a man like this. Bill Brandice has met my father. Like they they are they are men who have been successful in life tend to live their life because they don't have to worry about money anymore. They live their life by principles. Okay? They got the money they have in life because of those principles, because of how they treated others, how they treated their responsibilities, and how they treated themselves. Men of principle and women of principle who ended up successful in life can then choose companies and brands and things they want to support with that hard-earned money. And when they see a pinball company do something that is in opposition to their principles and they feel like said company made strategic moves to screw them over, they won't buy from them again. It is that simple. The only way to get back those individuals is you're not it's not just about making a great game will win them back. It's it needs to go further than that to win back said people who have now abandoned you because they're upset about the things you did to them. There needs to be first and foremost a moment of recognizing the mistakes you've made, admitting them in a transparent and meaningful way, and then there needs to be some actionable thing you do to show you're sorry. Stern has done none of that. Bill, I love you. He's like, "What happened to you?" None of that. Instead, they just keep doing it the same way. Like, we're going to do it anyway. They don't know how to even begin because you know what it is? They don't think they did anything wrong. They don't take accountability and responsibility for some of the things they've done. They don't think they did anything wrong when they remade, when they said they were not going to. They never said sorry for telling people you were getting an exclusive topper on James Bond 60th and then they opened up the topper for everybody else after you bought the game. Oh, you know what we meant was like Keith Owen was going to sign these ones exclusively. That's not what you said. That's not what was in the materials. You know, and then you have a company so big and then you've got a marketing department that's doing everything so small. They don't talk like seriously like when's the last time they don't do anything. It's the same thing. Factory Friday video. That's all they do. They don't talk to us. They don't tell going on like podcast is not it. It's not it. Like Seth CEO, I love that he sent out that survey, but he should have done a ask me anything. Ask me like I want to hear from you what themes you want. I'm gonna tell you five themes that we could go get tomorrow. Never seen it. It's too small of a hobby to burn the thousands of us that you need. It's not millions. It's not even hundreds of thousands. It's not even tens of thousands of people. It's like 10,000 people total around the world that you need to keep happy. You'll obviously sell games to more than those people, but for the most part, if I don't keep that 10,000 unit tight and happy and confident in my brand, then we've messed up. Those 10,000 people wanted Back to the Future. Those 10,000 people don't want to lose $3,000 on every single LE. Those 10,000 people never wanted a,000 less. You don't care about those 10,000 people. What they cared about were the 50 distros that write big checks. That's it. I'm going to give this I'm going to give my dro avo. I'm going to give them the game and let them set the price. And that's a FU to consumers. So, I'm going to let some of them price it at $25,000. And they did. And then I'm going to go make another version of Alvara that's nicer than that version a year or two later or three years later. And so that everyone who spent $25,000, your game is now worth 14 at most because I made a better version. And then George is like, I don't know why people are mad. Like two 200 199 is less than 500. George, you made it nicer. You made it nicer. You You You're confused. These people thought they were buying the nicest version of the game there would ever be. And you just made it. You just made Jaws 50th nicer than Jaws Ellie. I know you didn't call it an Ellie, but you made the playfield nicer. You improved the mechs. The wire forms are nicer. Everything about the game is nicer. It shoots better. You made a nicer Jaws. So, every single Jaws Aloner now has the second nicest version of the playfield of that game. Hurdles Coins. It's funny that they do podcasts with the people that they that are there gobbling balls and not the guy that will call them on their BS and have a real debate and discussion. Well, look, um, look, man, it's not that Stern won't come on my show. Like, I'll interview George Gomez, and when I do, I'm very respectful. Um, it it's not about it's not about winning me over. I I don't give a damn if Stern ever does my show again. I don't want them to win me over. I want them to win you over. I want them to make marketing moves and really think about what they're doing so that all of us all of us feel good again about supporting Stern Pinball. And I just like I I just don't feel like any moves are happening that are on a brand level, you know? And like I sorry, but a little bit bigger screen is not going to win us over because like the JJP screen is still so much nicer. You know what I'm saying? Like uh a fan layout Star Wars is not going to win us over when we look at what's happening in Evil Dead. How much more exciting that game looks, right? how much more exciting King Kong looks from a shooting standpoint than you know what I'm saying. It's like I you know it's just another John Bour Canada tell orbital Albert he needs to stop pulling off in the shower. I don't even know. I dude I don't like I'm just going to say this you know I've had multiple people tell me like I don't know I guess he puts some show up behind a pay. I don't care bro like what the guy says. Like I'm happy he's doing his show. I I'm like I want everybody to make the content they want to make. I make the content I want to make. When I make the content I want to make, I get the most subscribers. I have more subscribers to Canadas Pinball Podcast than all Pinball content podcast combined. So, so it's, you know, so it'd be funny if like the other shows are like, whoa, what he he's what what to me that's that's it. Cuz because I just talk like this. They don't talk like this. They can't talk like this. They don't say this about Stern. They want to defend these companies. Defend them at all costs because their buddies are throwing tournaments. I could care less about a pinball tournament. Um, you know, see, Bill, Bill, here's the truth behind this game. And you're right. It wasn't John Borg's fault. John Borg had a killer Indiana Jones ready to go. It was Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Killer Indiana Jones ready to go. And they shelved it on him. The licensing deal fell through and they made him shove it. He put everything into Indiana Jones. This Star Wars was rushed. He had to make this game on a very accelerated time frame. Why do you think it's got like recycled stuff from the Richie game? Recycled mechs. It's got recycled sculpts. I don't know if any of the mechs are recycled. Yeah, some some of them are recycled. They recycled the golden eye magnet. It He was a rushed game. Everyone would have wanted Indiana Jones done right. You know, John Borg's mistake is going to be this. Can I Can I talk like this? Can Can I get a Can I get a What? What? Can a What are you doing, man? You're not supposed to say this stuff. You're never going to win the Twippies. There are no Twi, man. Twies are done. I got six collecting dust. Um, John Borg's mistake will simply be he will not go over to JJP when he has the opportunity to because he has loyalty to Gary because he was basically like working for free to save Stern Pinball back in the mid 2000s. Um, he will wait too long. I'm telling you this right now, Jersey Jack Pinball, one more stern designer will make it over there and that will be it. They will not need anybody else. And whether it's Keith Owen or Jack Danger or I just think all these Stern designers are going to regret that they did not find a home at JJP and they did not knock on the Abbis door right now and be like, "Look, I'm ready. Let's do this." And they're going to regret it because if something happens to Stern, there's no room anymore. I'm just saying. Go where the mojo is. It's funny because like Spooky Pinball, man, like I I don't feel like we need it. I think they're doing fine. I think Bug and Lucer, man, they're creative. They like now know how to design games. I don't know what happened. I don't know. I don't know like what um what alien intervention happened or if like Bugger Luke got like uh alien and abducted and I don't know. They put in their heads like now they know how to like design a game and it's not shitty like Ultram Man and Halloween. You know what I'm saying? Like what happened to these guys? How did they all of a sudden design a really fun to shoot loaded pinball machine? I I you go back and play like Halloween now you're like You should do a Trippy giveaway each week. I should I should wear my Twppies to expo. Make a necklace out of them or something. Something fun like that, right? Um, Halloween's still sold out. Well, yeah, cuz didn't they just make like 500 of each or something? Easy on Halloween. I don't, dude. I don't know. That game, man. I mean, the the best part about the Halloween launch was the hedge multibar. Dude, I made them they changed the playfield because of me. hedge multibball. Um, it is so beautiful out here, I want to say. Um, you know, my mom was in surgery yesterday. Um, she she's 80. Gosh, I feel like I've lost count of the years. 83 84. She still works 5 days a week. She had to get her pacemaker moved over. Um, and they had to re-shock her heart because it wasn't beating where they wanted it to. And she she got through okay. She's doing okay today. I know she's feeling fine today cuz I called her up and she immediately started insulting my parenting skills and our because we're teaching our kids like, you know, we teach Cassian sign language so he can communicate. And my mom says if you do that, he's never going to speak in in real life. Th this is an 80some yearear-old Sicilian mother who just got out of surgery saying if I teach my little one 14-month-old sign language he will never speak in life because he will only want to sign that that is 100% inaccurate. That is why I love my mom because in her mind she's right. And you wonder where I get it from. My ability to just deliver suppositions as if they are factually accurate. I get it from my mother. You will never beat her in a debate. The kids are home. We're going to end the show in a little bit, a little bit early. It's been a fun one today. Anything else you guys want to talk about? They're coming back from soccer. Thought they were going to go get a snack after. Hopefully, it went well. You never know with kids at this age, like killing like meltdown city. Meltdown city. It's like Canada after like 10 whisies. He's meltdown city. There was a thousand Halloweens. Feel sorry for a thousand of you. Such a It's such a dog shooter. It's such a dog to shoot. I hope someone makes Super Mario Brothers. I mean, it's perfect theme for pinball. I mean, you need the green go inside the green pipes and then you need the lower playfield. D like it's all there. Ringing the doorbell. Killian's ring the doorbell. He loves to do this. He just rings the doorbell. Should we get him on on the show? I want to thank you guys so much for all of your your chats today. Let me give a shout out to the all the chat the top fans here. Let's see. Christopher Franchie number one, Sad Boy number two, Hurdle Coins number three, Ajax number four. I got a leaderboard. Dave Sanders, Fizzy, Retro, Aussie. Thank you guys. Really appreciate it. 

 It's okay. How was soccer? 

 Yeah. Did you score? 

 Yes. Did you score? 

 No. Okay. Did you have a good time? 

 Eric, thank you, brother. Kill. You want to come say hi? 

 Can Can Cass come say hi? 

 Can we bring Cass over? 

 All right, let's We're going to show you Cass and he's going to make an appearance. Christopher Franchie gave me 50 bucks, Brenda, for my birthday. Early birthday gift. So, we're going to go have a drink, Brenda and I. Thank you, Mr. Franchie. Um, we also got 50 bucks, $49.99 from Sad Boy. So, we are going to and Hurdles coins 20 bucks. So, this is this Oh, you know when when you guys donate, you know, like Brenda is the recipient. Come here, Kale. 

 No, we don't see them. 

 You see them? 

 No, we don't. 

 I know you don't see them, but they see you. 

 Do you want to say hi? 

 How 

 How much can I ask you a question? How much do you think Star Wars pinball should be? Don't 

 um $18. 

 $18? 

 Yes. 

 Okay, that sounds like a good price. Um All right. So, there you go. Do you want would you rather have Star Wars or Toy Story? 

 Toy Story. 

 Okay. Now, if you could have any pinball machine, what what would it be? 

 Bobo. 

 Bobo. Okay. Well, I don't know if the Bobo le is going to sell. Let's get this other one. Let me get your brother up here. Can you hear him? Cass, come here. Come here. Come here, buddy. Come here. Are you ready? Are you ready for the the leader of the rebellion, Cassie Win in his kit? Ah, look how cute this kid is. Now, remember remember voting for Cassian to be baby of the year? Voting for him to be baby of the year. The Jessica Alba, right? The 

 is is a baby organization. 

 Okay, you're looking really cool, Brena. Can you come around and show everybody how cool you look right now? Come here. Come here. Look at 

 Mama. Mama, come on, mama. Come say hi. Get the whole Yeah. Look, you got a Toy Story book. We got the whole family coming in. Say hi. Look at this. Cool. Look at this hottie. Oh, yeah. Rainbow Brite hottie. Okay. Okay. Goodness. Get the dodo out. See, if Stern just charged 18 bucks for Star Wars, we'd all buy one, right? I mean, that sounds like a fair price. 18 by Christmas. Um, it is. So, Is anyone in Connecticut? Does anyone want to go get a a drink with Canada today? Dave Frasier, are you here? Anyone here nearby? Want to come to Roen, get on the boat, have some oysters, lobster rolls. I mean, this is like We can go to the beach. It's Wait, my birthday's on National Lobster Day. 

 2015. 

 They said you had the woke hat on. It's rainbow bright. That's not woke. It's rainbow bright. Come on. Come on. Anybody nearby? Okay. 

 It's not woke. Um, let me let me ask you guys a question. Let me ask you guys a question. Um, I'm thinking of doing I want to know if anyone's down for this. I just want to I want to float it out there. I want to float it out there and put it out into the universe. I would love to gather a group of us, a very select group of us that have taste and means when we go to Pinball Expo. I would love to make a reservation this week for a an amazing omocas restaurant in Chicago. That's 30 minute Uber from Expo. I will pay for the Uber for us. I'm not going to pay for the dinner. And here's why. The dinner would There's two sittings. I think we do the 5:30 sitting so we can get back to Expo and have a nice Friday night there. The The meal is 250 ahead and it is like an 18 coursei spectacular. Like I just wanted to float out there if we could get like I think like six to eight of us to just book out the restaurant like book out the whole bar and have an amazing Canad Spinball podcast like get together at a high-end omocas in Chicago. Now, I want to I just want to float that out there if people would be up for that. And And you know, I it's expensive. And if for those of you who know omocas, the 250 is just the food. Then we want to start getting some saporos and some sake. We're going to be dropping. We're going to be dropping about 350 each. 

 But you know what? Life is short. Life is short. And I guarantee you, we'll have more fun than spending $500 on a shooter rod handle. 

 Oh, wow. Look at that bracelet. That's awesome. your lollipop? Let me help you. 

 You got my flipflops. 

 Okay. Thanks for my flipflops. Okay, there you go. Thank you. 

 Can we put these in the car, please? 

 All right, gang. Um, but anyway, do me a favor. If you're down, 

 Oh, they want to sell your bracelet. 

 Okay, they see it. They see it. 

 No, they don't because 

 Okay, here 

 bracelet. Hello. 

 They love your bracelet. All right. Um, let me tell you the like the place I was looking at. Hold on. It's called like Omocass room. Let me see. Best 

 the omocas room. 

 The omocas room is located in river north sushi river north sushi son. Um, If If you're down to do this, uh, 

 can PM me, whether it's on Facebook or email me at canadap pinball@gmail.com. If you have my phone number, text me. Um, let me know if you're down. Like, I don't even care if it's just like four of us go. I'm going because I'll tell you this, the food in the Schlamberg area is not great. And I I you know, when I'm in Chicago, like why do we always have to just eat at like Capitol Grill or like Perry's and then like let's go have some omocas like let's do it right. Let's be refined gentlemen for just a couple hours and then go back to the world of cargo shorts. And what I love about the 5:30 sitting, it's like perfect. Like I mean it'll be great. Always cold sake. Always never hot sake is like man I I like hot sake on a in the winter it's fine but you never have hot sake with with omocas. And in fact the the drink you're supposed to have with omocas because it opens up the flavor of the rice and because you don't want to combine rice with rice because sake is rice based. The drink you're supposed to have is beer. Beer is what the the true Japanese like connoisseurs drink with their omocases, not sake. Um, are you buying drinks? I will buy the drinks at the dinner. 

 Oh my god. Yeah, Brenda's like, "Yeah, but I it's like, you know, it's like, 

 you know, it's like, 

 you know, I mean, normally like I when I do the when I do the grill, I usually like I I I'll I'll be in for the drinks. 

 All right. So, remember, email me, PM me if you're down for the I'm going to book it this week. And if you're in, you're in. Okay? If you're in, you're in. I I There's some people in Chicago that might know where to go. David Van Es, you're in, brother. Do you Look, here's the thing. I know. 

 I know that like there's seminars and discussions and we all know this. They're so boring. Like the here's the bell porn slides of how we made the game and we really like here's like 18 slides about how we made the M. Like I just We're going to be like popping otoro uni, you know, scallops, you know, sweet shrimps, you know. Boom, Boom, boom. You know, boom, boom, boom. No haters. I I got to get Kale and Jamie to go. Jamie's flying out Friday. I got to get Kale to go with Rachel. Um maybe Ralph will join us. Maybe we'll keep a seat open for Ralph just in case. All right, everybody. Be good. Love you guys. Happy Saturday. This a great show. We always have a good time here. It's funny. I love it. All the haters are like, "He talked for 90 minutes about me. I didn't talk for 90 minutes about none of you clowns." Like, this is all just us having a good time. Go back and watch the replays if you think I talk about anybody for 90 minutes. You get maybe 90 seconds. That's all you get. Suckers later.

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: c97cc64c-e7cc-4a36-b2f2-6cac453f64fa*