# Episode 305: Elizabeth Dronet

**Source:** Pinball Profile  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2021-05-10  
**Duration:** 16m 58s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.pinballprofile.com/episode-305-elizabeth-dronet/

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## Analysis

Jeff Teolis interviews Elizabeth Dronet, a Houston-based pinball community organizer, tournament director, and restoration business owner. The episode covers Elizabeth's role running multiple tournaments (Bells of Space City, Flip Frenzies, Match Play events), her restoration company Upkick Pinball, and her work with the Houston Arcade Expo and Texas Pinball Festival. Discussion touches on pandemic recovery, vaccine rollout, and the pinball community's support network.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Elizabeth runs the women's leagues and flip frenzies for Space City Pinball League and serves on the board of directors — _Direct statement: 'I'm on the board of directors, and I run all the women's leagues, but I also run a lot of the flip frenzies that we have.'_
- [HIGH] Upkick Pinball typically has 5-6 machines in restoration at any given time — _Elizabeth states: 'we usually have five or six machines we working on at a time'_
- [HIGH] Elizabeth does playfield restorations including hard tops, playfield swaps, and overlays; her husband handles board work — _Elizabeth describes division of labor: 'I am the one who really does the playfield restorations... And then my husband kind of takes over the board work.'_
- [HIGH] Elizabeth's family home flooded during Hurricane Harvey, which led to deeper involvement in the pinball community — _Elizabeth: 'since our house flooded during Harvey... That's when we really got deep into our league'_
- [HIGH] Elizabeth has 16 pinball machines at her house — _Jeff references: 'you've got the 16 machines at your house'_
- [HIGH] Match Play tournaments are Elizabeth's favorite format, preferring four-player groups over Flip Frenzies — _Elizabeth: 'I love match play tournaments... The Match Play four groups are my favorite... The Flip Frenzies are two people.'_
- [HIGH] Houston Arcade Expo had a big Match Play event requiring players to finish first or second in every game to advance, with a second chance consolation — _Elizabeth describes tournament structure: 'they had big match play events and it was a tough, tough tournament to qualify to get to the playoffs... you had two chances... four different sessions... your best one out of the two count it'_
- [HIGH] Elizabeth teaches high school and her twin daughters (now 15) are named Annabeth and another daughter — _Elizabeth: 'I teach school. I teach high school... the girls are now 15... Annabeth is going to be taking some computer science AP classes next year'_

### Notable Quotes

> "we told the guy, well, it has to fit a pinball machine in the back, even though we're looking for our daughters"
> — **Elizabeth Dronet**, ~1:00-2:00
> _Humorous anecdote illustrating the centrality of pinball to Elizabeth's family life_

> "The thing about pinball that I love the most, like I said, is the community, the relationships we build. And the people in our league love my children and they love them back."
> — **Elizabeth Dronet**, ~37:00-38:00
> _Core philosophy statement emphasizing community values in pinball culture_

> "It's very satisfying. It's very fulfilling to make these machines that looked so pathetic look like beautiful, shiny machines."
> — **Elizabeth Dronet**, ~12:00-13:00
> _Articulates the personal satisfaction of restoration work and business motivation_

> "We work together. Usually my husband he figures it out and the girls and I, you know, he recruits them to come help. And I think that Annabeth is going to be taking some computer science AP classes next year. Hopefully she'll be on the road to designing a pinball machine sooner or later."
> — **Elizabeth Dronet**, ~26:00-27:00
> _Demonstrates family involvement in pinball business and potential next-generation pipeline into pinball design_

> "I could be getting a lot more for these because they look gorgeous in my room"
> — **Jeff Teolis**, ~19:00-20:00
> _Jeff's assessment of the quality of Elizabeth's custom poster art for league promotion_

> "People are just so generous to us. And it's a joy to do it as well."
> — **Elizabeth Dronet**, ~14:00-15:00
> _Reflects community goodwill and reciprocal support in local pinball ecosystem_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Elizabeth Dronet | person | Houston-based pinball community organizer, tournament director, teacher, Upkick Pinball owner/operator |
| Jeff Teolis | person | Pinball Profile podcast host conducting the interview |
| Space City Pinball League | organization | Houston-area pinball league where Elizabeth serves on board and runs women's leagues and tournaments |
| Upkick Pinball | company | Restoration and repair business run by Elizabeth and her husband from their garage, specializing in playfield restoration, custom art, mods, and board repair |
| Houston Arcade Expo | event | Major pinball/arcade event where Elizabeth serves on planning committee and organizes Match Play tournaments |
| Texas Pinball Festival | event | Annual pinball tournament where Elizabeth runs women's tournament division |
| Bells of Space City | organization | Women's pinball tournament series run by Elizabeth |
| Pinburgh | event | Referenced as historical benchmark for tournament structure that influenced Space City tournament design (note: 'rest in peace' suggests tournament may no longer operate in same form) |
| Game Preserve | organization | Houston-area venue hosting Space City Pinball League tournaments |
| Einstein's Pub | organization | Houston bar/arcade venue where Jeff's Pinball Profile World Tour event was held; has multiple locations including Katy (21+) and Richmond (family-friendly) |
| Backbox Pinball Podcast | media | Pinball podcast where Elizabeth appeared as guest in early episodes |
| Annabeth | person | Elizabeth's daughter (age 15), planning to take computer science AP classes, showing potential interest in pinball design |
| Phil Grimaldi | person | Pinball community member; Elizabeth created custom 'Flipster' sticker artwork based on his appearance; owner of Frontier pinball machine |
| Greg | person | Operator of Einstein's Pub in Katy, Texas; supports Space City league with new games and free play for members |
| Robert Byers | person | Competitive pinball player known for complaining about tournament format/rules (referenced humorously in conversation) |
| Keith | person | Houston Arcade Expo planning committee member working with Elizabeth on band booking and show organization |
| Jim | person | Friend of Elizabeth who had pinball machines restored at Upkick Pinball, including Frontier playfield swap |
| Brian | person | Friend and collaborator at Upkick Pinball who provides ideas for restoration projects and mod designs |
| Flash Gordon | game | Pinball game recently restored by Upkick Pinball with new hardtop; customer pickup demonstrated significant transformation that inspired Jeff to order hardtop for own Flash Gordon |
| Frontier | game | Pinball game owned by Phil and Jim, restored by Upkick Pinball with hard tops and playfield swaps |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Pinball tournament organization and formats, Pinball machine restoration and modification business, Women in pinball and community building, Houston pinball community and venues
- **Secondary:** Pandemic impacts on pinball events and recovery, Family involvement in pinball hobby and business, Custom pinball art and merchandise, Vintage/classic pinball machine restoration

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Elizabeth and Jeff have warm, friendly rapport. Conversation is celebratory of community contributions, restoration work, and family involvement. Some light humor about competitive dynamics (Robert Byers). No negative criticism or conflict. Tone is grateful, enthusiastic about pinball community recovery post-pandemic.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Upkick Pinball evolved from informal friend-help side business into established restoration company with consistent 5-6 machine pipeline, specialized equipment (vinyl cutters, laser printer, specialty tools), and service offerings in playfield restoration, board repair, and custom art/mods (confidence: high) — Elizabeth: 'Started off just helping friends but news traveled And we usually have five or six machines we working on at a time... I have some machines that cut vinyl, and we have different printers... And then we have also a laser printer that can cut acrylic'
- **[community_signal]** Space City Pinball League operates with strong tournament infrastructure including Match Play events with consolation bracket structure, Flip Frenzies, and location-based league nights across member homes (confidence: high) — Multiple tournament formats described including four-session Match Play with second-chance consolation, Flip Frenzies, pump-and-dump formats, league nights at player homes
- **[sentiment_shift]** Positive community reception of custom art/merchandise; Elizabeth's league posters selling successfully as donation items with strong demand signal from collectors (Jeff purchased multiple copies for display) (confidence: medium) — Jeff: 'I couldn't believe you were so it was a deal was like $10 a poster. And I was like, you could be getting a lot more for these because they look gorgeous in my room... I have two of those hanging in my pinball room'
- **[community_signal]** Houston pinball community demonstrated mutual aid during Hurricane Harvey recovery, which catalyzed deeper community involvement and league participation by Elizabeth's family (confidence: high) — Elizabeth: 'since our house flooded during Harvey... Space City players came and helped us with our house... we just found such a wonderful community that we just want to give back all the time'
- **[community_signal]** Upkick Pinball receives goodwill support including customers gifting machines as payment and community members providing ideas for restoration/mod solutions targeting market gaps (confidence: high) — Elizabeth: 'that customer brought us a pinball machine as a payment in addition to the payment... People are just so thankful... People are just so generous to us'
- **[event_signal]** Houston Arcade Expo and Texas Pinball Festival organizing teams planning major 2021 events with band entertainment and expanded Match Play tournament structure after pandemic-related 2020 cancellation (confidence: medium) — Elizabeth and Jeff discussing preparation for fall Houston Arcade Expo with band booking in progress, picking up from pre-pandemic planning; Texas Pinball Festival women's tournament also in planning phase
- **[community_signal]** Elizabeth's daughters (particularly Annabeth) are being recruited into pinball business operations and showing potential interest in technical/design trajectory; next-generation pipeline development visible (confidence: high) — Elizabeth: 'he recruits them to come help And I think that Annabeth is going to be taking some computer science AP classes next year. Hopefully she'll be on the road to designing a pinball machine sooner or later'
- **[product_strategy]** Significant market gap identified for reproduction Stern spinners (vintage pinball component in high demand but limited availability); Upkick Pinball addressing through custom manufacturing with vinyl cutters and laser printer (confidence: high) — Jeff: 'the old stern spinners. Hard to find. And you've done this neat thing with spinners and decals... anybody out there, if you want to make one of these, you're going to make millions of dollars'

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## Transcript

 it's time for another pinball profile i'm your host jeff teels you can find everything on pinballprofile.com all your subscriptions past episodes and more you can find us on twitter and instagram at pinball profile we're also on facebook and you can email us pinball profile at gmail.com. It's great to be talking to a friend of the show because when I first met this woman, she helped me out immensely with the Pinball Profile World Tour when I headed down to Houston, Texas. That's where we are right now. Elizabeth Dronay joins us. Hi, Elizabeth. Hi, Jeff. Nice to see you again or talk to you online as it is. It is good to talk to you. Happy Mother's Day. Oh, thank you so much. I hope your twin daughters are going to be spoiling you. They are. They're already planning what they're going to be cooking for me, including some strawberry shortcake, for sure. Now, you told me before we started recording that the girls are now 15, and you were doing a little bit of shopping for them this week, at least attempted shopping. Yes, we're trying to buy a new car, and this is pretty funny. We told the guy, well, it has to fit a pinball machine in the back, even though we're looking for our daughters. And he, of course, was shocked. And most people don't, you know, in our community, everybody thinks that there's, of course, cars with pinball machines that can fit, but he was taken aback. And we did look at several options. I think we're going to go with one that's for me instead of them, and then they can have my car. How's that sound? Happy Mother's Day. Hey, that's good. You get a new car. That's exactly what I was looking for. I even asked for the Mother's Day special. Oh, very nice. Well, good luck to you. A lot of people in the area certainly know about what you've been doing, Elizabeth, for years, in fact, with the Bells of Space City. You're the tournament director. I saw you at the Space City Open. We're now coming up to almost two years when you ran that big, big event there, won by Ashley Ludwig. You've been busy with pinball for a long, long time, haven't you? Yeah, we really, since our house flooded during Harvey, I know that you did a pinball profile on that. That's when we really got deep into our league, Space City Pinball League. We had been playing pinball for a while when the girls were smaller, and we had collected some machines. But after the Space City players came and helped us with our house, we just found such a wonderful community that we just want to give back all the time. Both my husband and I volunteer as tournament directors. I'm on the board of directors, and I run all the women's leagues, but I also run a lot of the flip frenzies that we have. And then I also help with the Houston Arcade Expo. I'm one of the planning committee for that because of the tournament. Because you run so many different tournaments, and the one you helped me with when I was there at Einstein's Pub, which now I guess has a second location in Houston. Yeah, it has one. It's a little south of Houston in Richmond, kind of by Sugar Land, which maybe people would recognize more. But it is more family-friendly. The one that we went to was for 21+. That was in Katy, Texas, if I recall. That is in Katy. That's where I work. Katy is now really part of Houston. And Greg, the operator, is just wonderful too as he has all the LEs. He buys all the new games. They're in fantastic condition. You know, he's just so good to our league. He was good to the tournament when I was there. I mean, he gave a bunch of free games out to all the members too. So I definitely remember that. But we ran a flip frenzy back for the Pinball Profile World Tour. You're on so many different tournaments, different ones too for the Houston Arcade Expo. Which ones are your favorite or are they all kind of unique and special in their own way? Well, I love match play tournaments. They would be my favorite and I really love the Bells tournaments. We usually host those at the Game Preserve or we'll do some league nights at different players' homes with people who have different collections. And I think that the match play four-player groups are my favorite. It doesn't matter if it's a strikes or if it's a flip frenzy. Well, I guess I really just like the four-player groups is what I should say. The Flip Frenzies are two people. The Match Play four groups are my favorite I love to get to know people and talk with them I guess match play is unique in the sense that we all love it from our Pinberg days rest in peace to that wonderful tournament But they are interesting A flip frenzy is kind of go, go, go. So you really don't get to mingle as such. The pump and dumps, there's a lot of times in queue where you can do your own thing and explore if you're at a show or something like that. But match play, I know at the Houston Arcade Expo, they had big match play events and it was a tough, tough tournament to qualify to get to the playoffs because you pretty much had to finish first or second in every game to advance. Yes, Jeff, but you had two chances. You could play twice in the tournament. If you remember, we set it up where there were four different sessions, even though it was match play. It's kind of like Pinberg. And then your best one out of the to count it. So that was a consolation. It was hard, but you had a second chance if you wanted. Take that, Robert Byers. Well, did he not qualify? Oh, I don't know if he qualified, but he was complaining. Oh, that's the Robert way. That's the top rope way. And I know you're saying that as a good friend of his too. Well, I told him it's all about having fun, isn't it? Only if he wins. I think that's how it works. I got to tell you, I don't know if it'll be this year based on the calendar and based on COVID and the pandemic and borders and all those kind of fun things if I'll be back to Houston but I am definitely coming back to that show because unlike any other show I have ever seen what a party atmosphere it is it's so fun in fact I was just talking with Keith and Phil online we were looking at some different bands and there's some really great options a lot of cover bands are looking for shows right now to play and we were kind of interviewing people online. It's looking very fun, very exciting. So putting a big show together like that with Phil, with Keith and others, how much preparation are you doing? A lot of it was already done, you know, with the year that we had to cancel. So we're sort of picking up where we left off. It's the same with the Texas Pinball Festival. I run the women's tournament there. We've done so much preparation and then, you know, a halt. So we're kind of picking up the pieces and taking off from there. So it's not seeming as overwhelming as it has in the past. More excitement and just looking forward to the future. I would have to imagine, fingers crossed, you know, we're going the right direction with the pandemic. But the state of Texas has had really good numbers as far as cases with COVID-19. That was not the case when it first started. But since it began here in May of 2021, things have really changed. In fact, watching my Toronto Blue Jays play the first game of the year in Texas, in Arlington, and a full crowd. And even this weekend playing your Houston Astros. You know, I think it's 50% and that's about to go up to 75% capacity. So it looks like things are swinging in the right direction. Things are getting better and that bodes well for the fall show. Yes, I agree. I think everyone is so hopeful because, you know, around here, the people are wearing masks everywhere in public. And also, everybody I know has got a vaccine. So that's great news. And I'm hoping that the kids get their vaccines next week. They said that they would be rolling them out, hopefully next week. So that's when it's really going to turn around. You know, I teach school. I teach high school. So if you can imagine all those kids wearing masks every day, what a relief when we can take them off. For sure. And we can all get back to normal, too. So get your vaccines and help out and do whatever you can. And that certainly is a message a lot of people have been saying, not only here on the show, but online. And probably if you're playing in a league or you want to play in a tournament, it's going to be these kind of things that get us back to the quote unquote normal. So one thing that's happened since the pandemic is you've kind of taken a little side business, if you will, and really made it a full fledged business. And we're talking about upkick pinball and its incredible restorations. I don't want to short sell it. Tell everybody what Upkick Pinball is. So my husband and I run a little business out of our garage just a repair and restoration business Started off just helping friends but news traveled And we usually have five or six machines we working on at a time I am the one who really does the playfield restorations. I'm talking about hard tops, playfield swaps. I've done a few overlays, polishing up everything, getting it working. And then my husband kind of takes over the board work. The EMs together, we work on those things. And it's really satisfying. It's very fulfilling to make these machines that looked so pathetic look like beautiful, shiny machines. We just had a customer come pick up a Flash Gordon today with a new hardtop, and it was amazing. The difference. That machine, the transformation of that machine was just so, makes me so happy. I wish it was mine. I actually ordered a hardtop from my Flash Gordon because it was such a transformation. And then that guy, that customer brought us a pinball machine as a payment in addition to the payment. People are just so thankful that there are people around. And that's why I really like doing it. You take such pride. I mean, I know you have a collection yourself and your family. But, you know, this was kind of a little side business before. But because of the incredible work you do, people are like, hey, can I give you my machine? And you've made this a business. You're the owner of Upkick Pinball, which you can see on upkickpinball.com, also on Facebook, too. You talked about that flash, Gordon. You can see the after pictures of what you've done. It's spectacular. So I'm not surprised that the person was thrilled, but that's a pretty big deal. They gave you a nice pinball machine as a payment. I know. It's a flash. And he had already put new boards in and everything. It's just, I think, kind of rare to find someone who are willing to work on the machines. And people are just so generous to us. And it's a joy to do it as well. And then what I like doing is creating some different mods and art packages. I make cards. I make inserts for coin doors, some stickers and decals. I just enjoy doing that. If you remember when you came to our Space City tournaments, I had done those posters for our league. And it sort of fulfills that desire to create some art. I'll send you a picture when we're done this podcast. I have two of those hanging in my pinball room, in fact. Oh, fun. Those posters were great. I couldn't believe you were so it was a deal was like $10 a poster. And I was like, you could be getting a lot more for these because they look gorgeous in my room. Oh, thanks. They're just a donation to the league. We know we got to pay for match play. Got to pay all your dues for the website and things. So we just use those to promote it and then get a little donations in. But I'm so glad you like it. Like it. I love it. And I'm loving what I'm seeing on upkickpinball.com because I love older games. I'm fascinated by them. I like the simplicity of some of the rules. I like the difficulty of some of the shots. I like the nostalgia of the artwork. And as you can imagine, a lot of the older machines, especially 40 years and older, are pretty beat up. Well, what you've done at Upkick Pinball is spectacular. And you mentioned briefly the deck holes. Well, I look at spinners. And one of the hardest things for me to find, and anybody out there, if you want to make one of these, you're going to make millions of dollars. Well, maybe not millions, but a lot of money. the old stern spinners. Hard to find. And you've done this neat thing with spinners and decals, and I really like what you've done. Oh, thank you. Thank you. I have some machines that cut vinyl, and we have different printers. And then we have also a laser printer that can cut acrylic. So we've designed some stuff and then also just repair, replace parts that are broken. And a friend of ours, Brian, he comes over and he's always got ideas for us. It's nice to brainstorm, you know, what do people want? What are people looking for? What's broken and can't be found anymore? And then trying to invent something that people will want. It's great that companies are making different playfields, but the swaps aren't exactly easy. And that's something you do and the restorations, the hard tops, but also too, especially with older games, I have no knowledge when it comes to mechanical repair, but definitely circuit board repair. And you do that at Upkick as well Yes we do We work together Usually my husband he figures it out and the girls and I you know he recruits them to come help And I think that Annabeth is going to be taking some computer science AP classes next year. Hopefully she'll be on the road to designing a pinball machine sooner or later. By the way, I couldn't help notice if you go to upkickpinball.com and you look under the stickers and pin section and you'll see this flipster. that is totally phil grimaldi well that so i just that's a very funny story because i had this idea okay flipster and you know those the guys with the beards and i said girls could y'all please describe for me what do you think like a pinball flipster would look like and they said okay well he'll wear like a twilight zone shirt or one that looks like phil has one that looks kind of like that and then he'll have a beard and anyway when i finished it all i said that looks like phil We all agreed. It was very funny. It's totally Phil. I'm going to post that on Pinball Profile on our Facebook page and Instagram, too. So check that out. It's so good. Headphones and everything? Absolutely. Yeah, I designed all that, but I did it based off of what they were saying. And when we finished, that's when we realized it was actually Phil they were describing. And the sticker, much like Phil, very soft-spoken. Yeah, so we did Phil's Frontier. We actually bought it from him. And then I put a hard top on that one for myself. And I took our other friend Jim's Frontier. We basically had three playfields. And I did a playfield swap. He had had one repurposed that he bought. And so at one time, we had three Frontiers. Both of them came out looking beautiful. And then we have an extra playfield in the end. But I get the joy of looking at that beautiful thing. Phil redid the cabinet. And then I did the playfield. Again, it's something to see. Upkickpinball.com. And like you said, you're a teacher in high school. You've got two teenage daughters, your husband. You've got the 16 machines at your house. You are a busy woman. I mean, Mother's Day better be the day for you. I mean, hopefully it comes with that new car. Well, that would be nice. Also, you know, I need to challenge my girls to a pinball tournament. That's usually what I ask, you know, when we're hanging out. When they're teenagers, they want to hang out in the room. Come hang out with me and we'll play a tournament at home. Sometimes the people in Space City will make bets from afar on who's going to win out of us. We just played in the flip frenzy and Annabeth won. Usually me, I'm the one who beats us, but you never know. The young people are certainly motivated to learn the rules and get the skills. And anytime you can beat a parent, I mean, it's a proud child moment for sure. And even from the parent standpoint too, you know, you still want to be able to do it. But when the kid surpasses you, you're like, you tip the cap a little bit. And I first knew about your girls and you even before I came to Houston. It was, in fact, an episode of Backbox Pinball with Lauren Gray. Oh, yeah. Well, you were on there as well. I think even one of the first ever episodes too. Yes. So a great pinball family we've learned from Backbox and from everyone in Space City certainly knows that. And hopefully people will know that here on Pinball Profile as well. Well, the thing about pinball that I love the most, like I said, is the community, the relationships we build. And the people in our league love my children and they love them back. They're always welcoming. It's exactly the kind of community that I was looking for to raise my children in. Very blessed indeed. And that's why we need to get back and get our vaccine so we can all get together again and head to great shows like the Houston Arcade Expo and Texas Pinball Festival next March. I'm looking forward to these for sure. Elizabeth, it's been great to talk to you once again. Thanks, Jeff. I appreciate you calling me. We had a good conversation. Sounds like normal. That's what I need. A little bit of normal. Oh, here, here. I'm with you. Happy Mother's Day. Thank you, Jeff. This has been your Pinball Profile. You can find everything on pinballprofile.com. We're also on Facebook. You can check us out on Instagram and Twitter at pinballprofile. Email us pinballprofile at gmail.com. I'm Jeff Teolas. Kick it out. She said kick it out. Come on, come on, kick out your mother and drive away. She said kick it out. Oh yeah

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: d32afed3-467f-4638-886e-8dbdd4dc5362*