Matt is a multi-faceted figure in the pinball industry with roles spanning podcast production, arcade operations, and equipment repair. He is best known as co-host of the Bash Pinball Podcast alongside Don, where he serves as audio engineer focused on production quality. Matt operates arcade ventures in North Carolina, has been involved in pinball machine sales at industry events like PinFest, and has worked as both an arcade technician and staff member at Jersey Jack Pinball. His career spans from competitive Swedish pinball ranking (2007) to contemporary podcast and arcade business roles (2025-2026).
No aliases
Matt is rebuilding a 500 linear meters deck with 97 boards, costing approximately $15k total with labor savings
Council approval for games room shed has been pending for 3-4 weeks with $3.9k already spent on site plans and pre-approval costs
I would sell my Pirates LE for $38k based on what previous ones have been selling for in Australia
Engineer and product lead at X-Arcade; described as 'responsive, great to work with'
Jersey Jack Pinball staff; coordinated with Don regarding Harry Potter pickup readiness notification.
Swedish pinball player; recently rose to 2nd place in world rankings, surpassing Trent
Referenced during gameplay: 'Matt, if you're still watching, big ball three'
Arcade technician receiving arcade games (Ricochet, Computer Baseball, Hesitation) from Kevin for repair work
London Pinball operator selling multiple machines at PinFest including Harlem Globetrotters and Aztec League
Expert: merged definition Expert: merged definition
No linked glossary terms
Stern Avengers Premium is at 11 grand, Mando Premium at 10.75k, Iron Maiden Premium at 12.5k
Mark Silk had to read the fake Yelp variant pronunciation approximately 25 times before getting it right
Matt's lawnmower repair cost $812 instead of the originally expected $2,000
Stern will increase Australian prices by AU$250-350 in 2026, likely at Winchester Mystery House in July
James Cameron Avatar (Limited Edition) selling at AU$15.5k is unusually cheap and represents significant market deflation
Mario pinball will be announced in 2026 as part of a Nintendo IP trend following Sonic and Pokemon
The new camera layout allows better visibility of pinball action for streaming audiences
Star Wars Pro has a simple, clean layout that is fun to play despite initial impressions
Dracula's Missball multiball feature did not work well from the beginning of the speaker's ownership, which is common for that game
Swapping Lightning Flippers for normal flippers on Dracula makes a 'night and day' gameplay difference
The speaker played over 1000 games on their Dracula machine before selling it
Dracula's video mode is the best video mode ever designed in pinball
Dracula creates a more cohesive thematic battle experience than modern multi-boss games because of its singular Dracula villain focus
Modern pinball games have moved toward linear scoring that lacks the exponential satisfaction of classic jackpot-stacking designs
No subsequent pinball game's video mode has matched Dracula's quality despite playing many games
David's Cubo the Wizard has been owned for 20 years and is one of the nicest, cleanest examples of that machine type.
Ripley's Believe It or Not machines previously fetched $10,000 easily and sold quickly, but now one is listed at $6,950 with no movement.
There has been a significant shift in the secondary market with real price compression across premium and limited edition titles.
Matt's neighbor initially refused access to his driveway a year ago but has now agreed to allow semi-trailer delivery for the shed construction project.
Limited Edition pinball machines are consistently priced around $15,000-$15,500 in the secondary market
Bally Strikes and Spares sold locally in Cheltenham for $2,700
Buyers are negotiating significantly below asking prices in private transactions
The pinball secondary market has leveled out and found a stable price point
Jersey Jack Pinball machines have experienced dramatic price drops from initial launch prices
Stern Premium Edition Sam machines are sitting at $11,000-$12,000
Harry Potter is the fastest Jersey Jack Pinball game played by Matt
One collector owns 18 Zachariah machines and brought two to TASPIN
Matt changed opinion on Dune pinball after watching skilled gameplay with code updates
Landscaper went into liquidation owing bank $95,000
Received Spotify badge for 500 listens after four episodes
Won VCAT legal case against landscaper for $10,000 theft
Official Stern toppers prioritize redundant branding over thematic contribution, reducing their value as accessories
Stern released toppers with insufficient inventory (50-100 units) relative to machines in circulation (2,000-3,000 units)
Stern adopted high topper pricing ($3,000+) after observing COVID-era secondary market scalping where $400 toppers sold for $3,000-$4,000
Matt purchased a 1.5 ton mini excavator with delivery in 2-3 weeks for property maintenance on 2.5 acre property
Jurassic Park topper was DLC-gated but Stern later updated code to allow non-topper owners access due to community backlash
Three out of four times, hosts got better seats by checking in last-minute
Circus Voltaire A-grade machines priced $20,000-$22,000 in 2023 but now ~$16,000, a $6,000 decline
Foo Fighters Limited Edition sold for $16,500 without topper, implying $4,000+ loss from ~$20,500 new pricing
Pinball Aus Wide Facebook group grew from 3,000 members in 2017 to 19,000 members by 2025
COVID-era newcomers to pinball lack maintenance skills compared to pre-2020 hobbyists
James Cameron's Avatar (Limited Edition) CE prototype at Melbourne Expo lacked final UV coating on playfield
Richie's leadership has improved Stern machine feel quality, making them less floaty and more responsive
Manufacturers don't invest in pre-shipment QC testing to avoid cost/profit margin erosion
Jersey Jack Pinball machines frequently have rubber deterioration and require calibration work out of the box
Melbourne Pinball Expo had approximately 300 people per session plus operators/tech support, roughly 400 total
Matt is selling Black Rose primarily due to space constraints in the shedcade workshop
Matt has owned Black Rose for approximately one year (acquired August of previous year)
Black Rose is the only fully functional game in Matt's collection currently available for sale
Modern pinball machine audio through headphone jacks uses compressed, low bitrate files
Modern pinball manufacturers lack the innovative mechanical design mindset of the 1980s-90s Williams era
Received a review from Johnny Crunch from Australia that matched hoped-for feedback word-for-word
Gorgar does not save balls during gameplay
Already have gear for 4K 60fps Twitch streaming capability
Matt wants to enter competitive pinball league to document experience for podcast content
Matt and Don collectively own approximately 8 pinball machines
Matt spends 8-10 hours editing per episode on average
Attendee demographics at Pinfest approximately 95% white; male-female split closer to 50-50 than expected
Most games brought by attendees are functional-to-poor condition because people bring games they don't mind getting damaged rather than their best machines
Friday was busier than Saturday at Pinfest
Spooky Pinball was the only pinball manufacturer with a direct booth presence at Pinfest; other manufacturers represented only by distributors
Newer pinball games like Jaws, Labyrinth, and Pulp Fiction demonstrated high stability with no downtime despite heavy continuous play
Matt's PinSide rating of Jaws improved from 7.2 to 8.0 after playing ~20 games
Matt plays pinball 98% in home/controlled environment and 2% in arcades
Dungeons and Dragons pinball from late 1980s/early 1990s is rarely seen in arcade circulation
A five-minute waiting period is an appropriate community standard before playing someone's free game
The Scooby-Doo Spooky machine at Boxcar has a flashing start button that continuously indicates free games despite requiring payment
Matt started playing pinball approximately 3 years ago when Donald brought Hook to their workplace
Venom Premium Edition U-shaped mechanism breaks frequently and compromises game availability in location settings
Whodunit should only have four balls installed, but this machine has a six-ball multiball due to EEPROM modification
Matt from Back Alley Creations recently had health scare but has recovered
Matt plays at the venue (Ace Kogi) frequently with a calm, composed demeanor
Twitch HQ in San Francisco plans to acquire additional pinball machines beyond the current single machine at Flynn's Arcade
Matt's arcade cabinets use original arcade boards and CRT monitors, not MAME emulation
Brendan Small Change Arcade offers rental services for custom arcade cabinets, with rental-only availability in San Francisco
Matt will build additional ATM/slot machine hybrids for the right price
Matt prefers Black Knight Sword of Rage Pro version over Premium version
Matt passed his PMP certification exam the day before Christmas
Matt from LA is a solid player who has been practicing heavily for the last two months
Matt has four trophies from tournament play (referenced during finals discussion)
The game plays very fast compared to original Attack from Mars
The spinner was originally delivering only 1 out of every 5 intended spins
The left flipper had a wire crossing issue causing it to not respond or fall while held
Co-host of Bash Pinball Podcast alongside Don; operating arcade venture in North Carolina
Co-host of Bash Pinball Podcast; audio engineer focused on production quality
Co-host of Bash Pinball podcast; drove to Virginia to pick up Swords of Fury with other host
Business partner with Chris Chapman; contributed pinball machines from personal collection to the venue