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Episode 267 – Silverball Midlife Crisis

Slam Tilt Podcast·podcast_episode·1h 20m·analyzed·Apr 17, 2026
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.032

TL;DR

Slam Tilt covers Pintastic tournament results, Yukon Yeti sound redesign, and local Rochester pinball events.

Summary

Ron Hallett and Bruce Nightingale discuss their experience at Pintastic pinball tournament in Marlboro, New York, where Ron made B-finals in the Silver Ball Rumble tournament and earned $55. The episode covers tournament details, new games Ron played including Pokemon and a Fishtail retheme, and updates on Yukon Yeti's sound redesign by Chris Turner. They also plug local Rochester Pinball Collective events including Stomp and Fall Brawl, discuss Emily Realhand's sweep of Women's Nationals and World Championships, and mention Mantis Amusements' retirement.

Key Claims

  • Ron Hallett made B-finals at Silver Ball Rumble at Pintastic and earned $55 prize money after three people dropped out

    high confidence · Ron Hallett, eyewitness account of his own tournament participation

  • Chris Turner (known for Whitewater and Lord of the Rings sound design) will be redesigning the sound package for Yukon Yeti

    high confidence · Ron Hallett citing official announcement from Jersey Jack Pinball; confirms universal player complaints about original Yukon Yeti sound quality

  • Eric Stone won A Division at Silver Ball Rumble tournament

    high confidence · Ron Hallett citing tournament bracket updates from the event

  • Mantis Amusements, a pinball parts supplier operating since 1993, is retiring

    medium confidence · Ron Hallett; details minimal, retirement announcement mentioned without elaboration

  • Emily Realhand of Canada won both the North American Women's Pinball Championships and Women's World Championships

    high confidence · Ron Hallett citing official championship results

  • Fishtail retheme by Cardona features licensed music including Heart's 'Barracuda' and potentially 'Rock Lobster'

    medium confidence · Ron Hallett based on gameplay experience at Pintastic

  • Yukon Yeti sound quality was universally criticized by players on Pinside forums

    high confidence · Ron Hallett citing multiple player complaints on Pinside Yukon Yeti owner's thread

  • Jersey Jack Pinball is continuing to produce Harry Potter machines heavily due to demand and profitability

    medium confidence · Ron Hallett paraphrasing comments from Jersey Jack seminar coverage by Nap Arcade

  • Western New York Pinball League had 33-34 participants this season, with teams from Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, and Binghamton

    high confidence · Bruce Nightingale, league organizer, describing league finals participation

Notable Quotes

  • “I literally got $55 just by showing up. By Menon.”

    Ron Hallett @ ~7:30 — Ron's casual commentary on making B-finals through attrition at Silver Ball Rumble

  • “Powerful complainers on the internet, yeah. I'm Captain Chaos, and this is my friend Kato.”

    Ron Hallett @ ~32:00 — Self-deprecating humor about the podcast's influence on Yukon Yeti sound redesign feedback

  • “It's pretty cool that they announced that and they're rectifying the problem that most people had with it.”

    Ron Hallett @ ~31:00 — Acknowledgment of Jersey Jack Pinball's responsiveness to community feedback on Yukon Yeti

  • “I wish I was playing fishtails like the regular fishtails.”

    Ron Hallett @ ~25:00 — Critique of Fishtail retheme's mechanical changes that complicate original gameplay flow

  • “Fall of the Empire, how it was a... Cash grab? Cash grab. Oh. And he said it just like that, too. Dialed in Bruce, cash grab!”

    Ron Hallett @ ~38:00 — Reference to Slam Tilt being cited on Eclectic Gamers podcast regarding Star Wars code update criticism

  • “One month from today. Okay, so you have a month to get all this shit in. We still have spots available.”

    Bruce Nightingale @ ~49:00 — Promotion of Stomp tournament at Rochester Pinball Collective with one month until event

  • “If I stay in the top position, if I don't get knocked out, I get to pick all my own games, which is going to be fucking awesome because I don't have to play fucking Star Wars.”

    Ron Hallett @ ~54:00 — Ron's league finals strategy and game preferences (avoids Star Wars and Ghostbusters)

Entities

Ron HallettpersonBruce NightingalepersonPintasticeventSilver Ball RumbleeventChris TurnerpersonEric StonepersonEmily Realhandperson

Signals

  • ?

    event_signal: Pintastic tournament results detailed: B Division winner Ryan B-E-L-I-S-L-E (unconfirmed pronunciation), bronze Michael Geis; A Division won by Eric Stone after Jason Zoller lost to 13-year-old Liam; extended to 4-of-7 format to prevent qualifier manipulation

    high · Ron Hallett eyewitness account with bracket documentation

  • ?

    product_concern: Yukon Yeti universal sound quality complaints addressed by Jersey Jack Pinball; Chris Turner (Whitewater, Lord of the Rings sound designer) hired to redesign with Adam Gubman as partner

    high · Ron Hallett citing Pinside thread discussion and Chris Turner's official response; community consensus about poor sound

  • ?

    code_update: Star Wars received 'Fall of the Empire' code update; characterized as 'cash grab' by Slam Tilt and reinforced by Eclectic Gamers podcast coverage

    medium · Ron Hallett mention of podcast citation; referenced as criticism of incremental code release strategy

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Pokemon praised for shot layout, flow, and sound quality; Fishtail retheme criticized for mechanical changes that complicate original lock mechanics despite licensed music additions (Barracuda, Rock Lobster)

    medium · Ron Hallett gameplay experience at Pintastic; comparison between original and rethemed mechanics

  • ?

    venue_signal: Rochester Pinball Collective undergoing renovation: side room unavailable for upcoming events; back room walls removed to create larger open space; additional electrical infrastructure being added

    high · Bruce Nightingale describing current construction and improvements for Stomp tournament

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.240

0:00
Today we're talking about fossils. Okay. And a fossil class is really just another name for an ancient bone.
0:25
Coming to you from beautiful upstate New York, this is the Slam Toll Podcast, Yeah, so show about all things pinball. I'm your host, Ron Hallett, here with the other host, Bruce Nightingale. And I got a gavina, baby. Don't you know that I love you? Iron Butterfly, I thought that was a cool name. It was great. Well, hello, everyone. Welcome to the Slamtell Podcast. This is my name and Bruce, and this is Ron, my co-host. See how he said this? This is episode 267. See? See how he said this, Ron? Uh-huh. Okay.
0:59
How are you doing? We haven't been on in a month. We haven't been on in, I don't know if it's a full month, but it's been a while. It wasn't even a cruise. I know, it was you. It was me. It was you this time. You went away. I went away to what, one show? Yeah, see? I wanted to do it last weekend. No, I wanted to do it for the people. For the people. Yeah, you can't do it when I'm at Fantastic. Exactly, but I still wanted to do it for the people. Uh-huh. So, let's see. What do I got here?
1:33
Pintastic. Let's go over that first. Oh, you want to go over that first? Okay. So, I went to Pintastic.
1:42
Pintastic. It was great. I love Pintastic. You were the only one there out of the group. The group. Yes, the group. Yeah, folks. We were groupies. A messenger group, and no one went there. No one went there except for Ron. Ron's like, and why are you the only one that's here from the group? Even our Zach didn't bother to go. No, Zach's not even going to Allentown. What does that tell you? Two for two. What the hell? How is that possible? I know. It is no good deals down there, so I'm not going to get a good deal. Wow. I think he's graduated to the next level of just... Yep. As soon as you turn 30, you get frugal. Yeah. Well, he's all ornery. He just doesn't want to drive anymore, I think. He's just old and feeble. Yeah. Old. I know how he feels. I don't want to keep driving a Rochester back and forth, fucking eight-hour round trip. I only have to maybe once, so.
Jersey Jack Pinball
company
Yukon Yetigame
Pokemongame
Fishtailgame
Rochester Pinball Collectivevenue
Western New York Pinball Leagueorganization
Stompevent
Fall Brawlevent
Mantis Amusementscompany
Star Warsgame
Nap Arcadeperson
Jason Zollerperson
Liamperson
  • $

    market_signal: Jersey Jack Pinball continuing high-volume Harry Potter production due to demand and profitability, despite Sonic being next original theme in pipeline

    medium · Ron Hallett paraphrasing Nap Arcade's Jersey Jack seminar coverage at Pintastic

  • ?

    business_signal: Mantis Amusements, established 1993, announcing retirement; supplier of metal pinball parts has served the community for 30+ years

    medium · Ron Hallett reporting retirement news; limited detail on transition or successor

  • ?

    competitive_signal: Silver Ball Rumble qualification changed to 4-of-7 match format instead of 3-of-5 to reduce 'whopper whoring' (likely referencing qualifier manipulation); B Division threshold allowing lower-rated players to participate

    high · Ron Hallett explaining tournament structure and format changes

  • ?

    community_signal: Slam Tilt Podcast cited on Eclectic Gamers podcast for 'cash grab' criticism of Star Wars Fall of the Empire code update; demonstrates podcast reach and industry listening

    high · Ron Hallett reporting being quoted by another major pinball podcast

  • ?

    event_signal: Emily Realhand (Canada) swept Women's North American Pinball Championships and Women's World Championships; indicates consolidation of dominant player in women's competitive scene

    high · Ron Hallett citing official championship results

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Chris Turner's hiring for Yukon Yeti sound redesign signals Jersey Jack's recognition that audio quality is critical to game reception; partnership model with Adam Gubman indicates ongoing collaboration strategy

    medium · Ron Hallett commentary on how universal complaints prompted manufacturer response

  • ?

    operational_signal: Western New York Pinball League expanded to 33-34 participants across four geographic regions (Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, Binghamton); indicates healthy competitive ecosystem in region

    high · Bruce Nightingale reporting league size and geographic distribution

    • 2:33
    Biatch. Yes. You can take the train. I can pick up the train. No. Pintastic. Yes, I could. I don't want to take a train. Pintastic.
    2:43
    I can take a train to Pintastic, too. No, I drive two hours there. It's beautiful. It's lovely. I know, but I get awesome. What's the difference between two and three hours?
    2:52
    Don't say an hour. Wait a minute. Three hours. It takes me four hours to drive because you guys keep moving further and further away. You're slower. You're just slow. No, it's like four hours from my house to your house. I can make it in three hours and 20 minutes. Yeah, that's you. Yes. But you break every rule.
    3:08
    Breaking the law. Breaking the law. Breaking the law. Breaking the law. Breaking the law. So, yeah, it's fantastic at the beautiful, where the hell is it again? Western something. I don't remember. It's in Marlboro. Yeah, I just think of cigarettes every time I see that. Yeah, let's see. Did I play anything new there? Was there anything new there? Did you get to play Pokemon? Did you poke your... Well, it's in my league. I play it every week, Bruce. Wow. I'm so sorry.
    3:41
    Oh, I love it. I love Pokemon. You like a Pokemon, the man? It's like I'm playing... It's like I'm in payback time, continuously. Yes, exactly. I love it. Just boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Ooh, an orbit that goes all the way around. Ooh. Ooh, tasty. See, it doesn't take that much to satisfy me in a play field. As long as you just don't really fuck it up, I will probably like the way it shoots. Yes.
    4:04
    It doesn't play bad, actually. I like it. I watched some streams with it where I could actually hear it because I haven't really been able to hear it even at League. And I like the way it sounds, too. That's two. That's two factors that are good. Yes.
    4:21
    What else, Sarah? They had three Beetlejuices. Beetlejuice. It's like, here, I'll play this game you can't buy.
    4:33
    They had, what else? They had lots of Harry Potters there. They had the mansion one also. Mansion one? I don't believe they have that one. I thought they did have it there. No, I did not. Unless it was in one of the rooms, I can't get it. It was in one of the rooms, that's why. Oh, it's in one of the VIP rooms. Yes, it was. Maybe you should say what the title of that game is, unless you don't know what it is. You don't know what it is. It's the, yes. Mystery. Yeah, the Mystery House. I forget the fucking name of that game. Yeah, I forget it too. What was the first part of it?
    5:06
    I would say Mansion Mystery House. That's not. Winchester. Winchester Mystery House. Yes. They had it out there, but it was in one of the private rooms. Yeah, let's see. They have their tradition at Pintastic is they have bands there.
    5:20
    And usually it's whatever the recent music pin is. That's what the band is. But this year they had two. One on Friday, one on Saturday. So Friday was the Journey. I don't remember what they're called. I think they're called Escape or something like that after the album Get It. And the second day was Aerosmith.
    5:45
    That's cool. The Aerosmith one was good. I always like hearing Back in the Saddle, my favorite Aerosmith song. I'm back! Yes. I'm back in the saddle again! I'm back!
    6:01
    I love that. The guy was good. He sounded more like Steven Tyler than Steven Tyler does these days. That's good.
    6:08
    That's the good thing about all these tribute bands. I mean, they can keep doing it when the real band can't anymore.
    6:15
    Speaking of a band, Iron Maiden finally gets in the Hall of Fame. Yay! Yeah, like 20 years probably after they should have already been in. Jesus Christ, it's such a joke. It's a joke. It's so bad. What else? I'm trying to think. Good show, you said. You bought a lot of pinball machines. You bought all the parts you ever needed. You're ready to rock. I didn't buy anything. What? I didn't buy anything. What? I'm sorry. I played in the tournament. How long? The Silver Ball Rumble, and I actually made B-finals. B finals. And that's only because three people dropped out.
    6:59
    So if you're below the cut line, show up, folks. You might get in. I literally got $55 just by showing up.
    7:08
    By Menon. Mm-hmm. By Menon. That doesn't even make sense. So I, oh, look at this. My phone is going off. It's a suspected spam caller. Wow. 518-676-2870. Fuck you. I hope you fucking die. Thank you. Don't forget to call that, everyone. Yeah, call that number and tell them to fuck themselves. Thank you. I should answer it on the air. Yeah. I should get Stu to answer it. The famous Stu McVicker, he could answer it. I go, whenever I answer something, when I know the phone number's fake, I go, Okanakanishi. City Morgue, City Morgue. Yeah. Hey, Wood. Hey, would you blow me? Ha ha ha ha.
    7:52
    Oh, very good, very good. So it's the Silver Ball Rumble. They do the extremely hard to qualify for. Yes, the five. Yeah, you got to play five good games. It's per entry, not per game or whatever. It's just so brutal. It is. I just can't do that anymore. It's awesome.
    8:15
    But thankfully my rating sucks so bad now. I'm in B, so I can get in B. I'm B eligible. You're B eligible. It's great. What did I even play? Let's see. I played Evil to Head. I'm trying to see what I played in my entry that I actually made. I played Evil Dead, Operation Thunder.
    8:37
    You'll love this. Stars, Electronimo, and Blackjack. Okay. Yeah. So three old games and two newer games. Well, one really new game and one newer. Yeah. Not too bad.
    8:53
    Congratulations, Ron. The Speed Division, they just did two out of three. The games were two out of three. Two out of three. Ain't bad. And I was bad. Or not. Well, yeah, I guess I was bad. Basically, the higher seed picks the first game and then the loser picks subsequent games. I was going against the top seed, of course, because I was at the very bottom of V, and he picked Maiden. I was like, oh, at least I have a shot. Well, not really. I sucked. I got slaughtered. So I took him to F-14, Tomcat, and just destroyed him. That felt good. And then I knew he was going to pick Ghostbusters, so I tried to look at Ghostbusters like I wanted to play it. Hopefully he would pick something else. It didn't work. He picked Ghostbusters. He got the, we came, we saw, we kicked his ass like on ball two. Yeah, I wasn't close. I got my ass handed to me, so I was eliminated. You should have kept your Ghostbusters and you would have been all better. Oh, I would have, I would have, yeah, yeah, sure. Yeah, I got my ass kicked. But, yeah, so congratulations to, I guess I should say who won B since I was in B. And since I have it right in front of me, because I am a prepared podcaster. Wow. And they updated their brackets. You know I like that, when they updated it all the way in.
    10:17
    Ryan B-E-L-I-S-L-E. I don't want to try to pronounce it. Velocity? Sure. I don't know. That doesn't seem right. But he won in the bronze match for third. Michael Geis won. You know Michael Geis. Yes, I know Mr. Michael Geis. And defending the upstate. Yes.
    10:39
    Of course, A Division, basically when I looked at the bracket, I was like, okay, it's going to be Jason Zoller versus Eric Stone. Yeah. It has to be. But it wasn't because Jason Zoller lost. He lost to another kid. Well, I can't really call Jason. Jason Zoller's in college now. Yeah. But he lost to a true kid, like a 13-year-old, Liam. Liam beat him. And so it was Liam versus Eric Stone and Eric Stone won. Oh, they updated it. Or no, they didn't update it. Actually, they still haven't updated it. No, it's still going on. It's still going on. Yeah, they play four out of seven instead of the good three by five. Three out of five that they used to because of whopper whoring. We need more. Yes. So in the bronze match for third, Jason Zoller, I think won. It says one to nothing, but I can't believe they only played one. So I'm guessing it was maybe two out of three and he won the second one and they didn't bother putting that up. They had Eric Stone ahead three to two with no updates. So I figure Eric won, which he did, and they just didn't bother to update it. But please update your bracket. Update the darn bracket. When I woke up the next morning, because, of course, this didn't finish until probably one in the morning, I had to go to the video at that camp pinball. There you go. And just find the match and scroll to the end to find out who the hell won.
    12:02
    Nice. But yes, congratulations, Eric Stone. And I think that was it as far as the main tournament. There was all these other mini tournaments there that they do throughout the event. So I don't know who won any of those. And they have it's the way the show works. They have a main like they have a vendor room, free play room. That's big. That's one room, but they kind of divide it. The one section is supposed to be vendor room and any others free play. And then the rest of it's all these smaller rooms all over the place that all have different themes or there are different clubs, have their games in there. It's pretty neat. I like it. And you would have liked this. Of course, I didn't see it because they put them right in the front entrance, which I didn't actually go through in the hotel. I went through the side entrance. I didn't find out until the second day that I was looking for Rush 2049, the racing games. And it's like they were there last year. Where the hell are they? They're right up front because they're so awesome. We have seven of them, and they're up front.
    13:07
    Unfortunately, they're up front right through the window, so the glare wasn't too great, and I couldn't see shit. So that's the problem about putting them there.
    13:15
    But yeah, they had seven of them linked together, so that was nice. That's awesome. Met all the usual people.
    13:27
    A pinball company employee told me they have some exciting, awesome games coming up. And that's all the information I was able to get.
    13:38
    You heard it here first, folks. He's a listener of the show. I won't mention, I wouldn't even mention what company he's with, so I don't give away anything. So, but yes, he said, we got some, we got some stuff coming. Like, all right, that was good to me. I'm excited.
    13:53
    Hold me back. Hold you back. Excitement all plenty. Do you have any questions about fantastic? No. I didn't go to any seminars. Everyone's asked me, did you go to the Jersey Jack seminars? Like what? So I could get the free pizza. Yeah, you got to get the free pizza. No, I don't. Plus they usually have it out in the back if you know where it is after the thing's over and you can just get it. Yeah. No, I don't need to do that.
    14:18
    Let's see. I had some other notes here. Looking forward to Allentown. We'll get there. Nap Arcade was there. Hi, Nap. Hello, Nap. So he had some coverage.
    14:30
    Jersey Jack Seminar. They talked about, yeah, I mean the next game, Sonic, which everyone thinks it's Sonic. But they're going to be still cranking out the Harry Potters because there's so a lot of Harry Potters. They want money. Print money, bro. Yes. Let's see. What else did he say?
    14:50
    I thought there was other stuff. I'm trying to remember. They had a Yukon Yeti there. Yeah. And if you remember, we talked about Yukon Yeti last time. Yes, we did.
    15:04
    We said the sound wasn't that great. Yeah, I said it was pretty bad. And when I went to the Yukon Yeti owner's thread or whatever, the thread on pin side, I found out I was not the only one. Pretty much universally everyone was like, the sound sucks.
    15:23
    So today... Chris Turner was on there and he said, okay, I hear y'all. We'll see what we can do about that. So today... I sent a nice post to you guys. Yes, that Chris Granner of Williams, Capcom, and Stern will be doing Yukon Yeti. And guess what game he did? Whitewater. So now he's doing the sequel. Nice. Along with some other guy called Adam Gubman. Yeah. But I guess it's a dude he works with all the time now. They're kind of a partnership. The partnership. So I guarantee you the sound quality will be greatly increased.
    16:06
    It's kind of weird to do this like they're selling the game. It's like, yes, we know the sound sucks, but it's going to be great. It's going to be great. Trust us. It's going to be great. It'll be swell. It'll be great. Gonna have the whole world on a plate.
    16:20
    But I mean, you know, maybe they listen to every single person who commented on it. I think it was us, of course. Oh, it was just us? It was always us because we're the most powerful complaining. Powerful complainers on the internet, yeah.
    16:40
    I'm Captain Chaos, and this is my friend Kato. Say hello, Kato. Kato? Have you been a cop very long? Um, it's funny though that the Mike, you know, Mr. Mr. Magoo. Yes, Mr. Magoo. Our league president. Um, when I, when we came back from Texas and I mentioned like the sound on Yukon Yeti, he was like, why don't they just hire the old Williams guys? They're available. Right. I mean, boom, there you go. I sent this right to him. Like, you got your wish. Ta-da! And he was like, oh no, now I might have to consider this game now. Yeah, shit now, oh fuck.
    17:23
    But yeah. But it's pretty cool that they announced that and they're rectifying the problem that most people had with it. I think, no, most, I think everyone had it. He did Lord of the Rings too, he's done like unbelievable sound packages.
    17:37
    It's going to be so much better. Yeti 1! Yeti 2! Yeti Lock 1, Yeti Lock 2, Avalanche! If he does that, I am so, I'll buy a used one, I don't care.
    18:01
    Bruce will buy one, do you hear that, folks? Yes. Avalanche! Shouldn't it have Whitewater call-outs, Bruce? No, it should have Lord of the Rings call-outs. Say your prayers!
    18:15
    Uh, what else did I play? Oh, I played that, the re-theme, what is it called? The Cardona kit for Fishtails. Oh.
    18:29
    Um, not a fan. Don't forget Rod, don't forget Rod. If you have nothing nice to say about it, don't say anything. Well, I'm not going to completely shit on it like you do, but let's just say, was it really my thing? Yeah, I saw the video. It was funny though when it started playing Barracuda, the heart song, and I'm like, what the fuck? There's no way they got rights for this. But I guess they did. Wow. They actually have licensed music. Barracuda and supposedly Rock Lobster might be coming on. Oh, that'd be pretty cool. Other than that, the animation was like, uh. And the actual regular music that comes with it.
    19:13
    And I found myself playing it thinking like, man, I wish I was playing fishtails like the regular fishtails. Because it does other things like you lock the ball. If you're used to regular fishtails, you hit the casters club, you knock down the drop target, and you lock a ball, and it fires it over to the reel. Yep. Well, on this, like, you lock a ball, fires over to the reel, and then the reel, it throws it to the catapult and just fires it out.
    19:38
    But it counts as a lock because the lock light is now solid, but it's like, do I have to do that for a lock? Yeah. That's weird. Yeah. And then I started some kind of one of the new multi-balls by hitting the saucer up top and all that. I'm just, eh. Eh I saw the video I was like ooh I was kind of It might be in other town so we see if I see it It uses some of the old fishtail sounds Which is good Yeah I wish it used all of them All of the sounds and just did different things with you know yeah I know Yeah Yeah, it had, I think, let's see, the Translight, oh, I didn't realize, no wonder, so yeah, the Brian Allen Translight. Yes. So it looks, does it look creepy? Yes, it's creepy. You think it's creepy? I thought it was less creepy than some of his other. Oh, some of his other stuff is very, very creepy. He has a very. He likes creepy. That's like his gimmick. He is the creepy man. I'm surprised he's not fucking spooky. Why is he not with spooky? Yeah, he could really make it creepy. I know, but nope. Creepy, creepy. Because you know why? He doesn't want to move to Wisconsin. Well, wait a minute. Spooky's current artist doesn't live in Wisconsin either. Yeah, but you know, you got to fit in in Wisconsin with all the cheese hands.
    21:01
    Oh, yeah, I was corrected. My comments about the Houdini artwork, the fact that it's the same on both sides. It's not. It is. It is the same on both sides of the cabinet. I didn't think so. Yes, it is. What it's supposed to be is he's in the water tank and the cabinet is the water tank. So you're seeing him from both sides. Get it? Oh, God. Ah.
    21:25
    No, you don't like that? No. You don't like anything. No, I don't. How about this? How about if one side is the water tank and the other side is, you know, the other thing that Houdini used to do is he would be in the straitjacket, suspended upside down. Downside down and hanging from a tall building where he would escape from the straightjack in front of everybody. You could do that except you have the building and it's like horizontal.
    21:53
    So it's like the Batman thing, you know, when they're climbing up the building, but they're doing it horizontal. See, I figure Mr. Franchi would like that with the Batman. He loves Batman. See, he could combine Batman with Houdini. I'm Batman. I'm Houdini.
    22:08
    Did you know that pickpockets loved Harry Dooney? Houdini. Yeah. For that very reason. Those performances he would give the public, because everyone's looking up. Yeah. So they would just make a killing. Killing! Stealing people's wallets. Yeah. And technically, that wasn't even really a trick. I mean, he actually did escape from the straightjack. Yeah, he did escape, yes. Because he worked on it and knew the technique. There is a technique who can get out of a straightjack. Yes, you can get out of a straightjack. He would just do it in plain view.
    22:36
    And be awing people. Oh. Yeah, let's see. So, Ron, I sent you a couple pictures a few minutes ago. Are we off of Pintastic? Are we done?
    22:49
    I'm trying to think. Is there anything else? I know I'm going to miss something and someone's going to yell at me.
    22:55
    I hate when people yell at me. Did you get any hugs while you were there? Kind of half hugs. Okay, well, that's better than no hugs. Keep up the good work, people.
    23:07
    I'm trying to think. Is there anything I played that was new that was like, yeah, all right. Yeah. Yeah, he was there. I can't think of anything other than I just played more Pokemon and I did like it. I like the game. I think it shoots pretty good.
    23:26
    I think it needs more code. And they also did release Star Wars more code for the Fall of the Empire. Star Wars. I'm talking Star Wars. And we were mentioned on another podcast. Actually, I was. Oh, you were. I was. I played more Cactus Canyon, which I always like. And my dad likes Pulp Fiction.
    23:50
    Okay. Let's see. I think that's all I got. But I was mentioned on another podcast. Uh-huh. Yes. Yeah. For my quotes. Your quotes. Yes, they were talking about Fall of the Empire, how it was a... Cash grab? Cash grab. Oh.
    24:12
    And he said it just like that, too. Dialed in Bruce, cash grab! Oh, the Eclectic Gamers podcast? Yes. Yes, they mentioned, yes, you're Mr. Cash Grab, Bruce. I am Mr. Cash Grab, and they agreed with me. So everyone agrees with you, Bruce. Of course they do. See, you're in the presence of awesomeness. I'm like a beer can. Sure, like a beer can. Okay. Yes. And if people know a book series I'm talking about, trust the awesomeness.
    24:45
    Wait a minute, there's about a beer can? Yep. Okay. Yep. Trust the awesomeness. Whoever messages us what book series I'm talking about, I'll mention you on the old podcast of the awesomeness. Oh, okay. Trust the awesomeness. Okay, yes, Bruce, you sent me pictures. Yes, I did. What did you think? From the world-famous Rochester Pinball Collective. Yes, we did. Located at 349 West Commercial Street, East Rochester. Yes, I did. Well, this year we cannot get the side room that we had for Stomp and we had for the Nationals. Oh, no. So what do we do better than anything else in this place? Knock down walls. You got it, baby.
    25:35
    Our back room is now completely open. Oh, my. So now they can steal shit? Yeah, they can steal anything they want. You can knock your socks off. You can take it out and carry it right off your back. You win.
    25:49
    But, yeah, so we opened up all the walls. So we'll have a nice sitting area for everyone for Stomp. And the good thing, another thing about Stomp is we didn't buy a Pinball ticket this year. So more cash in the prize bucket for everyone who comes who is in the qualifying stuff. OK, so Stomp, so you wanted to plug Stomp again. Of course, but I want to also say that we got more room coming and we got more electricity coming. When does Stomp happen, Bruce? One month from today. Okay, so you have a month to get all this shit in. We still have spots available. Yes, come visit Ron and Bruce. Watch Ron and Bruce not play in the tournament. What a novel idea.
    26:37
    Well, what about the pre-tournament Thursday, Bruce? Wait a second. Hold on, Ron. If I remember correctly, you don't believe in pre-tournaments. I don't, but you're going to call it that, so what else am I going to call it? The tournament before the tournament. I can just say the Thursday tournament. You could say that too, but you called it what? The pre-tournament. There you go. Because that's what you have on the flyer thing or whatever. Yes, we do. Yeah. Just to piss me off. Just to piss Ron off. Didn't I play in that last year? Yes, you did. Okay. And you played in the year before. All right. So that will be the one thing I play in. Yeah, me too. I'll play in the pre. Oh, okay. So, folks, does it do rounds? What is the format? I couldn't tell you what Zach's format is. I know. If it's rounds, I was saying our listeners can guess what round you'll quit in. No, I'm going to go all the way, Bigby. Yeah, sure. Sure you will. Yes, baby. Well, guess what? I got league this Sunday.
    27:34
    So you're going to rage quit during league? No. Guess who's the top qualifier in our league? So you're definitely rage-quitting because you're going to blow it. Because I fucking am going to blow it in the first round, baby. Yeah. So is this your league finals? This is our league finals. Aha. We have top 16.
    27:54
    The famous Rochester League, or do you have a name? Western New York Pinball League. Western New York Pinball. So not just Rochester. Anyone in Western New York. Yep. Well, we actually have. It's really weird. We have a Buffalo person. We have Buffalo people in our league. We have Syracuse. We have Rochester and we have Binghamton in our group. Wow. So you think about it, it truly is Western New York. Well, and Central New York and the Southern Tier. Yeah, I know, but I'm saying we fulfill a big, big grouping of people, which I like. And we had 33, 34 people in the league this year. So very nice showing.
    28:36
    And where are the finals of the league going to be? At the world famous Rochester Pinball Collective. So you'll get to play on all your own games. No. Not all mine. Yeah, but you know all the games. But I know, no, no, no. But the good thing is this.
    28:54
    If I stay in the top position, if I don't get knocked out, I get to pick all my own games, which is going to be fucking awesome because I don't have to play fucking Star Wars. I don't play any other Star Wars. Oh, no. And I don't play Ghostbusters. This also means you're going to pick Lord of the Rings, Monopoly. Fuck yeah. Please pick a Fireball Classic just to meet people. Oh, totally. If I'm against Zach, that's what I'm picking. I would only pick that, though. What is it? What out of what? You have to pick every... I mean, like how many? What are the series? Four out of seven? Three out of five? Four. Four games. So you've got to win four games. Well, you play four games, and then it's 3-2-1-0. Oh, okay. So you've got to play. Do you have to pick all the games at once? No. Okay. So if you're way in the lead and can't lose, then I would pick some Fireball Classic just to fuck with everyone. Modern, or if I'm losing and I'm done, then I'd pick that same thing. Oh, Jesus.
    29:54
    You've got to pick a modern, a 80s, early 80s, late 80s, early 80s, and an EM. Got to play one of each. Okay. Nice. And luckily we have a lot of those games here at the world famous Rochester Pinball Collective.
    30:11
    Okay, Gene Simmons. Yes, that's where I go to play my pinball machines. Well, here's the problem. You don't have a kiss, so fuck you. Well, I don't want them to have a kiss because somebody else paid more for that kiss, and that means I got more money than what they paid for. Okay. So you look at it this way, I make more money. Yes, Gene. It's all about making the money. Thank you. The money is all about everything. Yes, yes, Gene. Come check us out at kissonline.net and enjoy your kiss. Because I couldn't afford .com somehow. Well, no, no, no. Somebody stole it from us. You know, Ace got a little snow up his nose and just blew it all away. Oh, Jesus Christ.
    30:52
    Poor Ace, he's dead and you're making fun of him. Well, that's what I did. Actually, in truth, I actually said he had a cocaine problem and then everyone got on my case. So I'm going to keep on telling him that they had a cocaine problem. Okay, Gene. Thank you. What a dick, Gene. Yes, thank you very much.
    31:09
    So, yes, we will have Stomp, the four days of Stomp in summer, and then when you're at Stomp, you can actually buy your tickets for Fall Brawl. Oh, God, what's this? Fall Brawl! You realize they're advertising all this shit that most of our listeners cannot participate in. They need to come to the awesomeness of much. We have Australian listeners that are going to be like, why the fuck you mentioned all this shit? We can't come to any of this stuff. Well, maybe you should. Maybe you should. Just come to the... Yeah, if I'm in Australia, upstate New York is probably the last place I'm going. Well, no, we have beautiful sites up here, including the Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls, that's the only one you got. That's the only one you can keep saying. And the best part of it is in Canada, it's not even in the U.S. Hey, shut the fuck up, Ron, we'll just hear the big money. And you can come and see where the Beast is located in August. You can come pre-select your place. You mean the thing where the tickets went on sale? Today, right now. No limit. Hold them. No limit. I know. That's a good thing. But I'll be working on that show, too, at the Beast. But, you know, so there'll be more money. We have tickets still available for Stomp. Come on down. Come on. Join us. Have some fun. Man, he's chilling the hell out of all our local shit that so many people can't go to. I know, but the Beast is cool too. And all the local people who do go don't even listen to the podcast. I know, I know, exactly. But the Beast is awesome.
    32:39
    So, good job, Mr. Jeff, the president of the IFPA in our hearts. The president of the IFPA in our hearts.
    32:48
    Well, speaking of IFPA, they had the Women's Nationals and Women's World Championships. I think it was like the women's committee, the one that are all going to quit or all quit or whatever. This was like their last thing. Their last hurrah. Yeah, the last hurrah. And that was one. I have the information right here because the same person won both things. No!
    33:14
    Yes, I know. Congratulations. Emily Realhand of Canada. Oh, Canada. Oh. Won the North American Pinball Championships and the World, what are they called, the Women's World Championships. Yes, World Championships. We won it all.
    33:31
    Win it all. Just like Monopoly. Got to grab it all. Cash grab she took home. She took home the cash grab. Yes. So congratulations.
    33:43
    Let's see. See, you like that segue? Yeah, that was good. I thought that was pretty good. We planned it out very nicely when I didn't plan it out at all. Yeah, we didn't plan shit out. We don't plan shit out. No. I also wanted to mention Mantis Amusements. He's retiring. What? Yes. You didn't see that? No, I didn't. Yeah. Mantis Amusements, which has been around since, I think, 93.
    34:08
    And if you don't know Mantis Amusements, he sells metal parts, like everything you could think of for the game. That's metal. Like your ball popper's broken, you know, well fell off, boom, you can get a new one. I've gotten a bunch of his shit. If it's metal, he's got it for most of your more known games. I didn't know he retired, but I just got something from him a couple of weeks ago. He's retiring. He is going to be open up until September 1st. So if you have anything you need, I would get it. Yeah, definitely. Any future games, you know, you might want a Congo in the future and you're worried about the volcano, that metal part that always breaks. Or the shadow.
    34:55
    Or say you have it dialed in and you want the scoop protector. Or you have an older Stern. You know how the metal guard that's underneath the apron that guides the ball and is always broken on almost all the old Sterns? Guess what he's making now for that? Oh, he's making them. He's making them. I got one. I was like, this fucking thing's perfect. Usually they smack and break off the one side. I'm like, I'm going to have to get a couple more of them now. So seriously, folks, if you want to just get the shit, because once it's gone, it runs out. It doesn't look like anyone else is buying. Like it's not going to anyone else or continuing or anything like that. Yeah, definitely the shadow I would definitely start thinking about. I remember when I had Next Gen, he had a ton of stuff for Next Gen. Because he had metal parts that you could put in the subway. So the subway wouldn't break. Yep. And I'm trying to think of other games. I have his stuff in my Johnny. I bought I just bought FM. I just bought the castle base from him. That's what I had to get the stuff. And I was like, oh, I'll get something else. And I was like, holy shit. So he's got the gate upgrade. You know, if you need a new gate. Yeah, he has a ton of shit. So guess what, guys? That's sad, unfortunately, because he is a.
    36:18
    He does a lot of good stuff. I mean, he's been around forever. I know. He's the true metal man. It's all about metal. And plus, I also got the Stern Playfield hangers from him also for the older games.
    36:31
    Oh, the hangers? Yes. I got you. And he actually, oh, I know what I'm buying. I'm not telling anyone to buy this, but don't buy this. I'm getting a couple more receivers from him, the Stern ones, the older Sterns.
    36:45
    Yeah, I think I might get some of the Congo stuff. I'm going to get probably the, I might have to spend some money here and go for the shadow and go for some hangers and go for some. Does that mean you want a shadow? I'd love another shadow. I'd miss my shadow. He misses his shadow, folks. Yes.
    37:03
    But that's, you know, he's been doing it, no offense, for 33 years. Yeah, you can't like, oh, he hasn't been around long. I mean, he's been around forever. He's been here long before the big collector resurgence. So yeah, he has those for that, and I was like, oh wow, that's great he has that. So I'm going to get me a couple more of those. I think he even has things like the Sea Witch Flap. I think he's got that too.
    37:32
    No, but I need to get definitely the, because he has that, yeah, God, there's a lot of shit I can buy. Yeah, yeah, it's mantisamusements.com, I think, or just search for Mantis Amusements and Google, you'll see it. I think it was September 1st. The parts will stay stocked up to September 1st, and then when they run out, they're gone. They're gone. Forever. Yeah, the Stern Ball Guide I bought, which was, it's for older Stern games, stainless steel ball guide, exact replacement, and I looked at it, I got it, and I was like, oh my fucking God, it's perfect. Because mine, I have like four cracked ones. So I'm going to have to stock up on these bubbies and other shit. I'll probably be spending like $700 at this place. $700, wow.
    38:19
    Well, think about it. The ramps for Shadow are $250 right there. Yeah. So, yeah, there's a lot of good shit he has on here. Mm-hmm. Bruce is going to buy it all. Got to buy it all. Got to buy it all.
    38:35
    Yeah, there's a lot of good shit. Mm-hmm. But, yeah, he even makes the D2E support brackets, those crappy little ring ones. Mm-hmm. He makes those. And he makes the knocker strike plate, you know, in the back box.
    38:52
    So he makes a ton of stuff. So it's sad to see him go. Trust me, that's really going to suck for the collector, especially ones that come in like a couple of years from now.
    39:03
    But thank you for all you've done. You get a compliment from Bruce. Is his name actually Mantis? No. Carrie Starr. Okay. Oh, yeah, Carrie Starr. Yeah, Jesus. I was like, I know exactly who it is. Yeah, I was trying to remember his name. I was like, I don't think his name is Matt. No. But yes, Carrie Starr. Thank you. Yeah, so thank you very much. You know, you've been awesome. You've made a lot of great shit. And, you know, in your retirement, enjoy life, man.
    39:37
    I wish he did find somebody to take over with it just so it would continue. But it's not an easy thing, metal. And he uses a lot of stainless. So stainless has gone up in price and everything like that. So, yeah, that sucks though. You know he's going to be retiring to jail soon?
    39:56
    Listen brother We got a Robert Mueller update We got a Robert Mueller update Yeah if you remember he got the federal case and then he got the civil case And this shit, I think the federal case is the one that's been going on. It's been delayed 30 zillion times. It's getting kind of ridiculous. They actually offered him a plea deal to plead a one count and face 10 to 12 and a half years in prison, but he rejected it. Of course he did, because he's a fucking cocky son of a bitch. So he's going to go to trial. It says later this year. It'll probably be next year at this page. Yeah, I guarantee it. Where if he gets convicted, it could mean 27 to 34 years. Oh, I'd love to see that. We don't brothers know where this happened to, dude. I'm a real American.
    40:44
    Trump's going to buy me out. Oh, yeah. Trump's going to pardon me, dude. He knows where it's at, brother.
    40:53
    That's fucking awesome. Oh, and we have a picture soon. Thanks from Joe C. Joe Cherubino. You can't say his name right, so you saved yourself. I always say Joe C. because I don't want to butcher it. Joe C. Joe to the C. You know he's got more game than Coleco. I know. But he made another picture for our belt for Stom. Belt for Stom. I already ordered it, and then once the belt comes in, I'll show everyone the goodness, but we have to give props out to Joey C. Joey C! Well, you know, brother, you never know who might appear on the belt, dude. Oh, yeah.
    41:31
    I got a – there was a Jeopardy question this past week. The final Jeopardy question that I got that all three contestants, including the guy that's won like 20 times in a row, he also got it wrong. I want to see if I can find it here. I want to see if you can get this question. Okay, go ahead. It was on, you know, so April 8th. So let's see. April 8th, final Jeopardy. Yeah, let's see. There's a date that he fucking it was. I just knew it was Wednesday of last week. OK, here we go. The final Jeopardy question was around. No, that's not it. AI is incorrect. Oh, come on, man. What the fuck? I put the goddamn right year. All right. Hold on. What did I say it was? The 8th? April 8th. Oh, it changed the fucking date on my search. God damn it. The AI is smarter than you, just like Dean Simmons is smarter than all of you people. All right, here we go. Today's final Jeopardy. Okay, here it is. Ready? Yep. The category was... Oh, what's the category first? I'm giving the category. The category is pop culture people.
    42:51
    So if I have $10,000 pop culture people, and if I have people close to me in score, I'll probably bet $7,000 or $8,000. Let's go.
    42:59
    Adopted in 1979, this name reflected size and strength as well as a promoter's wish to appeal to Irish-American fans.
    43:09
    Roddy Roddy Piper? Who is Roddy Roddy Piper? How is that Irish? And the funny thing is, this is what the guy that's won 20 straight times, that's what he guessed. Oh, really? And I'm like, where is Roddy? Roddy Piper, he wore a kilt. He was supposed to be Scottish. He's actually Canadian, but he's supposed to be Scottish. I don't know. I don't know who the Irish is. You don't know, brother? Really? You don't know, dude? He's Irish? Hulk Hogan. Hogan is an Irish name. And he was originally the Incredible Hulk Hogan. I knew the answer. And I was the only one who got it. I lost $8,000. Thanks, Ron. Very good. The other two had no fucking clue. At least the one guy said a wrestler, but the other guy, the other two contested, they had no clue. But I couldn't believe it. It's like, holy shit, I'm smarter than this guy that's won. 20 in a row. Yeah, yeah. He's got like, you know, fucking three quarters of a million dollars he's won now. Fuck that guy. I'm smarter.
    44:07
    Wow. Yeah. Beautiful. All right. What else do I got here? Yeah, that was the Robert Mueller update. So still not going to prison, dude. No way. No way it's happening. Trump's going to rescue me. Oh, I miss Robert Mueller. I do, too. Really? I really do. It was so entertaining having it with just ridiculous stuff. Oh, the day when they, you know, when he was trying to put the play field up and down and, you know, oh, that was fucking in the pin bar. Or it's going to completely just rewrite the, it's changing the game, brother.
    44:44
    All right. Are you ready for the ball bag? I'm always ready for the ball bag. All right, good. All right. The first one is from Dr. John. Dr. John, one of my favorite Australians, mate. Dr. John Cosson. It's this gentleman. I wonder who he's referring to. Did he talk, is he trying to talk to Jeff Teolis? And Ryan C. Their gentleman? Yeah, compared to us. Oh, God.
    45:15
    All right. He says, lovely to see you at TPF, Ron. And even got a little soft hug in, if you recall. Ooh, got a little close to you, didn't he? Just for bragging rights, Texas throw down or throw up because the room was so hot. Oh, damn. I should have played in that then. I probably would have liked it.
    45:34
    Oh, yeah. I think I didn't say any of the results of the tournament because I wasn't in it. Let's see. So the winner was Jack Revenue with Tim Hansen in second and Steve Bowden in third.
    45:46
    Women's event was taken out by someone called Emily Cosson. Oh, I wonder who that is. Hence the unnecessary tournament result email. Oh, okay.
    45:57
    She's being a good dad. Great prize money plus free entry into about five events if she pops back over in the next 12 months. Overall, TPF was good. Less crowded than a few years ago apart from Yukon and Beetlejuice. Barrels had their immersion room with their three games and a side room so you can play and hear them. Not sure if you were scored and invited into that. I was not. I'm sure John was because he knows everybody. But I was not in the immersion room. We don't have that doctor money like he does. Dr. Buddy, he's retired now. Let's see, off to Denver now for the Women's Worlds. Oh, which we talked about. Any issues with IFPA, let me know and I'll nag their newest board member, Emily. Ooh, congratulations, Emily. Nice. All right. Emily, get us in on the women's. We want to do the women's nationals. Oh, RPC. So RPC wants that. Okay. Oh, hell yeah. We want anything that we can help out. You want anything? Anything. Everything! Everything! These are funny. It's just how AI is not always the greatest here. Right on the ball. Yeah. This is from David. The subject is rotation eight. Question for Bruce. Are you ready? Oh, boy. Our broken one? Yes. Go ahead. Hi, Bruce. I hope you're doing well. I was recently catching up with some of your past podcast episodes and heard you mention that you were looking for a rotation eight pinball machine. So he's starting at the beginning and working as well. That's amazing how people do that. It caught my attention because I was interested in acquiring one last year as well. During my search, I came across a unit that appeared to be significantly overpriced, given its condition. It was not working, required new boards, and needed some playfield touch-ups. I was curious to know if you ever ended up finding one for the collective. We did. Additionally, based on your experience, what would you consider a fair market price for a Rotation 8 that currently has bad boards and requires playfield restoration? Thanks. We paid $800. Our playfield's probably about a 7.
    48:04
    Out of 100? When we got it, yeah, no, 7 out of 10. Okay. Ours wasn't working either. It booted, but it would go in reverse because somebody put the transistors in backwards. Are you sure it wasn't from Australia, Bruce? Nope. Okay. It was not doing the toilet bowl the wrong way. Ah. So, yes, so we got ours finally fixed. So it was probably about, we put about $1,000 into it. It worked for about a year and a half, and now it has a wiring short somewhere where it's just not acting right. We haven't even tried to fix it. We've just been like, it's a table. It's a pretty table. Oh, I hate table. I hate that term.
    48:43
    But it is a table now. No. No, no, it's not working. You're right. It is a table. And it's a flat table. It's not like a pinball machine normally would be.
    48:55
    We would be angled. This is truly a table. Yes. An expensive fucking table. Yeah. Well, really, $800? There's tables that cost more than $800. Yeah, I know that, but not pinball tables. But yes. So we did get one. It worked for about a year and a half, and it has not worked for the past six months. So eventually we will get into it and figure it out. Here's where it gets funny, Bruce. The next email is also from David. Dear Ron and Bruce, I recently followed up to see if Bruce had found a rotation eight. I used AI to review all the transcripts for the answer, and it confirmed that he has not gotten a rotation eight. AI sucks. Yes, the AI processed every transcript. I also had to perform a psychological analysis on both of you. And? I found the results quite humorous and I'm curious to hear your thoughts. Please see the analysis below. So we already know it sucks at the Rotation 8 thing because I'm pretty sure we mentioned that we got Rotation 8 and it has been mentioned many times afterwards. So I think it's going to say I'm the nicest guy out there who is very shy and giving. And you are the meanest bastard in the fucking world. This is the AI talking, okay? I wonder if I should do like a robot voice or something. I am the Terminator. AI is going to go to Terminator anyway, so we know this is going to happen. No, this will be, no. While I haven't literally scanned every millisecond of the hundreds of hours of Slam Tilt tape, I can certainly break down the psychological profiles of Ron Hallett and Bruce Nightingale based on their well-documented decade of banter. Okay. It's almost a decade, I know.
    50:45
    It's coming up. The anniversary's coming up. That's true. In the pinball world, they are the quintessential old married couple. Oh, God. Of the airwaves. Here is a psychoanalysis of the duo. The duo. Let's see. Ron Hallett, the curmudgeon-y custodian. Ron operates as the show's grounded, often skeptical anchor. Okay, if the podcast were a pinball machine, Ron would be the heavy steel ball and the high tension springs.
    51:32
    Okay, the elder statesman complex. Ron possesses a deep will of technical knowledge and I've seen it all wisdom.
    51:42
    Psychologically, this manifests as a protective instinct over the hobby. He often acts as the gatekeeper of quality. The gatekeeper of quality? I like that. I have a new nickname, Bruce. I'm now the gatekeeper. The masturbator of quality. No. No, I got you. Masturbator of quality. No. I am the gatekeeper of quality. Masturbator of quality. Got you.
    52:07
    Reacting with visceral annoyance when manufacturers cut corners. That sounds more like you. No, it's totally me. Let's see. The pragmatic perfectionist. These are all things I'm supposed to be. His repairs segment was mine. Reveal a mind that finds peace and order and mechanical logic. When a machine is broken, the world is slightly out of alignment. It's kind of like when a clock isn't correct. I added that part. His frustration with rumor and bad faith in the community suggests a high value on integrity and tangible facts. Okay. Defensive Mechanism. Sarcasm. Ron uses a dry Generation X wit as a shield against the absurdity of the pinball industry. Well, I didn't know my sarcasm was a Generation X. I didn't know you had wit.
    53:00
    Dead. Silence. It's a way of saying, I care deeply, but I'm too cool to admit how much it hurts when a game is bad.
    53:10
    It does hurt me when a game is bad. Okay, okay, oh my god. What AI did this? Bruce Nightingale, the relatable enthusiast? Yep, see? Nailed me to the fucking T. Bruce is the emotional heartbeat and the everyman of the pair. Fuck yeah! He balances Ron's technical gravity with a more fluid social energy. Oh, that's Charlie True. Ah, okay. I'm more technical though too, but you know. The social glue. Bruce often steers the banter and male ball bag segments. He thrives on connection. His psychological profile suggests a high level of extroversion. He processes his love for the hobby through dialogue and community interaction.
    53:56
    Okay. Boy, they nailed me. Holy fuck, it was so wrong on you and it nailed fucking me perfectly. The spicy instigator. That's right. Listeners often note that the show gets spicy and Bruce is frequently the catalyst. Frequently, he's always the catalyst. He isn't afraid to poke the bear, Ron, or voice a hot take. This indicates a high level of comfort with conflict. Likely born in New Jersey. No, it doesn't say that part. Likely born from a longstanding secure friendship where he knows exactly where the boundaries are. Oh my, yes I do. Yeah, there are none. Vulnerability through humor. While Ron is the stoic, okay, Bruce is more likely to wear his enthusiasm, enthusiasm, oh, and his frustrations, that's more like it, on his sleeve. He provides the emotional tilt, actually he slammed, that keeps the show from becoming a dry technical manual.
    54:53
    Yeah, because you are so dry, Ron. I'm so dry. The dynamic paradoxical symbiosis. What? Oh, my. It's like we're joined together. Are we docking now?
    55:06
    Redock now. Oh, yeah. Come on, baby. Redock some more. What's this? From Space Station. Space Station, actually a porno game. It is a porno game. Redock now. The reason the show has lasted. I'm trying. The reason the show is last, it's 2016. It'll be June, Bruce. It'll be June. Oh, I did mention that at Pintastic, I don't know if it was the same guy, but for the first time since we actually did it, they had the caricature booth thing. Oh, shit. While the guy was drawing caricatures of people. I don't know if it was the same guy because I don't remember what he looked like. Yeah, the guy was pretty old. This guy was old, if I remember. So it might be the same guy. The reason the show is lasted since 2016 isn't just Pinball, it's the complementary attachment style between the two. I thought it was just chemistry. I didn't think it was just fucking we're assholes. No, you are. Okay, sorry. Let's see.
    56:11
    And then, I don't know if this is just weird formatting on the page here. Roll the skeptic, technician, the hype, social lead, energy, focus. Let's see. Psychologically, they've created a counterculture space where counterculture, Bruce, and a hobby often driven by hype and shiny new toys, their shared cynicism is actually a bonding ritual. By hating on the same things like bad code or poorly designed ramp, they reinforce their mutual trust. Except when it comes to things like, you know, Dialed In, Star Wars. Counterrevolution! Counterrevolution! The verdict. Oh, there's the verdict. They aren't just talking about pinball, they are performing a decade-long masterclass in plutonic intimacy. Oh my, Ron, stop it. How's it going?
    57:02
    You want us to do a guy? No way. I don't know, that's a lot of money. Talking now. Ron provides the structure, Bruce provides the spark, and together they navigate the silver ball midlife crisis With more grace and grit than most. That's who we should call the show now. Silver Ball Midlife Crisis.
    57:26
    I like grace and grit. That's the fucking title this week. Silver Ball Midlife Crisis. Okay. You got it. I wanted to call it grace and grit. I mean, I'm the grace, you would be the grit, right? No, maybe we can put it like parentheses.
    57:51
    Just don't tell them I said they were sweet. They'd probably tell me to get lost and go fix a leaf switch.
    58:01
    Wow, AI is insane. AI is bad. Thank you, David. I'm glad we're putting, investing billions of dollars of companies into. Well, it's going to take over anyway. It's like fucking Skynet. Yes. That's why I wanted you to talk like Terminator. That's right. I think it was more accurate with you than me. Of course, because I'm awesome. You're far more transparent. You're sidekick. I'm more obtuse. Obtuse. That's got to be it. Sidekick. Yes.
    58:30
    Wow. That was nice. That was a nice little... Ten years, though. Do you believe that's coming up? Ten years and two months? Ten fucking years. What is it? June? June. June or July of... June. It's June. That's right, because that's when Pintastic used to be. Yep.
    58:46
    Ten years. Ten years. Look at all the great games that have come out in that time. There's been a lot of them. There has. I'm not just saying that. I know. So, okay, since we're getting close to ten years here. Yes, we're done with the ball bag. Okay, boy, ball bag is empty. Go ahead. Yes, the ball bag is empty. So do you think Pinball is in a better place than it was 10 years ago? Yes. You do? For the amount of companies out there that are actually putting out problems. There's definitely more companies. Even in 2016, who would have been there? Like Jersey Jack, Stern. Yep. Was Spooky around yet? Spooky was around. They were? They were doing probably, what's it called, America's Most Haunted. I think that was right around 2016. Really? They were around that long? Yep I could look that up but I won bother Who else Wasn much else Maybe American Pinball also 2014 America Most Haunted How about Houdini That where we going Gotta see who around And they still around Somehow American Pinball is still around 2017 so right after Oh okay And don forget we got Mueller We had Mueller We had Haggis We had Haggis. We also had, what else? Suncoast or whatever, that one game. Yeah, Suncoast. The Pinball Mafia thing, whatever that was. P3 still. Oh yeah, they're still, yep. P3, we also had, we still had Big Lebowski douchebags that were trying to sell games. Oh.
    60:34
    Dutchie Dutchie. DPX was not around yet. No, but Dutchie Dutchie was. Now we got APX. Yes. Anal Probe Extreme! No, Anal Penetration Extreme. Get the right insulting name. I think sometimes we get the probe, too. The probe? The probe.
    60:53
    Like aliens. So there's a lot of companies out there still. Yeah. We've seen them come. We've seen them go.
    61:01
    But we didn't have – when was Iron Maiden? Maiden was 17, I think. Yeah, so we didn't have Elwin yet. So that automatically makes it better. Yes. This era.
    61:14
    And what's this next game going to be, supposedly? Fallout. So what are the rumors? We got – so it's supposed to be Transformers next. Yep. The cartoon based with Elian Iceman, the guy who did John Wick at Stern, and then Jersey Jackets, Sonic by Steve Ritchie, and then you got, what else? What are the other ones that are pretty... Fallout. Well, I said Fallout. Spooky, it's supposedly, what, is it Goonies or Gremlins? One or the other.
    61:47
    But that'll be a year plus. So, again, Perils of Fun are the best at keeping it secret. There's like no clue. None. No clue. I wonder if they just whack people if they give up any information. You go against this and kick your ass and kill you. Must be the Australian mafia if there is such a thing. That's right, mate. You're fucking dead.
    62:13
    This is a knife. It's a knife. The new Crocodile Dundee. You've heard it here, folks. Dr. John's sharpening that knife as we speak. That's right.
    62:28
    All right. Repairs. Do you have any repairs? Yeah, I had to replace the castle on the fucking Menial Madness. The whole castle? The whole castle bracket. The whole kit and caboodle? No, the bracket. Okay. So you have to take apart the whole castle with the springs and the pivots and the rods and everything. And it took about two and a half hours to take it out and put it back in. Damn. Yeah. But back up and running. Back on the floor. Batman.
    63:02
    Batman. Oh, Batman 66 again? Yeah, the turntable. Is it the turntable again? It is. Oh, my God. The kick out coil bracket for the release the balls.
    63:15
    The coil bracket broke. Oh, does Mantis sell that? So you take apart the whole turntable. Just to get the fucking bracket that has no power.
    63:29
    That's my next fucking project. That's in storage right now. And then I already had somebody going, when's Batman coming back? I'm like, months. Like, really? Why? It's broken. It's really popular, Bruce. That's been with us the whole show, Ryan. Batman 66. It's 2017. Oh.
    63:51
    We've heard more about that game breaking than probably any other game. Oh, God. Yeah. So that's back in the storage. What else? I think we are almost done with Torpedo Alley, so I think that will be hopefully on the floor soon.
    64:10
    It'll be good. Daddy East goodness. Hopefully the switch doesn't stick because it locks on.
    64:19
    That wouldn't be good. What else? And then hopefully I'll start working on victory. Victory. I get to play goalie like, I'm going to play some goalie.
    64:34
    Okay, he's doing the Sylvester Stallone movie. Look it up, folks. It's awesome. It's a fucking awesome movie. It's Sylvester Stallone playing soccer, so it doesn't sound like it would be good. It's actually a really good movie. It's actually not bad. Yes. Wow, Ron even saw it? I saw it. Remember I brought up the last episode, Pele's in it. He has the spoiler alert, he gets that goal at the end with the bicycle kick. Bicycle, but not winning it, just tying it. And Pele was probably old when that was made. Yeah, it was 44, 45. Yeah, that's probably about right. Because even though it was made in like 82, Pele was long since... Yeah, he was on the, was it the jersey? Oh yeah, he would have been on one of those indoor soccer, yeah. Yeah. Yep. Yep. So, yeah. So that's the two biggest repairs so far. I haven't been at the coop that much. I've been doing other things. Ah, yawning, obviously. Let's see. Yawning. You know, I've been doing other shit, trying to get shit started and done. My life sucks. Let's see. How about you? What have you touched lately? Oh, my.
    65:40
    Yeah, yeah, yeah. When I think about you, I don't care. That's fine. Let's see. I haven't really been fixing anything, but I've been following the Evil Dead thread. Because remember, that's part of our deal. You know, I have to let you know if anything goes wrong with Evil Dead because you want to bash it, of course. Nothing's going wrong with it, but the code update came out beginning of this month, April. And I didn't even know it was out. I just found out about it like a couple days ago. So I was reading the owner's thread to see what kind of things. And basically it adds some stuff that is good, like extra ball setting, so you can actually turn the extra balls off now. It adds bug fixes and things. It adds a new wizard mode, the Hail to the King. Hail to the King, baby.
    66:37
    But it sounds like it also breaks a bunch of stuff. Like the Hail to the King, something about if you don't get a weapon, it just fucks it all up. Cheryl Multiball has something where it has no ball saver, but if you do something, then you get an infinite ball saver.
    66:57
    So it just, I wasn't going to put it on yet. I'm going to wait until some of the stuff gets fixed. But yeah, that's about all I got. It seemed like there was a lot of things that cropped up after the update.
    67:15
    Oh, people were complaining about sound levels and stuff, but then other people were like, I don't know what you're talking about. It's fine. So, who knows?
    67:24
    But I haven't had any issues, and it was fairly reliable. It was in the Pintastic Tournament, and they were able to make it so it didn't play forever, like, at all. They just turned the ball savers off and it was pretty brutal. That's good. They did have it apart a couple times, but they had other games where they had Star Wars apart.
    67:47
    I saw Jim, it looked like he was recrimping the connector for the friggin Death Star Opto. Oh, great. Yeah. So is there an issue with that where you got to recrimp connectors? No, not at all yet, but I've heard there's been Opto issues lately. Yeah. It was funny. I was watching him and I could see his thought process. It's like the same as mine. He's done crimping.
    68:09
    He plugs it back in, turns the game on. He's got the coin door open, and he's testing the opto, and it's not working. So then he starts testing the other switches, and they're not working. And the first thing I'm thinking of is interlock switch, interlock switch. It's got to be odd. Sure enough, boom, he goes right to the interlock switch, pulls the thing out, and then he tests it, and it's working. Like, oh, it's working now. I just like seeing the thought process as he goes along. It's just like, oh, that's exactly what I would have done, basically. It's like, what the fuck? Let me try another switch. Wait a minute, that switch isn't working. What the fuck? Oh, freaking interlock. God damn it.
    68:46
    Yeah, you can't do a switch test, folks, without the interlock, even though it's like a high-voltage interlock. Why would you need high-voltage to test switches? Like on a Williams game, you wouldn't need to do that. You could just test the switches with that off, I believe. Steve, yeah, you totally could.
    69:02
    I don't get it. I don't get it either. But I don't know how things work. So that's the way it goes. We know. Nah. Did you sign up for the Beast?
    69:13
    Not yet. Okay. But don't forget, people, sign up for the Stomp. Everyone loves the Stomp. Yes, everyone loves the Stomp. You can check out our Facebook page for more details on Stomp because I think, yeah, I have that. We got that pinned. Yep. So it's going to be great, folks. It'll be swell. It'll be great.
    69:35
    Gonna have some pinball on our plate. Okay. Yes, Miss Clooney. Yes. It's an airplane reference, folks. Just watch the movie. Watch the movie. It's awesome. Oh, Spaceballs. They have a title. What is it? It's not the search for more money. Oh, fuck no. I'm not interested. Oh, come on.
    69:57
    Spaceballs. What did he call it? Well, he said, it's not going to be called Search for More Money because I found the money and he's got a bag with all the money in it. No. It's going to be called Spaceballs, The New One.
    70:10
    What? Yep. Bruce is already not approving. Not at all. What the fuck is his name? What is that? He's already upset.
    70:22
    I'm looking at the cast here. Mel Brooks, Bill Perman, Bill Pullman, Rick Moranis. Daphne's back. Wait a minute, Bill Pullman and Louis Pullman, are they like brothers? Yeah, son. Oh. He's the one that's on. Oh, that's Bill Pullman. Yeah, he's Lone Star. Oh, God, he's going to be son of Lone Star. Oh, no.
    70:42
    No, he's Starburst. Jesus Christ. Starburst fruit juice. Yeah. No Colonel Sanders, though. Yes, there is, Sanders. Is he there? Yes, he is. Oh, yeah, there he is. Oh, thank God. I know. What's the matter, Colonel Sanders? Chicken? Chicken? What?
    71:09
    Wear all seatbelts. Secure all the animals in the zoo. Whatever. I think we're done. Are we done? I think we're done. We got a title. We got everything. We fucking did it all. Yeah. We did it all. Everyone knows we've done it all. Those were the days.
    71:33
    What was the title again, Bruce? Was it Silver Ball Mid- What was it? Midlife Crisis? You already forgot it. I'm old! Yeah, exactly. That proves it. I've got to go back to the analysis. You can't fucking remember it either. Oh, of course I can't. Silver Ball Midlife Crisis. Yes. See, you're getting the actual title. The title naming ceremony is happening during the episode. We're awesome. Yes. Beautiful. Then I don't have to listen back to the episode at all. I'm sure it's all great and clean and there was no technical issues and not no need to listen again in any way. Not fucking at all. No. But this has been episode 267 of the Slantil podcast. Oh, I want to say hi to a person who came up and stopped at the RPC and he's like, I love your show. And I can't remember his fucking name when I feel so bad about this, but it was so nice meeting his whole family because his son was coming up to look at RIT. Oh, so he loves the Silver Ball Chronicles? He loves the Silver Ball Chronicles and he says, I don't know what I'd do with my life without it. Oh, so again. Or maybe he said wife. He loves Silver Ball Chronicles, which is my other podcast. You can listen to that. We talk about pinball history. Our latest episode on Game Plan is out there for your listening pleasure. Ugh. What? Hey, come on. Early Game Plan sucks. Later Game Plan's better. Cyclopsies. Cyclops. Yes. And Andromeda. The ultimate game with ass in it. It's so much ass. Yeah. So much ass.
    73:16
    What else? I'm going through all my notes here. Our plug website. Oh, yes, our website. We have a website. www.slamtiltpodcast.com. Check out the upper right-hand corner. All our links are there. You can email us at theballbag. Yes, we'd love to have somebody on. If you guys want to join us, come on and join us. The Veilball Bag. I might have a guest. Really? Yeah. Ron, when was the last time you booked a guest? Uh, yeah. Well, you told me to, and then I did all the work, but probably I don't remember.
    73:54
    No, it might be the other Ron. I got to see if I can get like a second set of headphones working with myself. Oh, yeah. Holy shit. He's never been on. Yeah, maybe because we're both going to Allentown, maybe after Allentown. We can get his opinions on stuff. Ooh, I like this. He's more along Bruce. He doesn't like it because he's old and he'll just say like, you know, I thought this sucked. You know, he's not he's not going to be very, you know, he just doesn't he just doesn't care anymore. I mean, I think I love that. I think when you reach a certain age, that little part of the brain like just turns off. It's always like, hold on. I've been on this show for 10 years and I've had. Well, you've never had that part of your brain. You see, that's it's different. Wow. It's kind of like. The filter gets worn out. It's like the cable filter in the 80s. Yeah, the filter. When you had the filter on the cable box up in the pole, and then when you could see, like, you know, you were trying as a kid, trying to get the porn channel up, and you'd say, oh, there's a part of a boob.
    74:58
    Wow. Yeah, when you're trying to watch Cinemax after dark, because it's just like softcore, it's not even porn, but it's all like wavy screen, and you're trying to see. You can't see it. You can't really see it. Like, oh, I saw something. I knew it. Yeah, there it is. But of course, I never did anything like that. Come on. Never. No, I did. But yeah, there's a certain filter, I think, that gets turned off when you reach a certain age. I'll never forget. I was I brought my car in to get worked on. And they had like the in the waiting room. I go in the waiting room and it's just me, some other guy and some old guy. And I mean like 80s, like really old. And we're sitting there. And this woman comes in to talk to the other guy. Not the old guy, but the other guy about what he needs done to his car and all that. And this woman was very, very, very hot. There's no other way to say it. Just extremely hot. Smoking? Yeah, smoking. And when she leaves the room, the whole guy just is like, whoa. You know, that was, he's just going like, damn, dude, man, and it's just no filter. He just didn't care. Like, what does he care? He doesn't care. He's close to death. He's not thinking of anybody. Hey, at least he waited until she left the room. So there you go. He's a classy old guy. Classy old guy. What was I talking about? The website. I think I went through everything. Hello to everyone on our Cluster Vuck. Vuck? Yes, Cluster Vuck thread. Yes. Steve. Hi, Steve. Hi, Jeff. Fama Bonus. Hope you listen to this one, too. Hopefully we didn't make you sad. No. Hi, Zach. Our own Zach. Pinball Princess. Everyone in our group. Hello out there in TV land. I think our Zach is like retirement now. He just he doesn't want to go anywhere or do anything. He's just he's happy with his kitty cats. He's he's just come much of the old man. He is. He's got a house now. Get off my lawn. Did you see that Tim Balls, Tim Sexton, he has cats too. They were in his latest video. No, no, I did not. Yeah, he had like two cats. I think I was told their names were Wizard and Flipper.
    77:16
    Come on, it's pinball theme. What's wrong with that? No, not a cat person? If you were going to name your dog a pinball name, what would it be?
    77:28
    Knocker? No? No. Vuck. Slingshot? Kicker. That's not bad. Come here, Kicker.
    77:41
    Come here, Kicker. I'm trying to think. Let me see. Tilt. That's a good one. But that's my name. I'd be naming him the same thing. I'm probably going to call him Tilt. I'm going to replace you.
    77:57
    Tilt. Bumper, I don't know. There's all kinds of things you can name them. Or you can name them after characters in game. Like Willie, Wet Willies. Come here, Willie. Welcome to Wet Willie.
    78:11
    All right. On that note, I'm all done. Yeah, that was a bomb. That was a bomb? That was a great segment. If you thought that segment was great, you can email us at slamtiltpodcast.gmail.com. Yes, I know I already said that, but I said it again. Wow. Yeah. Until next time, say goodbye, Bruce. Goodbye, Carolyn Bassett, Sam Shields, Nathan Johnson, Nad Norton, and Dave Novanti. Oh my, oh my, oh my, can you boogie, can you slide? Oh my, oh my, oh my, you can boogie if you try. Oh my my, oh my my, it's guaranteed to keep you alive.
    79:08
    Meteor, Level Zero, Cluster Buck, Choice Decide, Tim Balls, Bruce Isms, Tournament Talk, Car Holder, Cheetah, Sanitu, Cash Grab, ELO, Ballberg, what you buy it, game you love, game you hate, Turret Ark, Pinball Princess, Zip! Dragonfest!
    79:39
    Oh my. Boom, boom, chicka, chicka, chicka.