Episode 264: Thank you, Steve Epstein

Pinball Profile·podcast_episode·22m 25s·analyzed·Jun 17, 2020

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.029

TL;DR

Pinball Profile honors Steve Epstein's legacy as founder of competitive pinball and PAPA.

Summary

Jeff Teolis hosts a tribute episode to Steve Epstein, the legendary figure who founded Broadway Arcade in NYC, pioneered competitive pinball tournaments (PAPA), and co-founded the IFPA. The episode features testimonies from dozens of industry figures—including Keith Elwin, Bowen Kerins, Keith Johnson, Daniel Spoler, and Roger Sharp—reflecting on Epstein's profound impact on competitive pinball, community building, and the modern pinball renaissance. Speakers emphasize how Epstein's vision of inclusive, spectacle-driven tournaments transformed pinball from an isolated hobby into a global competitive community.

Key Claims

Steve Epstein founded Broadway Arcade in New York City and ran the first PAPA tournament (PAPA 3) in 1993
high confidence · Multiple speakers confirm PAPA 3 in NYC in 1993; Keith Johnson and Dave Stewart both reference attending PAPA 3 as their first tournament
Steve Epstein was instrumental in founding and rebirthing the IFPA (International Flipper Pinball Association) alongside Roger Sharp
high confidence · Keith Johnson: 'Steve along with Roger and his sons rebirthed the IFPA into what it is now'; Roger Sharp confirms long partnership
Epstein created the Papa Fall Flip-Offs tournament in San Francisco to bring the best players to the World Championships in New York
high confidence · Bowen Kerins: 'I met Steve Epstein at the Papa Fall Flip-Offs in San Francisco, a tournament that he created and organized'
Steve Epstein was 71 years old at the time of his death and had recently been active at tournaments including Pinberg and Freeplay Florida
high confidence · Jeff Teolis: 'the last time I saw him and spoke to him was on his 71st birthday just outside Orlando, Florida before Freeplay Florida'; recording dated from 2019
Epstein had been working with Project Pinball charity to place pinball machines in hospitals
high confidence · Daniel Spoler: 'Steve was the most caring, giving, wonderful person'; Steve's own comments about Daniel getting '46 hospitals with pinball machines'
Steve Epstein and Roger Sharp had been friends for 45 years
high confidence · Roger Sharp: 'What can I say about my beloved Steve, my brother from another mother? 45 years of friendship that endured.'
Broadway Arcade had to close at some point, shortening competitive pinball opportunities in NYC
high confidence · Frank Guida: 'only wound up playing two seasons of the Pinball League there, before Steve had to shut the doors on the Broadway'

Notable Quotes

“every one of us owes something to Steve Epstein and his vision years ago... competition pinball and the IFPA and PAPA has grown this hobby immensely”
Jeff Teolis @ opening — Frames Epstein's foundational role in modern pinball community
“Before meeting Steve when I first attended Papa 3 in 1993... 0% of my friends were from pinball. After meeting him, 95% of my friends for the rest of my life have been from pinball.”
Dave Stewart @ middle — Personal testament to Epstein's impact on individual lives and social integration
“Steve was, whether people realize it or not, at least indirectly responsible for a lot of the people who are in the industry today”
Keith Johnson (Jersey Jack) @ middle — Establishes Epstein's pipeline role in recruiting talent into pinball manufacturing and design
“I met Steve at my first major tournament, Papa Six. He handed me the Papa Six trophy and said, congratulations, champ. After that, every time he saw me, he would just call me champ. 22 years later, after we first met, he still called me champ.”
Keith Elwin @ middle — Illustrates Epstein's personal touch and consistent mentorship over decades
“There is no way this podcast exists without that first time playing competitive pinball in a league... Steve, with places like the Broadway Arcade, brought us together.”
Jeff Teolis @ opening — Direct attribution of podcast's existence to Epstein's community infrastructure
“I cannot picture what my life would be like without his influence... he knew how to make that event visible and public and make it something more than just people flipping a ball.”
Bowen Kerins @ middle — Emphasizes Epstein's innovation in spectacle and public presentation of pinball
“I've really been invigorated by all the great positive things that have been happening... I think it's a world of openings that's just going to blossom, and I think we really are, in a way, at the very beginning of something that's going to be huge.”

Entities

Steve Epsteinperson Broadway ArcadecompanyPAPA (Papa)organizationIFPAorganizationRoger SharppersonKeith Elwinperson Bowen Kerinsperson

Signals

?
business_signal: Epstein attempted to recreate Broadway Arcade success through Modern Pinball venue in later years, indicating sustained effort to maintain community infrastructure after original closure
high · Daniel Spoler: 'when for a time he was able to create his own arcade again in New York City the joy on his face to be able to hold that place and to operate it just like the Broadway Arcade'
?
community_signal: Steve Epstein established PAPA tournaments and IFPA as foundational structures for global competitive pinball community; created social infrastructure that connected isolated players into cohesive competitive/social ecosystem
high · Multiple testimonies confirm tournaments brought players together; Keith Johnson notes back in 1993 there were only ~2 competitions; now hundreds exist globally
?
event_signal: Epstein Cup established as annual IFPA World Championship tribute competition, ensuring his name remains central to competitive pinball infrastructure long-term
high · Jeff Teolis: 'Every year at the IFPA World Championships, North America battles the rest of the world in the Epstein Cup'
~
sentiment_shift: Massive outpouring of grief and recognition across pinball industry; tributes from players, manufacturers (Jersey Jack), organizers, and charity figures indicate Epstein held nearly universal respect and affection
high · 20+ testimonials from diverse pinball community segments; no negative commentary; expressions of shock at sudden passing; Facebook memorial page created
$
market_signal: Competitive pinball's origins now firmly narrativized around Epstein-Sharp partnership; industry figures explicitly credit these two with creating modern pinball ecosystem

Transcript

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0:00

Hi, my name is Jeff Teels and this is Pinball Profile. This is the seventh or eighth time I've tried to record this. The difficulty is I really don't know what to say. I'm probably not even the best person to do this. I, like many people in the pinball community, were saddened by the news of the passing of Steve Epstein. It is an understatement to say how much of a legend Steve was. I didn't know Steve as well as many of you. I knew of him, and only in the last few years was fortunate enough to know him on a personal level. Something I'll cherish forever. In fact, when I recorded an episode with Steve, really talking a lot about the history of himself, of Broadway Arcade, his father, the beginnings of Papa, the birth of competition pinball, and his great friendship with Roger Sharp, I grew closer to Steve. That episode 230 of Pinball Profile was at the time, and even more so today, one of my all-time favorites. I love learning the history of how we got to where we are today. And it doesn't matter what aspect of pinball you are involved in. If you're a collector, if you're a player, a programmer, a podcaster, a streamer, if you casually like to flip, every one of us owes something to Steve Epstein and his vision years ago. If you're thinking to yourself, competition pinball, that's not for me. I've never done it. Well, that competition pinball and the IFPA and PAPA has grown this hobby immensely. And with that growth is a new audience for the pinball companies to manufacture the games, to make them better. And above all of that, what it did was connect each and every one of us. It might be through leagues, something that was the vision of Steve and Roger. Doesn't matter how you compete. doesn't matter if you're great or you're just having fun. Steve, with places like the Broadway Arcade, brought us together. There's no way this podcast exists without that first time playing competitive pinball in a league. Certainly with social, but there was that little fire in me to want to do better. And oh, look at everyone else. And look at the IFPA. And wow, this is global. And there are big tournaments. Forget my story. Look at how quickly something like Pinberg sells out. Seconds for a thousand players and a huge waiting list. Not everyone's there for the competition. In fact, I'd argue more people are there for the social aspect. We're going to hear a lot of great tributes to Steve. I don't want to be long-winded. I'd like to get to some of these wonderful tributes and what he meant to this community. You'll see how we are all somehow, some way connected. And the amazing thing is, some of these people may or may not have known Steve. Some have been lifelong friends. Some people benefited by his wonderful generosity. I hope you'll get a snapshot of that on this program today. I don't even know if Steve could have imagined the mark he made on the pinball community throughout the world. He probably thought his small little corner was New York City and Broadway Arcade. It started there. It just expanded. Here's one of those lucky people who got to know Steve early on at Broadway Arcade. Frank Guida here. I got my first experience with competitive pinball at Steve Epstein's Broadway Arcade in New York City. It was a great place, great players, everybody very friendly, and Steve was always around to help you with a game if you needed it. I only wound up playing two seasons of the Pinball League there, before Steve had to shut the doors on the Broadway. I always felt like I only got a taste of what competitive pinball could be, because it was such a short period of time. And thinking back on Steve now, I'm thinking the same thing. we only got a taste of Steve. With pinball making such a huge resurgence over the last few years, who knows what Steve Epstein could have done for pinball again. But unfortunately, he was taken too soon. So, RIP Steve. Show God how to do a slap save. I enjoy reading other tributes I found on Facebook. This one from Penny Epstein. She wrote, First met Steve when I attended Papa 3 in New York City. Everyone kept asking me if I was one of Steve's daughters. and I kept having to say no. I had to find him and introduce myself, and did. He was so friendly, happy, and a joy to meet and talk to. I instantly made a new friend. We always spoke when we saw each other, and I spent many lunch hours playing at the Broadway Arcade while working in Manhattan. I've attended many pop events and tournaments, building a wonderful friendship with Steve. He introduced me to Roger Sharp many moons ago as his other daughter. Joe Schick gave me the nickname of Penny No Relation Epstein at Pop Attorneys. we all had nicknames we always joked about the father-daughter thing steve had a tremendous impact on the pinball community and with everyone he met such a funny kind generous person gone way too soon rest in peace steve dad you could have been a lifelong friend of steve for many many years or recently steve had an impact on all of us another person no stranger to running leagues including at sunshine laundromat in brooklyn here's a nice thought from greg pavarelli rest and peace steve epstein just wanted you to know how much of a pinball hero you were for me i still can't believe it we were just talking about how excited we were to go back to atlantic city next summer just a couple weeks ago i want to thank you for everything that you've done for our fine hobby in this community there's so much that we have all gained from the work that you've done there truly isn anyone that done as much for new york city pinball history than you from the legendary Broadway arcade that I heard so much about the origin of Papa in Manhattan bringing it back with modern pinball your involvement in NYCPC and with Project Pinball in recent years. I remember one weekend you ran a charity tournament with Steve Bowden and I helped out with Alberto and Francesco at the vault in New Jersey. You were kind enough to take us into your home that weekend as your guests and I remember in your car you were telling me how glad you were to see the work that I was doing for pinball and keeping things active and that was an honor for me to hear that from you and I remember getting chills when you told me some stories of you and Roger planning it all out and the origins and how you would have never dreamt for it to grow to this this size and really we have you guys to thank for that everything that you've done for the ifpa and all the joy it brings us on a regular basis your legacy will live on forever and you were so loved and respected deservingly so hero that the pinball community will never forget you will be missed rest in peace I had a nice note emailed to me from Nitsan Gubai. What Nitsan sent was actually a text he wrote to Steve just recently. It reads, When I met you for the first time in one of your fundraisers in the game vault in Morristown, I felt oddly starstruck and yet so humbled by your presence. I had such a joy listening to you talk about starting up Modern Pinball. Definitely gave me a few chuckles, but also a slight pinch in the heart that I never got to walk in there while you were running the show. Nevertheless, I am eternally grateful for the first time I stumbled into modern back in 2016. I was a recent college graduate, out of hope for a diplomatic job in Washington, and completely lost with little career prospects in New York City. Coming into the game room, I suddenly discovered a hobby that would keep my sanity in check and introduce me to a whole new circle of amazing people. I felt like I finally found my defining characteristic, my niche, the love of pinball and its competitive strategies. Thanks to your vision, I am now part of a new generation of hardcore fanatics. I cannot thank you enough for the joy this hobby has given me and for the community that you've created around your businesses in New York and New Jersey. Love you and respect you immensely. Neatsun. Jersey Jack Guarneri wrote on his Facebook page, Rest in God's peace, Steve. You're always there for us. You always had a smile and supported our efforts and had our back. It was great to help you get your venture off the ground too. You made lots of people smile, and you were Mr. Pinball. Thanks for the positive pinball energy. Lots of people here will miss you. Our love and condolences to your dear friends and family. Keep flipping, Stevie. We love you. Dave Stewart wrote a nice piece. I'm deeply saddened by the passing of Steve Epstein, whose influence literally changed my life. Before meeting Steve when I first attended Papa 3 in 1993, my first ever pinball tournament, 0% of my friends were from pinball. After meeting him, 95% of my friends for the rest of my life have been from pinball. While many of you might not directly know Steve, if you've been influenced in any way by any pinball, then you've been affected by Steve because he was the motivation and encouragement behind all of it. We will miss you, Steve. Pinball will never be the same without you, but pinball will also never forget you. Speaking of the early days of pinball competitions, Keith Johnson of Jersey Jack had this to say about Steve. So like everyone else, I'm extremely sad at the passing of Steve Epstein. I didn't even know he was sick until we talked on Tuesday. So going from that to his passing on Saturday afternoon is just kind of a big shock. Steve was, whether people realize it or not, at least indirectly responsible for a lot of the people who are in the industry today, I would say. My first Papa was Papa 3 in New York City, and I went up there with Kevin Martin. And when we were up there, I met Lyman Sheets for the first time and countless other people at Papa's over the years I met, including people who were in the industry at the time, people who would go on to go in the industry. Eventually I met Louis Kosiar at a pinball tournament. It's really mind-numbing what happened. It was so fast and so sudden. But really, Steve's legacy will be getting a lot of good players together with people in the industry to get them the jobs that they have today and also basically get people so excited about competitions that they started forming their own. I mean, back in 1993, as far as I know, there were like two competitions that year. There was Papa 3 and there was IFPA 3, the old incarnation of IFPA.

10:35

And people would not have, without these tournaments, Papa in particular, I feel like, because it was way more prestigious than the IFPA was at the time, would not have gotten together, would not have met each other, would not have had the opportunities that they had to get in the industry and shape it into what it became in the mid to late 90s. And then Steve along with Roger and his sons rebirthed the IFPA into what it is now and everything that everyone knows the modern like you know whopper madness and tournaments for the best players in the world and all that kind of thing and just the birth of all kinds of pinball activities and tournaments all over the world so all of us whether we realize it or not, owe Steve an unbelievable debt, whether it's us as pinball players, whether it's us as competitive pinball players, whether it's us as people in the industry. There's a whole lot of people that Steve has directly or indirectly influenced over the years, and he will absolutely be missed by almost everyone that I know in the hobby from all walks of it. Rest in peace, Steve. Keith Elwin sent me this email to talk about Steve Epstein. Keith wrote, I met Steve at my first major tournament, Papa Six. He handed me the Papa Six trophy and said, congratulations, champ. After that, every time he saw me, he would just call me champ. Steve saw to promote competitive pinball through the dark ages of no internet like nobody before him. I'm glad I got to have a drink and catch up with him earlier this year at Jack Bar. 22 years later, after we first met, he still called me champ. He will be missed. Another world champion had this to say about Steve. I'm Bowen Cairns. There is so much joy that comes to mind when I think of Steve Epstein, but the biggest thing that comes to mind to me at first is that I cannot picture what my life would be like without his influence. When I met Steve Epstein, it was at the Papa Fall Flip-Offs in San Francisco, a tournament that he created and organized to bring the best players from all parts of the country to the World Championships in New York. I lost that tournament, but I was encouraged by Steve and his energy and his attitude towards competitive pinball, something I really had not seen very much of at all, to travel across the country and participate in the Papa World Championship in 1994. I was struck by Steve's sense of inclusivity, the sense of spectacle for that event, that he knew how to make that event visible and public and make it something more than just people flipping a ball. I've met so many people through events at those early papas, people who stayed with pinball for decades. and I have to say it has to be Steve Epstein's influence that caused us to want to continue playing pinball for so long altogether. That joy, that spectacle, all of those events that he created. I got to encounter Steve many other times throughout his time at the Carlisle Open or at the event at Asbury Park, even when for a time he was able to create his own arcade again in New York City the joy on his face to be able to hold that place and to operate it just like the Broadway Arcade had operated into the 90s. My most joyful moment that comes to mind in thinking about Steve is at Papa 7, the first Papa that reopened under the banner in Pittsburgh. He won. He won one of the classics tournaments and won one of his own space jet trophies that had been created for the papa world championship in new york city and the joy that he had there was the same joy that he seemed to have every day for everyone in pinball and we were all just there to to share with him and i I'd just like to say also that there was nobody like Steve Epstein. But at the same time, there are lots of people like Steve Epstein now, and that is his influence, the way that he affected all of us to make pinball a more inclusive place, to make pinball a more joyful place, to respect each other, to just have fun, play the game, share it with people who have never played before. So if we all want to honor Steve Epstein's life, and I will forever want to honor Steve's life. We can do that by bringing more people to pinball, bringing more people together to play the game, and just having a joyful time.

15:42

Thanks, Steve. We heard a lot about the history of Steve Epstein and what he created to get us to where we are today. But what was he doing today? No surprise. It was about caring for others, as Daniel Spoler from Project Pinball explains. What can I say about my friend? Steve was the most caring, giving, wonderful person I ever met. I'm going to miss him greatly, so much. I heard about the Broadway Arcade, but I never had a chance to go there. But I heard it from other people, and I seen a special and lit documentary where Steve was really emotional about the closing of the place. You could tell how passionate he was about pinball and about people in general. So last year when he approached me About helping me with the project Pinball Charity I was definitely blessed I was so happy I mean this giant of the industry The person that started Papa And helped start the IFPA Was offering to help me with the charity I mean we worked fantastic together His drive was incredible His energy was just amazing We worked on several things together many long hours having dinner conversations or long phone conversations to put the charity first. He loved all the players that came to play at the Broadway Arcade in all the tournaments, the first Papa tournaments, and was very proud of them. Named like Bowen and Kurtz and Belsito and Elwin and, of course, the Sharp Brothers and so many more young players that came through there. He shared his passion for pinball and loved to talk to anybody that played pinball. So as far as I feel, we are standing on the shoulder of a giant. Steve's inspiration will be felt forever through all the lives that he touched. I know I'm going to miss him greatly and I will remember all of the kind words and inspiration that he gave me God bless you Steve that involvement and that passion for giving to others in the form of Project Pinball doesn't surprise me about Steve Epstein in fact the last time I saw him and spoke to him was on his 71st birthday just outside Orlando, Florida before Freeplay Florida I was running an event and all the proceeds of that event went to Project Pinball, so Steve showed up. I've never aired this before. I was going to air it as part of something a little bit later, but I think the timing of it is pretty important to let you hear the last time I spoke to Steve Epstein. I have to tell you, one of the most downloaded episodes I've ever had on Pinball Profile in three years, when this band joined me for a great discussion about the history of pinball and competitions. Steve Epstein's here. We're at the Pinball Profile World Tour event at the District Eat and Play here just outside of Orlando. Thanks very much for showing up. Oh, man, it's my pleasure. I've really been invigorated by all the great positive things that have been happening with all the great people that just seem to be engrossing themselves and getting themselves into pinball again. I think it's a world of openings that's just going to blossom, and I think we really are, in a way, at the very beginning of something that's going to be huge. Well, this event tonight is an event that we're raising money for Project Pinball. We're going to do very, very well. We're going to give away a bunch of raffle tickets. We've got some other sponsors on board, too. But I know Project Pinball means a lot to you, too. It absolutely does. I am so motivated by the fact that Daniel's been able to get 46 hospitals with pinball machines. I think it's the greatest type of thing to have kids and adults being introduced in environments where they're really not being in a very positive, but pinball creates an environment that will help them emotionally and physically. and also get people to play pinball again. The awareness is great, and it's spreading around all across North America. People buy tickets all over the world for this event, and we're going to even try to get a machine up in Canada in 2020 with the help of Daniel and Project Pinball. I'm more than happy to hear that, and I hope to be able to help and do whatever I can in the future to make sure that this project stays sound and stays current and stays big. Steve, I've got to tell you, here in 2019, it's been great to see you at events, to see you at Pinberg, to see you here at IAAPA and Preplay Florida. Is that kind of the goal? Steve Epstein's back. Well, I hope I am. I hope I can play well enough to start really representing what I used to be able to do. And I'm practicing a lot, and I'm going to be at a lot of tournaments from now on. Love hearing that. Great to see you, as always. Thank you, Steve. Thank you, Jeff. Steve, your good work, your vision, your love of pinball will continue. we are all grateful for everything you gave to this hobby. You will never be forgotten. Every year at the IFPA World Championships, North America battles the rest of the world in the Epstein Cup, a nice tradition that will keep your name in memory for so many years to come. On Facebook, there's a lovely tribute page called Memories of Steve Epstein. If you have some thoughts or some pictures you'd like to share, I'm sure it would mean a lot to the family and friends. And speaking of friends, before I say so long, I know it had to be difficult, but I was quite surprised when I saw in my mailbox a nice message from his best friend of 45 years, Roger Sharp. Oh, wow. What can I say about my beloved Steve, my brother from another mother?