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Episode 242 – Provisional Winners

Slam Tilt Podcast·podcast_episode·2h 21m·analyzed·Jan 7, 2025
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.032

TL;DR

Slam Tilt #242: X-Men fixes, Harry Potter rumors, IFPA Nationals preview, industry interview analysis.

Summary

Slam Tilt Podcast Episode 242 features David Dennis as guest discussing pinball industry topics including Seth Davis's recent interview, X-Men shooter lane issues and Stern's repair kit, Jersey Jack's Harry Potter teasing, Pinbird event expansion, and upcoming IFPA Nationals/Pinmasters tournaments. The episode opens with comedic banter about Ron Hallett's previous behavior and the show's structure.

Key Claims

  • Seth Davis (Stern President) was media-trained and came off as professional in recent interview, avoiding the salesy approach of Gary Stern

    medium confidence · David Dennis commentary on Seth Davis interview; noted he seemed 'calculated' and 'highly educated' vs Gary's typical sales-heavy style

  • X-Men pinball has significant shooter lane issues requiring complex installation of official Stern repair kit (20+ minute installation)

    high confidence · Hosts discuss X-Men shooter failures and George Gomez mentioning Stern may not repeat this complex shooter design approach

  • Jersey Jack is teasing Harry Potter with images at conferences; likely Wizarding World license rather than film assets

    medium confidence · Discussion of Jack teasing with Harry Potter photo at conference; hosts debate if it's movie-based vs Wizarding World universe

  • Pinbird event is expanding to 244 spots for 2025, up from previous year; super supporter tickets available at ~$1,000 for lifetime entry

    high confidence · Direct discussion of Pinbird expansion, ticket details, and same dates/location as previous year

  • IFPA Nationals tournament is January 18th with state/provisional winners competing; Pinmasters follows in March in Rochester

    high confidence · Hosts discuss upcoming tournament schedule; Bruce mentions being forced to attend Nationals in NYC, will play one round and get eliminated

  • Stern is moving away from releasing LE versions first; previous Spider-Man Black approach released regular versions first, then LE with fixes

    medium confidence · Hosts discuss X-Men LE beta testing issues and preference for Pro/Premium runs first before LE production

Notable Quotes

  • “If it's not the movies, it's a fail. It's not going to be the movies, because guess what? He ain't going to get all seven movies.”

    Bruce Nightingale @ ~37:00 — Key prediction about Jersey Jack Harry Potter licensing scope; assumes Wizarding World license vs film assets

  • “He came off as a pro. Like, he knows what he's doing. Really, really good. He wasn't quite as Gary Sturdy when it comes to selling.”

    David Dennis @ ~16:00 — Assessment of Seth Davis's interview performance contrasting him favorably to Gary Stern's sales approach

  • “The LE people are your beta testers. Yeah, congratulations. You've made more money.”

    David Dennis @ ~30:00 — Critique of Stern releasing LE versions first with unreliable quality, making customers de facto QA testers

  • “They're doing the super supporter tickets again. Which I think is like, what, $1,000 or something? And guarantees you're in for life as long as they keep having them.”

    Ron Hallett @ ~43:00 — Details Pinbird's premium ticket tier structure for event access

  • “I'm going to be forced to go down to New York City so I can play one round and get eliminated.”

    Bruce Nightingale @ ~50:00 — Self-aware comment on mandatory Nationals attendance and low qualification prospects

Entities

David DennispersonRon Hallett Jr.personBruce NightingalepersonSeth DavispersonGeorge GomezpersonDwight SullivanpersonLonnie Robbperson

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: LE machines released first as de facto beta testers after X-Men shooter issues; breaks historical precedent of regular run first

    high · Hosts discuss X-Men LE buyers getting broken units requiring repair kits; contrast with Spider-Man Black model where Pro came first with improvements in LE

  • ?

    community_signal: George Gomez characterized Spooky Pinball as 'friends' in interview; suggests industry collaboration or favorable positioning

    low · Hosts note George Gomez reference to 'our friends at Spooky' and discuss whether this indicates actual business relationship

  • ?

    competitive_signal: IFPA Nationals now held January 18th in NYC; state/provisional winners compete; Pinmasters follows March in Rochester with low participation

    high · Hosts discuss tournament schedule details; Bruce expects to be eliminated in one round at Nationals

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Stern reconsidering shooter lane design complexity after X-Men issues; George Gomez stated they 'might not do this again'

    high · Direct host commentary on George Gomez interview discussing future design direction for shooter mechanics

  • ?

    event_signal: Pinbird event expanded to 244 spots for 2025; same dates/location; super supporter lifetime tickets available at ~$1,000

    high · Direct host discussion of event details and ticket structure; noted previous year's rapid sellout

  • ?

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.426

0:00
So, the sixth planet is Saturn, okay? Known for its prominent rings. Everyone, please focus, okay? Class is almost over and I'm just trying to squeeze in your anus.
0:15
Me. Vandreessen, he kind of said, I just want to squeeze in... Mr. Vandreessen is trying hard to squeeze in your anus, okay? Yeah, exactly. Let's try to give him our attention. Yeah, but... I'm glad I brought a nice, sharp pencil for Uranus. Come on, butthead, what's going on? Nothing, Beavis. This is the perfect pencil for Uranus. Coming to you from beautiful upstate New York and Canada, this is the Slam Tilt Podcast. I'm David Dennis with my other host, Bruce Nightingale. Hey, Dave. How you doing? I'm doing great. Once again, we're back this week to chit-chat all things pinball. Yes, we are. And this is a little different this time.
1:15
We had a little situation. There was an incident. So just before episode 242, which is this episode, we got some angry e-mails from a lot of people. Yeah, and we had to suspend somebody. Yeah, we had to get rid of Ron. Sorry about this, you know, but, yeah, it was really bad. We don't want to bring it up, but, you know, it's just. Well, I mean, when Dwight Sullivan and Lonnie Robb send you a bunch of emails complaining about Ron's treatment of them and harassing... Yeah, God.
1:49
Even I was surprised how far he went. It was pretty sad. Yeah, but luckily he's still going to edit this. Because I, you know, still am on retainer. No, I'm not. I'm not editing shit. What?
2:02
Jack Danger
person
Stern Pinballcompany
Jersey Jack Pinballcompany
Spooky Pinballcompany
X-Men Pinballgame
Harry Potter Pinballgame
Pinbirdevent
IFPA Nationalsevent
Pinmastersevent
Silver Ball Chroniclesmedia
Slam Tilt Podcastmedia
Zachperson
Spider-Man Black pinballgame

licensing_signal: Jersey Jack Harry Potter licensing likely Wizarding World universe rather than film assets based on asset availability patterns

medium · Hosts reference Lego precedent of Wizarding World licensing without full film assets; note Jack wouldn't secure all seven movies

  • ?

    community_signal: Seth Davis presents as media-trained corporate executive with measured communication style, distinct from Gary Stern's sales-heavy approach

    medium · David Dennis characterizes Seth as 'calculated,' 'highly educated,' and avoiding Gary's over-the-top sales messaging during recent interview

  • ?

    product_strategy: Seth Davis on interview denied rumors of pricing increases and going public, suggesting market pressure but no immediate action planned

    medium · Hosts discuss Seth Davis's measured response: 'we're really trying not to do that' regarding price increases

  • ?

    product_concern: X-Men pinball has significant shooter lane routing issues affecting ball feed consistency; requires complex installation of official Stern repair kit

    high · George Gomez confirmed issues and mentioned Stern may not use similarly complex shooter designs in future; hosts describe secret skill shot workaround and 20-minute installation video requirement

    • How dare you? Ladies and gentlemen, Ron Hallett Jr. Man, I show up a little late and you're already starting the episode without me. And your point? Yes. Come on. This is slam tilt.
    2:17
    Or it is a bit of a mess. Or the slam tilt, as we'll get into later on. Oh, yeah. Yeah. There's the in front of it. Yes. I want to thank you guys for finally letting me on after me begging for three years. You've been on before. Yeah, but that didn't count. Everybody was on that episode. Yeah, it was a clusterfuck. It was a clusterfuck. Thanks to our awesome website at www.slamtelpodcast.com. Yes. Brought to you by Ryan C. Ryan C, mate. Ryan C. Did you guys already do the intro? Yes. Yeah, we were way past that. Damn it. Don't listen to it. You'll be mad. Well, I have to listen to it. I'm editing it. No, no, no. You won't. Just skip past it. Go to minute four. Does this mean I don't have to be the straight man now?
    3:03
    Whatever your persuasion is, it's up to you. Oh, my. We don't judge here. I mean, George Takei is our main guy. Not that there's anything wrong with that. No, not at all. But, yeah. Welcome, everyone. We've got a lot on our plate today. It's a big episode. It's episode 242. David Dennis has come on. He's got some segments for us. Hopefully they do not bomb as bad as the ones he did on the pinball show. Wow. Geez, I get a lot of crap. Oh, that was generally regarded as our worst episode ever. That also, by the way, I get all the crap for this, but this was equally Dennis Creasel's fault. Oh. Dennis? Dennis was also involved in this. Wow. For those at home, that's another podcast, The Pinball Show. But David Dennis came on as, like, guest host, and they did some interesting segments. And it just bombed really bad. It was a review of the post-COVID pinball and our predictions that we did, I don't know, like three years before that. And people love anything COVID. Oh, yeah. 100%. Yeah. We were going to do a politics episode, but. Oh, no. Don't do that.
    4:16
    So, yeah. So, Dave, we get to ask you some hard-hitting questions like, how did you get into pinball? Oh, God. We're going to do this. Everyone knows him. He's never really been on. Okay. I'll mute.
    4:32
    So I went to a convention one time, and it was in Halifax, which is about five hours from my house. And on the way back, I busted two tires on my car, and I had to get a flatbed truck to take me back to Halifax. And it was a Sunday, so they couldn't fix my tires at the dealership. and I stayed at a hotel. It's called Chocolate Lake in Halifax. And I'm hanging out there with my wife. She goes, hey, there's an arcade in the basement. And I'm like, what do you mean? She's like, like one of those old arcades from when we were a kid. And I'm like, really? She's like, yeah. And I went down and there was like the T2 gun game, which I basically grew up on. And the Terminator 2 pinball machine. And there was like a Fishtails and like Indiana Jones. and I'm like, what is going on here? This is wild because I hadn't seen any of these things in years, years, like decades. So I'm playing these games, and now I can pump in as many quarters as I want because I'm an adult, and I'm actually getting somewhere on some of these games, and it dawns on me that I can buy one of these pinball machines because I'm an adult, and I have disposable income. Hold on. Your wife just messaged me. No, you're not an adult.
    5:58
    So, however, very true. So then I got looking at, you know, buying a machine. And, of course, then I was shocked at how expensive they were. Right? Which I think happens to everybody the first time they find out how much a pinball machine is, even a used one. so like you know I started to like look for a broken one on like Facebook marketplace or in Canada like we use Kijiji which is like Craigslist and I'm looking up those things and I got a busted tag team from Gottlieb an 80B and then I fixed that up and I learned how to like solder and all of them well I learned how to solder poorly and a few of those other things and I got it working and I was like this is great so then I flipped it and then I bought a Xeon and I fixed that up And then I flipped that, and I just sort of kept going until I eventually got mad and just wanted to play pinball and bought a new machine. There you go. Now, Dave, I think you have a relationship with Ron. I do. Ron and I love to cuddle. Wow. I didn't know that. Wow. Well, the relationship was originally supposed to be with you, Bruce. It was, but I'm not the cuddling type. Because David Dennis has another podcast. What is that podcast? Yes, so we can get it out of the way right the fucking way and don't have to bring it up ever again. Wow. That's Silver Ball Chronicles, and we're featured on the Pinball Network. Who owns the Pinball Network or runs the Pinball Network? Nobody.
    7:24
    So it's a pinball history podcast. That's right. And it was started by Mr. Dennis, who originally wanted a suit and a certain bruise as his coat. Because my idea was that it was going to be a little more silly than it ended up being. And, you know, I figured Bruce would provide the knowledge and the history and whatever, and then I could just try to derail everything.
    7:49
    And it ended up being – Bruce was – you were doing, what was it, Silver Ball Saloon, right? Yeah, I was at the bar still. Yeah, so you were still – that was like 2019, end of 2019. So I was like, well, that would be a perfect fit. But I'm like, well, what about Ron? Because Ron could be a good straight man. And Ron has a lot of knowledge, and he's very nerdy. Turns out he hasn't seen any movie any pin has ever been based on except for Demoman. Oh, my God. That's not true. I saw Demoman. He said Demoman, except for Demoman. Oh, yeah.
    8:23
    So you've never seen Doctor Who's show? I've seen Doctor Who. I've seen Flash Gordon. I saw Indiana Jones movies. I saw Indiana Jones. Well, I've seen the first three. The first three. I saw the fourth one. The fourth one wasn't as bad as the third.
    8:38
    What? No, the fifth one. What? Oh, okay. The fifth one. The dial is not a cherry. What are you saying?
    8:45
    Now, see, now you got me going. What movie-based ones? I saw Meteor. Did you see Shadow? No. That's a dive of the evening. And I haven't seen Congo either. I haven't seen Congo. That's terrible. But go ahead. So you started a podcast. Yeah, the highest-rated monthly podcast, which sometimes does it monthly and sometimes doesn't, from North America in the world. Wow. In any genre.
    9:15
    That's what I was just hearing. Boy, you guys are rocking it dead. We're fucking killing it. I should ask for money.
    9:22
    It's gone really well. But the biggest thing is that we want this podcast – so it has evolved, really, from the first couple of three episodes, and it's evolved into more of a – we want to be a reference for people in the future, sort of like how a lot of people, especially the older folk in the hobby, they tend to reference all those older podcasts with, like, Nate Silver and those guys. Nate Shivers, I think. I'm sorry, yeah, Nate Shivers.
    9:52
    Silver me timbers. It's silver time. And Top Cast, right? Like, a lot of people reference those as being a source, which is really cool, because now there's, like, 15 years, right? And you can look back and hear what those people had said. I thought that would be really cool to talk about, to be a very good reference. Originally, I wanted to be more of like that kind of NPR-style podcast with, like, sound effects and music. And I'm just like, I can't do that. I don't have time for that. And as you can see by the last episode, I've only half finished editing that one, and I'm a month late. Yeah, our episode hasn't been out yet, has it? Yeah, that's right. I think I'll get it out probably by the end of the season. Well, you were in Disney World for like a month, so. What? I was in Orlando for two weeks, and I spent five days at Disney. How the fuck can you afford that? You must be waking way too much money up in Canada.
    10:41
    Those investments are... I basically did nothing for a year and a half. Well, his health care is free, so he gets to save a lot of money. Yeah, but his taxes are 66%. And he's in that weird time zone that's like... It's like, I'm in the Atlantic. The Atlantic. It's like even later than East. It's so weird. Yeah, so I'm an hour ahead of you guys. So I'm technically speaking to you from the future. Wow. Good job.
    11:15
    So you can give us the real skinny. How bad is Ron on the podcast? How much do you have to edit? I'm the one who keeps it. Ron keeps it on the rails. Oh, wow. He's the guy that's like, you should probably cut that joke out. That is not honest. Wait, are you going to see how much content this thing? But it's like, yeah, I'm already on the off-the-rails, out-of-control podcast. I don't need to be on two. Yeah, exactly. And I wouldn't want to do that to you because I know that that would cause you a lot of stress. I just thought it would be cool to have the one podcast that is professional and does history and that stuff, and then the other one that's just a shit show. Yeah, I really feel bad for you about the Silver Ball Chronicles.
    11:58
    It is a shit show. And I don't have to edit. That's the best part. You just let it go. Let it go. Bruce, this podcast, the original idea was, you know, Bruce would just get guests. But he doesn't even do that anymore. I got a guest book. I got David Davis. Now he's telling me to get guests and stuff. No, I got another guest coming up. You just haven't responded to the second request I've actually asked you about it. Yeah, because it's in the middle of the week. I don't know if I can get off. We'll figure it out. Oh, my. Yes, we'll figure it out. You've got to get the president on when you can. The president. Well, I mean, Gary Stern. He's not the president. That would be Seth Davis. Oh, yes. Who just had an interview. Oh, what a segue. Oh, that was awesome. So who here has heard the Seth Davis interview? I have definitely heard the Seth Davis interview. I have definitely not. Fail. I was actually working yesterday. Sorry. I actually was. It was released like a week and a half ago, Bruce. Come on. Was it? I got it on my podcast catcher. Like, hold on. Yeah, yeah. You need to speed that up, that process.
    13:05
    Well, here's the thing. Or with your iPhone 5, you know, that's what happens. iPhone 5. If you remember our last episode, we talked about the David Ficks interview and how he's mentioning all these other pinball companies and games. You know how many other pinball companies Seth Davis mentioned? Zero.
    13:24
    That's the proper way to do it. Well, he did once. He called a game the product. That worried me. It's like, oh, I've never heard that term.
    13:36
    He only said it once. But it's not a passion for him. That's the problem. He only said it once. But then the rest of the time he did call them games. So, like, okay. Okay, I'll let that slide. So, what did you think, David? You saw it. I thought he came off good.
    13:50
    Man, he came off as a pro. Like, he knows what he's doing. Really, really good. I don't know if he's media trained or something, right? Hold on, hold on. When you actually have common sense when talking to somebody on an interview, it's not hard. It was really good. And he wasn't quite as Gary Sturdy when it comes to selling. Maybe that's why I liked it. I think I did, too. He wasn't on when he's just like, oh, hey, you guys should be buying what's on the line right now. and everything is awesome and let's keep rolling. He wasn't quite that over the top, but he was a lot more, he seemed very calculated.
    14:34
    Right? He's one of those really highly educated, grew up in a massive corporation kind of guys, which I don't think is a bad thing for Stern.
    14:46
    And they asked him about prices going up. Because the rumors are the prices going up and it's like, well, really? Well, I would be the one that decides that. And we're really trying not to do that.
    14:59
    Yeah, it's going to be – we all know the market's in a lull right now. Yeah, well, I mean, everything is, right? If you look at any fun, collectible kind of hobby, like even classic cars have sort of plateaued or washed. Yeah, but baseball cards haven't. Baseball cards have gone through the roof with all the shit they're putting in them now. It's like $40 a pack for some of these cars. What are you putting in the cards? Do they glow in the dark? No, they're autographed, and they have, like, one of one, and some of them have, like, uniform pieces on them, and it's just nutty. But it's Boone there, you know, holy crap, it's like their market is still climbing. I didn't know anybody was still watching baseball. Oh, my God, baseball cards are humongous right now. We're talking baseball. Baseball. From Maine to San Diego. We're talking baseball. With Mattingly and Kinseka. Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry.
    15:54
    I was like, Ken Griffey's grotesquely swollen jaw. He's axed and is running with the law. We're talking Homer. I can't believe you can remember that. Ozzie and the Straw.
    16:07
    I can't believe you can remember that. The classic Simpsons softball episode. Yes. But, yeah, no. So I heard that he did a really well job. I didn't listen to the whole interview. My podcast catcher called it seven days ago. And I was working six out of seven. You need to listen. It's worth it. It's worth listening. I'm just worried about getting more corporate America into a – Well, they asked about price raising. They asked about rumors that they're going public and all this stuff. Oh, they don't want to go public. No, no. No, not right now. No.
    16:44
    Any pinball company that goes public, that's the end. Yeah. That's the end. Yeah, that's – I think we've talked about that on Chronicles a couple of times. Yes. I'll listen to Roger Sharp on that one. That's like the death knell if you go public. That means you need money really bad. So American Pinball becoming public in a couple days.
    17:00
    Well, it also means you're not used to the, you don't take things like the downturns. Like, oh, we got to end this. Got to end it. No, it's quarter to quarter, right? And hack and slash and try to make sure that you get your profits up for shareholders because if they see something that's bleeding out, they're going to want it cut off, right? They're going to cry. Here's the important. important question here. What character is Seth Davis? Remember, Hulk Hogan is Robert Mueller. Jesse Rhodes is David Fix. Who is Seth Davis? Hi, I'm Troy McClure. Oh, yes.
    17:34
    Troy McClure. You may see me in such CEO videos as... Am I right or wrong? It's perfect. It's perfect. For now on, Seth Davis is Troy McClure. Hi, I'm Troy McClure. You may see me in such Pinball video? That is Seth Davis. You can see me on YouTube videos.
    17:57
    Okay, we have our character. The first time I saw him, I was like, boy. I'm like, oh, my God. He rides the S-F-1. I'm like, oh, my God.
    18:07
    Troy McClure. So we also had, there was Super Awesome did a George Gomez interview. So I recommend anything with George Gomez. He did mention another pinball manufacturer. He said, our friends at Spooky. Like, okay. Do you think he's going out to dinner with his friends at Spooky? I don't think so. Are they going to Portillo's? I don't think they're going to Portillo's. They're not doing some hot dogs and some chocolate cake. No, they're not doing that.
    18:37
    No hot dogs and handjobs. I listen to anything with George Goldbein just because he's not a sales guy, so you don't get any of that stuff. And it's very – he will not tell a lie. And he's the champ. He really is. So what character is he? Hmm. Mo. Mo? Mo! Hey, Mo! Why is it just his characters? No, we were doing wrestlers. Okay, wrestlers. Eddie Guerrero? Eddie Guerrero, that's what I was thinking of. Viva la Rasta!
    19:06
    He's frog-splashing things all over the place. All right, what else do I have here? Well, you know X-Men? The X-Men? Their latest game. Well, until recently, their latest game. Yes. You know all the shooter lane issues they have with that game? No, personally. I haven't experienced this. Personally, but I have heard all about it. Can you kind of give us a breakdown as to what happens here? Basically, the game. They don't make it up the ramp. Yeah. The whole game is predicated on you taking a full plunge and have it come all the way around your flipper, and it doesn't work a good portion of the time. It's so broken that they had to make the skill shot. they made a secret skill shot where it hits off the bottom target above the left pop bumper as a skill shot because that's what it usually does.
    19:53
    That's how bad the shooter is. So they released, Stern released their X-Men shooter lane kit or fixed kit. It must kill them to do this. Well, he mentioned, George Gomez mentioned this in the interview, that they might not do this again as far as making something like a shooter lane this complicated compared to what it usually is. I thought that was interesting. Oh, my. But, yes, the kit is out, and there's a video on Stern's YouTube channel on how to install it. It's, like, 20 minutes long. Yes. It's like, oh, my God, some people are going to be like, oh, no. And that's an edited 20 minutes, too, right? No, I don't want to do this.
    20:33
    I just want to change a bulb and play my game. Yeah. It requires, like, removing a bunch of shit. Bunch of shit. Taking the play field, like, partially out to get in one corner to replace the plastic, and it's got to be in a specific way. Way. Oh. See, this is why Stern wants a distributorship, so that they can just say, here's the video, call your distributor. Right? Because they get to deal with all of this, and they get to, like, manufacture fun. You know what I mean? Like, brutal. But is it fun to fix something after the fact? Oh, absolutely not. But that's not Stern's thing. They've been able to download it. Oh, it is Stern's thing. You know, you shouldn't. I always like, how many videos has Spooky put out? Oh, that's right. They don't even put out manuals that well. Oh, hey.
    21:21
    They have manuals. They're actually doing better. They're doing better. Wow, Bruce with a rare. They are doing better. Good boy. Sit, Ubu, sit. Good dog.
    21:31
    Yeah, but you remember from what we told you here on the Swamtoe Podcast, we told you to wait until a later run. You always wait for the later run. Because now, whenever the next run of X-Men comes out, guess what? It's going to be fixed. It's already going to be, all this shit's already going to be in there, and you'll be all set. What sucks is all those LE people got these first. I know, that's exactly the best thing. I don't think they're going to do that again. Well, the LE people are your beta testers. Yeah, congratulations. They are. You've made more money. I mean, in this case, they're really beta testers because there's so much shit on there, it doesn't work right. And you've got to watch them start. They're going to calm down a little bit with, why do we have to wait? We spent the most money. Now you know why every other company waits, like every in the past. For example, Spider-Man. Spider-Man Black, which I have. That was the last one made. They did the pro. Well, there was no pro, premium, whatever. But they did a regular run for, God, like half a year. It was a while before the LEs came out. So the L.E. had a couple of fixes that weren't in the original run. Oh. No, the first runs of games. They had, what did they have? They had. Watch protectors. They had a thingamabobby at the top so it would fall into the hole better or something. And they had something with maybe Doc Ock that made it feed easier or something. And they had a couple of fixes that were in the L.E. So you got the best version if you got the L.E. in this case. Nowadays, it's like the L.E. is the first game, and that worries me. It's like, I'd rather, like, no, do the premiums first. Save my LE for later. I'll wait. I'll tweet your Star Trek LE a bunch. Oh, yeah, that was fun. Oh, I still am. I still play with the fucking thing. Oh, that's right. You still have it. Yes, I do. Yeah, mine, like, the power cord was running correctly. No. The simplest things were weird. The worst was actually Game of Thrones for me. Oh, you had an LE? Oh, I had the LE. Oh. I had the premium. Oh, well, that doesn't count. Oh, my God. Yes, it does. It's still at the castle top and everything. Well, you had to take the play field off a lot. Yeah. And then I get Batman after that. How many times I had that rotisserie out? Oh, yes. Fucking Christ.
    23:44
    Oh, rotisserie sounds so yummy. It does, doesn't it? Okay. What else do I have here? You can put that beef on anything.
    23:58
    You can put that beef on me. Oh, my. Wow. Okay. Wow, we made Ron shut up. Jersey Jack trolled people again with Harry Potter. Yep. They had a picture. It was Jack at some conference or some whatever the hell he was. A couple years ago. In the background, it has all these pictures, and one of them is Harry Potter. You know, looking forward to a new year. There was like a Wonka picture of Wonka. Yes, that's right. That's the one he used for Wonka, but he teased everyone with... So do you think it's a troll, or do you think Harry Potter's coming? Oh, it's coming. I think it's coming. It's coming. Is it actual Harry Potter? Is it like... I'm thinking it's the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Yeah, I think it's going to be the Wizarding World. What does that mean? So that is like the universe of Harry Potter. Yes. It's not the Harry Potter films. No, because you won't get the assets. It's the Hogwarts, Cogsmeade. Wouldn't that be a fail, though, if it's not that? No, because it's going to be based off what they did with Dungeons & Dragons. You have the assets, video games, and that kind of stuff. I think if it's not the movies, it's a fail. It's going to be a fail. If it's not the movies, it's a fail. It's not going to be the movies, because guess what? He ain't going to get all seven movies. I think it's going to be a hit regardless of if it's the movies or not. Yeah. I think people are going to have so high expectations.
    25:21
    It's got to do this. It's got to do that. And it ain't going to do it all. Well, that Hogwarts Legacy game on Xbox and PlayStation was like a billion-dollar game. And it has nothing to do with quote-unquote Harry Potter. Nope, it does not at all. If somehow they got the movies, did they raise the price? Oh, yeah. They have to.
    25:42
    15K, here we come. Well, it's already 15K. Oh, 15K for the, what was it again? Platinum. I'm losing track of what they call it. CE. No, no. CE is the over one. It's already $15,000. Yeah, I know.
    25:55
    12,000 is the other one, which is the... They went back to L.E. Oh, they went back. That's right. They called it Platinum for Elton John, and we all thought that was going to be the new name. And then they, Avatar's like, oh, no, it's L.E. We called it Platinum because, you know, Elton John, Platinum. Like, oh, okay. Marketing's marketing.
    26:13
    Consistency, not needed. All right. So, yeah. So, yeah, it's coming out. What do you guys feel about that? I know Ron's seen all seven movies, right? I've seen any of the movies. I think it's going to be the movies. I'm going to say it right here. I'm going to be the dispenser. I don't think it is at all. Nope. That way I can be right for once if it's actually the movies. It's going to be. Oh. Money. Yeah, I've never seen any of the movies. The only thing I know about Harry Potter is that skit they did with Lindsay Lohan on Saturday Night Live.
    26:44
    Wow. Which is hilarious, by the way. I highly recommend it. But, yes. Where she's Hermione? Yeah. Yes. who has changed a lot since the last time.
    26:57
    David, your thoughts? He's still thinking of the sketch. I remember that sketch, man. Oh, my God. I think it's going to be a hit. Do you think it's going to be in movies? No, I think it'll be The Wizarding World. Yes. I don't think she is licensing Harry Potter. Because I haven't seen anything that has been specifically Harry Potter. Like, if you look at Lego and stuff like that. Yeah, you're right. Like, that is the films, but there's nothing filmy about it, right? Like, it's just sort of the set pieces from the film. And you can have all the set pieces, and you can have collecting wands, and you can have spells, and you can have Hogwarts, and you can have a picture of Harry Potter, and you can, right? But it doesn't have to be the films. Hey, Ron, Ron, just think. You'll be able to buy this machine and whip out your wand.
    27:45
    Hey-oh! That's a penis joke. We're only 30, we're like, what, 20 minutes in? 20 minutes in. I'm sure that'll be the custom shooter rod. Oh, my.
    27:56
    You can pull it back and forth all the time you want. Did you know what's coming back for the second year, actually? So I guess it's not coming. It's returning again. Pinbird. Hey.
    28:10
    It looks like the exact same dates as last year in the same location with 100 more people. Yes. It's been expanded to 244 spots. They are expected to sell quickly. I love that. That's a miss. Yeah, by quickly, they mean one to two seconds, probably.
    28:29
    They're doing the super supporter tickets again. Yes, they are. Which I think is like, what, $1,000 or something? And guarantees you're in for life as long as they keep having them. That's the one that our very own Zach actually got one, but then his credit card declined it. yeah that's screwed Zach is the king when it comes to getting in fast on that shit and his credit card failed him yeah I'll try for the super one again from what I hear though this time when you go to get your tickets you can get two oh good instead of one you can go even faster yeah I think I'll make it sell out even faster than it did before but yeah yeah I'm not going to that this time because uh First, I missed the first one, you know, the new first one. And second, the week after is the Beast, so I'm going to be helping out with that. Yeah, yeah, the Beast is the next week, just like it was last year. Yeah. I guess if you were staying around the area, that would be perfect. Yeah, you just go up and drive up five hours, four hours. You know what I mean? Like if you're in Pittsburgh and then it's like, what, two, three hours to Buffalo from there? Four, four, almost four. Okay. Yeah. It's five to Rochester, so. Ugh. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Who wants to go there? Everyone wants to go there, because guess what? People are going to be coming in March and June. Oh, June. They're going to be going to the world-famous Rochester Pinball Collective? Yes, for?
    30:03
    Nationals in March. Nationals in March, yes. And Pinmasters. What does that mean, Bruce? What are Nationals and Pinmasters? I'm a joke. I don't know. I'm ignorant. I know, because you're an idiot. Thank you.
    30:16
    Nationals is all the state and provisional winners from the IFPA, based off of the 2024 rankings. They all met. They're going to meet, actually, in January, what is it, 18th or 16th? 18th. Yes. January 18th, I will be forced to go down to New York City. so I can play one round and get eliminated. Yeah, you got to wear your suit, your Sunday best, to go down to the city. God, no. He's going to be like John Travolta. Oh, Jesus Christ. You can drive everywhere. You stop walking. We'll all be saying no to you. Yeah, maybe I'll do that.
    30:56
    Lease your suit, just walking down the street. I'm ready. I heard there's a disco fever in here. Is that true?
    31:04
    Awesome. So, but, yeah, so all the top champions will come from those locations from January and come out to Rochester in March, the Thursday of that week, which is getting to the calendar since I'm not prepared at all. Good job. No one's going to care either because unless you won your state, you're not going anyway. No, because you can go afterwards and come to Pin Masters. Pin Masters, which nobody goes to other than the people who already won states. Nah, you might. It never sells out. Oh, no, it never sells out. Because it's like how much, Bruce? $250, I think it is. I think it's on the IFPA website now, I think. Is it $250?
    31:45
    I don't know. I'm going to look right now. That's a lot of money to put into the Elwynn retirement fund. Yes, you could pay hundreds of dollars to donate to five or six players who will win it. You have no shot. It makes no sense. A couple of years ago, my buddy got to play in the Pinmasters with, like, Roger Sharp. And I can't remember who else. And he's just, like, text messaging me. Oh, with Ray Day, Raymond Davidson. And he's like, oh, man, this is the craziest thing I've ever experienced. Because for us, because we're so far away out here, kind of on the East Coast. And because, quite frankly, the level of competition is pretty low here. We go to something like that, we're like, wow, this is crazy. How much is it, Bruce? I'm still looking. Fail. Yes, I am. Hold on. Fail. But, yes, it's pin masters. It's golf format, which basically means you walk up to a game and there's a score on there you have to get. And if you get it on one ball, you get a one. So lower scores are better. Well, that's perfect. If you don't get it after, I think, five balls, because they set everything to five ball, Then you get six, seven, eight, nine, or ten, I think, depending on how shitty you did. $250. So you can have a good round going and fuck up on one hole, and you're done. What I do like about pin masters is you have either – there's two tee times you have, which is either 10 a.m. or 3 p.m. You have the morning ones, which hardly anyone plays in, and then the evening ones, which everyone else plays in. Which everyone wants to play in because everyone's a night owl. Yeah, because no one can fucking get up in pinball for some reason. And I would definitely be playing in the morning one. I would too. I don't understand the issue with getting up before noon. It's because you're old. I would register if you're local. Come on down. You know, we're going to have fun with this. 80 pinball machines. Come on down. You can donate your money to the five or six players who will win it. That's $360 Canadian. Say hi to Ray Day. He might be taking your money. Yes. Although he is old, so he's kind of in his prime and probably can't win. This is true. It's true. It's the knees, being able to stand for that long. I don't know. A pin master's winner, always a kid? Seems to me that sometimes it's actually an older person.
    34:02
    You might have an elder. An elder, yeah. Yeah, an elder. An elder, that's what you call the elder. I was going to say, hold on. I already see the list of players that are registered for the pin masters. Okay, so these are ones that they registered ahead of time. Like, they haven't even won their states yet. No, yeah. And guess what? Six people are locals. There you go. So. That's awesome. Yes. Good for them.
    34:28
    Wow. Did I hear a little sarcasm there? They'll be in a good mood until they have that one bad hole, that one game. And then they realize, like, oh, shit, I'm out of it. What the fuck am I playing for now? Yep. Holy shit. We know our Zach will be playing in it because he loves that format. Yeah. He just asked me yesterday. He was like, hey, do I have my, yes, you're guaranteed. I'm sure he can't wait. I've never played in a pin golf, and I've always missed out on one because I've been on vacation or I was traveling somewhere for work, and that bums me out because it feels like it would be a lot of fun. Well, back in the day when Bruce ran tournaments at his house, this was one of the formats he used most of the time. Yeah, because it was a fun format. He had the pro par or the pro score levels and then the novice score levels or whatever. So you've got the junior tees and the men's tees. Yes, exactly. It was fun. I actually enjoyed it. Why can't you come the fuck down in March? Me? Oh yeah So March is a pretty wild time for me because that the end of our tax season and everybody needs to do a lot of deposits Don you just pay taxes all throughout the year in Canada so much that you don have to have to pay taxes That's right. We have to make sure that we paid enough taxes by then. That's right. How about June? Maybe you should come down in June to Stomp. Oh. Stop West. Why don't you come to Pentastic in April? Because he doesn't go to shows. And you can play in the Silver Ball Rumble, which is the actual tournament for Silver Ball Chronicles, which can be heard on the Pinball Network. Wow. So we have our own tournament? I was unaware of this. That's right. That is our tournament. I don't know if they're aware of it. We're Silver Ball Chronicles. They're the Silver Ball Rumble. I'm trying to find where it is. Fantastic. Wait, wait, wait. Bruce is actually going to look it up? No, I don't think I can do it in April because I think I'm going to be in. Cruisin'. Cruising. No, I won't be cruising. Oh. That is always a possibility. Should you make your announcement now? I'll just come out and buy some games. That's all I'll do. And then leave. Yeah, just leave. Yep. That sounds like it. But, yes, you should come to Stomp, though, because Stomp's going to be the first weekend in June.
    36:38
    Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. What's the address for the... What is it, Rod? I can't remember. I don't remember either. Oh, Jesus Christ. 349 West Commercial Street in beautiful East Rochester, New York. Suite number 2965. Yes.
    37:01
    All right. Next subject, because David's got a bunch of shit, so we've got to plow through this here. Oh, my. Well, actually, it's the last item I have on here, and Bruce demanded we talk about it. Twippies. So they're having the Twippies again, Bruce. The easiest content of the year. And we're on it. So remember to vote for us. It's under Silver Ball Chronicles. That's where you vote for, for second and third. And you vote for the Slam Tilt Podcast because Ron likes the. Yeah, it's called the Slam Tilt Podcast. Yes, the Slam Tilt. And we're called Silver Ball Chronicles. Yes, we are. But, yes, vote for us. Vote for one or the other. Don't split our votes. Go for our Slam Tilt since we've been here longer. And then you can give.
    37:46
    Here's what you do. Here's what you do, guys. This year you vote for all Slam Tilt. Then next year you vote for all Silver Ball Chronicles. But how do I know next year you're not going to say the same thing? No, because, no, I already won. Who cares? So then next year, Ron will have wins in both podcasts. A first. There you go. Get me some of that internet money. See? We don't make money here. You're doing this for free this time. Big deal. The Twippies. Big deal. But, man, they've had a rough go this year when it comes to, like, people posting on social media complaints and stuff. Every year it's the same thing, right? So when we did the pinball awards on the pinball network, it was the same thing, right? It was just, like, people just crapping on you for just everything. And then this year you could tell that the Twippies were like, we're going to please everybody. And they just did so much that it just now they're everything to everybody and now they're nothing. I feel so bad for those guys that work so hard. I am upset about one thing. Oh, no. Under best tournament, Stomp is not there. Oh, my God. Yeah, what the fuck? This is a travesty. Yeah, I think so, definitely. Do I hear you sharpening a pitchfork? Yes. What is this?
    39:01
    What gets me is there was, like, they added this category for most improved code, which is like adding something to add something. Wait, most improved code. Well, what games would even have that? Does that mean, like, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year? Yeah, it's like maybe it was released last year, and Lonnie finally finished the code this year. Aww.
    39:21
    And then we had to have best OEM topper, best aftermarket topper. Why the fuck? Who gives a shit about aftermarket toppers? So when people reference most improved code, what is the absolute pinnacle? And everybody's like, oh, well, this game has the most improved code. It started out terrible, but now it's great. It's 007.
    39:42
    Right? I mean, I agree to disagree, but everybody always references, wow, James Bond really came around. And it's not on the list.
    39:53
    Elwin's game is on the list. It was last year, though. Bond's been out for like two years. No, but the last code came out a couple months ago. Last version. Yeah. I'm sorry. Okay. Everybody references that one to be like, man, that was a turd when it came out. But, man, it is seriously improved. And it's not on the list. Elwynn's 007 is on the list, and it was perfectly fine with the list. Was Pirates on the list?
    40:19
    Okay. It'll be next year, though. Okay, guys, I have a question on their website. Can you guys go to twippies.com?
    40:28
    Okay, I'm at twippies.com, yes. Okay, so if you go down and you scroll down. Yeah, I'm scrolling down, Bruce. Yep, so you go to the categories. Now click on locations.
    40:42
    Locations. Yep. Location Pinball Awards. Yes. Yep. Scroll down. Are you saying RPC isn't on here? Oh, no, it is. RPC's on here. Yes, it is on there. But go down to countries. Countries. Yep.
    40:55
    Okay. So what do we have there? This is taking a while. We got Europe. Yep. What's after that? Europe is a continent. Yes.
    41:04
    Australia, that's spelled really wrong. australia the communist version of australia i swear to god i thought i was like what the wow yeah but there are a lot of categories here there's like too many southwest but that's what i mean right they've tried to kind of be all things to all people and now they're nothing to everybody i feel bad about that They worked really hard, clearly, on this, but it's all watered down now. It is. Let's go for the last one. Like, interactive mod. Non-interactive mod. Why do I need a difference between that? OEM topper. Aftermarket topper. Best pinball app or service. That I agree with. Best convention or show. There's a lot. Best tournament. There's a lot, lot. Best online community. There's not a lot, but that's good. Why can't you be positive? Best community member. Half these people I've never even heard of. Yeah, but you don't follow anything. Best convention show. It's cool seeing this many shows. I mean, at one time, this would have been like two or three things out here. Oh, I agree with that. But half of these people I don't even know. And there's not even links of what they've done. How can you not have Bruce Nightingale as a community member? No, not even that. No, I'm not even saying that. Like Chuck Webster. Yes, he works for the New England Pinball League. He works for them? He gets paid? For New York pinball work. He says it right in the thing, for New England Pinball League work. It doesn't say he gets paid. It just says for New England League work. You never know. And being a great ambassador for pinball. The other person, for work in supporting the pinball community at Fliptastic Pinball Club. You know, it's like some of these things, you don't even know what they've done. You have to look them up. There should be a little bio. It pretty much says what they've done under each person's name, Bruce. Josh Sharp, that guy, he doesn't do anything. You're wrong again, Bruce. You're not. Yes, you are. A great, what do you think? Julie, a great pinball ambassador. That's all it says. Yeah. Great, awesome to play with. I agree. She is awesome to play with. But there's nothing stating what she, it's just. It's a pinball ambassador.
    43:16
    God, oh, fucking mighty. Wow, you are just so. You're trying to be so positive. You're just caning it. Well, yeah. What do you think, David? Do you think these are just not descriptive enough? These are just failures? No, but it's like, you know. Yeah, you think about who's on the list. Outvoted. I'm going to vote who's on the list and who's not on the list, right? And Troy Smith, for general support of pinball community shows, tournaments, and charity work. Okay, what ones? How do I know who this guy is?
    43:41
    I could not vote for this person. But if you put a little bio, you would then know what they did and say, wow. They deserve to be recognized. Everyone on the list is an important person, should be recognized. But at the same time, it's like, who the heck are some of these people? Exactly. Thank you. Make a bio. And I'm a person who generally knows what's going on. Oh, see. And Bruce generally is the one who doesn't. Exactly. But there's some things I don't know. What? And they don't explain it. Hold on. I've got to clip that. That's the bad part. I've got to clip that right there. I don't know.
    44:16
    There's some things I don't know. Wow. The whole issue this year also of editing the ballot after it's been released. I didn't hear about that. Well, so straight down the middle, the pinball show, there was like a post by those guys, Zach Minney and Greg Bone, that they weren't on the list. They're like, how could we not be on the list? And then when I went to vote for them, when I went to like review last night to obviously vote for Silver Ball Chronicles for best podcast. Wow. They were on the list. And I inquired about that. And then somebody said, well, no, they weren't on the list two days ago. But now they are. and that also happened that somebody had also mentioned on the on the pinball enthusiast facebook group that best art was missing and then it's on the list now what it is is it's really complicated and i don't want to i don't want to sound like i'm being i'm crapping on this thing but the more complex that you make it the more easy it is to make you know minor little mistakes yeah exactly so just it make it simpler and that was what we wanted to do with the pinball awards but nobody gave us any credit for that we worked through the christmas season to get that on the ground, and like not even the, you know, Stern didn't even like send out a Facebook post. They got all those awards lined up in their little pinball room or whatever in the background, but nobody ever mentioned winning those awards like Zombie Yeti or any of those guys. So, like, what are we doing this for? You're doing it for the love of the game.
    45:45
    Wow, okay, well, that's a good positive way to end it there. Well, I'm just saying, trust me, I appreciate all the work they're doing. I appreciate all the work they're doing, and it's a great thing. But maybe double and triple check your facts beforehand. Or have less. Less is more, man. I agree. Less is more. For the northeast locations, there's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. Now you're seeing our point a little bit, aren't you? So there's over 50, almost 50 locations for the Northeast. It's kind of like the Oscars. I mean, you have Best Picture, Best Five, Best Actress. You have the basic ones, but then they also have like 100 other ones that nobody cares about. Nobody cares about. That they usually have a ceremony that's not televised where they give them all out. Yeah. But, I mean, like last year, they removed anybody who had previously won. So if you had won a podcast award before or you had won a streaming award before, you were ineligible last year. Yep. This year, they're all back on. They're all back again. I know. Right? So, I mean, who's going to win best podcast? The same person who always wins it. The same person who always wins. Yeah. Right? I know. They made the rules, and then they changed the rules, and now you changed it back again.
    47:03
    So, less is more. Less is more. Okay. We beat that to death. Next category. Poor horse. What do you got for us, David? Oh. I want to play a couple of games. All right. Would you like to play a game? You know what that's from? Yes, Joshua. Okay, good. He got it. Well, yeah, I would know that. Why would you know that? That movie was made, like, after 2020. No, it wasn't. It was made in 1983.
    47:34
    83. Isn't that Saw? No. Would you like to play a game? Play a game. It's War Games. Oh, my God. Joshua was the name of the computer. That's a long time ago. Actually, Whopper was the name. What did that stand for? What was it? W-O-P-R. Yes. It was Galaga. Yeah, incorrectly, but yes. Yes, totally incorrect.
    47:58
    What did that stand for? War Operations. Yeah, it was like W-O-P-R. Yeah. War Operations Penis Retraction. Regeneration. War Operations Penis Regeneration, I think, yes. That's kind of along with dual penetration extreme. That's another division of Dutch Pinball. Yes, yes. So what do you got for us? All right, so a couple of games. A couple of games. So the first one is going to be year in review. Okay, so everybody's doing this now. This is like a top ten list. This is how easy it is to make content.
    48:33
    It is a year in review thing. So I got a couple of questions, and we'll kind of go through those with the year in review, and then I have another game to play after that, which is a prediction game for this year. Okay. All right, so our year in review. What do you think the biggest surprise of this year was?
    48:51
    Barrels of fun. That was last year. It was this year, putting out the game and actually having it fully out. No, it wasn't.
    49:00
    Incorrect. Oh, Jesus. I mean, it was literally at TPF in the box for purchase last year. Or no, two years ago, 2023. You want to say your biggest surprise is that they're still around? No, no.
    49:15
    I thought, okay. I don't see it. I'm trying to, and of course you type Labyrinth. It gives you like the movie and everything. It was 2023 TPA for that debut. And they were making them that year. And they've been making them since then. They've been making them the last year and a half. I'm going to go with the biggest surprise for me last year was, was the Alice in Wonderland art package.
    49:41
    See, to me... October 2023. Yep. Okay. Well, you said it was 2023 March. Well, they were at TPF with them, so they must have started shipping them in October. Yeah. I'm still right. You're wrong, but right. I'm wrong, but right. Yes, because you said it was 2023 March. Okay. So, yes, from Dutch, that doesn't surprise me, the art. I was not surprised at all. It did surprise me because I didn't think that we could get away with. It's Europe, bro. I know it's Europe, but that is an old, old, old style of art. Yeah. That kind of thing hasn't happened since Big Juicy Melons where, like, basically everybody was going to burn stern. Have you seen the Tokyo Drift game?
    50:27
    It has pretty racy art in there. Yeah, that didn't surprise me. What about you, Ron? What was your biggest surprise of last year?
    50:36
    How good Metallica came out. Wow, okay. Everyone knew that was coming out, but I didn't think it would show up at the show and people were like, holy shit, look at this thing, and it had a line like 100 people long, like absurd. I'm excited to play it. And they sold out like at the 500 LEs like instantly.
    50:54
    I did not see that coming. Good one. How about you, Bruce? Sarcastic Bruce here. Here we go. Are podcasts still being around? No. 1.0 code completion for Pirates of the Caribbean.
    51:10
    That's a good one. Six years. Yeah, six years. Congratulations. That was a sarcasm. That was a big deal. It was out before then. Well, what is it? The beta versions. Yeah, but we didn't get to see it, and it wasn't released. Releasing was two months ago. Hey, congratulations. You finally came through. Congratulations. That was a long, long wait. And, I mean, that's a lot of work by the coding team and stuff like that for, like, 500 games.
    51:43
    500? I think it's like 350. Plus they were interrupted by at least three or four different games in the middle before they could finish that. They finally completed what's called the Big Lebowski for all the waiters. How surprising was that? I know. Honorable mention. So what about the biggest letdown? So we got the biggest surprise. What's the biggest letdown of the year?
    52:06
    Where you were like, oh, God. I'll go with mine right out of the gate was how long it took Pulp Fiction to get going. You mean the fact that it debuted at that same aforementioned Texas Pinball Festival 2023, and they just started to do the LEs now? It's unbelievable. So I got a buddy in the local town in St. John where Bruce had visited on a cruise ship, which is a terrible place to visit on a cruise ship. Wow.
    52:35
    That's when he was supposed to go to Bermuda. So he finally got his Pulp Fiction, and I'm thinking, oh, my God, that has been a long time. He's been talking about that for like two years. Yep. And he's not even an LE person. Yeah, now the LEs are just getting released. One of the people in town just got their LE. To be fair, it's under two years. It's not two years. I don't like exaggeration.
    53:00
    Wick, for me. John Wick. I haven't played John Wick yet. I love the theme. I'm like... I love the theme. It's like, John Wick, motherfucker, yeah! And the game just didn't really... Well, I'm not going to be as mean as Bruce, but it did not do anything for me. What is it? Are we talking code or layout or...? Kind of both. Because Ron is like a layout guy, right? It's got to be both. I thought it was just... You have two Bash toys next to each other. You have the Kyro Swordsman area thing. That's why I thought it was Borg when I first saw it. Yeah. It just, I mean, it's not like it shoots horrible. That will be a one-run game. But you kind of learn when they, it was like the third attempt at the play field. And then they were in the time crunch by the end. So you know they're probably like, okay, we can't do anything crazy or try to be too inventive here. We got to get the game done. So you ended up with that. And they're trying to save it with code, but I don't know. And the fact that I know a lot of people are pissed about the gun thing, But it's true. Like, it doesn't have guns on it. It's John Wick. I know it has guns and all the video assets, but you just did a James Bond game where he's holding a gun.
    54:12
    You know what I mean? I know it's the licensor is the issue, but I think me and Bruce talked about this, and that if you got to a point in the development and it was like, oh, we can't put any of that on here, maybe you pull out at that point. Maybe let's redeem it. You pull out at that point. Because they've already – maybe they didn't want to because they already pulled out of the Indiana Jones thing. They didn't want to pull out of another game. Yeah, but guess what? Did it help them? No. No, I don't think this. You could probably still get an LE. Oh, yeah, you can. And it got swallowed up. You have X-Men now and then Metallica. Yeah, X-Men, Metallica, and now Dungeons & Dragons. Yeah, that thing is going to, no one's going to care. We didn't even talk about Dungeons & Dragons yet. What does that tell you? We're just going to go to the end. So, Bruce, what was your biggest letdown? That's exactly it. John Wick, total letdown. Totally. Wow. I hate to say it, but it came out, expectations were way higher than what it really came out to be. It was just a clunky, no fun, low. Another thing that it was annoyed about was just the low scoring of the game. The scoring is just not. I think a lot of it just had bad karma. The guy that was supposed to do the call-outs, which I would have liked, died. Yeah, exactly. No issues with the other guy, but I mean, I would have liked to hear it. Yeah, whose name I don't know. I'm sorry. Yeah, both of them. Both the owner of the hotel and the front desk clerk of the hotel. Yeah, the front desk guy was supposed to be the one to call us. Really? Yeah. Yes. Yeah. They said that. They said in an interview that he died, so the other guy took over.
    55:46
    That's wild. What about the biggest step up? Who had the biggest step up in 2024? Company, person? I'll say Turner Pinball. Okay. Hey, wow. Hey, Ninja Eclipse, no one like that thing came out a couple years ago with the weird cabinet, and everyone just shit on it, hated it, and they just listened to basically what everyone said and made it look more like an actual pinball machine. And then they brought it to the show, and people were like, hey, this doesn't play bad. How many of these? How much does it cost? It's less than this? Okay. They made 100 of them. Boom, they sold them all. Great. Very impressive. My biggest step up is Barrels of Fun because they just kept their heads down.
    56:30
    They've manufactured their game with minimal issues. There's been no, like, whining. There's no people complaining about, like, the topper's painted eyes. There's no drama. They are banging out, like, 750 machines in, like, a year and a half. Out of the gate.
    56:49
    I'm over the moon surprised that they have had such a big step up this year. And what's the rumor? Their next game, Dune or something?
    56:57
    Very cool. A huge fan worm toy would be required, in my opinion. Yeah, of course. And a Timothy Charlemagne, like, bedroom eyes art. Oh, God. Oh, he's so pretty. Okay. What about you, Ron? Biggest step up? I said it. You said it. I'm sorry. Bruce, the other Ron. Bruce is the other Ron. Wow.
    57:18
    Honestly, I really don't have any wows. I really don't. I mean, everybody stayed exactly neutral. That is so Bruce. It was just like. Nope, everyone pretty much sucked, yeah. It wasn't. Guess what? Two companies are doing okay. If we're saying that 750 games is wow, and you're talking both about Barrel Spun and Turner, and you're talking about 850 pinball machines total, wow is not really a wow in my book. A wow would be like a Godzilla where it came out and it just blew everyone away, Yeah, okay. And everyone wanted to buy it. There was no wows, really, in this year. I'm being totally honest. There was no, like, wow, I need to buy this right away. What about a step down? You've got to step down. Oh, wait a minute. This wasn't wowed. Wasn't this just the step up category? Yeah. Wasn't wowed the previous one? Do you think anyone's really stepped up with mechanics, gameplay, everything like this? Has anything stepped up this past year? I think so. I don't really think so. Being totally honest. Okay, what about a step down? Give me a step down. Who took a step down this year? Haggis. Yeah.
    58:30
    Haggis, bye-bye. You can't beat Haggis, so I'll have to pick someone else. And American Pinball. Both. Yeah. American. Both of them.
    58:39
    It's just holy shit shows. Yeah, I'm going to go with American Pinball. I'm going to say Stern stayed exactly even. They do what they have to do. They get the cornerstones out. They bring back a couple of games. That's what they do. They do it very well. They keep their production line moving. That is the key to that company, keeping the production line moving. I would say Jersey Jack, maybe a slight dip. I don't think Avatar is doing as good as Oklahoma. No, no, no, no. With Jersey Jack, it's the price point, man. If you cross the border into Canada, you convert that into Canadian dollars, right? So that's kind of like your first thing. So what are they, $15,000 U.S.? Well, the $12,000 for the cheapest one. We'll give you the cheapest one. Okay, the cheapest one. So let's go $12,000. Direct conversion. This isn't like through your bank, which is going to give you a crapper version. It's almost $18,000, right? It's $18,000. It's $17,300, right? Yeah. And then you add what we have here in Canada. Your GST. Harmonized sales tax, right, which is our HST. I didn't tell you harmonized. Right? What does GST stand for? So we originally had GST, which is goods and services tax. And it was amalgamated in the 90s, the HST. Some provinces have GST and some have HST. And in my province, that's 15%. So that's $19,000. Let's round it up, $900 Canadian. Holy taxation without representation, Batman.
    60:04
    So that is literally a crazy two-week trip to Orlando for four people, all out, everything you can do, lightning lanes, eating at all the best restaurants. and still having money left over.
    60:20
    God. Wow. I'm sending you some lube. You might want it. You might need it. It's wild. Yeah, JJP's gone down. Stern stayed exactly the same. They're still going to be the kings. Barrels of Fun and the other companies have moved up. Guess what? You're starting. You're starting well. Do you think Spooky really got better?
    60:39
    You're not talking about them at all. Well, they released their manuals this year. Yeah, that's okay. The port is better. I would say uptick just because most of the stuff is the same. But like you said, support, manuals, another new factory. So they've got to be doing at least. Wow, so now you have seven buildings and a property with six. They're in like the factory number three or four. I think they move factories every two years. In my book, literally, you didn't sell out of Scooby.
    61:07
    So that's a problem right there. They're making four games currently. They literally have four games on the line right now. They got Scooby, Looney Tunes, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Evil Dead.
    61:20
    Because you can't sell the Scooby out. The market for those is dumped. I hate to say it. It's the truth. Well, yeah, that's the truth. Looney Tunes, there's really no market for them because people aren't really either selling or buying them. It might be a good thing. It might be a bad thing. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I don't think sold well at all. That's that side of it. It didn't sell as much as Looney Tunes, but they knew that going in. That's why they did the other one. Yeah, of course. And then we'll see what happens with Evil Dead. But nobody's going, wow, I think it's going to be that. That's an uptick. I think their service side maybe has gone up a little bit just with putting out manuals.
    61:57
    They're happy with what they're doing. Oh, they're very happy with what they're doing. Remember, they're not trying to be above a certain level. They've actually decreased their numbers. Well, they were trying to in the beginning, and they couldn't sell it out. They couldn't sell it out. They upped the stuff, and then it's like, no, we can't make this many games. It's too much. And they lowered it down. Well, 1969 was way too encouraging for that number. Yes. Yeah, it's pretty wild. What about media you enjoyed in 2024? Pinball media you enjoyed in 2024? Nap Arcade. Number one. Whoa! Number one. We rip them off all the time. Yes, we do. I love Jason.
    62:35
    I talked to him twice this week. It was funny. I really appreciate what they do. They do a great job. I like when you got to teach discos straight to the point, pinball, that's it. Done.
    62:47
    And done fairly well. Anytime there's an issue, there's a quick correction. Yeah. He holds himself up to a standard, which is pretty nice, which is difficult to do. It is. Yeah. Same thing for you, Ron?
    62:58
    Media. So could that be streamers too, or is it media? Yeah, just any kind of media in pinball. I'll give a shout-out to Fox Cities. Okay. Oh, yeah, definitely. Yes. Just because they streamed so many tournaments last year. Yes. Yeah, it's pretty wild. And not only that, the whole District 82 thing, right? Yeah, that was a – The fact he's not there anymore, but still has – But still finds a way to scream. Oh, yeah. Because he went to Lumberjacks. I think he's going to get burned out. Oh, yeah. Doing all that stuff. Like the Expo stuff. Between that and this show and everything else. The Expo. Triple Drain. Being at 2 in the morning, whatever the hell they went to. It's just – Yeah. Don't get burned out, bro. He's been doing it for five-plus years already, right? It wasn't as bad when he was just in 32, and a lot of times his equipment was still there. Now he's got to actually take the stuff everywhere and be streaming his stuff, and they're playing to ridiculous hours of the day. But I love Tom. Tom's great.
    63:56
    And you, David Dennis? Oh, I'm going to – it was that David Fix interview on the Loser Kid Pinball Podcast. That was my favorite thing all year because that was just – He was trying to be honest and sincere and part of the community, and it ended up being just too honest and trying to be friendly to people because he sees what's going on here, and I think he's preparing us for what's going to happen, and he doesn't want to be perceived as like a pariah.
    64:25
    What do you think game of the year was this year? Jaws. No. Really? No. I didn't like Jaws. You still don't like Jaws? Nope. I have played both the premium, the LE, and the pro, and it doesn't do anything for me. See, even if the game doesn't do anything for me, I recognize a really good game. It's a good game, but it doesn't do anything for me. Okay.
    64:55
    You're asking my opinion. I give you my opinion. But your opinions are always wrong. No, they're not. Just like you think I'm wrong, I'm going to say you're wrong. What's the best game, Bruce? I'm thinking about it. It doesn't have to be the best game. It's just game of the year. What do you think? He's not even going to be able to give you an answer. They all sucked.
    65:14
    I didn't like any of them. While he's thinking, David, what's your game of the year? Oh, come on. My game of the year is Barry O's barbecue challenge. Oh, come on. See, now you're being, see? He's being so truthful, it's not even funny. making a mockery of your own game so the thing is i can see what they tried to do with barrios what they tried to do with barrios is pay homage to barry and his last sort of design and tweak it and do whatever but what a blunder of an idea just because it's the nice thing to do and maybe the good thing for the community and it's a theme and everybody loved barry ausler and everybody loves barbecue. I'm pretty sure vegans love barbecue. They just don't want to admit it. I'm not into barbecue. Sorry. Well, that does not surprise me. But it's such a train wreck of trying to do the right thing. And that ties in, I think, to that David Fix interview. You know, now he's saying, oh, well, no, Barry O's is a white label game. You know, now we could just re-theme it. That's right, baby. We could re-theme this and we'd make it anything, baby. It could be anything. That wasn't the story. The story was we're paying homage to Barry O and all of the great things, and there's pieces in this game of everything that he does. Just because it's the feel-good thing to do doesn't mean it's the right thing for business, and I think we're seeing that now with the trouble at American Pinball.
    66:35
    What about you, Bruce? I got my game. Godzilla 70th Anniversary. There you go! A great game, made even better.
    66:47
    Black and white art, yes. I actually like the black and white art. If I bought a Godzilla, it would be this one. I think so, too, honestly. I spent my pinball money on a trip to Florida. Yes. Your kids love you, and you're poorer in both ways now, because you would never ask that. And I'm neutral no matter what. So there you go. There is our year in review for 2024. Cool. That was quick. I like it. And easy. Quick and easy. Just like a date with Ron. Oh, man.
    67:18
    What a dick. It's like you're looking for a new co-host. Dungeons & Dragons came out. Ah! That's the one that I totally missed on my list. And it was mentioned, and you're like, oh, yeah, yeah.
    67:31
    Did you know Dungeons & Dragons is now the third game with Stern's new power supply? Yay. What? Like what? It's not as loud? Yes. The super loud fan is no longer a thing. And I think it's more amperage, actually, too. I think people have been talking about it. So with X-Men, Metallica, now Dungeons & Dragons, it has the new power supply. Okay. It doesn't sound like an airplane taking off in your game room when the thing's on.
    67:57
    And that's it. No, no. So we all saw the video. Yep. Even Bruce watched it. Even I watched it. So what do you think about Dungeons & Dragons? I mean, we all – It was over – Well, Bruce knew this was coming. I was pretty confident it was coming. I knew it was coming. It has a dragon called Wrath the Relentless. Who's voiced by Michael Dorn. Yes, I love it. Come on. You are without honor. Honor.
    68:27
    Something Star Trek. Yes. It also features a gelatinous cube that captures the player's ball. A dungeon entrance that pops out of the play field. and a player-activated drain shield, which, again, you've got to hit the freaking center button for it. But I think that'll work better. I think that'll work better, though, than a MagnaSafe button in the middle because at least in this case, the ball's going down the middle. You're more like, I think it's easier to move your hand to the center button than if it's draining on the right or left side and you've got to, like, oh, shit. Yeah, yeah. You know what? I'm not a big kind of Dungeons & Dragons guy. Like, I have, I think, well, yeah, you're married. You're married. That's right. You've had sex.
    69:16
    You've had sex. You're married. You're good. At least twice. It doesn't bother me. It doesn't bother me at all. But I'll tell you, this has piqued my interest a little bit. Although, I don't know, man, Dwight goes all out, right? And this seems like he could really go nuts here. And I don't know. can he really go nuts? Can it work out? Like, it's got, like, a leveling system in the code, and, like, it's got, like, the rules change depending on the week or something. Yeah, every Sunday it resets the new dungeon. Yes, it regenerates the dungeon that you go in through, which I think is pretty brilliant. But, okay, we tried something different with Venom, and how did that go? And we tried something different with John Wick, and how did that go? I'm super ignorant about Judges Direct so I have no clue how the game works or anything about it so you've got things like strength and intelligence that you don't have strength you don't have build a character different classes so if you think of like it might be easier to do a multi-ballad you have a longer drain shield right like so we'll see how that goes I think it'll go really well because I think this is right up to White's alley making the rules so complex that nobody's gonna I remember George Gomez was saying that in in James Bond he didn want you to pick the villain you were fighting or the henchman you were fighting he wanted it to be random because it was too confusing for people to choose okay I want to have Rosa Klebb and I want to stack the multivolts It was too confusing. So he just picked the mode for you, where this thing is the exact opposite of that. Opposite, yeah. You must be a true Bond person if you're saying Rosa Klebb. Yeah. I'm like, which one is that? That's the older lady from Spectrum. She has her kicks. Yes, yes, yes. I mean, you didn't say, like, goldfinger or, you know.
    71:25
    Damn it. Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun. Damn it. Someone else. Flo felt. I'm really excited for this. I'm really interested to see how it goes. I think it's going to shoot well. Let's go over the first thing. When you look at it, what's the artwork like? What do you like? Look pretty good. What don't you like? I didn't like the LE side art. I like the pro again, like always. The pro artwork looks better on the sides. The LE's got that foil thing again, right? They're doing the foil thing. I don't mind the foil part, but I like the artwork literally on the Pro better. Okay. So you like the darker kind of less colored guy riding a dragon? Yeah. That was kind of cool. I was like, I like this artwork, and, of course, it's the cheapest one. Typical Bruce.
    72:13
    But, okay, so what did you guys think of the artwork on the sides, cabinet work? I think both of them are gorgeous. I do like the pro better, but I think the LE stands out. What's the weird one-eyed thing? I have no idea. So I assume everything in here is a reference to things in... Oh, wait a minute. He must be the tyrant's eye. He must be the tyrant's eye because he's an eye. So Dwight and the team literally wrote the tyrant's eye, like this whole thing. It's not like they took a book from Dungeons & Dragons and they literally made their own story, which is pretty wild. That's pretty wild. I will say that. But I think some of the elements in here are from Dungeons & Dragons. Like, gelatinous cube, I think, is a thing from Dungeons & Dragons. It's not like something they made up. It sounds like a sex toy or something you pick up at a store. Oh, my. Hey. Get the gelatinous cube and don't ask what you put in it.
    73:12
    Sorry. Get cramming. The back glass, I do, I like the LE back glass. Oh, absolutely. The LE back glass is really cool. Yeah, it's got this, the lightning thing, which I'm sure is absolutely stunning in person. The mirroring effect on all of the stairs and stuff. I'm sure it's just gorgeous. The premium back glass doesn't do it for me. It's that whole eyeball thing. Yeah. Like that pro back glass with the freaking dragon man. Yeah, that's pretty good. Yeah. Yeah, I like the stuff where the eye isn't there. Does that keep you up at night, Ron? One eye, one horn, flying purple people eat. What do you think of the play field? You got, like, a map on the bottom and, like, a dragon fire. Yeah, I actually like the map. I like, hey, I like the sculpts on this game. Whoa. Yeah, they look sculpty. Yeah, the dragon looks like a dragon instead of, like, an ugly two-faced wacko. God. Wow, he really hates it. I really hate that turning head. It looks like both Pro and the Premium LE have the gelatinous cube. Yeah, the gelatinous cube is there. You really can't do any much with a gelatinous cube.
    74:29
    It's a cube? I mean, come on. It's gelatinous? What do we think of the dragon? It's the main toy. Yeah. So in the Premium LE, it looks like it moves left and right and up and down. It does, yeah. Yes, the Premium LE. In the Pro, it looks like it's just up and down. Up and down and it detects hits. Which is pretty good, man. It still moves. On the LE Premium, it moves back, forth, up, down, basically all over the place. Detects hits. It's a cock block. And spits out balls. Yes. I think they all do. No. No, the pro doesn't spit out the balls. Nope. The pro goes up and down and detects hits. That's it. Okay. So here's the thing. To be nitpicky, the whole, like, balls more or less falling out of the dragon's mouth versus it being like a kickback, that's kind of a bummer. It doesn't look like it comes at you at like 100 miles an hour. It looks like it just sort of goes, it has an eight ball multi-ball. That's just like, oh, my God.
    75:28
    Too many balls. Why? Too many balls in your face. Four should be the max, in my opinion. I don't care what anyone says. It looks like the mech on that is the same mech that's the Metallica snake mech on the inside. All I know is I can't wait to see how this thing holds up to get hit. Yeah. And it scrapes the play field. It's on the play field. It has all the way down. It drags. I think it's just rubber, but still. What does the shooter lane look like? Does it go up? Go to the water top. Okay, yeah. Good. Right into the orbit. And we brought back a little bit of Led Zeppelin there in the LE and the premium. We brought back the shadow loops. Yeah. Oh, there's a shadow loop. He added a side flipper. We actually have a side flipper. Yep. That's a big departure. Well, it's more shadow and less fan man. Yeah. No fan man. It's nice to see things further up the play field for Brian Eddy. But, man, it seems like it's been forever since his last game. Okay, now I have a question. Do you think the shield's going to last? Or are you going to see chipping there? Where is the shield? The shield is right between your flippers. It's like an upside-down smile. Oh, okay. Yeah. I think it'll last. It's metal, right? It's metal, but I'm talking about the ball rolling over it.
    76:48
    Surely they'll put a piece of Mylar on it. Or there'll be a protector you can buy. Yeah. I don't know. I'm just worried about that because it's rounded on this corner. I think it's going to chip pretty good there. You've got to check your out hole. Check your out hole.
    77:06
    Yeah, you can see the side shots, too, from the one. Yeah, I like the side shots. The side shots look awesome. Yeah, it looks nice and tight in there. How about behind the flipper, the third flipper? Yeah, yeah. Come on, behind the third flipper. Yes, someone like Spider-Man. Yep.
    77:21
    Star Trek? Star Trek. Well, he did a Spider-Man first. Love it. Yep. I think it's going to be a good game. Well, here's the point. Wait, like four out of five people want to buy it at the coop. Four out of five people watch it. Four out of five people. We know Zach wants it because it's a Dwight game. Yes. I haven't owned a Dwight game, and I feel like I'm missing out. I'm older Dwight games. Yeah, like Star Wars. They're some of the best ones. What about Game of Thrones? That was really confusing at the time. That was the last Dwight game I bought, and it was gone. Four months. I don't have a lot of issues with that one. That one's a little more understandable. Pro's better. Pro's way better. Pro's better. Do you think the Pro will be better or the LE on this one? I think the Pro still looks pretty good. So the Pro, what does the Pro not have? It doesn't have the dungeon entrance thing. Nope, no dungeon entrance and just the dragon moving up and down. Yeah, it moves up and down. And I don't know if it has an eight ball multi-ball. Oh, that's a good point. It's probably like six ball or something. So it has six instead of eight. Okay, so there you go. I called it. You get two more balls. You get two more balls in your face. Oh, my. The biggest thing, though, I think, and I've noticed this with James Bond, is that it has like six balls in it, but there's like a lot that are in like a lock or in a whatever that are always, like it needs that many balls to keep, I think, physical locks looking normal.
    78:49
    So how much was the LE? Prices are the same. Prices have not changed. Prices have remained the same. We're getting almost two years now with the same pricing. Probably means they overshot. Yeah, it was like every other game it was like, raise, raise, raise, raise. I think the point is now that they know sales are soft, and if they put it up $500. $700,000. No, let me try that again. $7,000 for the Pro, $9,700 for the Premium, and $13,000 for the LE. And LEs are at 750 units. 740. 740, because it's from 1974. Yeah, in honor of the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons. Right, so that's pretty low. I mean, it's not low, but it's low for Stern. It should be lower. Agreed. I really feel that way. The beta testers, i.e. LE owners, will be getting their games in the next couple of weeks. Yes, they will. When it comes down to it, if they sell all of their LEs, right, which is really all they, I think, want to do, That's gross, $9 million, right, at $12,000.
    80:02
    So, you know, if they figure, I don't know what the profit margin is on something like that, like 20% or 15%, that's all they want to do. If they can sell those $750,000 and then they can move on to the next one, the rest of it, I guess, is probably gravy. You think it's 20%? It must be. Oh, I think it's higher. You think it's higher? Oh, yeah. I think they aim for 15% or 20%. No. Because if you think about cars and stuff like that, if they can get a 15% margin on cars, that's a big deal. No, I think it's 25.
    80:31
    Okay. Well, Gary Stern, if you want to email in, it's slamtiltpodcast at gmail.com. Very good. Slamtiltpodcast at gmail.com. That is correct. The gameplay premiere will be at 9 p.m. tonight. I'm excited. I really think this is a big deal. Where's it going to be at? I assume they're going to probably just do it from the factory. I know what I'm talking about. Is it on Stern's page? Is it on YouTube? Okay. The last few have been on Stern's YouTube. Maybe they listened to us finally. Oh, yeah. They go up to the – yeah, I'm sure that's why they did it because they listened to us. They're like, you know what? Bruce Nightingale said that we should do this. And Seth is like, I don't know, do whatever he says. If you go to their channel, it's right there, the premiere. You can see when it's going to start. Exciting. I've got to put that on. Yeah, I'll be watching that. Yeah, Lee sold out on their Insider Connected. The all-access thing. They sold those out. It's going to be the code. I think the layout here is a win. Yeah, I think the layout's pretty good. It's the code that's going to do it. Now, the thing is, right, if you're one of those obsessive people that most of the vocal people on a podcast and things like that are those tournament-esque people that are like, well, if I go into the dungeon and I turn left and I don't get five million, it's not balanced enough. If you're obsessed about that, it's not going to go well. A lot of your top-notch tournament players, I think they like Dwight games because usually they think, can find some kind of exploit where it's broken and just destroy it. Just destroy it, yeah. So he's very popular, I think, amongst most of the high-level tournament players. Yeah. I mean, when you look at other, like, it's the balance stuff, right? Like, I don't know if there's much of a balance. Now, I just noticed something. Uh-oh. The right flipper is not in line with the rail, the right orbit. You mean the upper right flipper? Yeah, the upper right flipper. The third flipper kicks it out. instead of going straight down. If you look at the play-through shots. Oh, yeah, okay, yeah. You see, it's like kicking it out a little bit.
    82:27
    Will that kick it straight down the middle? Yeah. You can always say that. You see how, well, maybe it's meant to so you can get that ball into the side shot. I can't see the alignment hole to see it. Oh, no, I can. I actually can't see it. You can see it barely. So it looks like it is where the alignment hole is. So that is close to there. Isn't Shadow a little like that, though? It is a little bit like that. It does kick it so it doesn't go into the slingshot. It doesn't hug the rail, if I remember. No, it doesn't hug the rail either. So, again, it's like Shadow. You're trying to get the upper shot. You're trying to get the two shots. And if it was so low, you would probably never get the upper shot. What about the decals? When's the last time Stern's done a game that, from the factories, had decals on the flipper bats? Oh, God. I just thought of that. I'm looking. I'm like, wait a minute. It's not like a mod. No. This is the actual factory pictures here. God, it has to be probably Harley Davidson again. Something like that. You know what flipper toppers need? They need 3D printer lines to be truly authentic. Well, you know, they see all these people making tons of money on those mods for the flipper decals. They're just trying to take away the market from some poor guy making his designs. Some guy's putting his kids through college by printing off those things. Those schleps.
    83:44
    But here's the thing, man. Tons of diverters. You know I love diverters. Yes. I'm all about diverters. I'm trying to find the overhead shots to see if the decals are just, like, not on the pro, but only on the upper models or something. I'm looking at the pro, and it's on the pro. Yeah. There you go. Is there any pop bumpers in this thing? I don't see any in the... I don't see any. I don't see any either. I don't believe these things are escaping me. No pop bumpers, decals on the flipper bats. How did I miss this stuff? This is not your Gary Stern, Stern pinball anymore. Yeah. Where's my three pop-upper nest? God damn it.
    84:20
    But it looks like that spinner right up the middle, man. That looks like it'll be fun. Yep. Right? I love a good spinner, either an orbit spinner, yeah, or something in the middle. It's a vertical spinner. Yeah. It's not the extra wide one? No. No, the standard one, what I would consider standard. Oh. So it's never going to spin quite as good as it could. That's what I'm saying. All in all, pretty pleased here, I think. Yeah, I think it's going to spin well. Yeah, there's nothing about it where it's like, oh, my God, this is shit. Yeah. So that's good. I really do like it. I hope it plays. I hope their gameplay thing goes well. So what do you think? Do you think you'll have to wear, like, sunglasses when you play? I fucking hope not. The dragon blinds you with a fire animation lighting effect.
    85:07
    Blinded by the light. Yeah, no. I think it's going to be a friggin' seller. Hopefully they market it better to the Dungeons & Dragons. Here's what I would do if I was Stern. Put it in, like, those magazines for Dungeons & Dragons and that kind of stuff, and you would see this thing balloon up. Nerds Weekly. Yeah.
    85:32
    Advertise to the parents of the kids who live in their basement. Yes. We can get them out of the basement if they have this down the road. No, they can put this in the basement so they can stay down there forever. Do you want to see your children again and play pinball? News at 11. Story at 11.
    85:49
    So, yeah. It looks pretty cool. Yep. Slamfield said so. They didn't shit all over it. Bruce didn't shit all over it. So, you know, it's got to be. Which is shocking for Dwight. It's got to be. This is two in a row. Yeah, you liked X-Men, too. I did. I still like X-Men. I like it better when they fix these. Well, when I wait for a new run that I already have to fix it. Yeah. And get the pro.
    86:15
    What do you think? You think a pro will be doable on this one? I think so. I don't know. We have to see how it interacts with the dungeon part. Two less balls. The dragon's going to do a little bit less. The dungeon's gone. Dungeon's gone. But you still get the gelatinous cube. Oh, my God. Thank goodness. God. Wouldn't want to be without that. Gelatinous cube. All right, David, we're ready for your next game. All right. This is called likely or unlikely. So the idea here is I will read something out, and you'll let me know if it's likely to happen in 2025 or whenever the time period is, or unlikely. And I'm going to keep track of this, and then next year we can go back to see if our predictions were correct. Oh, fuck, Ron. That means we'll be back next year? Yeah, you could have, like, Slam Tilt Podcast will be around next year, likely or unlikely. Likely. Okay, so I've got a few of them here. I'm going to start with Bruce. So, Bruce, you will always be first. Okay.
    87:16
    Zombie Yeti has an art package by Q2. Yes. Okay, likely. Yes, yes, yes. The next game will be Elwynn. Elwynn will be a zombie. There you go. What do you think, Ron? So, by Q2. So, this is by the end of June. Like Bruce said, if it's King Kong, if he's doing the artwork for the next Elwynn game, this is likely. Yes. I'm going to say likely as well. So we're all likely.
    87:44
    All right. That's an easy one. How about Jersey Jack Pinball releases the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in 2025?
    87:54
    Yes. That's a likely. No, it's not even likely. Yes. Oh, Jesus. I'm going 100%. I'm going to say likely, and I still think it's going to be in the movies. Okay. So then you say unlikely. I think it's going to be in the movies. Okay, so you're an unlikely. Because I have Wizarding World of Harry Potter. So I'm going to say the same thing. I think it's likely. Okay.
    88:19
    Okay. CGC gets all of the Pulp Fictions out by Q3. Well, they just started doing them. They just started the LEs. How many LEs do they have to make? I think it's 500, but let me just make sure. No, it can't be that many. Is it? I think it is. This is by the end of September. All right. Hold on. I'm making sure. Let me make sure.
    88:42
    Well, while he's making sure, I will say if it's 500, I say unlikely. Unlikely. I also say unlikely. Oh, I say unlikely.
    88:54
    By the way, I guess, like, the voice actors they got for Dungeons & Dragons are on some popular podcast or something. Yeah. One of them is Kevin Smith. Yes. Kevin Smith. The Clarks guy. Yeah. Yes. Oh, and they got Brendan Small. He's one of them. 1,000 LEs. Oh, God. Unlikely. No. Super unlikely. No way. All right, here's the next one. Pedretti Gaming releases Tales of the Arabian Nights remake in 2025. Yes. I'm going to say likely.
    89:25
    See, the only way I say unlikely, I think if that's the next game, likely. But if I think it's something else, I should say unlikely. That's correct. I'll be a dissenter. Unlikely. I'm going to say Theater of Magic.
    89:39
    Okay. Theater of Magic is probably the better choice. It's going to be one or the other. Yeah. Okay. Stern Pinball will sell to new investors in 2025. Not necessarily public, but new investors. How would we even know this? Yeah. It's a sure way that's going to come out. Not always. We didn't know about some of the investors for a little while last time. Like Jersey Jack, I didn't know the one investor was formerly Playboy or something. Yeah. I'm going to say unlikely. I'm saying very unlikely. Unlikely.
    90:15
    Okay. Jersey Jack Gunnery will do a cartwheel in 2025. Unlikely. I'm going to say unlikely as well. Unlikely. He's getting old. I think he's done. You might break a hip. How about Kapow will reappear in 2025?
    90:38
    I'm going to say likely. Unlikely. Okay. I'm going to say likely. I think they've got to show up here sometime. Remember, his main relationship is with Gary. Yeah, and Gary's now me. Gary's not the president anymore. I know Gary still has power there and is there, but Seth is the boss now. But he likes money.
    91:00
    Yeah, but it might not be enough money. He liked Harry Potter and Back to the Future, and he didn't get either of them. Think about it. We're still running Beatles the last time. Oh, it's faulted now, bro. Oh, well, it's... They never got 1964 of that. That is true. Deep Root Pinball and Robert Mueller's case will finally have a resolution in 2025. Yeah, Trump's going to pardon them.
    91:28
    I'm going to say likely. Unlikely. I'm going to say unlikely just because he has the pending one that the judge hasn't said how much he has to pay yet. Yes. And then he has the new one. He has the new one, the federal one or whatever that just went. It's not going to be this year. So I'd say no. The legal system sucks. It takes forever. Yep. Okay. Bruce Nightingale will win a three-strikes event at the Rochester Pinball Collective. I'm going to say unlikely. Unlikely. Yeah, I haven't played in a tournament in seven months. Well, that you finished. I haven't finished.
    92:05
    How about Zach Menny will play in a pinball tournament in 2025? Unlikely. And who is Zach Menny? He's the owner of Flip It Out Pinball. Flip It Out Pinball, where you can get all your pinball machines. Yes, you can get your pinball machines direct from Zach at great prices. Go check them out. Zach Menny, Flip It Out Pinball. FlipHatPinball.com. Our own Zach uses him, and he hates everything. Yes, and I used him last time. Amazing.
    92:36
    Amazing! Totally not a sponsor. Not a sponsor. Just a happy-go-lucky. We don't have those here. We don't have anything like that. We don't make money on anything. We don't make money. We don't have Patreon. Nope. We don't take trips to Disney World on Patreon money. Yeah. I couldn't afford Disney World. Not at all. That's what I use my Patreon money for. That's my lightning lane. Don't say that. People will actually believe it. Oh, they'll totally believe it. Okay. Joel Engelberth will continue to be the second worst person in pinball during 2020. Oh, God. Wow. I'm going to say that that's likely. I'm going to say it's unlikely because there will probably be somebody worse. Yeah, unlikely. There's always somebody worse. Yes.
    93:19
    The second worst person in pinball. Wow. Joel, I love you, brother. Barrels of Fun will announce another pinball machine at Expo. Likely. Unlikely. I thought likely. They will do it at TPF. Okay.
    93:39
    American Pinball will launch Cuphead by the end of Q2. Unlikely. Oh, this is the toughest one. I think it's likely. One last ditch effort. Okay. American Pinball will close by the end of Q3.
    93:59
    Q3. She's being very specific to make it more difficult. Nope, unlikely. Unlikely. They're going to wait until after Expo. They're going to do the same thing that every other company has done.
    94:12
    I'm going to say likely. I'll say unlikely. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. I don't think they're going to make it to Q2. Which makes me sad, but... Nope, I think they're going to make it until right after Expo. And they're going to see the unimpressed numbers and sales and interest at the show, and they're going to go, this is time. Or you could say after TPF, assuming it's there. If it's there. I don't think it's going to be there. It won't be there yet.
    94:42
    How about David Fix will still be an executive vice president of American Pinball by the end of 2025? No, because the company will be out of business by then. Yeah, yeah, I'll say unlikely.
    94:57
    So all three of us are likely. I'm sorry, David Fix. I do actually really, really like you. You said he'll still be president, so all three of us. Executive vice president. Unlikely. Unlikely, not likely. Oh, okay. I think he still will be. Baby, you've got to have it. It's all right. So you think they'll still be around by the end of the year? No, I'm going to – no, I changed my mind again. Yeah.
    95:21
    Unlikely. I think he knows what's going on. Hey, baby, I'm just trying to get a new gig. I'm looking good.
    95:30
    Okay, Stern will remaster another title in 2025. Highly likely. I think that's likely. They have to. Who do you think it's going to be? Do you guys have a guess?
    95:41
    Ghostbusters? God, no. It did well. But it didn't do great. It'll do even better if they do a quick video. But if they fix the Magnus slings and they fix the Outlanes. I say likely. Ghostbusters. I'll go Ghostbusters. Nope.
    95:57
    Lonnie Roth will lead GameCode in 2025. For a machine, you mean? Yeah. Oh. Yeah. Of course, they've got to have a fill-in. I think he's likely because he's doing great. When was the last time he did one? Well, he did James Bond, and he finished that about a week ago. Oh. Yeah.
    96:15
    Likely. Okay. Stern will sell all of the Beatles in 2020. Well, they can't. They vaulted it. It's impossible for them to do that. So I'm like vaults for two years. Okay. So they still haven't sold the 1964? Nope. I don't think so. Nope. Holy moly. I didn't know they were vaulted. I didn't see that. They vaulted it for January 1st. They stuck it in the vault. Retiring. Stuck it in the vault. Yeah, they ain't paying for that licensing shit again. That's got to be expensive as hell. That's done, done. Dutch pinball will show off Blade Runner by the end of Q1. No. Unlikely. Totally unlikely. I'm going to say likely. Really? I don't think they even have play fields for any upcoming games. Yeah.
    97:03
    Don't they? When's? I'm going to say likely anyway. It's like Back to the Future. When's that happening? I don't think there's even a play field for that. You think like Texas? I don't think so. I don't think there's even a play-through for that. No way. Well, I don't think they're going to actually have it made and ready to go. I think they're just going to show it off. No, you don't want to do that. That's the way they've learned at the pad. They did that with Big Lebowski. Yeah, and it bombed off. And they took all the orders, and then hilarity ensued. Yeah. Okay. They don't want to do that again. Code for John Wick will be completed by Q3.
    97:43
    Likely. Unlikely. I'll say likely because they want to move on. Yeah, I think they're going to put Timmy on another asset and just let it die. It doesn't mean they can't finish it. Let it die. They usually take primary people off, but the other support teams finish it up. Let it die. Is it at 1.0 yet? No. Okay, so I'm going to say it'll be 1.0 before Q3. What is it at right now? Let's just see what it's at right now. Hold on.
    98:09
    We are at .93. Oh, yeah, definitely. By third quarter, yes. Likely. I'm saying unlikely. Well, you're wrong. The pinball network will stop operating in 2025. Ooh, do you know something I don't? Uh-oh. He might have inside info. He probably does. Let's see what his answer is first. Yeah, what's your answer? I'm going to say unlikely. Okay. Unlikely.
    98:36
    Bruce will finish his Quicksilver build by the end of Q3. Yes, likely, because I've started working on it again. I'll say unlikely just to motivate them. I'm also going to say unlikely.
    98:50
    I'm going to win this one. You are truly the Chicago Gaming of your day. Yeah. Wait a second. No, I don't have people I have to sell it to.
    99:01
    The rumor that someone has picked up the Mario Brothers license will appear in 2025. It will not appear in 2025. It will probably be. I'll say likely. It's going to be 2026. Unlikely. Okay, I think it's going to be likely. Raymond Davidson will win another major in 2025.
    99:21
    I'm going to say likely. He's old, though. He's old. But there's five of them now. There's like five majors. There's five majors now. Just so he doesn't get pissed at me, I'll say likely.
    99:33
    I'm going to say likely, but he is getting older. Sorry, Ray. Elwin's next game will not have a 180 ramp. I'm going to say unlikely. I think he's going to have a 180 ramp because that's all he does.
    99:49
    Will not have it. I'll say likely. Unlikely. Oh, so you think 180 ramp. Okay. Yep. Stern will lock away Rush in the vault in 2025. No. That's right. They didn't say it was in the vault, did they? Nope. Not unlikely. They just re-upped it, so that wouldn't make sense. Unlikely.
    100:09
    I'm going to say likely. And I think they just made a batch, too. They did make a batch, and they're going to make another batch, and I heard March.
    100:17
    Dennis Nordman will end up at another company in 2025. Who's Dennis Norman? Nordman. There you go. Unlikely.
    100:26
    Unlikely. I'm going to say unlikely as well. At this point. I think he's sick of it, too. Yeah, he's sick of it, too. Barrels of Fun will launch a new game by the end of Q1. Oh, totally unlikely. Before, you had another one that said it would release by October, right? Oh, did I? Yes. You had one that said they were announced to be a game by Expo. Okay, well, then screw it. And I said no because I think it'll be at TPF. Okay, so we'll screw that one. Ron will qualify for the finals at Pentastic.
    100:57
    Oh, unlikely. I'm going to say unlikely. Unlikely. Very unlikely. I haven't qualified in like five years.
    101:04
    John Borg releases a new design in 2025. Ooh. I'm going to say unlikely. Unlikely. Yeah, but who's new design? And we're not talking about, like, adding a post to the Talica. I know, but you have Elwin.
    101:18
    Eddie just, yeah, he almost has to. I'm going to say likely. Nope. Unlikely. I think he's trained in the new guys.
    101:27
    Rodney C. will attend Pentastic in 2025. Who the hell is Rodney C.? Yes, likely. He's at everything. I'm going to say likely. Okay, whatever.
    101:40
    I don't know who he is. That's what I'm saying. I don't. You're like, you know who he is. No, I don't know who he is. Actually, Bruce doesn't go to any shows, so he wouldn't know who he was. No.
    101:50
    I don't know. Okay. Even after the whole episode 149.5 controversy, David Dennis will co-host a pinball show in 2025. That was the terrible show where you did that thing that everyone hated.
    102:06
    Unlikely. They're not going to let you back on. No. They're not going to let me back on? I have a draw, man. I draw ratings. Okay. We'll see after this episode. I think you beat my record of email complaints.
    102:23
    Okay. Steve Ritchie will release another three-flipper Jersey Jack pinball game in 2025. No. Oh, you think it's going to be two flippers? No. You don't think he's going to have a game at all? Nope. Okay. I'm going to say likely. I'm going to say likely as well. Stern will re-release Iron Man Vault in 2025. Unlikely.
    102:47
    But they released one of those like every year. No. When's the last time they released an Iron Man Vault? It was like last year. No. 2017. No. Iron Man? No. They haven't done that since pre-COVID. They re-ran Iron Man last year. No, they didn't. They did. When did they re-release? No. Iron Man? I think they did Iron Maiden or something. Iron Maiden.
    103:06
    Iron Man? No. Iron Maiden, yes. You've got to prove to me Iron Maiden. Why would they release a DMD game last year? No. Okay, okay. So if somebody knows that they ran Iron Man last year. Last time they ran Iron Man was like pre-COVID. It was 2017, 2018.
    103:24
    Okay, Stern will – I'm going to say it's likely. Stern – Okay. I'm just going to be stubborn and just say it.
    103:34
    Stern will increase prices in 2025. Yes. Likely. I'm going to say likely. I'll be a dissenter. Unlikely.
    103:44
    Okay. U.S. government tariffs will be referenced as the cause of the price increases. Oh, likely. Likely. If there is, likely. 100%. Likely. Yes.
    103:55
    Elwynn's next game. You didn't say yours. What did you say? Likely. I think it's likely. Thank you. All your aluminum comes from Canada, guys. Or maple wood. Yeah. Maple wood. Stern will launch Spike 3 on Elwynn's next game.
    104:10
    Sure, why not? Likely. I'm going to say likely. Dennis Creasel's Watch YouTube channel will reach 4,000 subs in 2025. How many does he have now?
    104:24
    I think it's going to be likely. He's like 3,500 or something. Sure, likely. The Loser Kid Pinball Podcast. interview Gary Stern in 2025?
    104:43
    Hmm. If they have bought vodka, yes, they will. I'm going to say unlikely, although... I'm saying likely. Okay. I'm going to say unlikely, unless they get him at a show and record him on their phone or something. Okay. But they just had... They just got the scoop on the Dungeons & Dragons guys. Yes, they did. And that's really quick. They actually beat their own Sternsider. Well, yeah, because That's Nate Shivers, so I wonder if they're just not going to do that. I don't know. I thought that was weird that they didn't have it on their own. I know. I said to myself, too, that's different than the way they usually do it. Yeah.
    105:23
    That's it. You kept track of all those answers? I kept track of all those answers. Every single one. Great.
    105:31
    Are you ready for the ball bag, Ruth? I'm always ready for the ball bag. Okay. All right. Excuse me.
    105:41
    Let the milking begin. Yes. Our very own Scott just alerted us there is a new Gottlieb victory rob that's out there. Oh, God. Hey, I like that game. That's what we all wanted. I like that game. I like the game, too. Merry Christmas, everybody. Most people just hate the rules on it, so just check it out. It's on Tilt Forums. dot com. Someone's working on that. Alright.
    106:10
    This next one's from Cole. Hey, Cole. It says, let there be snow. Okay. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. Make it snow make it snow Make it snow make it snow Well that right I didn see that this year I saw it many times I was happy Hey there Santa and Grinch That must be Bruce Oh, hey, you're Santa this year. Oh, wow. Oh. You're that bastard. Ask them Christmas episode as usual. Keep them rolling. Ron, you are correct, and Bruce is wrong, as he insisted that it never snows in Rochester when the Royal Rumble happened, even if the tournament was over on Sunday. Ah! He just said it. He just admitted that. It was over. Even if the tournament was over on Saturday, it wasn't. It was on Sunday. So I'll change that. Even if the tournament was over on Sunday, the weekend also includes Sunday. Well, it makes sense. It was over on Sunday. You should be like Zach and give you a new pinball machine to make up for it. That's true.
    107:05
    Here's the better question. Did either of you guys give each other a bidet for Christmas? No. Okay. Because that's what they do on those other shows. Bidet? Oh, God.
    107:15
    Bruce, how could you give up your dialed-in of a football team? Oh, the Jets, I believe you mean. The Jets, yes. It's not like they're the Thunder Turds of the NFL because that would be the New York Giants.
    107:28
    They aren't even the second worst because that would be the Raiders. Wow. Like usual, I guess you could say they're the American pinball of the NFL. Wow. Listen, baby, I'm going to score a touchdown. As being a San Francisco Giants fan in baseball, I never thought I would see them win a championship. and my dad and I called them Cubs West as they were our lovable losers. But then they won like three times. Then they won three times in seven or eight years. Ron, you are correct about the Hall of Fame voters. My favorite player, the greatest ever, Willie Mays, died this year as well. And just like Ricky, he only got 94% of the vote. That's so fucked up. It is. They literally should be killed. Those who didn't vote for Willie or Ricky should be shot or at least never allowed to vote ever again. We have the same opinion. Growing up and living in the Bay Area, I went to a lot of A's games, even though I'm a San Francisco Giants fan because I had access to season tickets to the A's and could go to almost every game, well, any day game I wanted. I got to see Ricky up close as the seats were eight rows behind the home dugout. He was awesome to watch and had the biggest thighs I have ever seen on a human being, hence all the stolen bases. Also, living here, I got to read about all the interviews with him, which were called Ricky-isms. He had a lot of those.
    108:43
    Oh, yeah. It's like a Bruce-ism. Yeah, he had like – I've seen Trailer Park Boys for Ricky-isms. He was born – like, they didn't make it to the hospital. He was born in the car, so he liked to stay. I was even born fast.
    108:54
    So while you guys joke about Bruce-isms, Ricky would just tell Bruce to hold his jock and start talking. They were great since he talked in the third person. Yeah, he always called himself in the third person. Ricky hates it when Ricky can't find Ricky's limo. Yep. One time the A's were trying to balance the books and found that, oh, I think I said this story. There was $1 million missing. When they looked into it, they found it was a check made to Ricky, a bonus check that he didn't actually cash because he was displaying it. He had it framed.
    109:23
    It's all like, you know, you have to cash that, Ricky. We can give you a copy of it if you want to frame that.
    109:29
    Enough baseballs, this is a pinball podcast. He says, Silver Bowl Chronicles can be found at, oh, never mind, Bruce is now melting down. Yes, I am. I also call it DPX when I have to play Dialed In or Star Wars in a tournament. They are so bad that it counts as double pain to play them. How I wish there was a Starz near me. At least I can take the fist and play an Ali. Your DPX STD, Cole. Woo-hoo! Thank you, Cole. The DPX thing is caught on, like, I was listening to another podcast, and they were, I think it was the pinball show, and they were like, what does the X stand for again? And they were like, extreme?
    110:12
    It's like, no, folks, it's supposed to be Dutch pinball exclusive. Yeah, it was so stupid. It's, you know. All right. Dr. John has emailed us his subject, premium stars. Hello, S&T. You mentioned upgrading stars to a premium. I am disappointed that you forgot that this has already been done, done by the greatest Australian pinball manufacturer.
    110:38
    That's right, Holton. Blues Brothers is an upgraded Starz. Great minds think alike, perhaps. I got an episode written for those guys. Oh, really, Holton? The Ball Chronicles. Oh, my God. I like this one. This is from Scott, and it says, Ron is right.
    110:55
    I am happy to arbitrate the issue of Hallett versus Nightingale in the matter of the snowstorm of the RPC. Nope, it did not snowstorm. located at 349 West Marshall Street. East Rochester, New York, Suite 2965. Bruce claimed that it would not snow the weekend of the tournament. That's what he said. And since Ron's travel was impacted due to snow on the way back from the tournament, Ron is correct. Sincerely, Scott S. Thank you, Scott. You are right. Nope. Yep. 100% correct. He actually made my argument. You were impacted on the way home, which is not in Rochester. Your home is not in Rochester. It was actually snowing when I left. Rochester. It was snowing in Rochester. It always flurries. That doesn't count as snow. No, it doesn't. We always get flurries. Flurries right now. Flurries is not snow. Even though it's called snow flurries. It's not snow. Snow, measurable snow. What do you think, David? I am completely neutral. Okay, yeah. He's whistling out. That's a great question, Ron. I'm going to consult with some of my sources and individuals, and we'll have to get back to you. Repairs, Bruce. Did you have lots of repairs?
    112:13
    Yes. Harley-Davidson 2nd Edition. It's a ride, ride to live, Harley-Davidson. Ride to live. I got the machine from a customer to work on, and it was in a flood. Bummer. Yeah. The pipe above the game broke. Ooh. And dumped water all over this poor thing. Oh. Yeah. So the CPU board got taken out by, I think the switch matrix got totally foobarred. I then looked at it, and I was like, I called a couple of the guys for the repairs, and they're like, yeah, it's going to be a couple months before we can do this, and it's probably this, this, and this, and it's going to probably cost you about $200 to $300. Or just go buy a new one for $500 and be done with it. So I bought a new board for that. I had a coil transistor locked up. I had the reflow to solder on the optos for the ball jam area. Cleaned up a little bit of rust damage as I could. Any, like, bubbling on the wood or anything? Underneath, yes, the bottom. Yeah, that's the worst. I can't do anything about that, and I told the guy that. I'm like, there's nothing you can do about that. But I was recommended by this guy by Stern Pinball themselves. Wow. Yes. They said, if you need somebody to work on the game, Mr. Nightingale. And they came to us, and I took care of him, and he's going to be getting the game back next week. All up and running. Stern is thick-skinned. All the times you just shit on them, and they still recommend you. That's impressive. I didn't shit on them this time. I said they were doing good. Oh, maybe that's why the last two games he actually thinks they're okay. Yes. Yeah.
    113:51
    But, yeah, so that was some of the repairs. I have Medieval Madness in the back now. We're going to work on the troll fell apart during the fall rumble, and we have to figure out one of the LEDs is bad. On the whole monster board, we're going to finally take apart underneath for Medieval Madness. Other than that, just basic little craps. Little craps, yes. Little craps, little shit, you know, just like flipper, you know, wire broke off a coil, that kind of stuff.
    114:20
    So my next thing will be taking apart the trolls again on Medieval Madness and putting them all back together. That seems like a big project. It's pain in the ass. Yeah, it seems like a big project. The worst part is actually getting the flap back on the mech when it's in the play field. So you're trying to push up the thing and you're trying to latch.
    114:39
    No, he's trying to latch it. The flap just sits there and it goes flat and it's sitting on top of the play field. Damn flap. You've got to hook it. Damn flap. Flap ahead. See, the fucking Canadians. Flap on. Flap off. The flapper. All right. Before I forget, hey, Mr. Dennis. Is the ball bag empty? Mr. Dennis. Oh, yeah, ball bag's empty. Oh, you didn't say that. I'm sorry. The ball bag's empty, Bruce. That's why I went on to repairs. Okay. Game you like, game you hate. Oh.
    115:13
    We haven't done this with you because you were on the buck, the cluster buck. That's right. Game you love, game you hate. This is tough. Okay. Game I hate is police force. Oh, well, that's a good one. You've nailed it. Terrible. Terrible game. None of the shots are where they should be. It's got one of those stupid ramps in the middle that just go back to your flipper. And it was supposed to be Batman. Yeah, the lock is so annoying to shoot unless your flippers are rebuilt.
    115:41
    Just a terrible all-around game. Game I hate. Despise it. Also, whenever I've played it in a tournament, it has always been the bane of my existence. Just hit the ramp. A lot. Just hit the ramp and do it. So what they did is they cut the ramp so the ramp wouldn't do anything. Oh, they boulevarded the ramp, yes. How about not use the game in a tournament? Yeah. There you go. Well, they have so little games up there, you know, you just got to use any game. That's true. How about a game I love? This is a game that I play every single time I see it, and I love it every single time, and that's The Beatles by Stern. Oh. Oh, you better buy it soon. Except for that spinny disc in the middle, other than that. So you like Sea Witch. Congratulations. Yeah, you can get Sea Witch and you don't have to worry about the spinny disc. Yeah. But I don't get the actual loop that works. But every time I play the Beatles, I'm just like, ah, I'm having so much fun, and it's quick, and it's fast, and it's got the modes are easy. Too bad you went to Disney this year. Are you a little Ford of Beatles? That's quite literally what I said. I said, I can't believe I made memories with my young children when I could have made memories by myself in my basement. In your basement. Next year, Dungeons and Dragons.
    116:55
    Okay. Very nice. Bruce. New items. It's time for your segment. We haven't done this in a long time. I know. We've got two things, actually. First, I'm going to jump into something. New product. New product out. Okay. Weebly is making a new board. Ah. Isn't that the name of the website? That's the name of the web host. It has nothing to do with that. Yeah, I know. But on the boards, it actually says Weebly. Yeah, mvramweebly.com. You're going to get these poor guys sued. Don't worry. That's their name that they have on their boards. Yeah, they literally have that on the board. Yes.
    117:30
    6803 MPUs. Brand new now. Oh, for those wonderful games of that era. Well, there's a couple good ones there. How about the pad? Don't they have the pad? They do have the pad, too, yes. So they're working their way through all the oddball games, which is great. They actually also have the driver board for the System 3s.
    117:51
    Williams System 3. Oh, Golly System 3. So another oddball. Yes, that's a good thing. You know, the oddball stuff is coming out, which is great to see. You'll have boards for everything. You'll never have to fix a board again. Yes, just throw it away and get another one. Just throw it away and get another one.
    118:09
    And now we're back to our last bit, and it is a bit. Would you or would you not buy that? Oh, cool. Okay, okay. So for those at home, especially if you're driving, you want to bring up your web browser and get to eBay. While you're driving. And Bruce is going to give you the auction numbers. Yep. Put that in your search bar. And you can look at these items along with us. And we usually do this when we have a guest. And Bruce picks these things usually because they suck. Or, but some are good. Every once in a while we get a good deal. We get a good deal.
    118:48
    Are we ready? I'm ready. Okay, give her. 1-8-6. 6-5-6. 6-2-9. 1-8-0. Ah, Gold Wings. We got a Gold Wings. And it says Stern in the title. Oh, that's wrong. $2,834. The price is also wrong. Like, majorly wrong. I know.
    119:19
    It's $4,200 for this thing. Maybe, I don't know why it would ever be that expensive. The fade on the back glass is perfect. Yep. Oh, it gets better when you get more into it, when you really look at this turd. And he's proud enough to put his sticker on the inside door. I didn't realize it had this much pink. Yes. It's very pink. Luckily, when Ron describes the description below, you're going to really love the description. Rip up your game room with a 1986 Gold Wing pinball machine. Already wrong. Gold Wings. This vintage classic is the perfect addition for any pinball lover or collector.
    120:04
    It's a classic motorcycle theme. in a thrilling world of motorcycle racing with vibrant artwork. Yes.
    120:14
    I love finding these fucking shows. Challenging play field. Multiple ramps. It has more than one. I think there's one. And unique layout that promises hours of fun. Authentic sound effects. Enjoy the nostalgic sounds that bring 80s arcade experience to life.
    120:33
    Maybe this was a Stern Harley Davidson description. That he didn't change? No, you've got to get to the pictures. Hold on. You've got to get to the pictures. Look at the side rails.
    120:42
    Oh, they are worn out. No, no, no. He started cleaning them, and it must have got too hard. Oh, yeah, he stopped. Well, either that or it's just the wear from the hands. No, because it's still got the dimpling.
    120:57
    Oh, weird. Maybe he started cleaning it and then realized that. Holy fuck. He's taking off. The head has, like, major touch-ups. Oh, my God. It's just like someone put a thing of blue over it. Oh, I know. It's fucking great. And it could be yours for only $4,200. Yes. And, by the way, Gold Wings is a shit game anyway. Yes, it is.
    121:20
    Wait a sec. You could buy this. If you didn't get an X-Men, it's half price. You get the same flippers on the side. You're good to go. And you get a siren, which may or may not work. You can't tell because there's no picture inside the game. No. But you can see that he has taken pictures of the cabinet dings, which is nice. Yes, of course. He's showing you all the bad stuff, not the good stuff. And to be fair, the top glass is off. Yes, it is. He did listen to Ron's usual pet peeve on that one. And the rubbers look new. It looks like there's Bondo at the top of the head.
    121:54
    Yeah, it's just a bad touch-up, really bad. Yeah. So would you buy that? Would you buy this? No. Hell no. The best was the description. I thought a description was like, oh, my God. I think it's a Harley Davidson description. I think it's because on the back glass there's a picture of a motorcycle. Yeah, they probably thought, oh, it's got to be a whole thing. But there's jets. It's Top Gun ripoff. But there's jets everywhere. It's like a Tom Cruise lookalike on the front. I know. Lovely, huh? She's got great 80s hair, though. Okay, are you ready for the next one? Yes, let's go. 275-884-730-165.
    122:47
    Oh, okay. Here we go. Yeah, this is a good purchase. This is Metallica Premium for $30,000 U.S. Yes, $30,000. Well, you know why? Read the description, Ron. Oh, what's the special one? Let's see. That's $43,000 Canadian. This is the later build, so it's all LED from the factory instead of the 2013s that have to be converted. That is completely wrong. It is wrong completely. All the premiums were LED. Even the originals. That is completely wrong. The pros, on the other hand, yes, but that is wrong. New Titan clear and purple rubbers, silicone installed just recently. Everything works as it should. I hope so. Awesome condition. Awesome spelled wrong. Radio mode with Metallica songs when you hold down both flippers. Yes, that's the standard. That's true. Shaker motor. Video.
    123:44
    If you want to see a video of it. Oh, there's a video of it, too. You can see it in action. How much is this gem, guys? We said $30,000. That's $43,000 Canadian.
    123:58
    It does look nice. That's ridiculous. Who puts, like, what is going on here? Oh, I know. Does he mean $3,000?
    124:07
    No. Yeah, I think he left off a couple zeros. Instead of the three, he was supposed to hit an eight, and then he added an extra zero. It should be $8,000. Then I'd say okay for a premium. This is a no, absolutely no. Oh, no, no, no. No, Bruce finds the gems.
    124:25
    Okay, are you ready for the next one? I'm saying no also. No, no, I'm not buying that. Okay. 235-788-253-743.
    124:40
    This is a 1978 Meteor by Stern Electronic. It turns on, and it is a restoration project. This is for $1,600 U.S. Actually, the game came out in 79, but it does say 78 on the back left, so I'll give him a pass on that one.
    125:00
    Let's see what it says. Let's click around here. Turns on. That's good. This is not a fully operational machine. The machine powers up, lights up. New paddles. That should give you cause for alarm with that term. And many new rubber pieces. No coin mechanism. Does not operate. The plum tilt is sitting the drawer.
    125:26
    That's what it says. Graphics are in good condition for its age. Original paperwork included, i.e. the manual. Damage. Scratches and cracking of the paint. Rust on legs. Again, Plum Tilt is sitting in the drawer. He really wants to let you know that Plum Bob is in that drawer. Okay.
    125:48
    So when I look at it, it looks okay. $1,600 is too much. There's also a picture of the Plum Bob in the play field. In the cabinet right there. Oh, there it is. Why is it in the cabinet? Why is it not just in the game where it should be? Yeah, I'm pretty sure when the plumb bob is in the coin box or where the coin box should be. Now, this one's a $15.99 or best offer. Yeah, so, I mean, so when I look at that, that's $2,300 Canadian. That's a lot of money for a machine I've got to fix. And it looks like it's got a new rectifier board in it. Yep. Because you can see the instructions were from someone putting that in there. Yes. Yeah, and then there's like this weird piece of paper that has like the color-coded wires. Well, that's why he was doing the connector. Yeah, when he was doing the connector for the rectifier board. Yep. It's got an original manual. It's got the original envelope. Yeah, which is nice. Yeah, that's kind of cool. I think if you're all from 12 or 13, maybe, because the back glass is pretty good. Yep. It's not great. There's a couple little pieces on the bottom, but it's not that bad. And the play field has a little bit of wear, not much. I would deduct because he didn't take the top glass off. Yeah, and there is wear on, actually, on the play field by the Rockets. So maybe I'd go 1,000. The meteor targets are all down, and they are in a bizarre font. Yeah, that's definitely aftermarket crappy ones. Yeah, it's aftermarket, and the 1, 2, 3 targets are all aftermarket. Yep, but it does have the original spinner in it. Yeah, mine can't say that. Yeah. Mine can't either when I had it. If this were like 1,300 Canadian? Yeah, I think if you go 1,000, 1,100 U.S., I think you're pretty good with this one. Yeah, I would. It still seems expensive for a machine that's not working, but I don't think it's working. Well, it is working because it does boot. It is booted. It shows all the – it's in the boot state. So I'm – at least you know the CPU is good. You know it's powered up.
    127:49
    So I would 1,100, 1,200 off from. Knock it out. All the displays are on. Yeah, exactly. So, you know, and the back glass isn't bad. It's got a little play feel wear. Good fixer-upper. Or if you wanted to, you know, first or second or third game. It's in Panama City, Florida.
    128:05
    Panama. We're running it real hot tonight. So, I'd say yes if you can get it lower. Yeah, I would too.
    128:18
    Agree, Ron? Sure. Meteor's the greatest turn ever made. It's the second greatest. Nope. Best second.
    128:26
    Okay, are you ready? Let's go. Okay, David, you're going to be shocked at this one. It's going to be great. Loving it every minute. 1-3-5. It's a putty factory, isn't it? 4-3-2-7-0-4-0-7-7.
    128:47
    Oh, I thought this was going to be a Bobby Orr. Nope. Oh, this one. This is a Kingpin prototype Capcom 96. Yep. And it is $85,000.
    129:03
    Did we do a Capcom episode? Holy moly. We did a Crapcom episode. That's right. Yes. So this is the Kingpin. This is it. This is probably the one we used to play. I think so, yes. Could be. Orange County Pinballs. Yep. California. He's a lot of turds.
    129:24
    It's clean, though, I got to say. Oh, this game is great. If it was a lot cheaper, this would be gone already. I don't think it's clean. It's only showing 97 completed games on this thing, so it's not the one we played, Ron. There's like a couple of little dings on this thing. I mean, it's not anything I would be worried about. You see the hotel lex. Yep. And the spinners on both ramps. Yeah, looking good. That's what should be back on any newer game coming up. That would be a cool thing. Well, if you're putting spinners on the ramp, put them there. Yes. Like, look at the bar in this basement or house that this is in. Oh, yeah, there's a lot of nice games there. This is an elite person here that's well taken care of his game. He's got a Batman 66, either premium or LE. Well, this is the holy grail of dot matrix pinball machines. It is. Only nine of these prototype Kingpin pinball machines were manufactured. Is that a big – he also has a Big Bang Bar. Yes, he does. Design, I wonder if it's an original or a remake.
    130:31
    It's original, that one. You could tell if you look at the side art. Yes. Can I see the side art from any of these pictures? You'll see it in the next one. Second photo down. Next one.
    130:41
    The next – oh, okay. Second photo down. I got you. Yeah, he got it. He got it. Thank you. Shut up. Yeah, you can always tell. If you look at the side art and it doesn't go all the way to the edge, it's an original. If it goes all the way to the edge, it's one of the... It doesn't look like it goes to the edge. No, it doesn't. No. But $86,000. This is more than Loch Ness Monster. But the game has completely gone through. It is.
    131:10
    That's $124,000. I could buy a Porsche for that. In between these two. You got Kingpin for $85,000, and then you got the Big Bang Bar original for $65,000. Yep. No thanks. And me and Bruce have played both of them. Yes. This game is, honestly, I love this game. If it was cheaper or they remade it like they said they're going to, I'd be all in. It's better. I like it more than Big Bang Bar just because I like the theme. I love the theme. The old-time gangster theme. Yep. And the flippers die when you're, if you don't get your shots. Sudden death. Yeah, the power meter. The power meter. Yep. I love that. David, if you're looking at it, like the play field, the Hotel Lex, that's where all the modes start. Modes start. And it's got a working slot machine. It's got a funhouse flap that the ball goes into. Yes. We love flaps on the Slam Tilt Podcast. The rules are very basic. Basically, you hit in Hotel Lex. Someone gives you a job. Those are the inserts in front of it. Yep. Like, hi, I'm Joey Numbers. You need to run some guns for me or something. Yeah, exactly, yeah. And you've got to do whatever it says. If you finish it, then the guy that gave you the mission tries to kill you. Yes. Great job. Too bad you won't be around to see it. And then you kill him, and then you take his place. So you ascend the crime ladder until you go against the kingpin himself. Yes. Something you don't see nowadays, drop targets on both sides of the playfields. I know. Not just one bank. Look at the number of guns on this thing. Yes, how dare there be so many guns on this thing. God, there's so many guns on this thing.
    132:50
    Al-Qaeda would be happy with this game. But would we buy this for $85,000? No, no, no. No. Run, run, run. No. How much would you spend for one of these, Ron? If you had the exclusive chance. Exclusive chance? You're like saying somebody said to you, hey, I got a kingpin. how much would you spend? Yeah, I need the money. I'm not going to go crazy, though. I'm not going to. I mean, I'll pay more than an Avatar CE. I was thinking $20,000, I promise. Yeah, like $20,000, $25,000 maybe if it was one of these, because you're never going to see them again. No one's remaking these. Nope. It's not like Big Bang Bar where they made a bunch of them. See, you guys could fix something in here if something broke. I would be more challenged. It's standard Capcom. It's standard Capcom, except for Breakout. I know what's it called, the pool one. BreakShot. Yeah, BreakShot uses the Lester or whatever. They were already trying to cut costs at that point. Yeah. But the only issue you'll have with this is it's got the humongous driver board that you can't get anymore. Yeah. That's my concern. And they have some of the chips you can't get anymore, so you might be stuck there. But other than that, boy, it's really cool. Yeah, and this looks good. It looks really good. But that's why it's still sitting there with that price tag. Yeah, of course. So that's the fun part. And then if you want to see the other one, ticket number is, hold on. What, you mean the Big Bang Bar? Yeah. Yeah, 146-258-956-455.
    134:27
    Yep. This is pretty cool seeing them in each other's pictures. Yeah, it is. It's like some of the rarer games you'll ever see. this one they made what 13 14 13 14 yeah and two are in a burn in a fire yeah yeah someone had a big bang bar and a cane pin that got burned down in a fire that's uh hopefully they had insurance and you can get like uh the manuals the original manuals from capcom too that's pretty cool how many more of these do we got bruce that's it that was it oh i was hoping you'd end with an absolute shit one well i thought i started with the shit ones and i went better uh yeah Big Bang Bar is only $65,000. And I would not buy that. No. That would be another $20,000. No. $20,000.
    135:11
    Even less than that. I like the game a lot, but I don't love the game. But, you know, it's rare. A Capcom. Not the, you know, the originality was still the better part. Yes. I mean, it is. It's samey to Kingpin in that in this one, instead of Hotel Lex, it's the ramp. You hit the ramp, and then it gives you something to do, and you do it. it's kind of the same. They're all just mode-based. Beauty.
    135:37
    Beauty, eh? Yeah, Amy. I think that's all I got. Thank you for having me on, gentlemen. Oh, is there anything you would like to plug? No, he cannot plug anything. He plugged it already. Oh, come on. He plugged it already. Yeah, but you usually give the guests a chance to plug at the end. There'll be no plug-in. And the rule is, what is the rule, Ron? I didn't know this was a rule. What's the rule? only one plug of other people's podcasts since you guys don't plug mine as much.
    136:09
    Okay. Right, David? That's right. There will be no plugging of Silverball Chronicles at gmail.com here. Wow.
    136:19
    There you go. And that's the name of the podcast, History Based Podcast. The next episode will be out whenever David gets around. It'll probably be this week. Oh, you heard it here first. Now you heard it here first, folks. It'll probably be out before this episode is out. Why aren't I on the Patreon freebie list? Because you've got to sign up for that. He just wants it for free.
    136:41
    Wow. Bruce, even I'm not on that. Wow. Of course, I don't listen to the episodes. I know you don't. I go to the end and listen to the bloopers. Honestly, that's what I go to. Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum. You never know what I'm hiding in there. Oh, my. This has been an episode, a very long episode, 242. Happy New Year, folks. Happy New Year. Wow. Hopefully this is going to be an exciting year of great new releases and awesome new pinball.
    137:15
    And everyone's going to have fun and no one's going to be mean to each other and criticize stuff. Well, actually, we kind of have to. Otherwise, no one would listen to us. Yeah. I think they listen to us because they want to hear Bruce just bitch about shit. Fuck yeah. Yeah, exactly.
    137:34
    So thanks to everybody out there. Thanks to everyone in our cluster, Buck. Steve and Jeff and Zach. The football princess and our Zach and et cetera, et cetera. We are the Slamtail Podcast, and you can write us at slamtailpodcast at gmail.com. That's slamtailpodcast at gmail.com. Check out our website at www.slamtailpodcast.com. All our links are in the upper right-hand corner. We have a tournament next week at the RPC. Is it a three strikes? Nope, genob. It's a genob. And our Metallica. Oh, Metallica. That's right. You guys are getting a new Metallica. Yeah. Exciting. Yeah. I will be at a tournament in Hudson. The local? No, no. Hudson. It was like, yes, do I drive three and a half hours to Rochester or like 30 minutes to this? And I'm going to do the 30 minutes this time. Fail. And then on our next episode, I'll be talking about my, I'm sure, my awesome performance at the New York State Pinball Championships. With El Presidente. We'll be talking with him. Yes, we'll be talking to Josh Sharp soon. Yes. And Bruce keeps just bugging me about this. Yes.
    138:52
    I wonder what he'll say about Stu McVicker, you know, the world-famous 1978 Playboy Launch Party champion. We'll find out, and you'll have to listen in to find out what he thinks about the band. What he thinks, because, you know. The band. Like, who says he's banned? But we've never actually heard it from Josh, that Stu McMickers band from the IPA. I don't really believe most of the stuff that Stu McMickers says. I don't believe he is the 1978 Playboy Lunch Party champion. We'll get the info. All right, I think we're done. Bruce, you have a name? I have a name. Once again, thank you, Mr. Dennis. Thank you, Dennis. Thank you for having me, guys. I really enjoyed it. Yeah, eh? Eh? Hopefully, our creating still completely tanked with you on this episode. Oh, my God. My friends. Time to draw. Burp, burp, burp, burp. The plane's going down.
    139:42
    Until next time. Say goodbye, Bruce. Goodbye, the biggest STD of December, Drew Stike. Thank you. Meteor Level Zero Clusterfuck Swish to Kai Jim Balls Bruce Dism Tournament Talk Car Holder Cheetah Sanity Cash Grab ELO Ball Parade What You Buying Give You Love Give You Hurt Tournament Talk People Present Oh my
    141:14
    This ain't no fucking Canadian fucking slam-tail podcast. We're going full throttle, baby. Dry. We're doing dry, baby. Yes, we're going in dry. You're going in dry. Okay.