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SDTM Episode 35: This Month In Pinside (Pre-Expo Edition)

Straight Down the Middle·video·43m 37s·held·Sep 26, 2017
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.034

TL;DR

Pre-expo podcast discussion speculating on game reveals and analyzing expo schedule.

Summary

A casual pre-expo discussion by Straight Down the Middle podcast hosts covering Chicago Pinball Expo predictions and events. Key predictions include Jersey Jack revealing Pirates of the Caribbean, speculation that Stern may not unveil a new game at expo but possibly a John Borg/Christopher Franchi collaboration (possibly Guardians of the Galaxy), anticipated reveals of Alice Cooper (Spooky) and Houdini (American Pinball), and announcements about Deep Root Pinball hiring J-Pop as lead developer. The hosts discuss expo seminars, Pinball Life charity events, and express enthusiasm for upcoming reveals and community events.

Key Claims

  • Jersey Jack will reveal Pirates of the Caribbean at the Thursday 8:30 p.m. fireside chat

    medium confidence · Host speculates based on 'strong stuff' heard and scheduled timing of Jersey Jack seminar at expo

  • Christopher Franchi designed artwork for a new Stern game featuring John Borg as designer, with reveal 'very soon'

    high confidence · Direct quote from Franchi's Facebook post read on air: 'I was given a sneak peek at the playfield buildup of the newest pinball game I designed for Stern Pinball today...It is, all caps, amazing.'

  • Stern likely will not unveil a new game at Chicago Expo

    medium confidence · Host states 'my sources are pretty quiet' and expresses doubt despite Stern being based in Chicago

  • Rumors suggest the unrevealed Stern game could be Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Maiden, or Kill Bill

    low confidence · Host mentions 'couple rumors out there' with Guardians being strongest rumor, though all sourced from secondhand gossip ('this guy said...cleaning ladies')

  • Alice Cooper (Spooky) will be revealed at Expo, possibly at Pinball Life party, not at main expo floor

    medium confidence · Host heard speculation and references recent sneak peek of head decals by Spooky, infers reveal timing

  • Total Nuclear Annihilation will only be revealed at Pinball Life charity event on Friday, not at main expo

    high confidence · Host directly states this for Spooky's game and notes it will be at Pinball Life party

  • Houdini (American Pinball) will be playable at Flip N Flip N Out Pinball booth at expo

    high confidence · Host confirms direct knowledge: 'it's going to be at Flip In Flip N Out Pinball booth'

  • Deep Root Pinball has hired J-Pop (John Popadiuk) as lead game developer

    high confidence · Host states as fact: 'Deep Root Pinball out of San Antonio, Texas, headed by Robert Mueller, has hired J-Pop as the lead game developer'

Notable Quotes

  • “I was given a sneak peek at the playfield buildup of the newest pinball game I designed for Stern Pinball today. I almost crapped my pants. It is, all caps, amazing. It blows away any game I've seen in years, and I'm so privileged to have had the opportunity to work with the legend, John Borg, master art director Greg Freres, Stephen Martin, and the skilled geniuses at Stern.”

    Christopher Franchi @ Read on air by host, no timestamp provided — Confirms Franchi designed artwork for upcoming Stern game with John Borg as designer, describes game as exceptional, indicates imminent reveal

  • “I think they're just going to do a social media thing again.”

    [name withheld pending review] @ ~13:30 — Speculation that Stern may avoid convention reveal and instead announce via social media, potentially repeating Star Wars IGN leak strategy

  • “This with toys, I think we got a new designer... I think it's Eric Meunier”

    [name withheld pending review] @ ~9:15 — References to Eric Meunier as designer for Stern's rumored Pirates game, though host uncertain of name spelling

  • “Stern is Chicago. Stern Pinball is Chicago. There's only one conference in Chicago a year. Stern. How do you not? What are you doing?”

    [name withheld pending review] @ ~13:00 — Rhetorical argument that Stern has obligation to reveal at Chicago expo given location, expresses surprise at rumored absence

  • “I think the rumors and stuff that are surrounding the company and what they're doing and stuff, it sounds like too much over-promising and too high a goal.”

    [name withheld pending review] @ ~62:30 — Critical assessment of Deep Root Pinball's strategy and credibility; skepticism about over-promising

Entities

Straight Down the Middle Pinball ShoworganizationChicago Pinball ExpoeventJersey Jack PinballcompanyStern PinballcompanySpooky PinballcompanyAmerican PinballcompanyChicago Gaming CompanycompanyChristopher Franchiperson

Signals

  • ?

    announcement: Jersey Jack scheduled fireside chat Thursday 8:30 p.m. expected to be venue for Pirates of the Caribbean reveal

    medium · Host speculates timing and seminar scheduling align with previous pattern of reveals at fireside chats

  • ?

    rumor_hype: Multiple rumors circulating about unrevealed Stern game, potentially Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Maiden, or Kill Bill

    low · Host acknowledges sources are weak ('cleaning ladies' and secondhand gossip), speculates Guardians as strongest rumor based on theme fit with Franchi artwork style

  • ?

    design_innovation: Christopher Franchi (artist) and John Borg (designer) collaboration on new Stern game described as exceptional and imminent

    high · Franchi's direct Facebook quote read on air describing playfield as 'amazing' and game as 'must-have', team listing includes Stephen Martin and Greg Freres

  • ?

    product_launch: Total Nuclear Annihilation (Spooky) official reveal restricted to Pinball Life charity event Friday, not main expo floor

    high · Host explicitly states reveal location and timing; Pinball Life event details provided

  • ?

    event_signal: Chicago Pinball Expo schedule includes multiple seminars, tournaments, and charity events; major manufacturer presence confirmed

    high · Hosts review complete expo schedule including Jersey Jack fireside chat, Stern-O-Rama, factory tour, and Pinball Life events

  • $

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.131

0:00
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0:23
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0:58
You had a fling with a fling shot. You're rolling out the alley again. Hey, guys, thanks for checking out Straight Down the Middle of Pinball Show, another one of our This Month in Pinside discussions.
1:12
Do you know what's in the air? What time it is? It's fall. I'm just messing with you. It's expo time. I was leading up. I messed him up. It's fall. He was kind of like, I don't know what he's doing. You got your little pumpkin candle, Sal? Not yet. No? I do have to decorate for Halloween, though. You go all out, don't you? I do go all out. We get a little crazy. So it's expo time. It is. I'm looking forward to it. As of today, you're going. Yeah, I'm going. I'm 100% going. I'm going. This one's solid. He's going to be like Sasquatch there. If you guys see him, take a picture, because he's going to be drunk at the bar most of the time. If you want to find Greg, go to the hotel bar. People just want to have a drink with me. So I'm like, yeah, I'll drink with you. We should. Yeah, we are. We are. I mean, you know. Find Grizz. You can't have drinks with too many people. You'll have to have a drink with one person because you're one beer and out. Well, maybe I'll just put it in a red solo cup and like every person I drink with. That's the guy that's like, hey, man, look at that pinball there. That's right. Dump it in the plate. Oh, I'm done. Wee. So it's expo time. You looking forward to it? Yeah. You've never been to an expo? No, I've never been. I'm excited, though. I'm looking forward to it, too. So what do we know about this year's Expo? Last year we knew that there was a lot of reveals. Yeah, there was. A lot. Good reveals. Well, at the time it was bad reveals. Good and bad reveals. You thought, oh, then what the hell, but then it turned out to be spectacular. What did we say day one on Dollar Tree? Oh, yeah, we said we really did. What did we say about Batman 66? Yeah. We said we don't know, we can't play it. Yeah, but I like it. What did we say about Alien at the Twin Peaks party? Oh, pumped about Alien. Now look what that turned into. Wah, wah. What do we think about Houdini? Houdini was not even what it looks like now. No. It was a total art package done by somebody else, J-Pop. It was a play field. But it was exciting then. Look at how much changed in one year. Literally almost everything. I mean, is that not crazy? So, I like on Pennside right now, Iceman44. A lot of you guys know Iceman. He's got a Expo Predictions. Yeah. What do you predict? Do you predict anything will happen at Expo? I'm going to go to his thread real quick here. As in, what do you mean? What do you think we'll see? Is Stern coming out with a machine? I don't think we'll see the Stern game. I don't either. Why not, though? I think that we'll see the JJP. You think we'll see the JJP? Let's go down his list. I would love to see Alice. Do you think that... Have you heard anything about that? Because I've heard speculation on everything else. Alice Cooper? My sources are pretty quiet on Alice Cooper. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. But he acted as if... Charlie acted as if we're seeing it. I think we're going to see it because I think that's why the release of the head decal. I think that's why the little sneaky. But where are we going to see that? I don't know if he's got a seminar.
John Borg
person
Jack Guarnieriperson
Jack Dangerperson
Zach Sharpeperson
Deep Root Pinballcompany
J-Popperson
Flip N Out Pinballcompany
Pinball Lifevenue
Pirates of the Caribbeangame
Alice Coopergame
Total Nuclear Annihilationgame
Houdinigame
Guardians of the Galaxygame
Gary Sternperson
Steve Ritchieperson
Greg Freresperson
Eric Meunierperson

market_signal: Speculation that Stern avoiding convention reveal strategy in favor of social media announcement, possibly due to Star Wars underperformance

medium · Host cites pattern of Star Wars IGN leak failure and suggests social media reveal may be Stern's new strategy; notes chicagoland location makes absence surprising

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Deep Root Pinball hires J-Pop as lead game developer

    high · Host states as direct fact; company identified as San Antonio-based, headed by Robert Mueller

  • ?

    community_signal: Host expresses doubt about Deep Root Pinball's credibility and business model, citing pattern of over-promising

    medium · Co-host states 'too much over-promising and too high a goal' and references pattern of failure ('how many times does the train have to wreck')

  • ?

    product_concern: Discussion of licensing risks for Pirates of the Caribbean without Johnny Depp involvement in design

    medium · Hosts debate whether Pirates can succeed without Depp likeness, compare to Alien's approach without Sigourney Weaver

  • ?

    venue_signal: Pinball Life hosting charity event benefiting Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Friday with all entry fees donated

    high · Hosts cite event details including $15 admission (sold out), 3-drink limit, and connection to Brian Kelly

  • ?

    leak_detection: Spooky Pinball released preview head decals for Alice Cooper game, signaling imminent reveal

    medium · Host references 'sneak the little headshot of the head decals' released by Spooky and notes back glass quality

  • ?

    content_signal: Straight Down the Middle podcast and sponsors (Flip N Out Pinball, Pin Graphics) attending expo for interviews and vendor booths

    high · Hosts confirm attendance, mention speaking engagements, and note sponsor vendor presence at expo

    • 4:02
    And they're not taking total nuclear annihilation there. That's going to be at Pitbull Life. We'll talk about it here in a minute. I don't know. Maybe it'll just pop in. Be out. Yeah. Maybe they're delaying it, though, because of total nuclear annihilation.
    4:15
    I don't know. I'm excited about Alex Cooper. All right. So let's go through Iceman's predictions here. Some of them are tongue in cheek. But let's start with the first one. And he says, Jersey Jack's Pirates of the Caribbean. Do you think we'll see it? Yeah. I think we will, too. I'm hearing too strong of stuff that we'll see. I am as well. I think we'll see Pirates of the Caribbean. And I'm still excited about it. I hate to say that. Well, you hate to say that. I'm excited about it. I'm excited to see it. And I think it's going to be a good game. Any Jersey Jack machine comes out, I'm excited for. Yeah. I mean, they haven't failed me yet. They haven't. Honestly. So that's why I think it'll be spectacular. They're three for three to me. So the theme I'm not totally excited about No Pirates are still awesome Do you think they fail if they don't have Johnny Depp Yeah I think if you're going to base it on the movie If you're basing it on Pirates of the Caribbean ride Or something at Disney Then I think you'd get away with it Have you not rode that ride? Now it's got Jack Sparrow all in it It's well done I thought I heard that they were redoing it It's really well done He pops up everywhere You can't not have Jack Sparrow I mean, it's like Sigourney Weaver, that was kind of hard to do. We got an alien, but the way they did it, that was whatever. Yeah. So it kind of fit and you could work around it. But like Johnny, like the movie would have never been what it was without him. I mean, he fought to have that character quirky and weird. Like literally the entire franchise is based upon his decisions and on his back. Yeah, so I think it's a shortcoming if they don't have Johnny Depp. But otherwise, I'm excited about it. Stern's made a good Piracy Caribbean game. Yeah. This with toys, I think. we got a new designer I don't want to mess up his name sorry I think it's Eric Mounier let's just call it I don't want to mess up his name but then I'm going to try to see I should know this stuff Greg I should know this stuff failure so Pirates of the Caribbean you think we'll see yeah now if we're looking at the scheduled lineup Jack speaks on we've got it right here I'm going to be there 830 Thursday you're going to miss it oh An evening with Jersey Jack pinball. You'll get to go. Fireside chat Thursday at 8.30 p.m. Remember, Chicago's on Central Time. So I'm thinking that's when the reveal is going to be.
    6:28
    Yeah. That's what I'm thinking. I think so. Yeah. So we'll see if we get him. Will we get to play it?
    6:34
    You remember what happened when we dialed in? Mm-hmm. Jack unveiled five of them and said play them all night long.
    6:40
    I hope they do that again. Did you just get to play it the night of the seminar? It was there all weekend. All weekend? There was the weekend. Oh, good. Yeah, and there was lines all weekend. Yeah. Oh, yeah. All right, number two, the newest Stern game. The newest Stern game. The sources that I'm getting, and they're not concrete. It's not like I'm talking to anybody that really knows what the hell they're talking about. They're, you know, this guy said that this guy said to his cleaning ladies. This guy said his formal roommate's fiance's dog.
    7:08
    Nonetheless, it's still, I don't think it's going to be here. And it's sad, too, because Stern is Chicago. Stern Pinball is Chicago. There's only one conference in Chicago a year. Stern. How do you not? What are you doing? How do you not unveil that game? Now, maybe they do. Maybe they're just keeping it low key, but I don't think they're doing it. I don't think so, but I don't think so. And if you know, Stern cranks them out so quick, Greg, why not? It's like what we talked about. How are they going to unveil it? Are they going to unveil it like they did with Star Wars? No, they know better. No. Zach Chardon knows better than that. Maybe that's why they're holding it all. But what's the next big show? You're not until Texas. I mean, there's a show in Orlando in November. Yeah, but I don't think they would track a game down there. I think they're just going to do a social media thing again. I mean, it's smaller shows. Still good shows. Yeah. Do you think they're trying to get away from convention reveals? No. I wouldn't think so. I love the convention reveals. I don't like that the Star Wars was a total fail because it had the IGN blurry pictures, and then we had to wait a couple weeks. That was a fail. But why would you not, where you can hear people, I mean, obviously people are going to take to Penn State or anything else no matter how you release it, but why would you not do it so you can gauge reactions and something to be said about seeing people? It's a new product. Yeah. Do you think they're worried that Star Wars isn't selling as well as they wanted it to? Oh, I think so. That would be my big guess. But at the same time, me and Zach argue about this. If Star Wars is a failure, Zach thinks that, well, you're not going to buy it, regardless. People already know what Star Wars is. But I kind of think, though, because of the way people's purchase habits are, that, eh, you know what, they're delaying their next game. I kind of want another new in-box game. I'll give Star Wars a chance and I'll buy it. In the end, that's the reason I bought Ghostbusters. Exactly. That's what I'm saying. I kind of think some of that stuff could happen. So you might piggyback a few sales, but I would just release your next game, bite the bullet. It's not like it's going to be available for purchase. Just at least show us the machine. Yeah. Show us your demo of it and let people buy it in January or December. Why are we waiting, Greg? I'm pumped. What do you think it's going to be?
    9:35
    There's a couple rumors out there. Yeah, what are we hearing? We're hearing Guardians. We're hearing Guardians of the Galaxy, which would be, I would love. Yeah. We're hearing Iron Maiden. Yeah. But that's the rumor John Trudeau game that they're going to have to either scrap or go back on. Kill Bill has been thrown out there. Yeah.
    9:55
    I lean the strongest on Guardians. Yeah, it's probably Guardians. With rumor, but man, oh, man. How great is that? I'm very pumped about it. Speaking of, might this be, who do you think is going to have this game? Like, who's going to be the designer? Who's going to be the artist? Who's going to be the coder? What do you think? Tell our viewers what you think. I don't know. I think that I follow one of our best buddies, Christopher Franchi. And he came out on Facebook. I'm going to read his, he had a post on Facebook. I do love Franchi. I love some Franchi. That dude is going to be the stern artist. I'm telling you. I was telling Zach that. I said the nice thing about Franchi's stuff is it won't get old because it's spectacular photorealism art. So he can go in so many directions with his art So it almost timeless in a sense You know it like a nice suit or something The color palette to you Yeah it not pop He not a trend artist It not a trend so you don have to worry about it going out of style or not fitting It's always in style. It's always in style, and it's always going to be fantastic. I'm so looking forward to this. But he posted this. Now, I don't know when he's going to have a pin come out, but he said on Facebook, this is his quote, I was given a sneak peek at the playfield buildup of the newest pinball game I designed for Stern Pinball today. I almost crapped my pants. It is, all caps, amazing. It blows away any game I've seen in years, and I'm so privileged to have had the opportunity to work with the legend, John Borg, master art director Greg Frears, Stephen Martin, and the skilled geniuses at Stern. All will be revealed very soon. Save your pennies. This is a must-have. A Borg game with Franchi as the artist.
    11:42
    The gods are shining down on me. And it almost seems like that if it's at that point, you would think that that's going to be the game. Yeah, because he said you're going to see it soon. Yeah, that that's the next release. Unless he's got the boutique game. But he didn't say anything about that. Yeah. I think. And then we know Trudeau. We know that pin's not going to be anywhere. Regardless, I'm saying my pin is. And he says Borg. I think this is the next pin. So if he has Guardians, Greg, if he's got Guardians, I'm just stoked. I think it fits his style because, like, how can you go with Guardians? You can't go in a real weird artistic direction with Guardians. And I don't think Stern is stupid enough to do – I mean, I guess they were bound with Star Wars. But you really can't go with some of that clip art shit and different things. So, to me, Francie would fit Guardians spectacularly. So, he released that. So, I'm thinking we've got something coming soon. Just release the damn thing. I want to see it. I want to buy it. It's almost a title where a theme where it's sight unseen for me. Yeah. If you're telling me John Borg, Franchi, and you're telling me a theme that I think is out of the park.
    12:54
    Oh, Greg. I don't think we'll see it. But why? It's Chicago, Greg. Why not see that damn thing? All right. Maybe we'll, uh, maybe we'll do a little reconnaissance mission and, uh,
    13:08
    like skylight through the skylights and try to find that guardians at the certain factor. Yeah. It's going to be in there somewhere. that's the only thing that I can think of if it's not at Expo is it going to be on the Stern Factory tour that makes me want to go to that thing I know like that's my only hang up that's where Batman was first seen that's what I'm saying and you're not going to be able to play it well even if they let you flip it for a little bit no because there's too many people coming you should see that it would make sense because Stern would isolate themselves in a sense away it would also bring more people into the factory because if Stern starts releasing their pens on the factory tour, more people are going to want to go to the factory tour. That's a good point. And it's going to give Stern a little bit more money. It's going to hype that up a little bit more. Go on the Stern factory tour. Because then you can see the new game. It isolates himself from the expo. They leaked the photos of Batman 66 when I was on that wretched ass bus from expo. They put you in a school bus. And you got to ride the 30 minutes to the factory, which sucks. But I was on there when I first started pulling up pictures. And I was like, oh shit. They leaked it too soon. And then we got to see it in person. It was really cool. Yeah. And I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to that. I'd like to play it, obviously. I just want to see it. Yeah. I just want to see it. That's all. All right. Iceman said, number three, Monster Bash gets revealed.
    14:30
    Do you think Monster Bash would be revealed? Next Chicago Gaming. I think they're going to wait until Texas. I think it's too early. I think they'll wait until Texas to reveal it. Because it still seems like. I mean, but the strong rumor is monster. Attack of Mars still feels fairly fresh and new to me. Like I think they wait until. Yeah, I think so too. All right. Alice Cooper. Yeah. Again. Yeah. I want to see it. I'm more hype. I know you are. I'm so high guys. Check out our Facebook page. Um, right when spooky pinball showed, they showed a, a writeup by, I don't know what, uh, group it was, but a writeup about the machine. Yeah. And they, They sneak the little headshot of the head decals. Yeah. And how great were they? Yeah. Fits that back glass. It's awesome. It looks really good. I'm like. So check out our Facebook page. The back glass being one thing. Actually, I'll throw it up here right here. It can be fairly different from everything else. But with the head decals, the back glass, I'm really stoked to see what the play field art is going to be like in the plastics and how everything's going to be. We'll see. I'm really pumped about that, man. We'll see. But are they going to show it? Are they not going to show it? I don't think they'll show it. I kind of don't think they will either. Because there's nowhere to show it.
    15:45
    They're going to be at Pinball Life. And speaking of Pinball Life, let's talk about that. So Pinball Life, every year everybody loves their parties, right?
    15:55
    So in the years past, they got a little sloppy with alcohol. Last year, they dried it up a lot. This year, they're doing it for charity. I'm going to read off. Is there a five-drink minimum? I don't know. Minimum. I don't know. By drinking minimum. So from Thursday from 10 to 4 on October 12th, it is free admission. Over 30 games on free play. What's free admission? On Thursday, Pinball Life. It's free? Yeah. That's when you would go. Yeah. This isn't the special event, though. Over 30 games on free play. Free non-alcoholic beverages. Free cold snacks. If you're more about having access to the machines and parts, don't like crowds, this is probably the day for you to attend. Oh, and if you're Greg and an effing tight ass. so that would fit in there too let me ask you this about the pinball life thing I know that you can pick up and order there but do they have like basically sort of their catalog at your disposal there so that I could if I needed a part I'd just buy it I don't have to pay shipping with discounts too I think so I know right alright so on Friday October 13th from noon to 6 This is the day we bring the party, they said. This is going to be a charity event with all entry fees being donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which is fantastic. That's spectacular. The admission is $15. All tickets sold out. Missed that one. Surprise, surprise. Procrastinate, Mass. Greg. You're probably worried about all the lead exposure in there. Oh, so much lead and metal. it's a fear to be reckoned with there okay so uh this is where they're going to release the official total nuclear annihilation you're going to see it at expo no you're only going to be seeing it at pinball life at the party at the party yeah and also pinball olympics is going to be there too that's the cool quirky ways that uh that i forgot his name i apologize but he sets up pins and different challenges and ways that you got to do limited free alcohol beverages three drink oh okay three instead of drink free non-alcoholic beverages free hot lunch um we're issuing entry tickets simply to control the amount of people we attend blah blah sounds fair okay so it's brian kelly brian kelly's uh they're contributing towards that foundation because of brian kelly uh which is so so cool but tickets are sold out so you're not going to that. No. Guess who's going? You. Unless your wife gives me her ticket. Are you going to talk my wife into giving you... Do you want her there or do you want me there with you? She doesn't watch the shows, does she?
    18:40
    You know what? We'll have the wives hang out. Both of you guys are some of my favorite people. So, I don't give a shit.
    18:50
    Honestly, if you two didn't go, I'd be fine with that too. I don't give a shit. As long as I can go, I don't give a shit what you do. You can sit in the parking lot if you want. I don't care. I'll throw pinball life stuff out the window for you.
    19:08
    He's all uncomfortable now. No, I'm good. I'll fuck him up for the rest of the video. Honestly, I'm so pumped for this. I am so freaking pumped for it. All right. We'll see what else he goes through. All right. Deep Root and J-Pop. We're going to talk about that in a minute. he says Steve Richie's going to announce his retirement because he should that's kind of mean okay Houdini American Pinball so what do we know about Houdini is that going to be there our buddy's in American Pinball hell yeah it's going to be there and it's going to be playable it's going to be at Flip In Out Pinball's booth and come check us out there we're going to be hanging out with Larry yeah we'll be at Flip In Out a lot especially with Houdini it's one of our best buddies Larry so that's going to be there and buy an Escalera while you're there yeah you know I saw somebody on my little secret private where the hell are you going with this I belong to a Facebook page again I love it to death so I can't ever stop talking about it but it's the secret invite like you got to be super special which is why I'm not yeah because nobody likes you so what's it called tell people I know I can't talk about it are you shooting me it's that secret I don't know how secret it is and I don't want to ruin it if it is a secret oh my god so I won't say I don't even know the name of it. But it's because it's the most spectacular freaking Facebook page I've ever belonged to in my entire life. Robert Downey Jr. Eye Roll, insert. But somebody on there bought a badass Escalera, and they were excited about moving games for their Louisville show. I guess they bring a lot of games and different stuff. I was super stoked about having that. And I was like, oh, just drooled over it. Very cool. Because I wanted it. All right, so let's go back. So Chicago Expo. What else do we need to know? Let's run through. Let me give you this. What? And I don't know how long it'll last. Okay. I'm pumped about this. What? Stern Palooza? You're like, well, if Stern don't reveal a game, what's going to be going on at Stern Palooza? You want me to tell you what the hell's going on at Stern Palooza? I'm not the biggest Stern fan, but you know what's going on? Free beer.
    21:03
    Well, that's the place last. That's what's happening. I don't know how long it'll last, but I can bet your ass I have six beers in the first 15 minutes while I'm there.
    21:13
    Okay. What do you get? What's Stern Palooza? Free beer. That's what I'm thinking. That's all I need. They know what they're doing. That's amazing. You put free beer on anything, you're going to go to it.
    21:27
    Yeah, but part of me is like. Not you. Not me. He was like, bring me games. I don't care about free beer. Put a free Coldplay CD under there and I'll be right there. I like Coldplay. All right. So let go through the events here So Wednesday is kind of set up Thursday you got the Stern Factory tour in the morning Buses depart from the hotel at 9 a
    21:54
    We'll get to it, Dick. See, your gun flustered me. At 10 o'clock, flip out 2017 Trent Augustine's tournament starts at 10 a.m. Break for lunch at 1 o'clock. The Hard Top, a new solution for out-of-print roached playfields by Bruce Westfall and Scott Mooring.
    22:16
    Why do I keep saying number two? At 2 o'clock, This is Your Brain on Pinball by Jim Shelberg. At 3 o'clock, The Evolution of Pinball Dinosaur with Don Caldwell and Mark Bakula and guest moderator Gary Flower. What's Pinball Dinosaur? I don't know. At 4 o'clock, chat with American Pinball Team. Joe Balser, Deval Vasani, and staff. I'll be going to that. I'll be going to that for sure at 5.15 now tell people why you're not going to go though just because you don't do seminars do you don't really care again Hotel Bark with Grizz you guys will be fighting by the end of this and hugging at the same time I love you man 5.15 owning and operating Galloping Ghost Arcade by Doc Mac 6pm up close with Gary Stern speaker you know who the speaker is Deadfoot. Gary Stern. You said Deadfoot. That's a possibility. But no, Gary Stern. So what, I don't know what he'll talk about. Fruit beer. Possibly. 8.30 on Thursday is the Fireside Chat with Jersey Jack, Jack Guarnieri and team. Do you notice how my enthusiasm since we started talking about beer, do you see the energy? I know. Rewind the video back, guys, and just watch all the way up to the point of beer. Now look at this. Did you see how pumped I was when I was thinking about French and Borg working together? All he did is he got nervous because he's like, what if somebody buys me one beer?
    23:41
    What if somebody buys me – Don't do that because these people are going to – What if somebody buys me two beers? Beer and liquor and stuff. I don't want that. What if I can't? Oh, my God. What do I do? At 10 p.m. on Thursday, Lloyd Olson. Everybody loves Lloyd. He's going to do a show and get together. So Friday. Let's go into Friday. Expo Brawl. That's what I'm doing. 7 a.m. registration in the morning. The story of how the Fargo Pinball Club was started. Bill Jim and Emily Brooks. That's cool. 9.15, Pinball Tech from the technician point of view, Ron Coon. Oh, I'd like to be there. That might be fun. I would like to. You won't be there. No.
    24:15
    Flipout Classics qualifying is 9 a.m. So they have a decent tournament there? Oh, yeah. Is there multiple tournaments? Yeah, I think it's a... Do you have to have the expensive ticket to get into the tournament? How do you get into the tournament? You're not going to be there in time to even start, so don't worry about it. 10.15 is a review of manuals and schematics. That sounds kind of boring. No, I'd like that. Would you? Yeah. A road map to pinball repair. Day fix. He's going to have his big hat on. Messing around with my project pin that I picked up. Like, I'm going to change.
    24:46
    Beer. What if beer was there? 11 a.m. I've got to learn shit. New and interesting game restoration at the Ann Arbor Pinball Museum and Show with Clay Harrell. Okay.
    24:58
    1 p.m. Two upcoming pinball magazine publications with Jonathan Justin. He always has really cool stuff. 2 p.m. The Unique, Rare, and Universal The Gottlieb Milestar Years by Derek Fugate 3 p.m. Making Perfect Parts for the Imperfect Machine, speakers Bruce Westfall and Greg Frears 4 p.m. The Oh, this is what I'm looking forward to The Miracle of the Art of Batman 66 and Beyond No Sleep Till Expo So this is Christopher Franchi and Greg Frears The story behind how that Batman 66 artwork came about is nothing short of remarkable, so you've got to check that out. And he'll probably, Chris is always fun to listen to and to talk to. So 5 p.m., these good old days at Williams. Larry DeMar, Steve Ritchie, and Eugene Jarvis, that'll be cool. 6 p.m., Dutch pinball update. Jop and Barry are going to be there. Really?
    25:53
    Look at that face. Here's the thought bubble. What are they bringing? Pinbot 9.12? I don't know what I guess they're giving an update I don't know what to say about that I don't either I don't want to be a dick because you always claimed that I am but look guys bring the big Lebowski or don't I want that game to be made because everybody that's touched it I've heard it is but are you tired of it I want to play the game or I don't want to listen to the bullshit anymore 7pm Star Wars The Saga Continues It's by Steve Ritchie. So that'd be good. 8.30, Stern-O-Rama with Jody Dangberg and Zach Sharp, hosted by your host. Oh, Stern-O-Rama? What do I call it? Stern-Palooza? Yeah, Stern-O-Rama, Stern-Palooza, same thing. Hosted by Gary Stern. Dead flip.
    26:48
    So Jack Danger's got that one. I don't know what they're going to talk about, but something tells me it's not going to be a reveal. Saturday, we've got The Lost Prototype, Story of the Ballet That Got Away by K.C. Gardner. 11 a.m. Pinball Wizards Jackpots and Drains and the Occult of the Silver Ball by Adam Rubin. At noon Chrome Plating, Picking, Hot Rods and Family by Chris Royalty. That'd be fun. 7 p.m. Cocktail Hour on Saturday. There you go. What was this one?
    27:17
    I'll write that down. 7 p.m. on Saturday, Cocktail Hour. 7.15, Make-A-Wish Charity Auction. 8 o'clock is the Banquet. I will be gone by all of that. Was it free cocktails? I don't know, Greg.
    27:29
    I'm looking forward to Franchi's speech. I'm looking forward to Jersey Jack's reveal if they reveal. I'm looking forward to Pinball Life. I might even do the Stern Factory tour. I'm just freaking pumped. I'm really pumped to talking with people, going to vendors. That's my most exciting thing. Yeah, that's what I'm going up for is I'm going to talk to people. All our sponsors are going to be there too. I like to bullshit with people. Larry flipping out Pinball. Yeah. Pin Graphics. Joe at Pin Graphics is going to be there. And Scott. Oh, wait. I've got to make a Pin Graphic for her because I think I'm going to order Walker Pants. Oh, yeah. All right. So that's basically Expo Buddy. And that's why we really wanted to talk about it this time because we are pumped for it. It's less than a month away. It's going to be a lot of fun. All right. Let's go to – sorry for the delay, guys. I'm the only organized one here.
    28:17
    I've got the elevator music for you. He just sits here. All right. This isn't my strong suit. What? Pinball and organization? work i'm more of the hype man so we talked about all of this let's talk about freaking you can't he won't go away j-pop john poppadoo the guy won't go away greg i don't either but we got to talk about it no he's back yeah again with the same machines yeah i'm curious about how that's going to go over so a uh organization or group corporation by the name of Deep Root Pinball out of San Antonio, Texas, headed by Robert Mueller, has hired J-Pop as the lead game developer.
    29:05
    Do you care? No. Why not? I think that the rumors and stuff that are surrounding the company and what they're doing and stuff, it sounds like too much over-promising and too high a goal. and I like when you set things that almost seem unbelievable and unachievable not unachievable anything's achievable but just kind of unbelievable positivity everything's achievable son okay but then I think it puts a lot of hesitation in an already hesitated environment like it's just like you can't so I just don't care how many times does the train have to wreck to say you know what let's get rid of this model train It's nothing against the company. Is it not? It is in a sense that they've done their homework. They know what they're getting into. Well, yes and no, though. Unless they've got huge financial backing. If they've got just this unlimited supply of financial backing, somebody backing them, or multiple people backing them, then yes, I think that they'll succeed. Okay. But if the finances are not there, then I think the things that are being rumored to be promised and talked about are – I just – I think they're going to be hard to achieve. And, again, nothing against them, but in a sense against them. Just, again, pinball's hard. Everybody says that. But I think that you don't find that out until you get in and you really start digging deep and you get into the mess. You're already buried by the shit before you realize how difficult it is. I think it's the new manager idea. I was telling this on my Twitch the other night.
    30:52
    Every new manager that comes in, there's always that problematic employee. And every new manager has an ego on them because they have to lead the team. And they think, you know what? I can tame that person. Let's keep them. I can tame them. And they realize it's that person. It's not the company. The company's probably got good intentions. Yes. But This Week in Pinball, our favorite news-related website or Facebook, whatever it is, they did an exclusive. They called Deep Root that Mueller guy. Jeff talked to him for a long time. And there's a lot of things that he said that really, really concern me. Number one being that they've never made pinball machines before. Number two being that they see no issue with having John Papaduke as their lead game designer. Number three, they're wanting to make whole all of the people who were in on Raza and who were in on those John Papaduke games. Number four, they're going to try to make these games, including Magic Girl again. We've already been through this rigmarole. Number five, they said they're going to make an announcement shortly, and then they're going to be gone for years developing these games. Here's my issue. Then why in the hell are you talking now? Like, who gives a shit? And why are you associating yourself with John Papaduke now? Wait until you got the damn games done. Yeah, because I think that... And, oh, sorry. We'll summarize and then you can put... No, no, you're fine. But then This Week in Pinball said that they asked about when they were coming out and all that stuff. And they told them, we're going to come out with them and then we're going to give you a date. And we're not going to take your money until a couple weeks before we build it and ship it. But in the event that we're late on that date, we're going to start paying you these payback fees. That's bullshit, Greg. That's what I'm saying. That not going to happen That what I saying about the over too exaggerated Yeah You haven even made a pinball machine Promises Just make the damn pinball machine Be quiet And then come out with it Sorry I getting heated No, but that's the thing.
    32:50
    You're coming out now just giving the heads up. Hey, we're going to make these games and to try to get people to ease their minds. I just don't like that they tug at the heartstrings of collectors like myself. You see how amped up I get. I get so excited for this stuff. and to put this false hope in people. It's never ending. Yeah, just stop doing it. Stop doing it. All right. So that's that. I'm done with talking about that. All right. I'm not as upset about it as you. I am because I like pinball and I like pinball people. Stop screwing us over. Yeah. Okay. Highway pinball. Speaking of.
    33:26
    What is going on with all that? They're building games. It's been quiet for a little bit. A month ago they were supposed to ship games. It didn't. A couple weeks ago they were supposed to ship games. It didn't. They're supposed to put them in container and get them to coin taker. That's your highway pinball update. Sorry. Let's get back into something positive. Steve Ritchie, you know I love Steve Ritchie and all his remarks he makes, right?
    33:49
    Disease, I think, is what he called pinsiders. So just a reminder. But he said on his Facebook page, you hate that. It just makes you crawl, doesn't it? You're scared of me talking about that. He said, quote, I'm sick of licenses right now. I'm having real fun, all caps, real fun, doing what I'm doing next. What does that mean, Greg?
    34:08
    What does it mean? Unlicensed game. Do you think that's what it means, or do you think he's just trolling? No, I don't think he's trolling. I think he's working on unlicensed. You think Stern's going to dip their toe in the total nuclear annihilation dialed-in experiment? Yeah, but I think that there's a big difference. I think that it's even probably a larger gamble for Stern than anyone else. I think so, too. DNA was a homebrew pin, and it gained popularity from Dead Flip and such playing it, getting to see the good times. All the different conferences it was at. Yeah, everything that it was being at. And it slowly built steam. It snowballed. That's right.
    34:47
    Sort of like... Dialed In was big because of Pat Lawler. Dialed In was... And it was the Jersey Jack machine. Because it was a friggin' stellar game. Like, it was just spectacular. And it's Pat Lawler. That game would have failed if it was a mediocre game. And it's Pat Lawler. Yes, but that's what I'm saying. Like, if it was Star Wars or something... I think they're banking on that celebrity like Jersey Jack did with Pat Lawler. They're doing that with Steve Richards. I don't think the Pat Lawler thing mattered. I'll tell you the truth. Oh, bullshit. I don't think it mattered. Bullshit. I don't think it mattered. Absolutely mattered. Not the name? I think that was the number one thing. No, not the name. I think that was the Pat Lawler game that wasn't dialed in. No. I think that was the theme. It's Pat Lawler. No.
    35:23
    If it would have been up to each their own. I'm saying, though, that that's not what caused it to succeed. No, no, no, no. And it wouldn't have succeeded on that name. I think it would have. No. Well, no, I take that back. No! I take that back. Because he did develop some games with Stern that were eh. That's what I'm saying. But he took a hiatus. Yes. So this was the... But I'm just saying, the fact that Dialed In turned out to be one of the most amazing machines ever made is why it succeeded. Look at you. It's why it succeeded. That's a bold statement. It is. But it is. It's a fantastic game. And so that's why it succeeded. Stern has to have a game that is remarkable to be able to enter that front. I think Stern touts Steve Ritchie as their best designer ever. They probably tout him as the greatest pinball designer of all time. That could be it. Don't mean it's going to be a great machine.
    36:14
    Insert Star Wars. Yeah. With the greatest theme ever. Yeah. But I'm saying, like, I think it's just more of a risk. Now, do you think he will go totally unlicensed original idea? Or do you think he will go back to the unlicensed and he'll make a sequel like a Black Knight 3000 for a. Oh, that's a good point. You know what I mean? Stuff like that. I think it'll be a completely original.
    36:40
    Like Dialed In or something. Really? Yeah. I don't think that it's going to be. Because to me, it's still. That's very licensed. You're still restrained. Okay. Whether it's Black Knight 3000 or whether it's Pirates. Okay. you're still restrained because you're bound by that sort of by that theme. And by that, I mean, he went from black night to black night, 2000. He seems to have liked to repeat that. He went from a high speed to get away. He went from terminator two, but you're still bound in a sense to hold some sort of resemblance to those prior pins. See what I'm saying? You, you're still some kind of, of bound. Whereas if you were to do something like dial it in, my question is, is that full freedom? Might that be what he wants? I don't know. I think it's, I think it's completely, By the way that it sounded, I think that it's a completely original.
    37:27
    It's interesting. Yeah. It's interesting. Okay. Let's move on. Dutch pinball, we've already covered.
    37:35
    Dialed in LEs and collector's edition are shipping. Fantastic. Oh, and as a reminder, if you guys want to collectors, if you want to go over the top and have, like Greg said, one of the greatest machines ever built, if you want to have one of the greatest versions, which is the collector's edition,
    37:52
    all that it is, I think Larry at flipping out pinball has one left as of recording. Yeah. So if you guys, uh, the big time collectors out there, you know who you are. Give him a, he's got a lot of inventory right now. I just talked to him the other day. He's like, Zach, I've got all kinds of stuff for people right now. So stocked up. He is, but a win of comment. So if you guys need a new game, go to him, tell him STTM sent you. Okay. And that wouldn't even know. I wouldn't even try to plug that, but he does have a collector's month. All right.
    38:21
    So we have to talk about this. We've got to talk. This is this month in Pennside. And what are people talking about this month in Pennside? There's a guy by the name of Waspinator that has been stirring the pot for sale. I've never seen like 200 posts on a for sale threat. Damn. But is it interesting? Yeah, it's pretty interesting. It's very interesting. So for you guys that don't know Waspinator, is a collector in the Lexington area. We know him really well. We consider him a friend. He's just a really cool guy. But he, I don't know if he's got ADHD or something, but he likes owning a game for two days. He'll post a game for Sailor Trade before he gets into his house. Yes. He wants to do the Blockbuster video. And he is 100% on my word and on my name. He is not a flipper. Nope. He is not. It's not. He wouldn't be a good flipper. No. It's not anything about that. It is truly what you see is what it is. Yeah. It's just. Now, people are, but people are having a strong emotion attached to this. Some people are thinking it is pure entertainment. This is great. Like, this guy is going through shit. And he's, here's the kicker. He's asking to trade for games that nobody freaking wants. Nobody wants these games. I understand that, though.
    39:38
    I don't know, man. I want it. He's got, like, a Walking Dead, and he's like, no, but I really want that. a Dead East game. Oh, the Dead East. And people are like, what the hell are you talking about?
    39:52
    I definitely relate to that. So I think that's what is pissing people off because some people are angry. Yeah. They're like, what the hell are you doing, dude? Like, why are you doing this? Well, I don't have anger on it. I think it's fun, but I also don't want the guy to hurt himself at the same time. Like, financially or just burn himself out on pinball. Yeah, because he don't have a large enough vehicle to transport. Yeah. That adds to it. Yeah, and you just get burned out. You're cycling through everything. It's almost like you have to sort of settle and give stuff a little more time. The last update is this week he's getting rid of the Shadow for Brownstoker Dracula. No! Yeah. Oh, I didn't get to catch up on that. So you can't keep up with it. That's what I'm saying. Oh, I'm actually really excited about that. Oh, brand and brand and brand. That's a good trade. No, it's not. Shadow's one of the greatest games ever made. It is, but I like BSD a lot. No, what are some of the games he's been wanting, though? He wants Baywatch. He wants... What are these other just shit, shit games that are so shallow? No, there's some worse ones than that that he just won. I can't even think right now. I didn't notice it was pretty shallow. Oh, my God. Ugh.
    41:00
    So, that's entertaining. What else? Do we have anything else? I think that's about it. This month's Pinside. Let me run through here. Okay, Pinball Live, Franchi Expo, Spooky Pinball. I hope I see the Alice Cooper, man. Oh, Total Nuclear Annihilation stream. That was cool. Deadflip delivered, him and Scott Denise delivered the very first production model to Ed Robertson of Bare Naked Ladies up in Conad. It looked good in his collection. It looked really good. Yeah. The stream was good. It looked like fun. I still need to play that game. I don't get to play it. You get to play it, though. I will. But you can. You won't be able to. No, unless Watt gives up the ticket. We'll see, man. We'll see. All right. Anything else you want to add, too, before we let these fine people go? Thanks for clicking on the video, by the way.
    41:47
    If you see this expo, say hi. We should have a contest, shouldn't we? What kind? I don't know. We should have a contest where if these fine individuals wear our T-shirt for the people who purchased the T-shirt. Oh, yeah. We can come up with something like that, Mary. We'll think of a special prize. So plan on packing that SDTM shirt, whether it's the logo shirt or the monster shirt. Yes. Plan on packing that and wearing it and coming up and saying hi to us. we'll make sure to either give you a prize or put you in a drawing for a prize we'll get something cool for you and again we only have a few monsters left monster shirts if we do by the few large and we're making it limited we're cutting it there that's it but like Zach said in a previous video we're going to be coming out with a new monster type shirt another limited run shirt maybe not a monster we're still we're tossing around some ideas We're trying to get maybe some artists or Greg and I might take the helm again. Yeah. We had so much trouble and fiascos making the other one work because I wanted to look great. Check us out on Facebook. Check us out on Twitch. Yes. Check Chuck work Wednesdays. Yes. Wednesdays. Our brother man. Friday's on Twitch. Call me Greg. 8 a.m. And subscribe to our YouTube. Yes. Definitely YouTube. All right, guys. Thanks. Have a good one. Bye.
    43:07
    You had a fling with a fling shot You're rolling out the alley dog Yeah I tried to cradle you with my flipper Never, never, never Where do we leave off at? Never watch Dad's video ever again Don't subscribe to Dad's channel Don't subscribe You see the hate I get? Don't subscribe? What about my videos? Subscribe to me? Toothless Wonder over there