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#41 Playboy - The Classic Pinball Podcast

The Classic Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·42m 41s·held·Nov 17, 2020
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.032

TL;DR

Deep dive into Playboy: history, gameplay, restoration, parts, and CPR alternative art kits.

Summary

George and Dave discuss Playboy pinball machine (late 1970s), covering its design, gameplay mechanics, restoration work, parts availability, and cultural significance. They share personal stories about early ownership and appreciation of the game, discuss CPR's alternative themed art packages (Playmate, Harlem Globetrotters Inked, Firepower, and Flash guard), and play through several games to demonstrate mechanics.

Key Claims

  • Playboy pinball was designed by Jim Patla with artwork by Paul Faris

    high confidence · Dave describing the game being restored in his basement

  • A brand new Playboy in 1979 cost $1,650

    high confidence · George recounting his friend Jack's purchase in February 1979

  • CPR is producing alternative back glass, playfield, and plastics bundles for Playboy (called 'Playmate') for $2,500

    high confidence · George asking Dave if he was aware of CPR's alternative art packages

  • CPR is producing three other alternative art packages: Harlem Globetrotters ('Inked'), Firepower ('Bloodlust'), and Williams Flash ('Ass Guard')

    high confidence · George describing CPR's alternative themed art kits during podcast conversation

  • A populated Playboy playfield purchased in the 1980s for $100 sold for $2,000 over 10 years before the conversation

    high confidence · George recounting a story about his friend Jack's parts investment and return

  • Pop-up bumper recaps for Playboy are only available from one aftermarket vendor and are not great quality copies

    medium confidence · George and Dave discussing parts availability; Dave notes the copies are presentable but imperfect

  • Playboy target stand-ups feature a girl with ribbon in her hair and are not available as reproductions due to licensing

    medium confidence · Dave and George discussing why reproduction targets aren't available; George suggests calling Planetary Pinball to inquire

  • Playboy is one of the top four games by production alongside The Addams Family, 8 Ball, and Flash

    medium confidence · George citing production numbers at episode end

Notable Quotes

  • “Welcome, Playboy fans, to the Heco Lounge.”

    Dave @ early episode — Opening commentary mimicking Playboy game callout, setting tone for restoration discussion

  • “$1,650 got you a brand new Playboy in 1979. Of course, then. Today's dollar is, I don't know, probably $6,000 or $7,000.”

    George @ mid-episode — Historical pricing context showing inflation and collector value growth

  • “I shook my head and I said, five grand? And not even restored? Just kind of a player?”

    George @ mid-episode — Commentary on overpriced Playboy with celebrity-signed backglass on Facebook Marketplace

  • “Stew needs a date.”

    Dave @ discussing CPR art — Humorous reaction to CPR's sexually suggestive alternative art packages

  • “The only thing really worthwhile in the game is if it's got a good coin door, a good cabinet, and the wiring harness. Everything else can be acquired.”

    Dave @ parts discussion — Expert assessment of Playboy's core valuable components and availability of alternatives

  • “Houston, we have a problem.”

    Dave @ Powerplay playfield story — Discovering rust and component damage on crated playfield that was supposed to be pristine; lesson about inspecting parts before purchase

  • “I think it's all the nostalgia that's associated with the game and not the game itself.”

    Dave @ gameplay assessment — Critical opinion that Playboy's appeal is driven more by theme and memories than actual gameplay depth

  • “It's a one-trick pony. I mean, if you don't get it in the grotto, forget it. You don't even stand a chance.”

    George @ gameplay analysis — Assessment that Playboy's strategy relies heavily on reaching the grotto multiball feature

  • “He got $2,000 for that play field over 10 years ago. That's a pretty good return.”

Entities

GeorgepersonDavepersonJackpersonHugh HefnerpersonJim PatlapersonPaul FarispersonPatty McGuirepersonSondra Theodoreperson

Signals

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Dave performed extensive playfield restoration on Bally Playboy including artwork touch-up by Maureen, playfield protector application, rubber replacement, and lane guide sourcing from aftermarket vendor Steve Young

    high · Dave describing 3-week transformation of damaged playfield with touch-up work, Novus treatment, and clear-coat protector application

  • ?

    design_philosophy: George and Dave assess that Playboy's design prioritizes artwork and licensing appeal over deep gameplay mechanics; characterized as one-trick pony dependent on grotto scoring

    high · George: 'I would say that this game was primarily based on its artwork and look rather than gameplay' and 'It's a one-trick pony. I mean, if you don't get it in the grotto, forget it.'

  • ?

    product_concern: Aftermarket bumper caps for Playboy are only available from one vendor with substandard reproduction quality; target standup repros unavailable due to IP licensing constraints; lane guides available from multiple vendors

    high · Dave: 'you can buy the pop-up recaps only from one person out there right and the person that we don't really care too much about...they're not great copies'; George: target standup reproduction blocked by IP rights

  • ?

    collector_signal: Populated Playboy playfields appreciate significantly; purchased for $100 in early 1980s, sold for $2,000+ ten years before podcast; represents strong collector hedge value

    high · George recounting Jack's story: 'He got $2,000 for that play field over 10 years ago. That's a pretty good return' with regret about not buying entire inventory of six playfields

  • $

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.128

0:00
Thank you. Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of the Classic Pinball Podcast. My name is George and today I'm joined by my co-host Dave. Hello, Dave. Hello, George. In this episode, we're back in Dave's basement.
1:09
The following is a brief history of the Playboy company. Playboy is an iconic brand. Most people are familiar with the rabbit head logo. In the top 100 licenses of the world, Playboy ranks number 56. It was a company started in the 50s by Hugh Hefner with his magazine, and that magazine progressively got larger through the 60s, 70s, and 80s. But it wasn't just a successful magazine. They had casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and London, to name a few. There were also key clubs, or playboy clubs as they were called, in New York City, Chicago, and Cancun.
1:55
Dave, you want to tell us a little bit about this particular game? Is it a customer game? Is it one that you've owned for a while? Give us a little bit of background on the game and gameplay. Well, first I'll say, Banzai Run would say, Welcome, race fans, to the Banzai Run. On this one here, I'll say, Welcome, Playboy fans, to the Heco Lounge. Yeah, this is a customer's game that I picked up from him to restore up in time for Christmas. Looks like we're going to be on schedule for that, or if not, sooner. It's pretty well beat up, playfield's pretty beat up, and Maureen did a lot of touch-up on it, playfield protector on it. It came out real nice. The artwork is a Paul Farris artwork and Jim Potla design.
2:42
It's got a lot of cool little features. You've got the Playmate stand-up targets there to get an extra ball when you get those down. You've got the Grotto worth 25,000 points when you get that. It gives you some bonus points. You go for the keys to get multipliers.

George @ parts investment story — Illustration of Playboy parts scarcity and collector investment potential

  • “I mean, the whites are usually really trashed out.”

    Dave @ playfield restoration discussion — Common restoration challenge with lane guides; standard wear pattern on Playboy machines

    • Maureen
    person
    Cy Colemanperson
    Steve Youngperson
    Mike Paysackperson
    Stewperson
    Ballycompany
    CPR (Custom Pinball Reproductions)company
    Planetary Pinballcompany
    Playboygame
    Playboy (brand/magazine)company
    The Classic Pinball Podcastorganization
    Captain's Auctioncompany
    Betson'svenue
    Playboy After Darkproduct
    Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)company

    market_signal: Facebook Marketplace listing of Playboy with celebrity-signed backglass asking $5,000 shows inflated pricing expectations not supported by actual market value; celebrity signatures valued at $1,000+ by seller but dismissed as unrealistic by experts

    high · George: 'Do you care to guess what this person thought their game was worth? $5,000...Not even close...he put the value, it tells me, of each one of those signatures at well over $1,000. Which, sorry. I don't think so.'

  • ?

    product_strategy: CPR producing alternative themed art packages for classic games; Playboy variant called 'Playmate' priced at $2,500 for complete backglass/playfield/plastics bundle; also offering Harlem Globetrotters, Firepower, and Flash variants with adult-themed artwork

    high · George: 'Are you aware that CPR is making an alternative back glass and play field and plastics as a bundle for this game?...Yeah. $2,500 for all those pieces.' Also mentions Inked, Bloodlust, and guard variants

  • ?

    historical_signal: Jack's 1979 purchase of Playboy ($1,650) was exceptionally early for private home collection market; George notes 'not a lot of people did that back then' in private market, indicating collector culture in late 1970s was nascent

    high · George: 'Not a lot of people did that back then. No, in the private market, no.' and 'Jack was a pioneer. He, you know, think about that. You know, he bought that game back in 1978 or 79.'

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Playboy features challenging right-side drop targets that rarely integrate meaningfully into scoring; playfield protector makes ball control difficult with increased ball speed; game design favors three-ball setup over five-ball

    high · Dave: drop targets 'really not you get them down don't really get much out of them'; George prefers three-ball setup; playfield protector creates 'insane' ball movement during gameplay demo

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Crated playfield purchased sight-unseen revealed hidden rust and component damage; lesson that new old stock playfields require physical inspection before acceptance; seller representations unreliable

    high · George/Dave: purchased crated Powerplay playfield expecting pristine condition, found 'all the lights...all the lights...They were all like rust' when removed; Dave: 'word to the wise, if somebody's going to sell you a crated play field, make sure you take it out of the box and look at it'

  • $

    market_signal: Playboy new retail pricing in 1979 was $1,650; estimated 2024 equivalent ~$6,000-$7,000 based on inflation; indicates strong original MSRP and stable collector demand through decades

    high · George: '$1,650 got you a brand new Playboy in 1979. Of course, then. Today's dollar is, I don't know, probably $6,000 or $7,000.'

  • ?

    community_signal: George's affection for Playboy driven primarily by personal nostalgia and friendship memories rather than objective gameplay quality; Dave corrects this distinction, noting memories > mechanics

    high · Dave: 'I think it's all the nostalgia that's associated with the game and not the game itself' and George agrees: 'it's just I have, you know, it just makes me think of all the fun stories and all the fun we used to have on the game'

  • ?

    manufacturing_signal: Playboy ranks as one of top four Bally machines by production volume alongside Adams Family, 8 Ball, and Flash, indicating significant manufacturing run and availability in market

    medium · George citing production numbers: 'The top four games by production are as follows. Adam's Family with, I believe, 20,000 and change. 8 Ball with, I believe, 19,000 and change...And Playboy with 18,000.'

    • 2:57
    And it's a pretty tough little game. It's also really good to get the bonus racked up pretty well, because then you can go have a beer and wait for it to count down. Let me interject for a second. With the Grotto, you acquire bonus points and points by getting the keys, correct? Correct. And the maximum, from what I understand and remember, is it can be up to $25,000 plus five additional bonus the way it's set up. And if you complete the keys multiple times, that's your multiplier?
    3:34
    Yes. So first five keys down, 2x, 3x, then 5x. That's right. And you can tie the keys together so it's easier, one and four together, two and three together. or you can have it higher so you get to get each individual key to get that multiplier.
    3:52
    Now, do you believe this game should be set up as a three or a five ball game? Three ball. Interesting. Okay. Okay. Let's talk a little bit about the five bag drop targets on the right. My feeling is kind of a also ran, not really fully integrated into the game like other drop target poly games yeah really not you get them down don't really get much out of them you get them down again and you get a free game other than that you know um if you're really a fan of bally bricks you won't be disappointed because these do brick uh quite well no matter what you do rebuild them whatever they still brick i would say that this game was primarily based on its artwork and look rather than gameplay, which leads me to the Backlass artwork.
    4:42
    You familiar with the characters that are on the Backlass? Yeah, you've got Hugh Hef's mansion there in the background. You've got the grotto there, or actually it's called the soup from all the whatever. And you've got Annie Ample there. You've got Grandma. Not Annie Ample! And you've got the champagne bottle in the bucket.
    5:03
    Okay, okay, folks. we have annie little annie fanny we have grandma and not the fembot the femlin ah the femlin yeah something have the femlin i don't know i think she's in a fire or something but all her clothes blew off except for her black leggings and her black armlings she has well she's uh she's hugging and overflowing champagne bottle uh yeah exactly a little a little a little well not not for this broadcast that would be that would be somebody else's broadcast i have a a couple of stories i'd like to tell about this game the one is my familiarity with the game. My friend Jack, who lives in New Jersey, came and visited me at college in the fall of 1978. And I recall the reason he did come up was we were supposed to go see Electric Light Orchestra in Montreal, Quebec. And the show got canceled the day before because Electric Light Orchestra refused to pay the tariffs and taxes that the federal government was going to impose on them. So they said, no, thank you. We're not coming. Good for them. My buddy still came up, and the story goes, we're sitting around in my room at the fraternity with a bunch of guys.
    6:34
    Stack of Playboys there. He's leafing through the back of one, and Playboy is marketing the new game. He points to the game in the back of the Playboy magazine and says, I'm going to buy one of those. Now, nobody in the room knew him except me. They said, oh, you're not going to go buy one of those. I said, yes, he will, and he did. That February, I think he took ownership, February of 79. Dave, care to take a guess on how much he paid for that game, brand new in box?
    7:10
    Probably right around a grand somewhere. $1,650 got you a brand new Playboy in 1979. Of course, then. Today's dollar is, I don't know, probably $6,000 or $7,000. Oh, it's got to be. I don't have my calculator in front of me, but yeah, I'm guessing somewhere around that.
    7:28
    I also have another story of Jack. Jack was very kind in bringing the game to a couple of parties I hosted, and the one was my bachelor party.
    7:42
    He and my friend Tom brought the game over in the back of a Volkswagen Rabbit, with the game sticking out the back end of the Rabbit with the hatch up. People just shook their head. They were wild men. I don't think you'll see that ever again.
    8:00
    Yeah, that's tough, too. They're pretty motivated to put in a Rabbit. They pulled a Rabbit out of the hat or a Playboy out of the Rabbit, something like that.
    8:12
    Okay. Okay, that was a good one. Dave, there's two women on the back glass at the center, one on each side of Hef. On the left side is Patty McGuire, and on the right side is Sondra Theodore.
    8:34
    Little known fact, Patty McGuire was married to Jimmy Connors. Yeah, tennis guy, tennis legend. Correct. Which leads me to another story. So I am out on Facebook Marketplace up in New Hampshire, and in the town right next door, somebody is selling a, quote-unquote, restored Playboy. But the feature of the game this person was so proud of was that the back glass was signed by both Patty McGuire and Sandra Theodore.
    9:12
    Okay. Do you care to guess what this person thought their game was worth? $5,000. Go to the head of the class. That's a good guess. Exactly. I shook my head and I said, five grand? And not even restored? Just kind of a player? It was okay. I mean, you know, was it a $5,000 game? Not even close. But he put the value, it tells me, of each one of those signatures at well over $1,000. Which, sorry. I don't think so. You know, the story was he was invited out to Chicago to their headquarters, and they happened to be there. He was a distributor for Playboy magazine, yada, yada, yada. Sorry, guy. Hey, you know what, though? Speaking of that, the owner of this game was a distributor for Playboy magazine. Well, ask him to go out and look at Marketplace for Derry, New Hampshire Playboy, and he will see that game. He's actually been to Hef's place, the guy who owns this game. He met Hef and played Hef's personal Playboy pinball machine, and he told Hef, hey, I have one of these games too, and Hef was, wow, really, that's great. So they talked a while, and he's been out there several times over the years. He's an older guy now, but he's probably got a lot of stories. He didn't drag the back glass from New England to Chicago to get signed and back again. No I told him that too I said why don you at least bring a plastic or a pop cap or something But I think the signature or the back glass might have been worth a little bit more had they also had Hugh Hefner signature on there as well That would be a little bit, yeah. Right. Are you aware that CPR is making an alternative back glass and play field and plastics as a bundle for this game? I was not aware.
    11:08
    Oh, I'm not getting the reaction I wanted. Well, is it all naked? Is it Stu? Is he the primary artist? Yeah. $2,500 for all those pieces.
    11:25
    So if you get a back glass, you get a play field, and you get plastics. I might be missing something. Oh, the artwork. I think there's decals or some kind of artwork for the outside. we'll have to go look we'll come back and we'll do a little recording and I'll show you that in a second but that's not the only game that they're redoing there are three others they're doing one for Harlem Globetrotters they're going to be naked too? no that one's called Inked it's I've got to show you these.
    12:08
    After I'm done telling you all these, we'll stop recording and I'll come back, and then I'll get your reaction. Okay. Then there's one for William's Firepower. That one's called Bloodlust. Okay. It's kind of like a vampire type of thing. Sounds a little dark. No, it's, again, another horny back glass and play field. For Firepower, horny Firepower. Yeah. And then there's this thing called, I've been calling it Ass Guard, but it's probably called something else because that's kind of what it is. Sounds like a P-Town thing. Yeah.
    12:44
    That's for William's Flash. So guard your ass? Well, yeah, it's probably a metal plate. Okay. It's kind of the reverse of an Iron Maiden. Okay.
    12:58
    You know, the chastity belt goes on the belt. Ah, got it. It's a reverse chastity belt. I see. okay wait a minute i know what's going on here you've all become idiots i just got done showing dave all the pictures of all four games that cpr is doing re-themed kits for dave give me your thoughts on well let's start with playboy or what they're calling playmate and then we'll get to the other three i'd say first of all in the one summation judgment i would say stew needs a date i would say that i would say that i would say that's the key to the game no pun intended yeah um i don't know it's it's uh borderline smut i don't know well as i just said before we talked is why would one do that unless the game was completely destroyed? Back glass, play field, you know, everything. And really the only thing that you would need to recreate the game is the wiring harness. You can buy or find everything else to create a new game. So if you've got a burned out game, the only thing really worthwhile in the game is if it's got a good coin door, a good cabinet, and the wiring harness. Everything else can be acquired. There's nothing in there that you can't find. Other than, obviously, all the mechs on the table itself. That's the only reason you really need the play field.
    14:38
    I'd say most wives are not going to let you bring that thing in the house unless you have a really wife that doesn't care that much about this stuff. But it's pretty suggestive stuff. It's going into the basement for the most part for people or a person who is probably single.
    14:58
    Or fraternity. Which brings me back to another Jack story and play fields. He used to go to Betson's in Moonocky, New Jersey, quite a bit. because he could go from his place of work, drive over there, and play all the latest and greatest games. So one day Jack's there, and they have a pile of crates.
    15:26
    He asks. It's all new old stock populated play fields. Yes, please. He actually bought one of the six that were available. So he bought a fully populated Playboy playfield as a hedge in the future. How much do you think he paid for that populated playfield?
    15:52
    $300. $100. Wow. Fast forward, must be 10 years ago, could even be 15 years ago. He's got, this is before Sandy hit. You've heard me talk about Jack losing all his games down in New Jersey, play field being one of them. But before that happened, he said, what do you think I could get for this playboy play field on the open market? I said, try $2,000. Yeah, I'd say run two. I was going to say two or more. He got $2,000 for that play field over 10 years ago.
    16:33
    That's a pretty good return. and I kept saying to him, now do you wish that you bought the whole pile? He said, I should have bought every single one and every crate that they had. And, you know, who would have known back, you know, that must have been probably in the 80s sometime. Right. I mean, I know he owned that for a long, long time. And he always said, I have the, I have, you know, I have a crated Playboy. And you picked up a crated Powerplay. Oh, I know we're going to do that. Yeah, and I got, I got hosed. Yeah. Because I'm not very smart. Well, it was a little rusty, right? Something like that was a little... I bought that game from Mike Paysack at Allentown sometime in the early 2000s. I don't remember when. And it was sitting in the wooden crate.
    17:20
    Who would have thought to take it out of the crate? You're looking at it. It had one mark on it. But the thing was perfect in every way, shape, or form. Well, I never took it out of the crate. And I wasn't going to put it into my game. so I sold it to Dave. You figured the crate would be keeping it pristine. Right. Dave pulls it out, and he calls me and goes, Hey, George.
    17:41
    Yeah, Dave. Do you ever look at this play field? I go, Yeah, it looks great, doesn't it? Do you ever take it out of the crate? No.
    17:53
    Houston, we have a problem. Go ahead, because you pulled it out. I do. I'm trying to remember. I just remember the... All the lights. Because the livestock were trash. They were all like rust. Right. So, you know, it was good in theory. So word to the wise, if somebody's going to sell you a crated play field, make sure you take it out of the box and look at it. I took Mike's word for it. And that was not cheap back at the day. That was like, well, it wasn't bad. $600, I think I paid for it. That's not bad. No. People would fight for it today. Yeah. Given that you're buying what? Just a play field unpopulated? Yep. Right? For how much? $800? Oh, yeah. Right. And then some. Right, so I think that runs my Jack stories. But again, we owned the game up until eight years ago when Sandy hit, and that became the end of that game, unfortunately. Too many good times. That's why every time I look at this game, I have a fond remembrance. But before we were recording a couple weeks ago, I made mention to Dave how much I liked the game. Well, he kind of poo-pooed it, and now I understand why. I think it's all the nostalgia that's associated with the game and not the game itself. Yeah, it's a decent game, but it's, I don't know. It wouldn't be my only game. Right, exactly. If I had a pile of them, and I would still buy one. I think it's just I have, you know, it just makes me think of all the fun stories and all the fun we used to have on the game. Yeah, there's lots of memories in this game. I remember playing this as a kid, you know, and rocking it, getting specials. Right, but I knew you were going to say that. I don't ever remember playing this game other than his.
    19:33
    Wow. But why would I? Why would I go put money in the arcade if I had my buddy's game for free and I could go play as many games as I want? Yep. So, yeah, Jack was a pioneer. He, you know, think about that. You know, he bought that game back in 1978 or 79. Not a lot of people did that back then. No, in the private market, no. I mean, I wish he still had the game. It's unfortunate what happened. the bali literature said the following about playboy dave okay lay it on me following the success of six million dollar man and lost world those are successes what are their that was their mark that was their marketing slogan what's their bad stuff how about how about we got tna and you're gonna like it yeah that's give us your money it's a more truthful. I think, you know, leave with your strong stuff. We've got some T&A happening. Right. Do you own a $6 million man? I do not. Do you own a Lost World? Negative. Okay, me either. So, what's that tell you? Not too good. Anybody who's been listening to us for any length of time knows we're somewhat selective. Lost World's a lost cause. Yeah, well, that's my words. But I will say, out of the two though, $6 million man is a better game. I will, it's more of a fun game to play than Lost World. I bought a populated playfield that was destroyed and I got a lot of good necks out of that.
    21:01
    Let's talk for a moment about the parts that are available for this game. CPR did make a regular Playboy playfield at some point in time and plastics I believe correct That right Did they also make the back glass Good question I not sure on that one I not sure either I don think they did but I not sure of that
    21:31
    The piece I want to concentrate on are the other two pieces, which are the bumper caps and the targets.
    21:40
    Can you buy those from anyone? you can buy the pop-up recaps only from one person out there right and the person that we don't really care too much about so we're not going to give him any endorsements and from what i've read online they're not great copies yeah i was you know what i was expecting a lot worse i saw some pictures but it's like it's the only game in town if you have crappy pop-up recaps but this game had them they were burned through the light burned through the caps was like so are these those these of those they're not bad okay you know i thought you cleaned up the ones i saw the last time i was here so they look good they look good if you upon close inspection you can kind of see the the bunny on there is not what you'd have like a steve young situation where a hot stamp on there it's a little something else going on but it's very presentable and uh how much did they you're gonna pay up how much did they cost for these uh i think with shipping like 35 bucks for a set of three Okay. But typically you're going to pay maybe five or six bucks per cap? Yeah, six bucks. What about the Targets? Those are original. I cleaned them all up. Okay. Those don't go bad. Could you go buy? I don't think they're available. Again, because, you know, that image costs money. You want to put it on something. I'm surprised. It's just a girl with some little ribbon on her hair. But they probably own the rights to that image. Yep. You know, very easy to find out. Call Planetary Pinball and say, hey, I'd like to reproduce and see what they say. I mean, they were pretty. They looked horrible. No, they usually, if they're not really, really bad, you can clean them up nice and use a little bit of a thin marker on them sometimes. But these here didn't need any of that. Right. Well, you're lucky. There was all kinds of, like, goo and kind of Novus 1 or Novus 2 and some wax on them and crap. So I just basically took them with a toothbrush and some dishwashing detergent and some water and really cleaned them up nice. And they came out great. They look close to new now. No, it looks great. Again, I only ask because we talk about it in every single show we do. We talk about whether parts are available for the game, and this one's no different. And it looks like even the lane guides up top are looking pretty good. Are those new? Those are new. I put new ones in there. You bought those from Planetary? No, I had those. Those are Steve Young's. Oh, really? Yeah, there's no Bally logo on them. I didn't go for the Bally logo. I just went for regular white instead. If you're looking for the Bally logo, Planetary, $4.50 a piece, I think, Planetary sells them for. Yeah, I don't think it's necessary. No, they look great. I mean, the whites are usually really trashed out. Yeah, they were pretty good. I mean, they're probably yellow. They were all ivory colored. Yeah, didn't look good. Right. This one here has had pretty extensive wear on the middle of the play field or on the bonus area. Maureen did her wonderful talent she does with touching everything up, magic racing the whole thing, and then I put a play field protector to finish it up, and it really looks like a nice clear-coated play field now. I know our audience always hears me gush, but Dave does a nice job on restoring these games. This one is no different. It's a great-looking game, given what it did look like, and I saw it three weeks ago. So it's remarkable as to the transformation. It looks great.
    25:03
    I think we should probably play a game. Yeah. Let's do it. And I can even sing along to the opening theme song. Oh, no, I don't. First of all, no. First of all, when you press the button, before you do, this is the one part of the game I love, the wolf whistle. Oh, true. The wolf whistle. It's here.
    25:26
    I think I have it set for 14 credits when you do that. All right, stop whistling, you wolf. Maybe right about now. There we go. Okay. And then it has this, we can sing along. I can sing along to the opening thing. It says basically, would you like another hot date with me? See? Cy Coleman, the Playboy theme. I opened the show with this. I had no idea that it was even a real song. And it's, again, this is before your time, Dave. There used to be a show called Playboy After Dark. Ah, yes. Yes, I've seen that on YouTube. They're all pajamas on. Wasn't a very good show. No.
    26:13
    It was titillating, let's say. It wasn't even that. Grab a magazine. All right, here we go. Okay, show us how it's done. All right. Three ball, 20,000 bonus is saved from ball to ball, and Dave already drained. Drained a reno. Okay. Let's see if... Got 9,000 points, George. I haven't played this game in a long time. Let's see how he did that. George steps up. He's going for the two and three. He got two and three down. He got one drop target down. He's got the flippers. Oh, he hit the little roll over there. Oh, it almost flipped over the flipper.
    26:58
    That play from protector is pretty slippery, and it makes the ball fly. No, I'm beating you by a whole 2,000. 11,000 points. Wow, we're really good. There we go. The keys hold over. All you need is the five in the middle, and you lose the ball. Wow, Dave. That clear coat on there, that play from protector makes the ball fly. Okay, let's see. Pretty insane. Maybe it should be five balls, George. I'm rethinking this. Let's see if we can get it to Grotto. We can't. Oh, come on. He just needs the middle five target of the key, and then he can get the multiplier. It is kind of a sucker shot, though, but might be able to... Okay, I'm going to try to get it. Nope. Oh, there we go. Into the grotto. Grotto. Off the drop targets in the grotto. Oh, so all you need is the middle key. Middle key, and then you get a multiplier happening. Okay, so that was four. I'm up to 6,000 bonus. And if you get 20, it'll hold over. There you go. So there's the key, and that was almost the grotto. And now you've got the grotto with 25,000 points getting over there. Come on. That's the shot. Maybe. Oh, flies on the play field. This is stingy, Dan. It is. I haven't jacked up a lot in the back there. It's still stingy. We're better than this, and we're doing poorly. It's game one.
    28:10
    Our audience is, oh, wow, that's really. I couldn't even lay a glove on her. 14,000 points. Oh, I'm at 39,000. You are. We didn't count the bonus from before. I think it's all those years of you looking at Playboys while you're doing so well. Yeah.
    28:27
    And two times bonus. Up to the grotto. Well, the grotto's not worth much right now. You need to get those keys down, really. You get the top four keys to get. But the grotto will get you back up top. Another drop target. Two drop targets left to go for not much of a payoff. And this is the third ball, right? So that really makes it... This is the third ball. And out she goes. It likes that right out lane. this also has Titan rubber all around we gotta be able to play the whole song we do game two electric boogaloo game two who'd like to get another beer for me that's what it says and almost There we go. Five down. And out you go. Look at that. Now it's on the left lane. Oh, doing better. Ball one with 18,000 points. Wow, we're really rocking this game. Rocking and rolling. This game. Okay. All right. He got the two and three. He had all four keys down. Now I need the center key again. Center key. His key. There you go. The center key. Got it again. Now he's going to go up top. Oh, he's got the two lower playmates down. good ball here so far for George.
    29:55
    And these same playmates needs more playmates to get and get an extra ball happening. Oh, look at that. Flying. There we go.
    30:04
    Now he's got three times. Three times bonus. You only have 7,000 bonus. I think you need to get that grotto.
    30:16
    8,000 bonus with three times. There's the grotto. There we go. Oh, yeah. Five bonus. George is right. George does his research on these things.
    30:28
    It's a one-trick pony. I mean, if you don't get it in the grotto, forget it. You don't even stand a chance.
    30:36
    Almost a grotto. Almost. A lot of rubber shots going on. A lot of rubber on this guy. He's got only two drop targets left to get down. Not that it matters that much. and I think, oh he has all the 4 keys up top oh another grotto ok now he's heading up to 20 bonus hold over, 19 but I need 5 times do we get an extra ball knock, what do we get on this you're going to get no, knocks in the grotto again guys now you got 20 I think he might get the whole song he keeps going that grotto and you need to get 5 times too right there and right there Oh, maybe get the key. More grotto for you? Yeah. Okay.
    31:21
    Oh, all right. Well, pretty close to the whole song here. Oh, that was only ball one? That was ball one. Oh, okay. Oh, so I have a good chance then of getting the whole song.
    31:37
    That's the best part of this game is five times and then the 39 bonus to play the whole song. Yes You know you did something You can walk away from the game for a while Get the one There we go Now we get the top keys Well that's the That's the lane You always want to get it in that Left lane Because you have a higher probability Of getting it into the grotto There you go Dave Almost Nope Now you have an extra ball right Oh
    32:07
    No tilt. That's good. It didn't tilt. Okay. So I got 20 to start. Oh, and the multiplier carries over? You didn't change that. I did not change that. No, I kept that. Oh, so that's good for me. It's good for you. Now get it in the damn grotto. We only have three balls in this one, so I figured got to be a little easier on you. Five times with a 20k bonus. Right, but I want 30 down. And now the keys are lit for special. If you get the keys down again. Oh, that was a nice save, George. Come on, Grotto. Oh, there we go. And one more playmate to get extra ball too. I don't want the extra ball. I want to play the song. Play the song. So you need grotto shot. Oh, so close. Oh, George went for the gold there. That's a good thing. You went for the gold there. Yeah, you have to hear the end of the song. What's the 70s? So you had a lot of time to waste listening to the song. Today, you can. It's like boom, boom, boom, get it done. Oh, George, 300,000 points on ball two. Most people don't... I love that part of the game. That's the... Oh, the extra ball stays. I like that. There you go.
    33:23
    Oh, you got the extra ball, baby. I need to achieve it. Come on. Extra ball. Oh. Sorry. There. Oh, come on. There you go. Oh. I got robbed. Ran over the rollover and you didn't get it. This is play test time, so things like that can happen. You son of a bitch.
    33:49
    Okay, so I have a last chance here to get... I need 19 bonus. I have to get my tech connection to work. I need 19 bonus. Oh, yeah, it's me.
    34:03
    There we go. One, two, three. That's better than nothing. And maybe a special here. That's where I want it, right there. Oh, look at that. There. That's the way you want to do it with Fox. I think it's 29 max, right? Oh, 39? Yep.
    34:23
    27. Really? That's what they said. Okay. I don't own the game. All right. I'm just renting, sort of.
    34:35
    Oh, nice. That saved the thing going to the left flipper. Around the grotto. Almost in the grotto. Trying to... Come on! Oh, I got to adjust that. Oh, George. 29.
    34:48
    29. Oh, another game for you. Right, but it's not playing at the end of the song. That was a pretty good game, Dave. It did. Really good game.
    35:09
    Oh, look at that, George, with a high score of 472. The top four games by production. are as follows. Adam's Family with, I believe, 20,000 and change. 8 Ball with, I believe, 19,000 and change. Or maybe there'd be, I don't know, somewhere around there. Flash right behind it. And Playboy with 18,000. I have one last thing. When we first got together after five months back in August and did our face-to-face show, we talked about the captain's auction out of anaheim california and if you remember i quizzed you on prices for games that we collect yes well they had another auction yesterday uh i believe it was the 14th of november so whenever this comes out you have a reference point they had like 400 lots of kiddie games which i sent you the one you were kind of dumbfounded by the cost of it what was it called the big bass wheel or something yes some wheel of fortune thing that you spin like the price is right wheel right yeah well they call it the big bass wheel Okay.
    36:31
    $6,000, but they said that that's one of the most highly played kiddie casino games out there. I believe it. Yep. Takes zero knowledge. Pull the lever.
    36:47
    What are these kids going to collect when they get our age? That crap? I mean, there's no skill there. Well, I feel bad for all the operators out there. That's not the reason I do this bit. they were selling off hundreds of kiddie games, pinballs, crane games, the ride-em games that you see outside the supermarket. Those are going for a couple hundred dollars. They had a Porsche, $300. Corvette one. They look brand new, $300. If it wasn't in Anaheim, California, it didn't cost a billion dollars to ship something cross-country. But you folks who are living in California, and I know there's some of you that listen to our program, that so you got to know your prices i was telling dave they had a circus voltaire new old stock clear-coated playfield it went for three hundred dollars the one thing that people don't pay attention to i don't think when they go to these auctions there's a 15 percent buyers premium so it's not a hundred dollars you just bid you bid 115 okay so that six thousand dollar wheel really cost $6,900. Mm, yeah. That's a 900, but hey, man's got to eat. Right. Man, he must have done 12 hours. He wasn't even close to being done. I shut it off at 8 o'clock. He wasn't even close to being done. Wow. But with that said, I've got some games I want to run by you. Okay. You're going to give me a price. All right. We'll see how well you do. Okay. You did pretty good the last time, if I remember. Mm-hmm. So here we go. One game that you want to collect. Yeah. because you've got people clamoring for it. An 8-ball. Regular Fonzie 8-ball. How much? Are these considered all working shape, or what are these games? This was a nice example of the game. All right. Again, what you can see online. I mean, you're not seeing it up close, but it looked real nice. $1,500. Close. $1,600.
    38:42
    Flight 2000. Same thing. Nice game? Nice game. Okay. $1,800. $2,200. I was going to say $2,200. Darn it, I should go with my first. Here we go. An Electra. Not the most sought after game. 17. 2,200. Harlem Globetrotters. 18. 2,200. Oh. There's a theme there. There is a theme there. Okay. There was a lost world, and you know I call it lost cause. Lost cause, yeah. But it was a nice, I mean, this one was really nice looking. I was surprised. 2,000. It wasn't working. Oh. 1,200. $1,100.
    39:18
    World Cup Soccer. I remember you used to be able to buy these things for, what, $1,500, $2,000? Go ahead. I call it World Craft Soccer. And this one was okay. $1,800. $2,800.
    39:32
    Game we did recently, Black Knight. $3,200. $1,600. Wow, I'm way off here. And a Roached Flash Gordon. And when I tell you Roached, I'm telling you you need a new play field and a new black glass. $900. bucks it went for 1500 plus insane so plus the wires premium so you're adding another 225 on top well i'm glad i'm glad i have two flash gordons so i want for sale but he wants one it's going to be nice think about the prices i just gave you and we do i do this because i want to inform our audience because they probably didn't watch it you can go out on their website and look but those are some strong prices and he had 72 different pinballs for auction yesterday some were pretty nice and some were pretty rare wow so every couple of months i said august right so here we are november so every two to three months i'm guessing people are the ops are just selling off whatever they can if it's not nailed down they're selling it i couldn't believe the stuff that was for sale oh insane 🎵
    41:07
    Oh, you know But you don't know Where from It hurts to work It hurts to talk And I can't even breathe I need drugs I need real drugs Something that heals from I don't know Should I go to the doctor I'll stay right here And watch the two Like a fool I feel down Down, down I feel scared for the world
    42:31
    Thank you.