Journalist Tool

Kineticist

  • HDashboard
  • IItems
  • ↓Ingest
  • SSources
  • KBeats
  • BBriefs
  • RIntel
  • QSearch
  • NName Review
  • +Health

v0.1.0

← Back to items

Episode 217: The Pinball Profile World Tour!

Pinball Profile·podcast_episode·36m 14s·analyzed·Sep 11, 2019
View original
Export .md

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.033

TL;DR

Pinball Profile World Tour launched with 10 international events; PIN Stadium Lights as major sponsor.

Summary

Jeff Teolis announces the Pinball Profile World Tour, a 10-city, 4-country tournament series with 10 events running September 2019 through February 2020. Scott from PIN Stadium Lights is the primary sponsor, committing prize sets to each event. The episode focuses on the tour structure, sponsor partnerships, and detailed discussion of PIN Stadium Lights technology, market reception, and product development history.

Key Claims

  • PIN Stadium Lights will donate a set of lights (valued at ~$500-600 retail) to each of the 10 Pinball Profile World Tour events

    high confidence · Scott confirms sponsorship commitment on-air during interview; Jeff discusses total prize value of ~$3,000 worth of PIN Stadium Lights across tour

  • Scott first created PIN Stadium Lights in his basement to solve personal lighting issues on his pinball machines

    high confidence · Scott's direct account: 'I was just building these things in my basement... I need these, I've been struggling with getting even lighting all over the playfield'

  • Trent Augenstein encouraged Scott to bring PIN Stadium Lights to Ohio Show after seeing them at a party in Cincinnati, leading to first pre-order of ~100 units that sold out in couple of weeks

    high confidence · Scott's detailed account of how Trent approached him at house party and encouraged him to take products to show

  • PIN Stadium Lights and Comet Pinball products are complementary; PIN Stadium covers upper playfield areas while Comet handles GI (General Illumination) lighting

    high confidence · Scott explains product differentiation: 'Ryan takes care of all the GI lighting and everything. And I take care of like, you know, the rest of the areas, like with the dark spots you can't reach.'

  • PIN Stadium Lights generate their own Wi-Fi signal independent of home network, allowing use even in remote locations

    high confidence · Scott states: 'They generate their own Wi-Fi signal... You could be camping as long as you got some power going to it. You can control the lights.'

  • Factory GI lighting sits flush or about quarter-inch above playfield, creating 'GI islands' of bright spots with dark areas in between

    high confidence · Scott's technical explanation of lighting physics: 'GI lights are actually shorter than even the ball itself... the location's difficult for you to ever get even lighting across that play field'

Notable Quotes

  • “I'll be glad to support it, and I'll give you a set of PIN stadium lights for each one of those events.”

    Scott (PIN Stadium Lights) @ Early in interview — Immediate, enthusiastic sponsorship commitment with no hesitation; demonstrates industry goodwill and product confidence

  • “You're like the Candyman. And I'm like, well, you know, I'm glad you love the product... It's better than saying that than the crack dealer.”

    Scott (PIN Stadium Lights) @ Mid-interview — Humorous acknowledgment of high customer demand and repeat purchases; shows self-awareness about product desirability

  • “I'm literally under the glass in this world of glass in my head... imagine the side of the cabinet, like the top part, the sides where the glass slides in. Imagine that being the top of the stadium.”

    Scott (PIN Stadium Lights) @ Product origin story section — Reveals design philosophy inspired by stadium lighting architecture; demonstrates thoughtful engineering approach

  • “If this podcast is not for you, don't listen. I'm sure you say, if Penn Stadium lights aren't for you, don't buy them.”

    Jeff Teolis @ Mid-interview discussion — Addresses Pinside criticism; positions niche products as not for everyone; shows mature industry perspective

  • “So you can just give them the code. They can redeem it. I'm paying the shipping and everything. They get it for free. I send it right to their door.”

    Scott (PIN Stadium Lights) @ Prize distribution discussion — Prize fulfillment strategy accounting for international participants; demonstrates thoughtful logistics planning

  • “I don't even have Wi-Fi where I'm at... Some of these collectors, they're up in the mountains. They go to, you know, I don't know, Poconos, wherever... They're like, you know, I still have Wi-Fi where I'm at.”

    Scott (PIN Stadium Lights) @ Product features discussion — Illustrates market diversity; collectors in remote locations value self-contained Wi-Fi for product control

Entities

Pinball Profile World ToureventJeff TeolispersonScottpersonPIN Stadium LightsproductFree Gold WatchorganizationJack DangerpersonTrent Augensteinperson

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: PIN Stadium Lights rapid scaling from basement hobby to major tournament sponsor in ~2.5 years

    high · Scott: 'less than three years of you really marketing this and having them in so many different people's homes, a big sponsor of Pinburg'

  • ?

    community_signal: PIN Stadium Lights positioning itself as community player through major tournament sponsorship and product accessibility

    high · Scott donating sets to 10 events, custom coupon codes for international shipping, app-based control democratizing product use

  • ?

    event_signal: Pinball Profile podcast leveraging 9-year platform to create international tournament series with manufacturer/vendor ecosystem

    high · Jeff assembled 8+ sponsors (PIN Stadium, Comet, ULIC, Deep Root, Stern, Jersey Jack, Measel, others) for coordinated tour

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Pinside community discussion around PIN Stadium Lights generating criticism that creators acknowledge as inevitable for successful products

    high · Jeff: 'there's been a bunch of crap on pin side... there's a lot of crap on pin side and people just complaining about the marketing'

  • $

    market_signal: PIN Stadium Lights experiencing strong market adoption with repeat customer demand pattern ('crack dealer' comment)

    high · Scott states customers say 'the only thing I hate about you is the fact that I got one of these, and now I've got to get more of them'

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.109

0:00
it's time for another pinball profile i'm your host jeff teolis you can find our group on facebook while also on twitter at pinball profile email us pinball profile at gmail.com and please subscribe on your favorite podcatcher i've created the pinball profile world tour 10 different cities, four countries, 10 different events, and a hell of a lot of prizes for you to win at these great events too. So joining us on the program today, one of our great sponsors in the Pinball Profile World Tour, Scott from Pin Stadium Lights. Hey, Scott, how are you? Hey, I'm doing good. Thank you for having me. Scott, I thank you because you are a big part of the Pinball Profile World Tour. And for those who haven't checked it out on the Facebook page, here's what we're doing, okay? September 23rd, Free Gold Watch in San Francisco, our first event. We've got one in October, October 10th at Flipper Kjelderen. I know I've booted the name, but it means the basement. It's in Copenhagen, Denmark before the EPC. Then October 16th, right before Expo. You want something to do? Be one of the lucky, one of the few to join me and Jack Danger at his headquarters for a special tournament. So those are just the first three out of the gate, Scott. Pretty big. Wow, that's impressive. Yep. It goes nuttier. I mean, this is really a lot of traveling for me. November 1st, right before the 24-hour sanctum, right before you play 24-hour, Scott, you know what you need to do? You need to play another tournament.
1:36
Yeah, it sounds like the schedule of events that you should go by. Yeah, okay, I got it. So Jim Swain, such a great guy. We're going to be running his three-strike tournament the day before. Starts at 6, you'll be done at 10. They actually kick everyone out at 10 so you can get a good night's sleep before you go crazy and play 24 hours. So that's going to be a lot of fun on November 1st. November 14th, right before the Houston Arcade Expo in nearby Katy, Texas. We're going to be at Einstein's Pub. You must be 21 or older to get there, but we're going to have a Flip Frenzy there. That'll be a lot of fun. And then November 21st, if you're coming to Free Play Florida, we've got an event before that all begins at the District Eat and Play. Again, a great Flip Frenzy. You'll want to check that out, and we're going to be helping out Project Pinball there. So that's just six of the events so far, Scott. Yeah, wow. Yeah, Daniel's got some good stuff going on, too. It's awesome that you guys are helping support him because I'm a sponsor for him also. I mean, great guy and great cause, too. Well, he does wonderful things, certainly with Project Pinball, so any way we can support, and your attendance will definitely be supporting that as well. Then we go to our good friends, Bruce Nightingale's Silver Ball Saloon in Rochester, New York. That's on December 7th. Then December 15th, Player One Showroom, a great distributor here in Canada. We have two tournaments. Two, we've got a main tournament and then a women's tournament. So I'm excited to be doing that right before all these people want to get their last points before the provincial finals. So it'll be crazy then. And then two more events. I happen to be in Australia in January. So Ryan C., who you know and love from Head to Head Pinball, we're going to be having a special tournament at Ryan's secret palace. Oh, gosh. I've got to see this thing. I do.
Comet Pinball
company
Ryan Wangerperson
Measel Modscompany
Stern Pinballcompany
Jersey Jack Pinballcompany
Deep Root Pinballcompany
Buffalo Pinballorganization
Player One Showroomorganization
ULIC Storecompany
Ryan C.person
Stephen Bowdenperson
Andy Rosaperson
Marty Robbinsperson
Pinball at the Zooevent
Expoevent
Pinburghevent
Flipper Kjelderenorganization
?

announcement: Pinball Profile World Tour officially announced with 10 events across 4 countries (Sept 2019-Feb 2020)

high · Jeff Teolis direct announcement: '10 different cities, four countries, 10 different events, and a hell of a lot of prizes for you to win'

  • ?

    product_strategy: PIN Stadium Lights and Comet Pinball explicitly positioned as complementary rather than competitive, targeting different lighting layers

    high · Scott detailed explanation: 'Ryan takes care of all the GI lighting... I take care of the rest... it's not either or it's both'

  • ?

    technology_signal: Aftermarket LED lighting becoming standardized pinball enhancement category with multiple competing products (PIN Stadium, Comet, others)

    high · Discussion of complementary product ecosystem; multiple manufacturers entering space; widespread adoption across pinball venues

    • 3:16
    It'll be good, Scott. And then the last one, we're going to be at Beaks Bar and Grill in Monroe, Michigan in February. So there's your first Pinball Profile World Tour. Now, when I came up with this, Scott, I was like, okay, what am I going to do? I can run tournaments, but what's the catch to come to a tournament? Well, I talked to you. In fact, you were the first person I talked to. Oh, really? Wow. I feel honored. Where was that? That was, I think it was in a dark, shady corner of Pinburg somewhere behind the stage. and I just saw these little beady eyeballs coming at me, and then we talked about it, I think. Well, you think about that, because that's August 1st. I said, here's the idea I'm thinking about doing, so I'm going to need some help, and if you would like to come on board, that would be great. Here's what I'm going to be doing. And you, without blinking an eye, I didn't even email you anything, on the stage, honestly, the conversation was two, three minutes. You said, I'll be glad to support it, and I'll give you a set of PIN stadium lights for each one of those events. That's a huge, huge prize. yeah man i mean you're you're uh i'm happy to support you i love listening to your show and everything that you're doing so i mean i didn't even have to think about it it was just like you let me know when you need them by and for what and we'll do it so as simple as that well sincerely thank you very very much i'm glad to promote pin stadium lights and everything that you do and you know let's just talk a little bit about pin stadium lights because there's been a bunch of crap on pin side well let's be honest there's a lot of crap on pin side and people just complaining about the marketing. You keep doing what you're doing, Scott, because I get what you're doing. Pinball Profile is not a self-promotion thing, but it really promotes the guests that I have on. It promotes the venues. It's a chance to showcase whomever I'm speaking to. Right. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. It's a very normal thing for this to occur with any time, whether you or another manufacturer or me or another mod maker. I think any time somebody makes an impact in the community, you're definitely going to have eyes on you. And really, you know, it's probably a half of 1% that, you know, make a big stir about it. And then in the meantime, everybody else is loving what you're doing. And, you know, I'm sure you can probably relate along those lines too or know people that have experienced that in the industry also. We all get it. All podcasters get it at one point or another. And, yeah, you know what? I just say, look, if this podcast is not for you, don't listen. I'm sure you say, if Penn Stadium lights aren't for you, don't buy them. But as I know, Pinstadium Lights, because of things like Pinside and seeing the attention, and when you first started posting pictures, and then we go back to when you put them on Aerosmith, everyone wanted to see more and more of this. And then the one thing I hear about Pinstadium Lights is when you get one set, you've got to get one for every game you've got because it just brightens the game that much. It's a testament to the great work that you do, Scott. Oh, well, thank you. Yeah, and that is one of the things people do say. You know, they're like, gosh, the only thing I hate about you is the fact that I got one of these, and now I've got to get more of them because they've seen the difference. They've seen the change in the appearance of the machine. And, you know, they're like, you're like the Candyman. And I'm like, well, you know, I'm glad you love the product. You know, that's great. It's better than saying that than the crack dealer. So Candyman's fine. Yeah, exactly. Right, exactly. It could be anything.
    6:29
    Well, you and I actually met. The first time we met was in April 2017. Trent Augenstein introduced me to you at Pinball at the Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Mm-hmm. Yep. And I didn't really understand what was going on. I actually hadn't, had I been on Pinside or wherever, had I been able to see what you have created, I would have been, wow, and I probably would have talked your ear off back then, but I hadn't seen it at the time. So it was just, oh, hi, Scott, how are you doing? But now what we've seen two and a half years later, my goodness, Scott, it's something. Yeah. Even back then, I'll tell you what, Jeff, you know, it's like I didn't even realize how big of a thing I had created because, you know, Trent did, though. See, that's the thing about Trent is like Trent came over to my house for a party in Cincinnati. And, you know, he's had like a pinball party and he had come downstairs my basement. And, you know, near the end of it all, he saw he came up and approached me. It was like, hey, what do you got going on over here? And I told him, hey, I've got a little bit of a background app development. You know, I'm just a techie kind of guy. I've been collecting for I guess now I've been collecting about 20 years back then. It's probably like, you know, 16 years or so or something like that. And he just was like, hey, take these things, whatever they are. And I was like, I didn't have a name for him. I was like, oh, I just made these, you know, Wi-Fi controllable lights. And he said, you know, take them up to the Ohio show. Let's see what can happen. And put them on my Aerosmith LE. I got the first one out there in the wild. And, you know, so then we went up to Pinball at the Zoo. That's when I met you. And, you know, as I said, I really didn't know how big this thing was going to be just because it was something I was lost in my own little world on. I was, like, just building these things in my basement. like I need these, I've been struggling with getting even lighting all over the playfield and having adjustability with that, right? So I just thought I was the only one that wanted them.
    8:09
    But Trent's like, no, I think you need to try to sell a few of these. Well, think about mods too, and our good friends at Measle Mods, also a wonderful sponsor of the Pinball Profile World Tour. Think of when they first created a mod and then showed it on Pinside. I've got to get that for my Twilight Zone or whatever the case the game would be. And that's just how it blew up. I mean, again, it's not for everybody, but I've learned. I'm more of a competitor than I am a collector. I certainly have machines and collect, but I am so in awe of what collectors do, and that's one reason I'm looking forward to going to Expo, because you get to see all these great, whether it's homebrews or how people pimp up their machines, your great pin stadium display that you have at Expo. I remember that from last year as well. All these great accents to games that just really bring them to life. Already great games, now that much better. And whether it's mods, whether it's pin stadium, there certainly is a market out there and you found one for sure whether it was you know Trent pushing you to do it or whatever but people want the latest greatest thing And when they can see what it does to their machine that may have been dark I got a few machines that are like super super dark And I remember at Pinberg playing Centaur and it was in the old, when they used to have it at the other end of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. And at night the lights went down. And then when you get to multiball, the game's pitch black. I was like, okay, this sucks. That was years ago. When I first saw Penn Stadium Lights, I'm like, I know the first game that should go on right there.
    9:32
    Yeah, I knew that machine too. I believe I have a couple of customers that have put them on that. And it's definitely a huge changer for even, you know, especially the older games, but even the new ones. But yeah, that one for sure would benefit a lot from it. And I don't know, I mean, like just, you know, sort of a quick back history of not how this happened, because, you know, like, I mean, we have a little story on talking about how Trent saw him at the house and then he said, take them up to the shows. And I just, you know, did a pre-order of, I don't even know, like a hundred of them and they sold out in a couple of weeks. But what happened to me before all this, just when I was lost in my, my world on this stuff, I mean, you know, since I've been collecting for so many years, I struggled with lighting up the center of that play field. And then I was just thinking like, you know, what, what is it that it would take to get even lighting all the way around? And then, you know, I just imagined myself like a ball on a play field, silly as it sounds, looking up and then looking around and where would be the best place to put the lights. And it's like, you know, you go into a stadium, the lights are where? At the very top. So imagine this, Jeff. And this is how deep I got into it. I'm like, you know, I'm literally under the glass in this world of glass in my head, you know, and sort of laughing at myself as I'm doing this. And I'm thinking, you know, like, OK, so imagine your play field being the football field and then imagine the side of the cabinet, like the top part, the sides where the glass slides in. Imagine that being the top of the stadium. So then imagine this. Imagine just where you are from a player's perspective, right? You're above that machine. You're above even the stadium you're sitting above it. So it must be like flying in a helicopter above your pinball machine and then, you know, trying to look down, you know, like into that field on that football field and try to see the players and try to see the, you know, everything and have it eliminated. But, you know, the thing with the factory lighting and just by design pinball throughout the years, GI lighting sits flush with the play field or about a quarter inch above it. So the relativity of my comparison with the stadium would be, imagine you being above a stadium, not just in the nosebleeds, but being above the stadium, looking down at the players and the lights being as tall as their ankles or as tall as the players. So, I mean, the GI lights are actually shorter than even the ball itself. It's just difficult. It's just physically, the location's difficult for you to ever get even lighting across that play field, if that makes sense from that perspective. So that's how I sort of thought about it. And that's why the whole Penn State thing came up, you know, like the name and all that. So, you know, it's like a concert stage, right? Well, in just a short period of time, like really less than three years of you really marketing this and having them in so many different people's homes, a big sponsor of Pinberg. Now you're coming on board the Pinball Profile World Tour, and you're going to make a lot of people happy because every prize we give away, and we've got great sponsors like yourself, every single prize is going to be given away at random. It doesn't matter how well you play. This is a tournament for everyone. So we'll just do a random draw, and somebody will win those that may never have had pin stadium lights before. So again, that's going to be a big thrill for many people on this Pinball Profile World Tour. Yeah, definitely. And I'm like, I mean, I think that's a good way for you to do it because I'm the inverse of you is I'm more of a collector than a player. So like, you know, we sort of are like on opposite spectrums and I respect both completely. I just don't compete that much. You know, I just have been a collector. So, you know, I mean, just because somebody is not doing great in an event, you know, now they can actually win something, too. So that's incentivizing them just to come and have fun. and then they get rewarded for being there and putting the time in to enjoy the event. That's really cool of you to do it that way. I've done this a few times in Toronto at Player One where I just gave away all the prizes, like play fields and things like that, all at random. And people certainly like that because you look at who's competing, you go, oh, those two, three, four people are probably going to be in the finals. So maybe it's a little discouraging. I don't want that to be the case. I want it to be, you know what, the winner, you're going to get a lovely trophy, a unique trophy from Ulic's store, from David, somebody who I originally met also at that April 2017 Pinball at the Zoo. Oh, so did I. Yeah. That's so funny. Yeah, because he saw my lights there, and he gave me his business card. He's like, hey, if you ever need anybody to put them up on the site to sell them for you, here's my business card. He and his son were up there selling, I remember, some really nice high-quality mods. And in particular, I was looking at the Walking Dead mods they had. And he had Flipper Bats and things like that, too, I remember. Yeah, absolutely. But David has been wonderful in the leagues here in Ontario that I help run. We've been using their trophies, and I know so many people across North America have been as well. So it's nice that David's coming back. And another thing about this tournament is everybody who pre-registers by such and such a date will get a unique pinball profile World Tour custom t-shirt, too. It's almost like a concert shirt, so it's got all the dates on the back and the venues. It's got the big pinball profile World Tour logo. It's got all our sponsors' logos on the back, like Penn Stadium Lights, like ULIC Stores, Measel Mods, and there are other ones, too. I don't want to forget Deep Root. Pinball is coming on big for this. Wow. Yeah, they're really helping out as well. So is Stern Pinball, and so is Jersey Jack Pinball. Yeah. I can't thank the sponsors enough. And the last one, too, is one that I wanted to bring up to you because you have a good connection with Ryan Wanger and Comet Pinball, who's also going to be helping out the Pinball Profile World Tour. You and Ryan go back a bit, don't you? Oh, absolutely, yeah. I mean, it's funny because we're both customers of each other. And so I remember, okay, so this is a good story. A couple years back when I reached out to Buffalo Pinball and I watched the boys at Buffalo Pinball, I love Kevin and Nick, of course, Zach and Greg from SDTM. They were the first ones I sponsored. But then Buffalo, I remember Nick was like, people think that Buffalo just sometimes they mess with them and they say, yeah, you guys have so many sponsors. I've heard people almost harass them about it, like saying, you just take on anybody. But here's a really good backstory on this is when I contacted them, Nick was like, well, you know what? He's like, you know, your product's great. You're new. And, you know, we've heard good stuff about you, but we've already got somebody in the LED lighting department. And he was like, it's Ryan from Comet. And I was like, oh, yeah, Ryan. I was like, yeah, I'm actually a customer of his and he's a customer of mine. And Nick's like, so, you know, I just don't want to walk on anybody's toes. I'm like, oh, no. I was like, you know, as a matter of fact, like since we both use each other's products, they work in conjunction with each other. It's actually a great thing. And Nick's like, OK, I'll reach out to Ryan. And then Ryan was like, oh, yeah, absolutely. Penn Stadium, great product. And he's not walking on my toes at all. We both work out in the same industry, but for the same area of lighting. But, you know, he covers the basically the gaps in between. Ryan takes care of all the GI lighting and everything. And I take care of like, you know, the rest of the areas, like with the dark spots you can't reach. And so it was, you know, it was neat to see that, like, you know, Nick, being very professional, was, you know, trying to respect his sponsors. And he doesn't just take anyone. And I was thinking, like, oh, please, like, you know, let me sponsor you guys because I've been watching you for years. And he came back and was like, yeah, Ryan's like, it's cool. Totally.
    16:31
    So when I get a machine like an older machine, I instantly order stuff from Ryan. And then I put a set of Penn Stadiums on it. You know, like it's not either or it's both. because think about this, Jeff, like just explain for anybody that's listening to this where they, you know, somebody might think, oh, it's one or the other. But what he does is he specializes in replacing the factory lighting and the GI lighting, which, you know, the Penn Stadiums, you know, amount above and they do full coverage lighting. But what his products do, they actually light up underneath the plastics and those GI areas. And so that gives you a really neat vibrancy from behind with the lights underneath and then my lights on top. That's why those two go together because then you just got full coverage lighting, if that makes sense. I'm a big fan of Ryan personally. In fact, I didn't do a pinball profile world tour last year, but I did do a, I don't know what I called it, a pinball profile road trip stop. And it was in Denver, Colorado. And he's from Boulder, but he came to Denver for this event and we played it one up and it was fantastic. And his podcast partner, I think, actually won the tournament. Okay. That was a lot of fun, too. And yourself, Comet Pinball, Measle Mods, ULUX Store, Deep Root, Jersey Jack, Stern, all good to the pinball community and good to this tour, too. So you come to these events, and some of the events are going to be 35 people. Some might be as big as 60 or so. Based on what you sponsors have brought to the table, I've got at least, at least $500 worth of prizing probably more closer to for each one of these events And again with you coming on board with Penn Stadium Lights someone going to want to sell that I mean I think if I recall the retail is like on that That a huge prize Yep yeah yeah for the Penn Stadiums Yep, and in each event, you're going to be given one of those outs. That's almost about $3,000 worth of Penn Stadium Lights you're giving away. No, you're giving it away. I'm just the facilitator. I appreciate you doing that. So thank you very much, Scott. It means so much. And in fact, I asked, I said, should we ship them or how should we do it? And you actually had a good idea. So this will really benefit the person that wins it. You said we'll do a kind of a coupon code? Yeah, exactly. So, you know, that way, well, especially when you're in Europe and Denmark or whatever, and then somebody else, a lot of these people travel too because, you know, they fly to these different events. So I figure, you know, you can just give them the code. They can redeem it. I'm paying the shipping and everything. They get it for free. I send it right to their door. I also know what machine it's for just in case they might need like a special power adapter or something like that. I mean, the pin stadiums are universal, but there's certain games like Woz where I make adapter that makes it easier to connect to the flasher. And, you know, it's very rare that there's something like that, but I just want to make sure that they have everything that they need. And you do that for them based on the game. Exactly. I mean, like if you order a pin stadium, it's going to work on any machine as long as that machine has a cabinet, a play field and voltage. And even if it doesn't have a service port, you can run it out the back and plug it into the wall. But there's just sometimes, you know, situations like with the Jersey Jack Waz machine. I mean, there's just maybe four or five machines like Alien, Big Lebowski. There's going to be a couple, you know, that have some odd connections that you can make them work, but I just make an adapter that makes it easier. So, you know, I think it would be easier if we just ship them out to people and send them to their door. They don't have to haul it on the plane and people wondering what they're taking that's, you know, 36 inches long in a tube, you know, and the plane won't fit in the overhead. It's my pinball lights, I swear. I know that they're easy to install because when you're on head-to-head pinball and Marty Robbins said he could install it I'm like well then this is idiot proof anybody can do this he's a pro you know now and he'll still talk himself down like you know what you know like he doesn't talk himself up about the pin stadiums didn't talk himself down but he's just like you know I've seen him do it he did it on a stream live never installed them before I mean who does that like that's brave and now he's like he's a wizard at it he just loves the product he's been really really good for penn stadium and i just i love him to death him and ryan and that just this cracks me up i mean where else can you get a jar of laughs going on twitch at five in the morning when they're in australia you know i know i'll wake up early and i'll be oh there's the melbourne silver ball and yeah there's there's marty playing you know star trek or trying to sells monsters or whatever the case may be. Yep.
    20:49
    Oh my gosh. He's got a Jurassic Park LE coming, so I know he's very excited for that, which makes me want to ask you the question, as you see all these new games that come out and all the different manufacturers, whether it's Spooky American, JJP, we don't know what Deep Road's going to be like, but Stern, is there anything that you come across and go, ooh, that may or may not work, or it's going to be, boy, this is going to really pop that game? Yeah, it's the really pop that game approach because it's just like basically any machine, like I said, it comes out with a cabinet with voltage and a play field. The Penn Stadiums are going to be do amazing work on that machine. I mean, not just the location of them, which is prime, you know, the stadium lighting, but the fact that, you know, their Wi-Fi controllable. You can adjust them with the app. They generate their own Wi-Fi signal. Some people have even said, hey, I don't even have Wi-Fi where I'm at because, you know, some of these collectors, they're up in the mountains. They go to, you know, I don't know, Poconos, wherever, you know, some even in Europe. They're like, you know, I still have Wi-Fi where I'm at. I've got a real fancy house with a lot of games, but they generate their own Wi-Fi. So you can just connect to them. You could be camping as long as you got some power going to it. You can control the lights. So, yeah, I mean, any of the new games and the old games will benefit tremendously because it's like even if you have really bright G.I. lighting, what you're going to get is you're going to, you know, since they're only about a quarter inch above the play field, these lights that come from on the machines you're going to get like gi islands i call them and that's the way i look at it is you're going to get some really bright areas that illuminate the plastics well but it's going to fall off real quick it'll go out a couple inches along the slings and then it drops off so yeah no that's some people i think have put them on the new machine like yeah we'll see we'll see what it does and then they're like oh my gosh this is you know this is a tremendous difference you know and i love hearing those comments it's just neat It makes it worth it. Well, Scott, forget bright GI lighting. I think of, I'll never forget Stephen Bowden playing, at the time it was a Ghostbusters. It was at the Buffalo Pinball Summer Open a few years ago when it was at Pocketeer. And when he would play Ghostbusters, he would put on shades. You might have seen the video of it because it was just, it wasn't a GI. It was just the, maybe it was a GI, but I don't think it was. He just had to put those on. And then I think I've seen him do it for the new Attack from Mars remake as well, too. So you're saying Penn Stadium can help with some of those really, really bright lights? Yeah, because my process of thinking with putting, for example, I'd get like a, I don't know, before the new Monster Bash remakes were out, I'll just give you an example. I got Monster Bash, put all LED, Comet LEDs in it, and I put them in the GIs. But what happens, Jeff, is you put those bright lights in and it creates hot spots. So those lights in those areas, whether it be the inlays or in the GI sections, they're brighter, but they still only reach the same amount of distance pretty much. So then the dark spots, which are in the middles, the corners, I mean, there's probably 70% of the game is not really well lit. That contrast was probably what, you know, like, for example, Steve was struggling with and a lot of people struggle with myself, is you get these bright insert lights and then the play field around it's dark. And then all of a sudden your GI lights on the side are really bright, but there's that dark area in between. It's like an abyss. And that makes it worse. So you're actually better off just not doing anything. If you get a machine from, let's say, you know, like if you get Monster Brush, you know, if it comes with factory lighting and you're playing on plan in like an area where you don't have a lot of overhead lighting, you know, and even if you do, you get a lot of glare with the overhead lighting. I put those bright LEDs inside the inserts and I couldn't figure out why I couldn't track the ball. I was like, gosh, I put better lights in. But it's that contrast. Your eye's constantly tracking. It's like a camera, and it's seeing the bright. It's seeing the dim, the bright dim, and then this silver ball is reflecting. Everything's flying across it. Does that make sense? Yes, it does. So the last lighting question I want to ask you is, tell me you saw in March in Chicago at the Stern Pro Circuit when Andy Rosa from Michigan won, beating Alex Harmon, and he won wearing something that maybe is the next Penn Stadium product. He had that headband and the light on there, And it was necessary, too. Absolutely. And I don't fault him for wearing it. And he's very, very careful not to distract people around him. Like, he doesn't turn it on until he's looking straight at the machine and he doesn't move his head. Because there are people at Pembroke that do that as well, too. But what did you think when you saw Andy do that?
    25:08
    Well, this goes back to our grand meeting at the Pembalta Zoo. That's where I met him and his son. Yeah, I think there's Andy and then Andy Jr., correct? Yep. I think Trent told me, he's like, if anybody's going to appreciate your lights, it's going to be Andy Rosa. And I didn't really know at the time who he was per se. So when he won that Stern event and he had the headlight on and I know that he wears it about 10 days prior, he had ordered a set of Penn Stadiums for his Wizard of Oz. They had ordered them. And so I was like, that's my customer. I was like, he is like the ultimate best customer. Like he knows what I'm talking about. So then I heard Marty talking when they saw him with the headlamps. They're like, you know, Scott's probably all over this. He's probably all over this. And I'm like, you know, thinking to myself, like, you know, he looks like my comic character, Orion, that I use for my mascot. He has a light on his head. So I put up a picture on Instagram of those two next to each other. And this showed Orion with his headlamp and then Andy with his headlamp. I thought that was really cool. So, you know, that's a man for my own heart right there. You're a man for my own heart because you have really helped me with this Pinball Profile World Tour. Pin Stadium Light's a major sponsor. We've got Measle Mods. We've got Comet Pinball, Ulex Store doing the trophies and the shirts. That's right. You pre-register. Every single person will get a shirt. And also we've got Stern, Jersey Jack, and Deep Root all coming together to make these events huge. Again, 10 different events. We start off in San Francisco on September 23rd. We go to Copenhagen on the 10th of October. We're back in Chicago pre-expo at Jack Danger's Place October 16th, and the rest of the list all on the Pinball Profile Facebook page. So, Scott, this is huge. I mean, I know you're not a competitor, but it's pretty cool to say, wow, I'm going to be in a tournament, and I'm guaranteed to get, at the very least, I'm going to get a cool T-shirt and a chance to win all these great prizes just for playing. I don't even have to win the thing. Kind of cool. Oh, my gosh, yeah. And I love the competitive players. I love the collectors and the competitive players. And it's like I just don't compete. There's no reason I don't do it. I busy building these lights and I stay at home But I have utmost respect for these guys I don know how they do it I mean they they would crush me I just I worried about just getting through some modes and having some fun but these guys are doing both and they they're going to win prizes. But this is going to be fun, Scott, because again, the winner, you'll get your whoppers, you'll get a trophy, but everybody wins because everybody gets something and a chance to win great prizes. It doesn't matter your skillset, come out, have fun. We're going to be recording Pinball Profile live at every one of these events, too. So you've got a chance to come on this program. It's going to be a lot of fun, and I hope I can see as many people as possible at these 10 events and sponsors like you, Scott, from Penn Stadium Lights, for making this possible. Oh, man, I'm honored. I really am. I'm trying to figure out how you're going to do all this. And I think you said you've got a trip in the middle that you're jamming in. It's like peanut butter and jelly, right? You're trying to get it all in. Yes. So some of these events, if you think about it, I was going to the EPC. I was going to the Danish Pinball Open anyway. I was going to Expo, going to Sanctum. I was going to the Houston Arcade, and I was going to Free Play Florida. So the other five were like, okay, I'm on a trip with my wife for a special birthday, and she said I could play pinball. She didn't say. I asked, hey, is it all right if I go to Free Gold Watch? I've always wanted to go there. And then, I'm not just going to go there. I'm going to make an event out of it. I called Gene Wong. I'm like, hey, how can we make this happen? He said, oh, that would be great. There will be so many people that come out there. It's such a great league and great venue. I'm pumped for that. That's only a few weeks away. Yeah. And then places like Silver Ball Saloon. Well, I've driven there a few times, and Bruce I have all the time in the world for. Oh, yeah, he's awesome. His place, I tell you, that's one of the finest arcades you'll ever see. Really? I've not been there. I've heard great things about it. So good. And then Player One has been wonderful. Jerry Power and his staff there. Yeah. And then Ryan, we're either going to play at his place, or he's got a new venue that he might be launching. And then Beaks Bar and Grill is a place that you look store, a place that's close to them in Monroe, Michigan. And they've got some great pins there, so I'm glad to help promote that. So that's how it all kind of came together. Yeah. Where are you going to Hawaii? You said you're going to head there afterwards? Yes. So my trip is I go to L.A. for four or five days. My wife, like myself, loves baseball. So we're going to go see a Dodgers game. We're going to go see Conan O'Brien live. I've seen him a bunch of times, and that'll be a lot of fun. And going to see David Spade's new show, that'll be kind of goofy. Oh, yeah. And then we drive up the coast, which will be beautiful. My wife, part of the trip is because she's a massive 49ers fan. I'm a Rams fan, so I have to pretend to like the Niners because it's her birthday. It's the home opener.
    29:50
    I love my wife. This is why I'm doing it. Anyway, so we're going to that game. Then we go to the free gold watch thing. see a Giants baseball game, and then we fly to Hawaii. And I know we fly into Honolulu, but we go up north somewhere and some jackass like myself trying to surf. I don't know. We'll see. It's going to be a mess, but it'll be nice. I'll come back with a few freckles anyway.
    30:15
    And you know what? Before I forget, you're going to be busy too. I want to promote Eric's show. You're going to be obviously at Expo, but in your hometown there, Pinsonati in, I guess it's like November 21st, roughly, 22, 23, around there? Yeah, yeah. Eric from SDTM. Everybody probably knows Chuck Wirt. He's got Pinsonati that he set up for the first time last year. It was a really good event. It's very convenient for me. I'm used to going like Texas and going to Expo. And I was like, oh, man, I love Eric. I'm going to go to this event, bring some games, check it out. It was very well done. And this year coming up, Eric plays this down. He's like, oh, yeah, they just gave us a little extra space. I'm like, Eric, that space they just gave you that you expanded is at least probably three times the size it was, the one that you have now. And he's keeping that one. So, I mean, in my eyes, he's more than doubled the size of the Pinsonati, and it's going to be huge. I mean, he's got the whole, I don't know what you call it, like the atrium or the open area there, which was at least two or three times bigger than where we were. And we're still going to be in this room. So if anybody's looking to check out something different, another event, Cincinnati's the way to go. And around that time of year, it's a great time to be indoors playing pinball. Yeah, sure. And last year, I know they were in December, too, and the weather wasn't the greatest. So this one being in November, the weather's going to be a lot nicer, too. And Cincinnati is such a beautiful city, too. I enjoyed my time when I was there, and I think I'm coming back next summer with my son to catch a baseball game. So we'll have to hang out, Scott, when my son and I come. Oh, yeah, we'll have to. I got a batting cage machine. We can set that up in the backyard and hit a few balls. Yeah, I've got one of those, like the ones that they use at the warm-up before the games, one of the jugs. The jugs machine? Dude, this thing pitches like 90, I think 96 or 97 miles an hour. Okay, slow it down there, champ. I'm getting a little old. We should get this on camera, like, you know. Okay. That would be fun. I don't know if I want to say this on Pinball Profile, but I used to play some pretty competitive baseball. But I'm telling you right now, that number's not starting with a nine. Even an eight might scare me now. I'm getting up there. Yeah, you have to warm up to it. Believe me, if I hadn't done it for a while, I'd probably have to start in the 70s and climb up. But I just love hitting baseball. It's a good workout. It's the best. It's a blast. Nothing's more rewarding other than maybe pinball. They run neck and neck with each other in sort of a different physical way.
    32:36
    Hitting the long ball, nothing better. I love it. All right, Scott, well, thank you again. Thank you for what you do with PIN Stadium Lights. We appreciate you coming on board the Pinball Profile World Tour, and all the best, buddy. Yes, yeah. Thank you very much for having me part of this. I'm happy to always help you out, and I love what you're doing, Jeff. You're remarkable, and that's why we all love you. Thanks, buddy. We don't just say that. We just love you. It's just the truth. Accept it. I know you have a lot of fans, too, and I see, whether it's on Twitch, I see it in other podcasts, I see your support, too. And those people you help, I'm sure, appreciate everything you're doing, too, because it's certainly not going to make us quit our day jobs, but it's certainly a nice gesture. And you're very kind to the pinball community for that. So thank you very much, Scott. Oh, you're welcome. I really love seeing these guys get out there. And, you know, these guys, they're just spreading pinball. You know, they love pinball. They figure, why, let's let everybody else watch us and play and we'll talk and hang out. And I don't care if they got four or five viewers or if they got, you know, Jack Danger tonight. He was streaming Deadpool. cool. He's got the Penn Stadium lights on that, the special streaming edition, which he actually suggested to me at Pinball at the Zoo when we met. And he uses the Penn Stadiums all the time. And he had 4,300 viewers tonight, Jeff, on his stream. It was a Miller Lite special event. He was on the front page of Twitch. And I was like, wow, that's so cool. And it was awesome to see Jack Danger, of all people, who's just been amazing for the community, using my lights. And he helped give me a lot of tips and ideas for making those lights for streaming. So I don't know who's, you know, he's an awesome dude along with Buffalo and SDTM and special one lit. I mean, this is the list goes on and on. And like I said, even these guys that are just starting up, I want to help them all if I can. They're doing good things. All good people. Everyone you mentioned there. And yeah, you're right. That is exactly Jack and I were having dinner in Kalamazoo. And that's when you came up, I think with Trent, that's exactly where we met. That's so funny. And you remember, like, I remember bringing up to you and I don't know if you knew what happened, but after I left, You guys were staying at the same hotel. And when I went, we went back to that hotel, and I didn't have my ID on me, which I don't know. For some reason, I never have to have my ID. But this time, this lady must have just been newly hired, and she's like, oh, we can't let you stay here. So I remember Jack came in. He was riding his motorcycle, and you drove separately. And I remember you guys, we didn't really talk much, but I sat at the bench with you and talked for a little bit before that. But I couldn't even get in my hotel room. So I was like, oh, I guess I'm sleeping in my car. Did you really sleep in your car? No, but I mean, I ended up getting another hotel. Oh, my gosh. I've done that before. I mean, heck, I lived in my BW Bug for probably like a whole, I guess it was a whole year, like a whole summer. I lived in a Volkswagen Beetle when I was 19. It had no floor pans in it and no starter. I'd Fred Flintstone it out on hills and go to work. I mean, I've been there, so I wouldn't mind sleeping in an old Toyota Tundra pickup truck, which is what I drive. That was a lot nicer than that Beetle. Yeah. All right. Another reason to support Penn Stadium Lights. Get this guy a bed, all right, once in a while. I mean, yes, he's got a jugs machine for baseball, but for God's sakes, I mean, he needs some hotel help, so help support Penn Stadium Lights. Scott, all the best. Yeah. Hey, thank you. It was a pleasure talking with you. This has been your Pinball Profile. You can find our group on Facebook. We're also on Twitter at Pinball Profile. Email pinballprofile at gmail.com, and please subscribe on your favorite podcatcher and sign up for the Pinball Profile World Tour. tour. Get yourself a cool t-shirt. All kinds of great prizes at random. It's going to be a lot of fun. I'm Jeff Teel.