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Pinball Junk Drawer Episode 90 - American, Texas And The Curious Case Of The Missing Ball

Poor Man's Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·36m 12s·analyzed·Jan 29, 2026
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.028

TL;DR

American Pinball acquired by Principal LED founder; Planetary remake deal announced

Summary

Pinball Junk Drawer Episode 90 covers American Pinball's acquisition by J. Brian Vincent (Principal LED founder), discusses potential relocation to Texas where other manufacturers operate, announces Planetary Pinball partnership to remake 8 classic Bally/Williams titles, and shares anecdotes about pinball machine maintenance (missing ball in Elvira) and local arcade operations.

Key Claims

  • American Pinball was bought by J. Brian Vincent, owner of Principal LED

    high confidence · Direct statement: 'American Pinball has been bought by a pinball enthusiast, J. Brian Vincent, and he's a very successful businessman who owns, I think, Bright LED or something like that. I think I have that right. Principal LED.'

  • American Pinball has an agreement with Planetary Pinball to make approximately 8 titles based on old Bally/Williams games

    high confidence · 'they also had an agreement between Planetary Pinball and them that they're going to make whatever, like, I think they have eight titles that they're going to do. Old Bally Williams games.'

  • Principal LED is based in Texas

    high confidence · 'Principal LED is based in Texas. Right. and people had speculated are they going to stay in the American factory or move it now'

  • Barrels of Fun has produced multiple games including Winchester and Dune

    high confidence · Discussion about Barrels of Fun's output: 'Winchester. Uh-huh. Oh, crap. I don't know. We'll have to look this up at some point. They have more than you think.'

  • Multiple pinball manufacturers are located in Texas: Turner Pinball in Borne, Multimorphic in Round Rock, Barrels of Fun in Houston, and Principal LED between Lubbock and Austin

    high confidence · Host researched Texas locations: 'Turner Pinball is in Borne B-O-E-R-N-E... Multimorphics in Round Rock... Barrels of Fun is in Houston and Principal LED is way up here... between Lubbock and Austin'

  • The other company that shared a building with American Pinball has cut ties completely

    high confidence · 'that other company that was in the same building with them is not going to be part of... No, they've cut ties completely.'

  • The host experienced a missing ball in Elvira House of Horrors during multiball play that could not be located despite searching

    high confidence · 'I unlocked the multi-ball and it's going and going and going. And then it's missing a ball... I don't know where this ball is.'

Notable Quotes

  • “I'm a dumb jobber. That's literally what my brain did.”

    Host (Foghorn Leghorn character) @ ~3:00-5:00 min — Self-deprecating tournament analogy comparing casual players to wrestling jobbers who get eliminated immediately

  • “There's plenty of room for more pinball. Of course there is. And keep growing it, keep making awesome stuff, and it'll keep getting bought, and that keeps pushing the bar.”

    Co-host @ ~18:00 min — Optimistic stance on industry growth and competition despite market consolidation concerns

  • “I never understood the draw of Cuphead other than the art's beautiful... The game itself is brutal as hell.”

    Host @ ~12:00 min — Commentary on Cuphead's challenge level and theme appeal; relevant to American Pinball's unreleased Cuphead machine

  • “Texas is as big as the moon you know everything right”

    Co-host @ ~21:00 min — Humorous note about Texas geography and distance between manufacturers despite apparent clustering

  • “I don't know where this ball is. Right. So I have to take the glass off at some point”

    Host @ ~38:00 min — Describes mysterious missing ball phenomenon in Elvira House of Horrors machine

  • “If you go someplace and it's all busted up and broken down, that's no fun for anybody”

    Co-host @ ~43:00 min — Commentary on importance of machine maintenance for location operators

  • “Stranger Things two weeks in a row is in the top three. Yep. Why? Was there a new code update maybe?”

    Co-host @ ~48:00 min — Speculation about code updates driving machine popularity at location

Entities

J. Brian VincentpersonAmerican PinballcompanyPrincipal LEDcompanyBarrels of FuncompanyPlanetary PinballcompanyMultimorphiccompanyTurner PinballcompanyStern Pinballcompany

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: Company sharing building with American Pinball has cut ties completely; business separation/dissolution

    high · 'that other company that was in the same building with them is not going to be part of... No, they've cut ties completely.'

  • ?

    business_signal: American Pinball acquired by Principal LED founder J. Brian Vincent; significant business restructuring event

    high · Direct announcement of acquisition with buyer identity and company affiliation confirmed

  • ?

    community_signal: District 82/Lumberjack Johnny's hosting themed pinball events (1950s, punk rock, ladies flip) with music, drink specials, and community participation

    high · Multiple event announcements with dates and specific programming details

  • ?

    licensing_signal: Planetary Pinball partnership to remake approximately 8 classic Bally/Williams games; nostalgia licensing strategy

    high · 'they also had an agreement between Planetary Pinball and them that they're going to make whatever, like, I think they have eight titles that they're going to do. Old Bally Williams games.'

  • $

    market_signal: Stranger Things Stern machine is top earner at location for two consecutive weeks; code updates may be driving engagement

    medium · 'number one is Stranger Things... Stranger Things two weeks in a row is in the top three... Was there a new code update maybe?'

  • $

Topics

American Pinball acquisition and business restructuringprimaryTexas as emerging pinball manufacturing hubprimaryPlanetary Pinball classic game remake licensing dealprimaryBarrels of Fun as successful new competitorsecondaryPinball machine maintenance and operational issuessecondaryLocation arcade machine earnings/popularity trendssecondaryCommunity venues and themed pinball eventsmentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.72)— Generally optimistic about industry growth and American Pinball's acquisition; enthusiasm for Barrels of Fun's success and community venues; some skepticism about American Pinball's theme choices (Cuphead) and product track record; mixed humor throughout

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.109

Now who's responsi- I say who's responsible for this unwarranted attack on my person? I say, I say, I say, pay attention now, boy. This is, of course, Foghorn Leghorn presents the Pinball Junk Drawer. You all asked for it, I say, I say, you all asked for it now, you're gonna get it. Boy, oh boy, are you gonna get it. Go, I say, go away, boy, you bother me. Coming to you live from just a click below the frozen tundra. It's, of course, the frozen basement that houses the frozen pinball junk drawer. Starring frozen foghorn leghorn. And also... Frozen crap proof cell. You sure you're getting that one out? Anywho, it's not really that cold. It's kind of cold, though. The outside temperatures have plummeted. They've been in the negatives in the last week. And since we're all about positivity, we don't acknowledge that cold Carl Weathers. And that's why I died from frostbite. Oh, I didn't die from frostbite. Anyway, this is, of course, Big Show 90. Yeah. Wow. That's 10 away from 100. I told you I knowed up math. You do knowed up math. English, not so much, but I knowed up the math pretty good. You're going to have to do what were you saying? I'm sorry. We're going to have to have like a special show for the 100th. We should just do a clip show, which does clip all of our funniest things that are nonsense from the past 100 or actually technically the past 99. That's all of the show's nonsense. We'd forget a lot of the nonsense. It kind of flows out of my mouth and just floats away into the atmosphere, which might be the cause of the cold Carl Weathers. Who knows? Arctic plummeting cold Carl Weathers. So, I thought of a perfect analogy. Now, crap to sell, you're kind of held hostage in our living room often by whatever I'm watching. And many years ago, I talked about this on all of our shows, basically, because it is, I'm fascinated by it. Now, I used to watch wrestling when I was a kid, and then not so much after, like, the attitude era, or whatever you want to call it, when it was like WCW and WWE, you know. And I just, you stop watching it. I stopped watching it. But I don't hate it or love it. I don't care. It's just what it is. But the old stuff I thought was very funny. In the 90s when it was exploding and it was like kind of cool to watch it, you know. But I never ever watched any of the WrestleManias. Yeah. Because those were money and I didn't have any of that. And I'm not enough, certainly not enough to spend on wrestling. Well, pay-per-view. That's what I mean, pay-per-view. Yeah. so recently maybe like two or three years ago or something i bought uh the box set of the first 25 wrestlemanias that is an expensive dvd box set but i pwned i got it second hand ponied up just got it it was you sometimes you just pony up the money and the first watch through i it was it was exciting to me because these were literally just no editing. They blurred out WWE because WWF. I think it was. They blurred that out because of the lawsuit or whatever. But they didn't cut any content. They didn't cut any questionable things. This is literally a snapshot from every year. And that is what it is from the first one through. Yes. I'm getting to a pinball point. So it's just rambling nonsense. What is this? Is this a wrestling podcast? The wrestling junk drawer? This is the wrestling diaper basket. No. So as I watch through it, you kind of start seeing like it is a snapshot of American culture. But then the one, like the second last one or the third last one, it was one of those like big nonsense things. And it's like, oh, this is the, there's everyone's going to be in the ring. and then whoever's last gets to wrestle the big man for the big belt, whatever that is. And that's when it hit me. It was like, aha, there's my analogy. So when I'm going to a pinball tournament, right, there's what now let's go back to WrestleMania. There's like 20. This is a WrestleMania. There's going to be 30-man battle royal. Well, 26 of the men are in the ring. and then the last four come out to special music and they flex and they're like I'm extra angry and they have their own music and they usually have somebody walking with them I'm one of the guys in the ring already I'm a jobber that like the jobbers might throw one or two people out before they get haplessly tossed by the four guys with entrance music that's my analogy of what every pinball tournament is I'm the guy that's already in the ring local jobber number 12 and I'm gone before you blink an eye. So next time we go to a tournament, I want you to get your boom box and play your own entrance music as you walk in. And I'll put on a cape and one glove for some reason. I'll wear the whole thing. I'll have one Michael Jackson glove and I'll just wear it for no reason. And I'll wear that the whole time and it won't have any function other than, who was that guy with that cape and the boom box and the glove? I don't know. And I'll only be addressed by, like, you know, the crippler, the pinball crippler. So anyway, when I was watching that, it was like an epiphany. They're like, boy, those dumb jobbers just standing there waiting for these guys to come in. That's me. I'm a dumb jobber. That's literally what my brain did. And I quickly scribbled it down so I didn't forget it immediately as I watched 30 people throwing each other out of a ring. I am so glad you waited until now to tell me this. I try to save my best nuggets for on-air talent. Your best nuggets. Your nuggets, all right. Nuggets of something. So there you have it, folks. If you've listened and you know what I'm talking about, I talked about a tournament I was in and how I don't really need to be there. Actually, the last five or six people should just really have their own little tournament. They should all have their own entrance music. and that's when Pinball Tunnel suddenly went to four days long because it took a day and a half for everyone to pick their music out and play it and then there'd be a red carpet and they'd be like, oh, I'm coming for you, jobber number 12. So whatever. All right, moving on to actual things. So I guess the big news was, of course, American Pinball has been bought by a pinball enthusiast, J. Brian Vincent, and he's a very successful businessman who owns, I think, Bright LED or something like that. I think I have that right. Principal LED. So that's good. I don't know if the American brand is... Savable? No, it's savable. I don't think... Other than some of the odd choices, I don't remember anyone going, I hate their build quality. They just kind of were like one of those fringe players. You're like, who is that? What are they doing now? That's weird. Every time they announce something, you're like, what are they? That's weird. That's every announcement. But this guy seems to be like he's a little bit more in tune. Yeah. Do you think he's going to get Cuphead out? No. Well, I shouldn't say no. Maybe. Who knows? That's one of those who knows. Yeah. I never, now, see this, I don't want to get in trouble saying this. I never understood the draw of Cuphead other than the art's beautiful. Yeah. The game itself is brutal as hell. It kicks you. Yeah, it literally, like wherever you are, whatever groin you have, it kicks you there. And you're sad, you're sorry you played it. But like now, but I've heard from people that did get, actually get time on it that it was an awesome game. So that might be, maybe. Yeah. Maybe, but maybe that's just gone. You know, who knows. And we only played the video game. Yes. We played it at Freeplay Florida, I think. Yeah. The big, giant one. The stand-up one, yeah. And then we have it for the Switch. Yeah. And you play it and you're like, oh, that's right. This is insane. Yeah. But it might have been a nice game. Right. But then right after that, then they also had an agreement between Planetary Pinball and them that they're going to make whatever, like, I think they have eight titles that they're going to do. Old Bally Williams games. Mm-hmm. Which I have kind of mixed feelings about it. I think it's a good thing. Yeah. Some of those old games are incredible. There is a very distinct difference between the old games and new games. Mm-hmm. As far as depth and you know things to shoot for and things to work at People talk about how the Beatles or Pulp Fiction are shallow games. Well, they're not compared to an old game. I don't know. Will they be able to change any of the rules on these or are they just remaking? I don't think they're actual just remaking. I think they're going to reimagine or whatever which gives free license to tweak some of the angles that might have been off a little bit. Or fix this, adjust this. I don't know. These are beloved titles, so that has a built-in following right off the bat. Didn't I? Did we see 8-Ball? I don't know. I can't remember. I didn't dig too much into it. Okay. I did dig in because he is the principal LED is based in Texas. Right. and people had speculated are they going to stay in the American factory or move it now the machining and stuff like that that's really where the value of this business lays like him buying American if he got all the machines and all some of the back stock whatever that's where the value is Chicago definitely has it's share of very pinball savvy employees they could probably get some great designers they could probably get some very good coders that kind of stuff now assemblers and stuff like that they're in Texas I think they can find a few assemblers if they would want to move it now I did kind of wonder if they did all of a sudden shift American to Texas it is a possibility because there's Turner there's Multimorphic Barrels of Fun which is coming out swinging Barrels of Fun is a heavy hitter right now and now if they moved it, then American Pinball would be, and I looked at a map I actually printed a map and kind of circled them you know, like Turner Pinball is in Borne B-O-E-R-N-E, Borne Borne, yeah, Borne then Multimorphics in Round Rock, which looks like Round Rock is where's Round Rock? I don't know, I just looked for Round Rock it's like right outside of Austin uh born's like kind of below austin and then houston uh barrels of fun is in houston and principal led is way up here uh kind of like between lubbock and austin kind of so they're now on the map they look close but texas is as big as the moon you know everything right so you know it's not like there's an actual hub that they were like if they were all really close to Austin or if they were all really close to Houston. But I don't really know how much proximity matters anymore. Do you? Well, I think that a lot of things that happen in Chicago are there's cabinet makers there. Yeah. Which is. And there's the shows. Yeah. The shows. A lot of shows are there. A lot of places to show. Like as far as like making them though, I don't think, you know, like Barrels of Fun hasn't had any real hiccups from that, you know. Yeah. I guess probably the biggest thing would be the cost incurred of moving that equipment and that back stock would be quite substantial. Yeah. And then setting it up. And then if you're buying parts from Chicago, if you're buying cabinets that are made there, then you have to add for the shipping costs. I'm sure there's locals. There's people that can locally make, you know. Right. Like if he's a businessman, like Barrels is a businessman, like they know how to source stuff. Right. They can get it done. It's not like it'd be, I don't know if it's necessarily as hard to do anymore. Right. I know other countries have tried and had real trouble, but now you're talking about all kinds of weirdness. Yeah. Tariffs and taxes and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Things that, you know, land of the free. And stuff that's sitting on boats and melting. Yeah, melting and whatnot. You know, things are going to melt in Texas, but they'll probably figure it out. So he might leave it alone. It might be a long-term plan. Like if I was this fellow, I'm not. He's much smarter in business, I'm sure. But I would say, well, I'm going to do a couple here and see how they go and get rolling with the plans of finding a big place, rolling some of the money into the new place. then when it makes sense after you put a couple out, people start knowing your brand, people start liking your brand again, then you bounce to Texas. Because they have some shows in Texas that are really, really big. Right. Like the JBS show. Yes. Really big in Houston. Straight out of Houston, some might say. Nobody says that. I do. Well, whatever. So I don't know. Maybe the people say that. There should be like a JBS straight out of Houston. That would be a new shirt. No, but like the Texas pinball show is there. Yeah, of course. So it's exciting. It's great. I mean, I'm hopeful that it does great. Yeah. You know, like there's room for everyone. I know no one wants to say that, and everyone's like, oh, my God. There's plenty of room for more pinball. Of course there is. And keep growing it, keep making awesome stuff, and it'll keep getting bought, and that keeps pushing the bar. So now, as far as American goes, that other company that was in the same building with them is not going to be part of... No, they've cut ties completely. And however long they stay there or however long they stay anything, I don't know. I haven't read very much about it. They were one of my least favorite companies. Yeah, mine too. I didn't... The stuff that came out, I wasn't... I wasn't. I didn't have interest in it. Right. And that's not a bash against them. I just don't care about barbecue and I don't care about Hot Wheels and I don't care. Like they were fine games and they were fun. You know, I kind of thought Hot Wheels might be one of those sleepers that was really awesome. Yeah. And I never had a lot of time on it. It might be an awesome game. I, you know, it's one of those where you could probably retheme it into Fast and Furious or Speed Racer and all of a sudden it's kind of cool. Oh, there's your, there's your dream theme. My Speed Racer dream theme. But, you know, so this guy is an enthusiast. He has a lot of machines of his own. He knows what he likes. He knows what's good. He's part of this community. Okay. So it might be a real blast. It might be awesome, you know. Who thought barrels was going to come out and just start rocking it like they are? And I'm like, wow, I think very highly of them. So how many have they produced? Oh, I don't know. It's a small number, right? That's four or five. Okay. Well, Winchester. Uh-huh. Oh, crap. I don't know. We'll have to look this up at some point. They have more than you think. Sorry to put you on the spot. Dune and Winchester. What were some of the first ones? They had a couple that they brought out right out of the barrel that were like, oh, look at that. And you can play them and you're like, this is pretty cool. So I can't remember off the top of my head, which I should be able to, but, you know. So yay for that. Yay for more pinball. We'll see how it rolls out. I'm hopeful, but you never know. Is Texas the next Chicago? It's not. now one last thing one last thing before we go into our lumberjacks numbers and then everyone's favorite segment the curious case of the missing pinball dun dun dun so I got done I did I finally put in that mod in the Beatles machine and I got the new Titans on and I wiped it down cleaned up and it shoots like a dream you know whenever you do that kind of stuff it's like oh yeah so that's really hot so then we're playing the Elvira. And I'm having a pretty decent multiball. I unlock the multiball and it's going and going and going. And then it's missing a ball. Now I had seen where I thought a ball was disappeared. Because you keep track mostly. And I thought there's like one spot kind of behind the ramp by the bumper that you have to give a little side-to-side shake and it comes down. And then it says, oh, it's missing a ball. And I did that and it didn't drop. And I looked for the Crafter Sally and that wasn't there. Like, Crevasselli hits it during a multiball where it bounces off the one on the ramp already and then gets stuck underneath the ramp every time, every time. It's not every time. Often. I would say two out of five times. Okay, not every time, folks. Okay, three out of five. Okay, I have a special magnet on a stick for how often it happens, but whatever. So it wasn't the Crevasselli. And then I'm, like, looking and looking, and I played a couple games to like, this little thing will jostle loose. I looked underneath. Now, I haven taken the glass off I just put another ball in So I never done this in my life where I just said the hell with it and dropped this thing now has seven balls and it needs six It never gone into error. I don't know where this ball is. Right. So I have to take the glass off at some point and then I'm going to try to find this thing. So if you think you know where the mysterious pinball went in the Elvira House of Horrors, email us at pinballjd at gmail.com and we'll send you some stickers or something to thank you. Because I don't know where this... It's so odd. I've never not found a ball before because it's in there somewhere. So this is the first time for this one. It was very intriguing. Yes. I did want to say also, we have swag at Silver Ball Swag and we always say if you want a sticker, send us an email with your address and we'll definitely send you a free of charge stickers because they're shiny and we like them. But if you have questions or topics that you want us to talk about, send us an email. We would be more than happy to read it on air. Pinballjd at gmail.com. Go ahead. You'll be glad you did. You can be part of it. Give yourself a nickname, or I will. Or I'll just make one up on the fly, you know. And what the hell. Let's have some fun. Saddle up the whole dang crew. Lumberjack Jones is calling you. axes fly, skee-balls roll, pinball poppin', arcades glow, a hundred beers, hot smoked meats, pizza so good you'll stomp on your feet, Lumberjack Johnny, your fun time, one-stop retreat. And that awesomely means it's time for the numbers for Lumberjack Johnny's. Yes. What reigned supreme this week? So we actually have two weeks worth. Wow. So the first week, so like, you know, that 18th through the 24th-ish? Yep. No, it's probably from the week before. The 11th through the 17th I'm going to go with. Okay. It's going to be number one is Stranger Things. You mean the top? Yep. The top earner is Stranger Things. Yep. Huh. And then Evil Dead. Okay. Evil Dead's holding strong. Yes. Yeah, that's a... And then we have a tie for third. Okay. Batman 66 and Pulp Fiction. Wow. Yeah. That's a much different, well, that's a different, a little bit of a shakeup. All right. What were the saddest three pinball machines? Okay. So third from the bod, or third, you know. Yes, yes. Is Star Wars. Really? I'm not sure which one. Because they have both. Yeah, they do have both. And then there's a tie for second last, Elton John and Led Zeppelin. Wow. One of those things is not like the other. Right. I'm not a huge player of Led Zeppelin. No. I like some of their music. Yeah. Not so much the pinball machine. Rant Mania running wild on you, brother. I do like the Elton John. You like the boogie. Oh, my butt wiggling awesomeness. So what's the lowest one? And then there's also a tie for the lowest. Oh, no. Yes. Say it ain't so. Looney Tunes. Yeah. And this one surprises me. This one kind of makes my heart hurt a little bit. It's Bond, isn't it? It is. Oh, no. Bond L-E. Oh, wow. Yeah. All right. Well, we'll be over there soonish to change those numbers. Okay. Okay, now what's the next week? What do you got going? All right. Then the next week we have number one is Elton John. Huh. There you go. So it goes from second last to number one. Right. And then this one made me laugh. Okay. Super Mario Brothers. Really? Yeah. That's at like a quarter a pop, too. Is it? For like 50 cents. It's not a dollar. Huh. Huh. And then Stranger Things. Huh. Yeah. So Stranger Things two weeks in a row is in the top three. Yep. Why? Was there a new code update maybe? I'm not sure. Maybe there's like some, I bet you there's some unlockables in the Insider Connected. We have to really keep track of that. We should. I have to make myself a new notebook. I'm closing in on, what did I just hit? 450 days straight or something like that? Nice. So what's the bottom three? So now this bottom three for me makes a lot of sense. Okay. This was like Zeppelin and Foo Fighters and like Fishtails. No. What do we got? What are they? Third last is Venom. Venom. Not a game I go to a lot. Only when there's an Insider Connect thing. That's more fun than people talk about. Yeah. But it's not one of my favorite games. No. But there's a lot to do on it. I don't dislike that game. That's for sure. Right. And then is Foo Fighters. Okay. And then is P3 Portal. Huh. Yeah. That's okay. They'll make a comeback. I don't remember Portal being on the top or the bottom of any lists. I think there was that one week when it was broken that it was on the bottom. Yeah, that makes sense. So there you have it. Now, I know they have some awesome stuff coming up. What do they got going on? On February 6th. So if you're listening to this, you have a week to move to Appleton. Right. Okay, from wherever you live. Or if you're in Appleton. and go there. Yes. On February 6th, they have 50s theme pinball. Oh, nice. They're going to have beer specials, 50s music, and they encourage 50s attire. Very fun. Uh-huh. All right, cool. And then on February... So don't be squares, daddy-o's. I don't know anymore lingo. I should brush up on lingo. You should, and then we should go. put my saddle shoes on roller skates why not I'm ordering those from Amazon right now they're in my cart February 13th is going to be punk rock pinball they're going to play punk music they're going to have punk music drink specials they encourage punk attire no knives folks no knives but then they also are going to have bucket of beer and pizza specials oh sweet I should actually grab up some of my I have a lot of punk I should probably put a flash drive together in case they're in the need of some very interesting stuff I have all kinds of for a while I was buying up we used to have a TV show on public access and we used punk music as like soundtracks almost like whenever somebody was doing something dumb on screen we would drop and he was now dancing to a punk song and I have like all these I was buying up just boxes and boxes of it was just like punk CD lots because CDs were worth nothing and I swear I have like hundreds of them and some of them are still sealed it's really ridiculous so I you know I should I should see if they need any I can definitely throw some together and flash drives are like 14 cents now so it's not like I even need it back I'll be like yeah here you go I can have this so yeah very cool And I know they're also talking about doing some cool stuff with drinks and drink specials. So very, very cool. I always, I'm very thankful for District 82 and for Lumberjacks. Because one thing we don't praise enough for both those establishments, the machines are working. They're kept after. Nothing sucks worse than when you walk into a place and you're like, oh, they have pinball. and it's janky and broken and you've just lost a buck. Yeah. That happened to us when we went to that one brewery. Remember that? Like Zeppelin like didn't work. Well, that brewery has now closed. Because of their pinball shenanigans. Probably. So it's just like they're always up to snuff. They're always going. And if they don't, Wilson comes over, gives you your money back, and then fixes it right away. It's like it's just that's a lot to be thankful for. If you go someplace and it's all busted up and broken down, that's no fun for anybody correct anything else we good um there is also going to be a ladies flip oh okay coming up on time for me to get my 50s poodle skirt out and my entrance music which will be i don't know i think it's the 15th barber and no i don't know what is it what is now back to reality what are you talking about so ladies flip is going to be at um glow in the park oh nice on February 15th That cool Yes All right That a great place Come out and join us Yeah I know the Pinball Show gave them some love because I think Zach is Their distributor He their distributor so he brings up some good stuff So, very cool. All right, I'm dropping in the theme music. It's time for everyone's favorite segment. Okay. Craft Brew Sally. Gonna have to put your journal down. Craft Brew Sally time. You've been to all the breweries around You've been running all over the town Tell me what to drink until I fall on the ground Yeah That's right, people. And we're back. What do you got for us this week, Craft Brew? So what do you usually like to do when we go out of the house? Think about how I don't want to be out of the house, mostly. Oh, man. Swing and a miss. Why? What would you say? You like to go to junk shops. Yes, I do. Yes. Thrift. So. I pick up everything and don't buy anything. You pick everything up. Everything. So, what's. So. Uh-huh. Next time. Well, probably not next time, but one time when we go to the thrift store on college. St. Vinny's. will be able to drop me off at a new brewery and then you can go to the junk shop and then come back and get me. Is it going to be really close to it? St. Vinny's is... I think those are national St. Vincents. Yeah, I think so. They're all over Wisconsin for sure. We have two pretty good ones around us. I've actually found a lot of video games there which is awesome. Next door to this to st vincent's was a used car lot i think also next door in between the used car lot and that other thing was the scariest thrift store that's ever thrifted a store it's so weird it was really weird i think they bulldozed that over i don't even think they took the stuff out of it i think they literally just bulldozed it back and forth until it was dust yeah like drop a brewer on top of this brewery. There you go. But so a brewery that is from West Allis, Wisconsin, is going to open another location. Wow. It's going to be two and a half acres. Wow. Yeah, it's going to be giant. That's cool. It's called Ope, O-P-E Brewing Company, and they're going to have two tap rooms, two sand volleyball courts four outdoor pickleball courts indoor and outdoor stages for live music what the heck yeah a food truck area because they don't have a kitchen okay so they have rotating food trucks yeah they're gonna have a pilot brew house to develop new beers ciders and seltzers Okay. This place is like massive. Yeah. It's like a Disney. Oh, I'm not done yet. Disneyland for beer, huh? Right. Wow. They're also going to have a canine club dog wash. I don't. Okay. Okay. Is that like you put a dog on a conveyor belt and he just stands there and the brushes come down and he comes out and the wind blows and they hang a little tree on his ear and say, off you go, big guy. And the dog, rrrr, is all shiny. Maybe. I don't know what it means, but. I don't either. There also is going to be a merchandise shop. Yeah. And inside the brewery and the tap houses, there's going to be 24 tap lines. Holy crap. Yeah. That's a lot. This place is going to be huge. Yeah. So I would imagine it's going to have to go from that pizza place all the way down to St. Vinny's. That's a lot. That two and a half acres is huge. Right. OPE. I hope they have like a Greek week and they change it to OPA. and you walk in and you smash a plate and then you go get some beer I want the flaming cheese I'll stick around for the smashing of the plates I'll be like well can I smash plates if I don't want to drink any beer and they'll be like no give me your most Budweiser beer please and I'm going to sit there and smash plates until they is that a thing? no I don't know I'm not up on Greek plate smashing tradition sorry so if you're up on plate smashing or greek plate smashing write us at the pinball jd at gmail.com right smooth so i bet you one of those i bet you one of those lines is going to be the newest addition to wisconsin an old friend of ours yes uh not lining kugels uh yingling yes yingling for those of you not in the know is the oldest brewer in a brewery in america it is and it was about 20 minutes from where we grew up it was in Annie Potts town or pottsville i now forget him right pottsville we we were very close um and we we actually toured it one time we went up there uh they were kind of yingling was like on the way out that was an old man beer until black and tan came along yep and then all of a sudden they were like this beer prints money and then they became very very popular and kind of, I think they updated their lager to tweak the recipe maybe. I don't know. It's a very good beer. When I heard that was coming to Wisconsin, I was very interested because I don't think I've ever had Yingling out of the tap. Oh, I don't think I have either. And I bet you that's very good. It is a very nice kind of, I don't know, it's just a very clean, good-tasting lager. Yeah. You know, there's nothing wacky about it. It's just, you know, you can just say, and you can just drink it. It's very good. So they started in, what, January distributing to Wisconsin? I think that's what the big news was, yeah. Yeah, I think that they're actually brewing it in Milwaukee. Oh, cool. In the Pabst thing? I want to say it's part of the Miller family of beers. I'm not 100%, but. Wow, that's cool. Yeah. I know. And I did see a couple places that say we had a barrel and we sold out in four and a half hours. Yeah. They were like, well, it's a, they won't, once the excitement wears off, it'll drop. Yeah. But I bet you it stays a popular beer. I think so. If you have like, oh, Line and Kugel and you have Yangling and Spotted Cow, what more do you need? I mean, those are like just, those are workhorse beers. I think a lot of people like, like there's a lot of people that drive to like the border of Wisconsin to get spot, to buy spotted cow. I think a lot of people were doing that because there for a long time we couldn't get Yingling even in Florida. Yeah. And then I think that. They made some kind of a deal with the distributors. Great, probably Great Lakes Distributing or whatever that big one is. Yeah, they were, they're, they're one of those beers where I would, if I saw one, I'd be like, yeah, that, you know, that's, give me one of them. You know, just a straight up, no nonsense, good lager beer. They had it at, what you call it? Oh, goodness. Home Burger Bar that one time. Yeah, yeah. They had a special that it was like a Yingling burger where they sautéed the onions in the beer and then you got the burger and you got a can of Yingling. now I will be very curious to see if we get a hold of their yearly Hershey's beer because Yingling has that Hershey's collaboration where it's like I don't remember what it is even it's like a stout that's made with Hershey's chocolate kind of but you could only they only distributed like barrels to Pennsylvania I think I think I had a bottle of it one time when I went to visit. Yeah, you're back home. Yeah, maybe. Maybe they'll have one. I have heard that it's better if you get it out of a barrel than out of a bottle. Most everything is. Bottling and canning is fine, but out of the barrel is the way to go. I think in retirement we're going to have kegs because that way it'll be just easier. Yep. All right. Got anything else? I don't. All right. Well, thanks for listening, one and all. This has been... I almost said Saki Bamagogo. That's the other show. This has been the Pinball Junk Jore Big Show 90. Yeah. Here's to another 90. Thanks for listening, one and all. We'll see you next time with more shenanigans and or shenanigotes. That's it, man. Game over, man. Game over.

Lumberjack Johnny's/District 82 arcade maintains their pinball machines in good working order

high confidence · 'nothing sucks worse than when you walk into a place and you're like, oh, they have pinball. and it's janky and broken... But they're always up to snuff. They're always going.'

Lumberjack Johnny's
event/venue
District 82venue
Texas Pinball Festivalevent
Cupheadproduct
Elvira House of Horrorsproduct
Beatlesproduct
Stranger Thingsproduct
OPE Brewing Companycompany
Yuenglingproduct

market_signal: Texas emerging as secondary manufacturing hub with Turner, Multimorphic, Barrels of Fun, and now potential American Pinball relocation

high · Host mapped Texas locations and discussed possibility of American moving operations to Texas for proximity to shows and ecosystem

  • ?

    community_signal: Yuengling historic brewery expanding distribution to Wisconsin after ~170+ years of regional concentration; supply chain/market expansion

    high · Host noted Yuengling distribution to Wisconsin started January with sold-out barrel events reporting 4.5 hour sellouts

  • ?

    product_concern: Persistent ball-sticking issue in Elvira House of Horrors machine behind ramp/under bumper area; mystery missing ball during multiball

    high · Host spent significant effort troubleshooting missing ball, unable to locate despite multiple search attempts; added 7th ball to compensate

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Host expresses relief at American Pinball's separation from previously disliked co-tenant company

    medium · 'They were one of my least favorite companies... I didn't have interest in it.'