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nowadays it's like people come into a
bar and they're like oh look at that old
thing in the corner you know but it's a
lot more complicated than that it's not
just like a boom boom hit the things on
the side it's a little
worldness you like the 70s where the
ball's a little slower but the artwork
is like super bright do you like the 80s
where the ball got quicker I mean all
are great it's the same counterculture
appeel as comic book art skateboarding
the rock and roll if you think about how
you're rocking the game and the ball is
rolling there's something about that
wild rebellious Parian American Spirit
one of the ways that TV and movie
portrayed a bad kid they were playing
the pinball machine it's like crap you
start playing it and you just can't
stop
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this weekend is a really big tournament
and show the Chicago pinball Expo it's
the 30th anniversary of
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it
their's slip out tournament with $10,000
on the
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line there's seminars every day you have
all designers pinball manufacturers so
it's a pretty big deal this
weekend pinbal industry is almost 100
years old now we finally have created a
trading card set that commemorates the
history of pinball oh there I am yeah
there I am except I'm much younger
looking on the card Walter I want you to
sign I want to sign later on sign where
your cards for
me hey two great Legends meeting there
you
go my
friend thank you very much my pleasure
sir you have over a th events around the
world you have over 28,000 players
ranked in the world pinball rankings and
you know we're back as being iconic
figures from a bygone
era
New York City completes a Roundup of
thousands of pinball machines the police
acted on a city Magistrate's decision
which classified them as gambling
devices back in the day New York had
banned pinball because of Mayor
LaGuardia it was this whole concept that
pinball was going to ruin the Youth of
today that still lunch money to play
Pinball they were gambling on
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it pinball had two things going against
it back in the 30s one was Chicago you
know Chicago was Al Capone it's all mob
based the fact that the majority of pin
games were coming from Chicago and many
of the people tended to feel that
something's wrong it was seen as a cash
business the other part of it tended to
be much more moralistic if this is being
placed in a store where children can go
and spend a penny during their lunchtime
we corrupting them because they're
hanging out where they shouldn't be and
the cause for that this machine is doing
something we have to get rid of that
machine that machine is
bad it remained illegal until 1976 when
manufacturers were kind of pressuring
city government to lift the ban on
pinball machines so Roger sharp was an
advertising person and they were trying
to change the laws so they knew he was a
good player so they said here's a guy
who can beat a pinball machine he can
show you demonstrate that it is a game
of
skill he is like the Godfather of
pinball my friends made me a funny
t-shirt in college and all it said on it
was my dad saved
pinball in 1976 was told that I needed
to go in as the expert witness and after
I was sworn in the first question was
who's paying for you to give testimony
nobody I'm just I'm just here here's
this person who is attacking me as if I
was somebody who had been hired and he
said and I guess now you're going to be
playing pinball for it
we had two games set up on either side
of the courtroom so I got up I turned
wait a minute no no no not that
one that one I know that he thought that
that game over there God forbid was
probably rigged so I was able to have
them understand that this is not just
randomly placed and I was making my
shots and talking through everything if
I pull this back just totally and
perfectly right it's going to go right
down the center lane went up hit a
rubber came straight down boom and
that's when the guy on my left in most
of the pictures all right that's enough
I've seen enough so yes I called my shot
the city council voted 6 to Z to pass
and signed it in the law that pinball
would be allowed back into New York City
I testified in Ohio I testified in West
Virginia and Texas and there were places
that wound up Suddenly allowing pinball
although even today there's still some
places where there's rules and
regulations against
it Cally student californ
envir M mayor council members I couldn't
play Pinball until I was age 18 because
the city had an age rest I went to the
city and I said hey I want to open a
Pinball Museum and and I found out it
wasn't legal nobody really was looking
at it it was kind of like here was this
thing that was done in the ' 50s and the
60s in the' 70s was completely forgotten
about I read the law and it all came
down to coin drop well if I don't do the
coin drop then I'm not breaking the law
so I took all the coin mechs out I put
them on free play the city didn't catch
up to me for a couple of years so the
economic development lady asked me to
speak at this city hall meeting I hope
I'm going to put in my two sense and get
him to change the law I don't think
these days I think we kind of know that
pinballs are pretty safe nobody's really
been hurt by a pinball machine unless
they've helped me move one
um and we fully support this we think uh
it's it's about time
thanks have a motion we have a
second oh my
gosh we have a motion in a second all in
favor thank you all right moving right
along and they were kind of shocked to
see that they were still there so it's a
move forward for
everybody I want to see nothing but
selfies with
Gary leave it
is fing bottom of
the we've grown up in the industry for
so long we used to go to pimball Expos
on Sunday it was like Sunday was Family
Day Zach and I were like 9 and seven
running around the halls and playing
anything we could it was just a normal
part of life yeah this is the collection
of pinball tournament success over the
last 21 years this is the first trophy I
ever won it was 1993 Papa fall flip offs
in Chicago there were a total of four
participants two sharps out of four
participants and I beat Zach that day so
that was a good day my brother Josh we
always you know have good battles so
even if we were playing at a barade like
I want to win every time we would would
play this weekend is a big tournament
it's called the flip out tournament and
our father his friend from you know back
in the days tier and pretty big deal
this weekend every tournament I play I
don't want to say expect to win but
that's the goal anything less is a
failure Zach has gotten as close to
winning a world championship as
anyone but he has not done it yet and I
have not done it yet and it is
incredibly
frustrating um it's finals day at ball
Expo there's a lot of top players here I
mean I don't know how many world
champions but like Bowen Ken's here Jian
angle Breon mean everybody that walks by
as top 20 player or something everyone
learned from each other you don't learn
to become a great pinball player by
yourself it's impossible there are so
many little skills to learn and things
you pick up on by watching other players
we we have a lot of respect for each
other but at the same time we have to
compete against each other you know you
you're friends with everybody but you
still have to have a Killer Instinct and
try to beat them as
well these guys they're so serious most
of them they don't drink they don't
smoke they're so focused they're you
know a little square there's no messing
around here nobody comes here just for
shits and giggles they're coming here to
win and I'm just coming I'm the hoser
coming in Ching be all right I need
another beer I think
no pass it
over make the back hand
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up I played like garbage tied for
nine it's all right sucks that's not
player error so much as it is just you
know the fact that there's some level of
unpredictability when it comes to
pinball so I'll switch to my other stuff
see what he's
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doing pinball is cool in a way that
the game you're trying to control chaos
so being able to try to control the
uncontrollable it's an anxious moments I
swear a lot when I
play I hate you don't go yet
wow God damn it I'm not I'm not a big
swearer I'm so
stupid
unbelievable oh that's my son
so God damn it that's it that is
the sh both getting knocked out
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we I've grown to appreciate what my dad
has meant to the game seeing the marks
that he's left the ability to sort of
pass the torch to us to keep things
going now having two kids of my own and
wondering if they're going to enjoy it
or not if if my kids like it as much as
Zach and I do that would be amazing so
I've started to remind my dad lately how
lucky he is that you know we we took to
it as well as we did I truly do wish
that the uh the boys had been able to
see me play in my Prime and maybe have
an appreciation because I I just have
this this connection to pinball that is
that is special to me and and I don't
want to lose that but having said that
um you know Jesus
Christ I like I think this still proud
of
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me