Florida Pinball Enthusiast’s Open House

Curly’s Little Shop of Games is hosting a pinball enthusiast’s open house this coming Saturday, November 17th at his work shop from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm. He is planning to have approximately 20- 30 pinball machines on site and set up for your playing enjoyment. And Wow, what a line up of pinball machines he has listed here:

• Airborne


• Addams Family


• Attack from Mars


• Bride of Pinbot


• Cactus Canyon


• Champion Pub


• Cirqus Voltaire


• Corvette


• Creature from the Black Lagoon


• Dirty Harry


• Dracula


• Family Guy


• Godzilla


• Judge Dredd


• Junk Yard


• Lethal Weapon


• Monster Bash


• Monopoly


• No Good Gofers


• Pinball Magic


• Road Show


• Rocky & Bullwinkle


• Scared Stiff


• South Park


• Striker Extreme


• Slugfest


• T-3


• Whirlwind


• World Poker Tour

Each person will have one chance to win a LAH playfield by putting the highest score for the evening on the Family Guy Pinball Machine, plus Curly has some other pinball related gifts for limited amount of people. Then grab a Hamburger or Hot Dog with some Chips & Soda and kick back by the fire and listen to the DJ spin a disc or two.

This event is awesomely free and compliments of Curly’s Little Shop of Games & his Family.

It is not a prerequisite to be a pinhead to be able to attend, everyone is welcomed. The only request & requirement by Curly, is to bring a good attitude to take home a great experience. And he asks: please, if you introduce yourself to everyone you do not know, you will never be in a room full of strangers.

You can Google map it out to Curly’s location: 3635 Eagles Nest Road, Fruitland Park, Florida 34731

Also, You can check out his web site: Curly’s Little Shop of Games

Have Fun, Dan

Wheel of Fortune Pinball in the Works

Stern Pinball is planning on releasing a Wheel of Fortune Pinball Machine based on the long airing Wheel of Fortune Game Show. (It has been Thirty-Two years that this game show has been on television across the world. Unbelievable, it debut in 1975.) The Wheel of Fortune Pinball Machine seems to be closely following the game show forum because it has the contestants, prizes, the spinning wheel, but does it have the Puzzle Letter Board? This pinball machine is definitely different in design & a break from the normal layout especially with the inlanes & flippers areas at the bottom of the playfield. Stern moved the flippers further apart and including two rollover lane with a center post to help guard against straight down the middle ball drains between the flippers. But this different flipper layout will require players to learn new ball control skills if they are to avoid frequent ball drains. A few reports that a limited number of the Wheel of Fortune Pinball Machines have been surfacing for display & a couple of the pinheads had the chance to play the brand new machines had this to commented about the layout change: “The skill shot is tough and the center drain with the large center post and two lanes leaving the playfield really give it a different feel.” Two questions come to mind: (1) Will Stern get a good fortune spin with a Big Money Prize with the design deviations or will it land on the Bankrupt space & be rejected? (2) Do you have to be a die hard Wheel Watcher to enjoy this Pinball Machine & to keep it interesting & playable? Time will answer both these questions as this pinball machine is going into full production soon & Stern is getting ready for those pinball machine orders. Take a look at the Wheel of Fortune Pinball Machine playfield design & layout & tell me your predictions & I will post it here. Have Fun, Dan PS If you ever have any questions, information or comments, post them here.

Are The Game Vendors Killing Pinball?

By guest Blogger: Lizzy Try to find a pinball game to play in Southwest Florida. Dare, double dog dare ya! A pinball machine is like the four leaf clover of games. They’re harder than heck to find, fleeting and like a prize when you do find one. Why are they so hard to locate? Seriously, as a pin enthusiast I’ve dashed in and out of game rooms and smoke filled gin joints just trying to find one to little avail. The last one I found was playable until you reached a chute that was blocked. That ended my quarter parade. For all I know it’s still not operational it was evident that nobody was caring for this machine in any capacity. My quest for pin has led me the occasional pinball machine and I’ve always called the vendor number on the sticker to get a list of where he/she may have more. No dice. At what point does a person contact a business owner, offer to pump quarters into their machine and get met with no response? Zero, Zip, Nada. Well, one person tried to sell me a pinball machine at an inflated price. After engaging in several back and forth emails I still wasn’t able to pry the information about other machines from this vendor. I’m torn between whether the vendors won’t disclose machine locations: Are the pinball machines not properly licensed or if the vendors are just too dense to realize I just want to find their machines and pump my money into them.

If I can't find them and the few I find are not playable then how is the rest of the public going to fall in love with pinball and keep it alive? So I ask you if your part of the country is much like my little corner of Southwest Florida.

Are you able to find pinball machines?

Do the vendors in your area properly maintain and care for their machines?

Do the vendors share the location of their other machines?

Your commentary is welcome and of course, if you can rat out the location of a pinball machine in the Bonita Springs, Estero, Fort Myers or Naples, Florida areas it would be much appreciated. Heck, anywhere in SW Florida for that matter.

CENTRAL FLORIDA: ORLANDO’S PINBALL PLACE

Rocky’s Replay is the place to be for the latest Stern titles. If you live in or near Orlando you probably all ready knew that fact because the place was packed full of people. Rockys’ crowd was a mix of the young, teenagers to the middle agers playing Pinball & video machines. Rockys had both of the new releases from Stern which were the Family Guy & Spider-man pinball machines. The Family Guy is a Pat Lawlor Design. The same pinball designer that bought forth the now legendry machines like Addams Family, Funhouse & Twilight Zone in the early Nineties during the time of the Bally, Midway & Williams manufacturing days. Pat Lawlor's Family Guy layout brings a lot of sideways ball action with the third flipper mounted high on the left side of the playfield. All the characters are present on the playfield, but Stewie rules & gets featured with his own miniature operating pinball playfield… interesting a pinball machine within a pinball machine. The sound & video clips used, go hand & hand with the Family Guy theme, so if you enjoy the show you will love this pinball machine. Plus, it has the fighting rooster! The Spider-man pinball machine was also being received well & was kept busy continuously with people of all ages flipping away. (I gave a brief description of the Spider-man pinball play in a past story. Read also: Spiderman Found in Southwest Florida. They had three other Stern pinball machines as well: The Simpsons Pinball Party, Ripley’s Believe It or Not & World Poker Tour. All the pins that they had on site were well maintained & in good clean condition. Plus while your there, grab a chili dog or pizza & wash it down with nice tall cold one. So when you tire of Walt Disney World & Universal Studies theme parks & are ready to play some pinball. Get over to Rocky’s Replay, Orlando’s best keep secret & mingle with the locals. Rocky’s Replay 1121 Semoran Blvd Casselberry, FL 32707 (407) 260-0043 If you ever have any questions, information or comments, post them here. Have Fun, Dan

Journey to the other Coast

Decided to drive to the end of my driveway, then reach there & decided to drive to the edge of town, then the edge of the county & continued driving until I reached Ft. Lauderdale. I finally stop at the Xtreme Karts to play pinball. When you have an itch, sometimes you have to scratch. Jeff Palmer from RGP (Rec.Game.Pinball Google Group) told me about the Prime Time Arcade at Xtreme Karts located on the other coast. It really is not a bad drive. Yes, it did take me, one hour & forty minutes to arrive at their door steps, but driving across the Alligator Alley is undemanding & without interruptions. There are only two exit/ overpasses the entire eighty-four miles, so set the cruise control, listen to some music & look for ‘gators. Prime Time Arcade had six Stern pinball machines: World Poker Tour, NASCAR, Grand Prix, The Lord of the Rings, The Sopranos & Elvis. The pinball machines were clean & in good shape. They played well & I did not have any problems with these machines. But, I was disappointed to discover that they did not have Sterns latest & new releases like the Family Guy or Spider-man pinball machines on location. What a missed pinball opportunity. The opportunity to introduce a brand new game(s) & bring new pinball players in the blend or even to keep fresh the enthusiasm & passion that the dedicated pinheads have. It makes me wonder… They have the latest video consoles & extreme racing carts too, but this page is for pinball machines & pinball experiences. You can find the Prime Time Arcade at Xtreme Karts located at 5300 Powerline Rd Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 (954) 491-6265

Have Fun, Dan

Jeff thanks for the information.

The Chicago Pinball Expo

This year is the year for me to journey to the Chicago Pinball Expo. I have never been to a pinball expo or any similar gathering, so I heard that the Chicago Expo is one of the best & I am choosing this location to change that fact. The expo really looks & sounds interesting for not just pinball enthusiasts but anybody that ever walked up & played a ball on a pinball machine. Pinball machines you could not find on your own & that you normally would not have a change to play… set up here for Free Play, sign me up! They have organized this event with seminars & fireside chats with some very interesting speakers that have collected, changed, shaped, designed & manufactured the machines & even owned the companies that produced them. Seminars are offered for those people wanting to learn more from their pinball community about collecting, maintaining, electronics, trouble shooting, & restoration for pinball machines. Also you get to watch Shaggy & Norm in action in their segment: This Old Pinball- The Making of a Disaster tutorial. This Old Pinball videos are film & produced by these two crazy idiots, which make it pretty entertaining yet helpful & informational for the repairing & maintenance of a pinball machine. Be warned that they do have an “R” rating for their humor! The Stern factory tour is an exclusive behind the doors look at the only pinball manufacturing company left in existence. Go to the Stern Pinball manufacturing facility and see the production of machines from beginning to end. This special privilege is only extended to Pinball Expo 2007 Attendees! PLUS, they have Pinbrawl. Pinbrawl is a pinball players’ four person team tournament. Bring the skill or leave it at the house, it does matter they have different levels of competition based you’re your proficiency. You have to register at their Pinbrawl web page to participate in this competition. BUT, the most important thing is: that you can be with people that enjoy pins as much you do. Where else can meet & talk face to face with the other pinheads that you met online, similar to RGPers group with their members that live & come to be here from all over world to be in Chicago for the Pinball Expo. Let me know if you are making plans to the Pinball Expo & I will add your post here. If you having any questions about anything above, try clicking the embedded links on the highlighted words or contact me here & I will try to point you in the right direction. Have fun & hope to see you there! Dan

You Dirty Rat!

The Stern Spider-man Pinball machine at the Ft MyersAle House no longer displays my initials on its high score leader board. Someone has known only to me by his initials of D.O.N. aka the dirty rat has wipe me from existing on the face of this Spider-man pin. DON did such a beat down to knock my 102 million with his fourth rank of 168 million. He must be putting some time in on that pinball machine. He has the second & third spots locked up also & that is just plain getting greedy! New Challenge: Gun for the D.O.N. & knock him off that leader board! If you have the skill or luck and success in doing so, contact me here and I will post your results.

The Spider-man Pinball Machine can be found at: The Ale House - 4400 Kernel Circle, Ft Myers, FL Have fun, Dan

Name up in Lights

Success. My second visit to the Spider-man Pinball Machine turned out to be a great night. I had an awesome first ball with an extra ball awarded to help me put my initials up on the leader board. I fell in at fourth rank with 102,047,770. This game is a smooth setup with entertaining layout & design. It was fast & furious with multi-balls shooting from all directions. I found my timing groove which helped for the Vemon shots off the upper right flipper. The Challenge: I welcome everybody and anybody to replace my high score in lieu for their own. If you have the skill or luck and success in doing so, contact me here and I will post your results. The Spiderman Pinball Machine can be found at: The Ale House- 4400 Kernel Circle, Ft Myers, FL Have fun & good luck!

World Poker Tour Shanghai!

The Stern-World Poker Tour pinball machine has been put to sea and replaced by the Stern-Pirates of the Caribbean at Stevie Tomato’s Sportspage Ft Myers location. The pitch is set high on this machine causing fast balls and short games especially if you go after the center pirate targets, so good luck with putting your initials up on the leader board. Stern- Pirates of the Caribbean: Clean, bright, playable but pitch high with fast play, Stevie Tomato’s Sportspage- 11491 Cleveland Ave, Ft Myers 33907- Bar & Restaurant Have fun. Dan

Hell of a Night!

I had a hell of a Saturday night.

A group of us planned a quest for pinball locations. We heard rumors about a location way up in the Port Charlotte area, (thanks Rome) which is about 70 miles away from where we were.

So, we stopped in Ft Myers on the way to grab a bite to eat and a beer, before starting the drive. We ended up stopping at the Ale House to find a solo pin, the new Spider-man. Sweet. No one else was playing it, so we dominated the machine for over two hours, eating between play.

The play was fast and had a good flow. The sound was good and it fit the game play well. It was a real good layout by Steve Ritchie, I never cared for any of his other past layouts like WPT, Elvis, STNG, BK, T3 or Getaway, but this one is definitely different and better. I liked the spider sense back of flipper shot. The center post certainly helps from a center hit on the sandman from draining. The game was fresh on location, but still could not put my name up on the board with the score of 67m.

What was more exciting was a young kid started to gather around and was watch us on the machine with increasing interests, so my wife invited the kid to join our group and she tutored him about the flippers. She pulled up a stool and he climb atop to the pinball machine & his face shown with awe. I was surprised at how quick the young kid picked up skill with his timing and shots, for never having touched a pin before and plus he look to be barely nine years.

He played a few rounds before he and parents had to leave. He was looking back at the Spiderman over his shoulder as he was led and heading out the door.

Maybe pinball is not dead like others think.


So, we continued on to our original destination: Port Charlotte Our goal to find additional pinball location based solely on speculation with little to no information on what machines they had & conditions that they would be in.

We found the place with no problems, only to find out we might not be able to gain access to the pinball machines, vids only! So we told the young lady our story and where we drove from and promised to treat the machines with respect since we were all owners of pins ourselves. She walked us into a dark side room…. with eleven Bally/Williams machines? No…. this could not be true or even real. An unbelievable site, a STNG, MB, AFM, TOTAN, SS, TOM, TZ, CFTBL, FH, RFM, and a SWE1 all lined up, sitting there silent, power off, in the dark room.

She started with a warning, saying the owner was very particular about his pins & that he did not like the younger kids beating on them and being careless with food & drinks & that was the reason that they stood silent in the dark. We assure her we were not that young anymore.

None of the pinball machines were powered up, and this young lady didn't know how to turn them on, so I told her that I could take care of that little problem for her. Plus, she said that she was not sure which ones were operational, so again I offered a helping hand and reassured her not to worry for I would be happy to find that answer out for her. The pins look to be really clean & in good shape. I walked up to the AFM, powered on to be greeted with a enter report warning. I proceeded with putting two quarters in only, then launched the ball into action without any problems. It was everything that I hoped it to be and way more. We took our rounds on every machine and enjoyed everyone.

What an overload, I was in “a kid in a candy store” mode, but the evening got better when the young lady stated that there was four more pinball machines that were located in a different building, two over from where we were. So, my wife volunteered to track down “the others” while we continued with our present quarter pumping onslaught. She reported back without any excitement that she found the missing pins: GOOD NEWS- the pins were a MM, CC, TAF, and an IJ. BAD NEWS- that building was closing in ten minutes. We chose to stay at our current position, to leave those machines to be explored at a later date.

We had the place to ourselves, which made me happy that “we owned the place”, but makes me sad that such a great collection of public “A” list pinball machines exists without being enjoyed to the fullest.

The Port Charlotte Locations is:

JJ’s Pool & Arcade- 18505 Paulson Drive, Port Charlotte, FL 33948
(941) 743-5572.

They are only open on Friday 5pm -1am & Saturday 5pm – 2am.

What a great evening. What a great find. I only had seven pinball machines located on the web site at http://pinballavenue.blogspot.com/ before this night. Now we have twenty-three with a little extra driving time.

Have fun.

Dan

Spiderman Found in SW Florida!

Hell frozen over, expect cooler weather. A Stern pinball machine was found on location at The Fort Myers Ale House and it happens to be the BRAND NEW Spider-man with a Steve Ritchie Design. The game play is clean & fast. The ramps are quick & fast. Be warned: the sandman center shot, after the drop targets are down, will guide the ball toward the middle to drain, use the center post between the flippers as a last alternative. The Vemon ramp is a sweet shot coming off the upper flipper & I like the Spider Sense shot, off the back of the upper flipper. If you are local, give it a shot. Ale House- 4400 Kernel Cir, Ft Myers, FL UPDATE: We only had seven pinball located on my web site at http://pinballavenue.blogspot.com/ before the weekend. Now we have twenty-three. Have fun. Dan.

Pirate Pinball Night

With the help from Tony B. for the locations, I played two new machines: World Poker Tour & Pirates of the Caribbean pins mentioned in the Update: new locations found article. The WPT was the only pinball machine & looking lonely while it was surrounded by pool tables, mames & arcade games at Stevie Tomato’s Sportspage- 11491 Cleveland Ave, Ft Myers. The first game play on the WPT seemed to “knock the rust loose” on the drop targets. These drop targets weren’t resetting in the upright position until the third ball was played, then they sprung to life to join in for the rest of the evening. The only big complaint was the sound was nonexistent, so we were force to do our own commentaries & sound effects. The POTC was also solo in the field of video bowlers & poker machines at Stevie Tomato’s Sportspage- 3422 Del Prado Blvd, Cape Coral. The same problem was present on this machine as the pin before, no sound. Fortunately, I can do a better imitation of a scurvy pirate & firing cannons, then a bluffing poker player so the non present sound was no real loss & plus the solo performer on the small stage was quite entertaining. PLUS A NEW LOCATION: Stern Pirates of the Caribbean: Clean, A few burnt bulbs, no sound present, playable, but out of level to right & pitch set slow, 8 Ball Lounge-14500 South Tamiami Trail, Ft Myers, FL 33912

Update: New pinball locations found.

Tony B. added these locations:

Stern World Poker Tour: pretty good shape, Stevie Tomato’s Sportspage- 11491 Cleveland Ave, Ft Myers 33907

Stern Pirates of the Caribbean: good shape, Stevie Tomato’s Sportspage- 3422 Del Prado Blvd, Cape Coral 33904

Tony, thanks for the information.

A CALL TO ARMS

A CALL TO ARMS for all the pinheads in the Ft Myers, Bonita Springs, Naples, FL areas: Where are all the pinball machines located in this town? Mission statement: To show support & spread the belief that playing pinball is still good clean fun in this community. Assistance will be required. If you know of any pins on route, email to me or post it here and I will included at Southwest Florida Pinball Avenue web page. I build a web page that will be user-driven, cohesive site for all pinball enthusiasts looking to find and share information regarding locations for pinball machines for these areas. The Southwest Florida Pinball Avenue web-page can be found at http://pinballavenue.blogspot.com/ Everyone & anyone can post & participate to share information, advice, support or just a good experience or story. I want to share with other people & give them a chance to have a good experience: The enjoyment from having fun playing pinball. If you own an establishment that has pinball machines Or have pinball machines on-routes, by all means email your information to me or post it here and I will included at the web page also. Just forward general information for the location & condition of the machine, comparable to the information listed below. The ones I have found, I am going to start posting to share their location as I find them. I repeat: Assistance will be required & appreciated. Please include the following information if possible, but any leads would help: 1) the title of the machine 2) game condition 3) the establishment’s name 4) the address 5) any restrictions: in a bar, limited hours of operations & etc. Ratings: Bright Very Clean Smooth Best A few burnt bulbs Clean Playable To Dark Dirty Almost Playable Worst Very Dark Filthy Non-functioning Machines Found: (4) Stern NASCAR: Almost playable, screw lodged under left in-lane switch & ball will get trapped there, Pelican Larry’s Uptown- 1046 Pine Ridge Rd, Naples, FL, Sports Bar& Restaurant Stern World Poker Tour: Filthy, dark, playable, Dusseldorf on the Beach- 1113 Estero Blvd #5 Ft Myers Beach, FL- Bar & Restaurant Stern Elvis: Dark, clean & playable, Sand Bar- 826 East Elkcam Circle, Marco Island, FL- Bar & Restaurant Stern Ripley’s Believe It or Not: Very dark & playable, Sand Bar- 826 East Elkcam Circle, Marco Island, FL- Bar & Restaurant Enjoy! Dan

Guest Blogger - 4 Pins Found in SW FLa

Pinball Machines - They're harder to find than one would think. I've been in every stinky, smoke filled 'hole in the wall' bar, bowling alley, arcade, dog track, movie theater, you name it, in the last month. It's a quest that me and a few other SW Florida "Pinheads" have been on. After a series of various sports bar/restaurants, pizza joints, movie theaters I found a raggedy old [Stern] Nascar machine at a place called Pelican Larry's on Pineridge Road in NASCAR, Florida (there's a screw on the inlane that snags the ball).

Continue reading: HERE

by guest Author Chris Griffith

Southwest Florida Pinball Discovery

Welcome to Pinball Avenue, a blog set up to chart and critique pinball machines in Southwest Florida - in the cities of Bonita Springs, Naples, Estero, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres. If you know of a pinball machine just post or email the location, make, model, theme, condition and anything else you feel is relevant.