I knew I remeber this video, but I couldn't find the URL, but found it again.

It is a documentary on competitive pinball, it's not finished yet, but I remeber the film crew was at PAPA8.  Anyway I think it is pretty cool, just click on the Reel link, it is on the second page it is called the Pinball Film.

http://bessgreenbaum.com/live/normal.php

here's a direct link:  http://stuff.bessgreenbaum.com/high_wmp/pinballintro_WMPmed.wmv

Nice video.  Thats two out or coming out in a short span.

Featuring:  Le lutin!!!

...Cracks me up... spastic players!!! Rudy said it best: "Hey... it's only pinball!!!" They say they play to relax, but it sure doesn't look like it!!!     

And to see the Elf (aka Le Lutin, aka Black-Cat-Haircut) in the video, when at Allentown, I scoped him out and found him to be an above-average player at most... I played 3 games he played right after him and I wiped the floor with him... or should I say scrubbed the floor with his 3M-Scotch-Brite doo...  


Sparky... having fun!!!

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  i see some of my own dance steps in these players.

Quoted from Sparky

And to see the Elf (aka Le Lutin, aka Black-Cat-Haircut) in the video, when at Allentown, I scoped him out and found him to be an above-average player at most... I played 3 games he played right after him and I wiped the floor with him... or should I say scrubbed the floor with his 3M-Scotch-Brite doo...

I saw him at PAPA8 as well he played in B division so I wouldn't say he is an above average player, I don't even think he qualified in B division.  

But the opening guy that was playing I think that is Rick Schetta, I saw him play in A division at PAPA8 and they way those guys play is nuts!  Lyman Sheets was at PAP8 as well and his play is something else as well, never seen anything like it.  Their Ball control is nuts to watch.

Although there was one guy I was in C division with, I nick named him Spider because if a spider were to play pinball I think that is how it would look, but to say the least the way this guy played was hilarious!  He would play spread eagle, basically taking up the machines to the left and the right of him as his legs were that spaced apart, his head level with the playfield similar to Lyman Sheets, and his arms flailing every time he would hit the flipper buttons, I mean litteraly flailing where he would remove his hand a good 3 to 4 feet in the air from the button.  Anytime he needed to do any kind of save he would just like 2 feet in the air, it was absolutley hilarious.  I'm going to remeber to take my camera this year, if he shows up, I'll be sure to take a video or two of this guy playing and post it, he could be like the star wars kid of pinball.  

Adam: I guess you'll be playing in the 'B' this year?

I'm SERIOUSLY thinking of going this year and I'm hoping to go in the 'C' division, just to at least have a CHANCE of qualifying...

The other factor will be the games in each division... I played in the P3 tourney in Allentown and I knew from the start that I had NO CHANCE... The games in the 'B' division were: WPT, Dr. Who, Corvette and Skateball....none of which I 'knew' the full rules nor played more than once or twice (and in the case of WPT and Sketball: NEVER).

I've seen the Lutin having good games, but most of the time, he's just an 'average player' with funny 'characteristics'...

No I'll be going into C again this year.  I won't go into B until I win C I qualified last year and ended up 8th, but only the top 4 are forced into B division.  

I think games might be a factor for me as well, it will depend, the games will really have to be to my likeing in B for me to change from C.  But my strategy for this year is go into the C division find the 5 games I like and want to play on the first day, they have a computer and printer setup, use the printer and print off the rule sheets and read them overnight so next day your ready to play.    I don't know if I would qualify in B though, I barely qualified in C.

But it was a freaking Blast!  I've been looking forward to it since I left the last PAPA, I go for the full 4 days, and will usually spend the entire time at the facility.  I think we speant atleast 10 hours a day playing pinball.  It is an absolute blast.  If your thinking of going you should go, would be cool to have some more Canadian comrades to hang out with, espically if we end up in the same division.  

dr. who is a easy one to master(not putting anyone down if they haven't).  record of over 150+ loops in one game and in the first couple days owning it i was getting over a billion a ball.  easy machine to roll.  sold and traded to TwilightZone.  hope he cleared all the scores.   corvette is a great one that didn't take long to end up being the hog player at the bar with this.  didn't have to put much money in it to play all night.  but in same boat as wizard with never have played WPT and Sketball: NEVER.
  i also have never played a tourny or seen one.  would enjoy it.  did receive a flyer once to come and play in texas at a pinball expo.  but besides that one, i never heard of any.  are there many going on during the year?   where abouts?  thanks for the education.  

Quoted from Moonlit_Knight

...Cracks me up... spastic players!!!

Then you should have seen the blond kid in the white shirt and karate pants play BSD during the Allentown show.  You might have seen him playing tournament as well.  This guy was all over the place, almost dancing while playing.  The best was when he would race up to the head of the pin and tap it to affect the rollover path.  Kid started drawing a big crowd too and the operator/owner couldn't stop laughing.  But man was it distracting while trying to play another pin near him; yet somehow Phil still managed to score over 100 mil on WPT and get grand champion.

If Stern thinks building pins is so economically unsound.... then why are they building pins. It is good to be king and have no competition. Sounds like corporate propaganda bullshit to me.

How many millions of people are there in N.A. ?? and how many would drop 5 grand for a single new pin for there home since they can't find them out on route anymore. There is a lot of cash around and dropping full strokes for a new pin is not out of the question for a lot of people with a home rec room.

I am not talking some Brunswick piece of mess. I am talking first class machines.

It's just a paradigm shift. Operators aren't the market anymore, home owners are.

Quoted from Meat_Popsicle

yet somehow Phil still managed to score over 100 mil on WPT and get grand champion.

Simple, the TILT was unplugged  

Quoted from ssimard

Simple, the TILT was unplugged  

...Either that or meat popsicle was under the machine to level it... that game had a 5 degree pitch from right to left