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Episode 343: David Denholtz & IFPA 17 at The Pinball Asylum

PodcastAnalysis updated 2d ago22 min listen
From the creator

It's been years in the waiting, but it's here! IFPA 17 World Championships take place May 26-29, 2022 in Fort Myers, Florida. The founder/CEO of The Pinball Asylum talks about preparation, hosting...

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Highlights

  • IFPA 17 was originally scheduled for 2020 but delayed due to COVID-19
  • The Pinball Asylum is a nonprofit co-op/collective owned by 11-12 different collectors, not a traditional arcade or club
  • Eric Stone, a world champion player, relocated to Fort Myers and became a regular at Pinball Asylum before IFPA 17 selection
  • Keith Elwin has won more major tournaments than any other active player but has not played in the World Championship in a long time
  • IFPA 17 uses a bank-of-three games format (EM/pre-1978, solid state/mid-era, modern games) rather than traditional bank-of-four
  • Michelle Norma Jennings, a key streaming volunteer, passed away before IFPA 17 could take place, despite original 2020 timing
  • The Pinball Asylum opened in 2011 and held its first tournament in April 2011
  • Pre-IFPA 17 events include: match play (Sunday-Monday, 6th annual), pin golf (Tuesday, 18 holes), and strikes tournament (Wednesday)

Notable quotes

“It seemed to all come together kind of by chance... A month later, Free Play Florida happened and I happened to see Josh Sharp there. And I just walked up to him and said, hey, Josh, I'm David from the Pinball Asylum.”
David Denholtz
“The collection at the asylum is not owned by the asylum... We have a board of directors. We have seven people on our board of directors. We all make decisions about the direction of the organization.”
David Denholtz
“We're not open like a traditional arcade. We're open probably, you know, once a month for Pinball League and then maybe six or seven tournaments a year.”
David Denholtz
“Teacher's Pet... has been listed as one of the top one or two best EMs of all time... It has two drop targets... It's a surprising game. It's surprisingly strategic and deep for a game from, I think it's 1966.”
David Denholtz
“College Queens is almost like a cult game here in Florida... It's all about the skill shot. And the skill shot changes from ball one to ball five.”
David Denholtz
“She came in. She said, I'm going to do it... You give me the resources, and we're going to make it happen. And by golly, she put her heart and her soul into it.”
David Denholtz
“We really thought that, you know, even when she was diagnosed, that she was still going to be the person who led the stream and led the broadcast for us for IFPA 17. But because of the delays with COVID, it just wasn't, it just didn't happen.”
David Denholtz
“I think if you're playing someone like Keith Elwin a hundred times, he's probably going to beat you on that quote-unquote luck box EM more times than not, and maybe a lot too.”
David Denholtz

Entities

  • Free Play Florida· event
  • IFPA 17· event
  • Pinburgh· event
  • College Queens· game
  • Teacher's Pet· game
  • Fort Myers, Florida· location
  • Pinball Profile· media
  • ifpa.com· organization
  • Pinball Asylum· organization
  • Carl D'Angelo· person
  • Daniele Acari· person
  • David Denholtz· person
  • Eric Stone· person
  • Jeff Palmer· person
  • Jeff Teolis· person
  • Johannes Ostenmeier· person
  • Josh Sharp· person
  • Keith Elwin· person
  • Michelle Norma Jennings· person
  • Raymond Davidson· person
  • Trent Augenstein· person
  • Vince· person

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