(Photo Credit : Thomas Millot)
This story is entirely too good not to share with you. I just turned 48 and throughout my life, I've had a ridiculous number of jobs. I've been a dishwasher, cashier, accountant, concert promoter, record label owner, shopping center property manager and dozens of other dead-end routes that have shaped me to who I am today.
After this past week, I can add a new job title to my resume : Professional Pinball Player
During the course of writing my first Pinball Tour article, I re-discovered my childhood. Finding those pinball machines forced me to visit places in my hometown that I never new existed. It was a fun way to explore new things in a way-too familiar place.
Continuing my quest to find every single pinball machine in SoCal, I accidentally kicked over the proverbial rock and learned about an organization, called the IFPA (International Flipper Pinball Association). Evidently, this is a global organization that is made up of pinball enthusiasts. Through that website, I discovered that there are actual leagues in SoCal dedicated to pinball!
I grew up in bowling leagues, have friends that played co-ed softball and have even ventured into the realm of pool/billiard and dart leagues. I had never heard of a "pinball" league before. The concept fascinated me, so I've been doing a little bit of digging.
I will follow up this article, later in June, once I have successfully completed my first PINBALL TOURNAMENT.
Here's what I know :
The way that this pinball league is setup is that you get paired up with 3 other participants. As a group of 4, you each take your turn playing a pinball machine. The scores are tallied and the person with the lowest score gets to select the next pinball machine to play. Regarding league play, this is all I know so far. I don't know how it all shakes out but based on how you place in league play or in tournaments, you are given points that are determined by the IFPA. Those points go to your account and you are then ranked internationally by the organization.
My first tournament is the On Tilt Monthly Madness Tournament on 6/11 at AYCE Gogi in Van Nuys, California. Depending on my experience, I might be participating in their league. If you don't join a league, you can still earn points by playing in tournaments. This tournament has a $10 entry to participate and the Top 3 players earn cash back. I care about the points and know that my pinball skills blow. Just to earn points and say I am ranked is good enough for me. Everything else that happens would be icing on the cake.
There is a second tournament that I hope to join and that happens the next week on 6/18 at Puente Hills Mall in City Of Industry, California. If you are unfamiliar with what a Round 1 Entertainment Center is, let me just tell you that it's the most insane thing on Earth.
I grew up in arcades and pride myself on being an Atari kid. I was all over it from the beginning, when Pong debuted. I'm old school. Round 1 is the most insane place I've ever visited. Here's why :
- They have rows and freakin' rows of CLAW MACHINES.
- They have private, soundproof rooms for KARAOKE PARTIES.
- They have DARTS.
- They have 20+ BOWLING LANES.
- They have AIR HOCKEY.
- They have FOOSBALL.
- They have video games I've never seen before.
- They don't have freaking Dance Dance Revolution, they have Dance Dance EVOLUTION (made exclusively for Round 1)
It's like going into Amoeba Records for the first time and having to leave because there are too many damn thing to do and your brain freezes up because you don't know what to do first. Round 1 makes Costco look like a 7-Eleven in size. It's mammoth. They should give you a map and a loaf of bread to get you through the place, it's so damn big.
Anyways, they are hosting a pinball tournament. After that, I am unsure whether I will join the On Tilt Pinball League or just try and hit up the tournament circuit. My partner in crime is 
AYCE Gogi in Van Nuys has over 25 machines. The owner collects them.
Round 1 in City Of Industry has 6 machines.
Super Arcade in Azusa is brand new and I think they have 6 machines.
Because of the fact that there are so many places throughout SoCal, I'm going to have to devise a geographical way to group some of these places together for the Pinball Tour article series. I don't want to inundate Steemit with millions of pinball pictures. Easy to understand and a few cool pictures are all I'm trying to convey and don't want to overload the senses.
Just know that if you like Pinball in SoCal, I know of a few killer spots for you to get your flipper fix!
