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Episode 326: Michael Hanley and Shane Jackson

PodcastAnalysis updated yesterday38 min listen
From the creator

Spent time with two avid pinball collectors in Mississauga, Ontario (west of Toronto). We talked about opening The Church of the Silverball, the Maple Pinball league, TorontoPinballRepair.ca and the...

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Highlights

  • Michael started collecting pinball at age 7 and first bought a machine at age 13 after saving money from bottle deposits
  • Church of the Silver Ball arcade opened in 1998 and closed around 2010-2013 due to operational burnout
  • A Simpsons machine (1990-era) earned $600/week and cost $3,000, paying for itself in about 5 weeks
  • An old Gottlieb Kingpin EM machine earned only $40/week for 10 years but never broke down
  • Michael's photo was used as the goalie in John Papadiuk's World Cup Soccer 94 game back glass
  • John Papadiuk arrived unannounced at Bally to meet Norm Clark after receiving a form letter, and refused to leave until hired
  • Michael and John Papadiuk worked together on an Alice in Wonderland prototype game in the late 1980s
  • Maple Pinball currently has 46 machines with plans to expand to 60 soon
  • Shane Jackson learned pinball repair through 30 years of trial and error, including trial at age 10 with soldering taught by his mother
  • John Papadiuk hid Michael Hanley's name in multiple locations on Cirqus Voltaire (playfield, back glass, and test menu code)

Notable quotes

“There's a fine line in the sand between a fan and mental illness. And I kind of tripped over that at some point in time.”
Michael Hanley
“I started playing at seven. By the time I was eight, a book came out. Michael Comer's book was released. Got the book for Christmas. Read it so much that the pages all fell out.”
Michael Hanley
“When your wife tells you to buy a pinball brand new, you go buy one the next day.”
Michael Hanley
“It's uniqueness. Gilligan's Island. Where do you play Gilligan's Island? We just got an ice fever in today. Where do you see an ice fever to play? I like the rarity of the games. You can't go somewhere and play this game.”
Michael Hanley
“I've become a bit of a pinball snob now... I'm looking for something new and exciting, a Gilligan's Island, an Ice Fever, something I haven't seen before.”
Michael Hanley
“Single-player wedge heads are the easiest. Really? Oh, yeah. Why? Less relays. The least complex of the beast.”
Shane Jackson
“Rotation VIII, I'd say Williams system three to seven are hardest... Rotation VIII: that's just the biggest pig to fix. If you find one running, that guy's a genius.”
Shane Jackson
“He goes, I'm not going home. You've got to hire me. I'm not leaving.”
Michael Hanley (quoting John Papadiuk)
“He's an artist. It's in his blood. He is an artist. He's incredible how he can continuously come up with new ideas and make them happen.”
Michael Hanley (about John Papadiuk)
“When do I get to play? Never.”
Michael Hanley

Entities

  • Alice in Wonderland· game
  • Cirqus Voltaire· game
  • Iron Maiden· game
  • Rotation VIII· game
  • The Simpsons· game
  • World Cup Soccer 94· game
  • IFPA· organization
  • Pinball Profile· organization
  • Rush· organization
  • The Who· organization
  • Dennis Nordman· person
  • Doug Baird· person
  • Gary Gaten· person
  • Gene X Wong· person
  • Jeff Teals· person
  • John Papadiuk· person
  • Joshua Clay· person
  • Michael Hanley· person
  • Norm Clark· person
  • Raymond Merchant· person
  • Ron Antonio· person
  • Shane Jackson· person
  • Wade Domit· person
  • Church of the Silver Ball· venue
  • Maple Pinball· venue

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