Portrait of The Last Remaining Pinball Wizard

Ant writes "Shacknews posted BusinessWeek's Pinball's Last Remaining Wizard article that is a portrait piece on Gary Stern, president and owner of Stern Pinball, which is the last remaining pinball manufacturer in the world. Yearly, his company produces 10,000 hand-built machines and designs about 3-4 different models. A few of their most recent releases used licensed rights of the Sopranos and The Simpsons."

Pinball Wizard?

[Dogtanian]

I'm deaf, dumb and blind, you insensitive clod!

Oh, hang on....

Tommy - The Who

[Vamphyri]

I thought the story was going to be about an actual pinball machine player who gets massive highscores, not the CEO of a game corporation. That's one minute of my life I will never get back.

Deaf, dumb, blind?

[nacturation]

But the real question is, does he always get the replay?

Shake It!

[INetEngineer]

So, is he allowed to shake his own machines without the TILT going off?

Re:Pinball Wizard?

[CSMastermind]

He stands like a statue becomes part of the machine.......God I love the Who

Re:Competition?

[-kertrats-]

They actually sell their monopoly [sternpinball.com], so I don't think that laws apply.

So whose with me?

[CSMastermind]

All right I see a market that's ripe for the picking, anybody else want to post the captial to get my new company off the ground?

Re:Deaf, dumb, blind?

[Anonymous Coward]

I've never seen him fall.

Re:Deaf, dumb, blind?

[Tackhead]

> But the real question is, does he always get the replay?

Sits there like a statue, reloads like a machine,
Clicks on the day passes, gets the first post clean,
Smokes crack like he's got mod points, never seen him fall,
That insensitive clod - Slashdotting Stern pinball!

He's a Slashdot wizard, there has to be a twist!
None of my business where he got those supple wrists...

Not the way I know it...

[MikeXpop]

That blind, deaf, and dumb boy,
Sure runs a successful pinball-producing company.
*riff*

Re:Pinball Wizard?

[SilentChris]

I'm deaf, dumb and blind, you insensitive clod!

Oh, com'on, who are you? Tommy?

Re:Gone with arcades

[Anonymous Coward]

Pat Lawlor should be as famous as Sid Meier or Will Wright or Chris Sawyer

Uhm, he is, at least to me. I ain't never heard of none of em!

(Well, I have heard of Sid Meier, but the point still stands...)

Slashdot Pinball

[jd]

Ah, now a Slashdot pinball machine would be a game worth playing. Knock over webservers and destroy bandwidth to get the bonus. Multiplay after three first-posts in a row.

Re:Pinball Wizard?

[SamSim]

Can you play by sense of smell?

Re:Slashdot Pinball

[Jedi Alec]

and if you do something really stupid you get to see the goatse guy? Think I'll pass. Then again, imagine a Beowulf of....oh nevermind.

Re:Seen lack of playability imagination

[jazman]

> I've owned a few pinball machines, and loved them literally to death.

Ewww...