Around the Playfield with Jersey Jack Guarnieri

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Jack Guarnieri is the founder of Jersey Jack Pinball.

Around the Playfield with Jack Guarnieri

The Start Button: How did you first get into pinball?

I was a kid about 12 years old and I played a game at the local beach club in Brooklyn. I loved it.

The Plunge: What was the first pinball machine you bought?

When I was 20 years old the owner of the same beach club I went to when I was 12, asked me if I wanted to put games in the club to revenue share. The old operator was retiring. The first game I bought was as an operator and it was a Bally Wizard for $1,250.

The Skill Shot: What is your best pinball achievement or favorite pinball moment?

I’d have to say the creation of The Wizard of Oz Pinball Machine. I was intimately involved in every detail of the game and it’s my absolute all-time favorite game. Seeing people play the game even today brings my personal favorite pinball moment.

Good Shots, Bad Bounces: What is your favorite and least favorite pinball machine?

I love every pinball machine. Some people say Popeye is terrible because you can’t see the playfield but even a “bad” pinball machine is better than no pinball machine.

The Wizard Mode: What is your dream theme you’d like to see made into a pinball machine?

I can’t say, we may be working on it now.

The Tilt: What is the dumbest mistake you’ve made in pinball (mishap moving a machine, messing up trying to fix a machine, etc.)?

I was working on a Taxi Pin at Mott Street Arcade in NYC many years ago. I removed the backglass and it was so greasy it slipped out of my hands and smashed into a billion or more pieces. It was a pain for me to replace it but I did at my own cost.

The High Score: Describe the pinball hobby in one word.

Ineffable!

Match – Next Game: Where do you see the pinball hobby in 5-10 years?

Bigger every year for many many years to come. This is the start. Of course I’d say that, I believe that or else I would have never started a Pinball Manufacturing Company!