King of Diamonds

Retro Pinball

Retro Pinball LLC is a new coin-operated pinball manufacturer focused on bringing the classic pinball game back to the arcade and game room industries. Formed in March of 2007, the company is under the direction of four partners, Herb Silvers, Gene Goodman, Reinhard Bangerter, and Mike Patz, all avid fans experienced in the function and creation of timeless pinball machines.

The idea of the new retro pinball machine actually arose during a discussion among friends at an Arcade Game Auction in 2002, when Herb Silvers determined the King of Diamonds pinball by Gottlieb was the best-selling game in his store. With an idea of making the pinball game electronic, Herb and Reinhard met a few months later to discuss and draw up plans for the new game.

Using parts from the manufacturer Stern Pinball Inc., Herb and Reinhard created a prototype they revised during the next few years. An improved version was finally introduced at The Pinball Fantasy Las Vegas show, sponsored by Herb, and was presented to the public and game industry at the Chicago Pinball Expo in 2007 where it was an absolute hit! Gene Goodman and Michael Patz joined the team, shortly thereafter forming the Retro Pinball company. The company signed an agreement with Gottlieb in July of 2007 and will be producing their new pinball game to distributors and home owners starting this year, 2010. Each game will feature Retro Pinball's custom board system and remanufactured Gottlieb parts, which are easy to replace and repair. Future games are to come.

About the people involved in this project:

Herb Silvers

Herb Silvers became involved in the pinball industry from the very beginning, starting in 1972 when they first became legal to operate. After complaining about malfunctioning machines in a student union building at college, Herb was told to put his own machine in—he did, a brand-new Bally Pinball Fireball, and made all his money back within 3 months, starting him on his path to success in the pinball business

During the next few years, Herb sold pinball games on the side and worked for his parents' interior design business. Conveniently located in the Hollywood area, Herb continued his involvement with pinball games starting a retail game store, Fabulous Fantasies, and soon became acquainted with Joe Kaminkow, who was starting with Data East Pinball, as well as other designers, artists, and leading individuals in the pinball business. Herb continues his interaction in the games world, bringing an original pinball design to the industry as a parter of Retro Pinball.

Reinhard Bangerter

Bit by the "pinball bug" at the young age of 11, Reinhard Bangerter raced to every available place to play, more intrigued by how the machines worked than the actual playing of the games. Frequenting the local bowling alley, Reinhard became acquainted with the game tech, Lester Caulk, and started to learn the inner workings of the pinball machines. At about the same time, Reinhard also opened the doors to learning and experience with electronic hardware and software programming, assembling a microcomputer with his father based on Motorola's 6800 microprocessor.

At the age of 15, Reinhard found that his experience in both the computer and pinball industries boosted him above others in the games field, and he landed his first job doing just what he'd dreamed of—repairing pinball machines as a game tech at a local mall arcade. Adding video games to his knowledge and gaining further experience with computers and arcade games, Bangerter developed the needed talents to later achieve his major childhood dream—designing, building, and programing his own pinball machine called Cactus Jack, which was released in 1991 by Premier Technology.

With over 30 years in different facets of the coin op business, a collection of over 100 classic games, and a passion for the pinball machine, Reinhard continues his involvement in the industry through contributing knowledge and services as a partner of Retro Pinball.

Mike Patz

Having grown up in the coin-op industry, Mike Patz knows what he is doing when it comes to dealing in pinball games. He started learning the ins and outs of the game business beginning in 1960, working for a company owned by his father and uncle, D&P Music. Mike worked for the company for three years, cleaning and packing games for overseas shipments until he chose to attend college at the University Of Miami. A year after graduating with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Marketing, Mike returned to D&P Music to manage the company's shipping routes for vending machines and games. A year later, in 1978, Patz's uncle retired and the name of the company changed to M&P Amusement, what it is still known as today.

With his extensive experience and education in the games business, Mike helped create a new arcade company, Pocket Change—the third largest arcade chain in the United States—and served as Vice President of the company while still assisting his father with M&P Amusement company. After his father passed away and Pocket Change was sold to Namco, Patz took over operations of M&P Amusement, changing the focus of the company to game sales and making it into one of the largest distributors of games for home and commercial purposes on the market. Along with running the business of M&P Amusement, Mike is a partner of Retro Pinball.

Gene Goodman

Gene Goodman was hooked on pinball machines from the start, building a fascination for the games that spread to others through his sales involvement with M&P Amusement Company. Originally joining the company in 2002 as the delivery driver, Gene also ran errands and worked around the shop, becoming more familiar with other areas of the company. After work hours, Gene often spent time playing some of the pinball machines—they had over 1000—and developed a fixation with the games that continued to grow.

To help the company in home and commercial sales, Gene began listing inventory on eBay, bringing in a total of over 1 million dollars in sales. His great success in the sales area led to his promotion to head of sales and eventually Vice President of the company.

During the past years, Gene has assisted several companies and individuals in designing the game room that will best suit their needs and location, doing everything from finding the perfect machine for a family's kids to designing an entire arcade for a family fun center. Considering his job to be one of the best