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WORLD’S TALLEST PINBALL—Pictured is the world’s tallest pinball machine, standing 28 feet tall. Bob Smith of Mt. Sterling is the proud owner of the machine, one of six ever made. Smith travels with the game to different fairs and events. The attraction will be at the Montgomery County Greenhouses Sept. 25.
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| Giant pinball machine one of six worldwide |
By Afton Fairchild
Advocate staff writer
For many, pinball is a game of quick reflexes and skill. Your eyes dart around to watch the little silver ball quickly bounce back and forth off of various tiny metal obstacles as you use your nimble fingers to hit the flippers at just the right moment.
Try as you might though, the ball will eventually sneak past the flippers and end up back in the abyss that will ultimately end the game. For the lucky ones, a digital homage proudly displaying their initials and high score will appear on the leader board. But for most, they are left only with a memory and the satisfaction, or dissatisfaction, that is the result of the way they played.
Bob Smith, however, claims players of his pinball machine will never go unsatisfied.
Smith, a Mt. Sterling resident and retired blacksmith, is the proud owner of a towering 28 feet tall, 8 feet wide pinball machine. It’s one of only six that exist and is boasted as the “World’s Tallest Pinball Machine.”
The name of the game is Space Race. You are a rocket ship, flying through space. You make your trip up, and once you begin to come down, you’re trying to avoid black holes and safely make it back to the United States.
A more literal version of the game, while a little less extravagant, is still equally as exciting, Smith said. After a player pushes a button, a soccer ball is lifted up a conveyor belt. Once it reaches the top, it is let loose to bounce its way through a series of pegs, much like The Price is Right’s famous Plinko game. On its way down, the ball will (hopefully) avoid the 12 holes in the board to make it back to the bottom to win the ultimate prize, which in this game is appropriately a giant inflatable alien.
“I get a big crowd there yelling and screaming and cheering for the ball, and anybody that plays actually wants to play it again,” Smith said.
Even if you succumb to a black hole and never make it home so to speak, you still win a prize, though somewhat smaller, but that is part of the allure of the game, Smith said.
“The best thing about it is they get a nice souvenir every time they play,” he said. “Of course the parents love that.”
Smith was contacted by his friend, Ron Bandy of Florida, several years ago. At the time, Bandy had helped build two other machines similar to Smith’s. Smith had just experienced a car accident and was no longer able to work. Bandy thought this might be a good, fun way for Smith to take on a project he could enjoy, but one that wouldn’t cause him to physically overexert himself.
He said it took about four months to completely construct the machine, which is basically a souped up trailer with a hydraulic lift kit.
After the construction was completed, Smith began to travel with the machine to various fairs and events, showing off his unique contraption. He said it gets a lot of recognition.
“It brings a lot of curious people out to take a look at it because they’ve never seen it before,” he said.
“There's no game of chance or skill, it’s simply a nice attraction for good, clean family fun,” Smith added.
Smith said another reason the attraction is such a hit is because it can be played by people of all ages.
“I’ve had them play from 2 months of age all the way to 92 years of age,” he said. “It’s just fun for the entire family, young and old.”
Smith travels around Kentucky and to surrounding states with his pinball machine. He has been to the Capital Expo in Frankfort, the International Barbecue Festival in Owensboro, the Capital County Fair in Milton, W. Va., and the Hamilton County Fair in Cincinnati, Ohio, just to name a few. But with all the traveling and excitement, Smith said his favorite part of the experience is the joy he gives others.
“I think more than anything, it’s the people I meet, that make the best memories,” he said. “I meet a lot of new people and make a lot of new friends wherever I go, but it’s the smiles that it creates that’s the best.”
In the many years he has been traveling, Smith has never shown his machine in Mt. Sterling. But residents are in luck. Smith will be setting his machine up at Montgomery County Greenhouses Saturday, Sept. 25. The greenhouse is located at 2603 Paris Pike and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m., so Smith encourages everyone to bring their family out to give it a whirl.
“I always tell people, be the first in your family to say that they've played the world’s tallest pinball. The kids love it, it’s addictive, and once you play you want to play again.”
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