I'd like to know more as well, seeing as how the last thread disappeared..hmmmm. Gene is *supposed* to be at Louisville as a vendor and a Q&A participant. Man, I have some questions I'd love to ask lol.

I am not sure but I have heard rumors as well and despite the constant bickering that goes on IPB has provided the community with some much needed parts like cabinet art ,playfields and plastic sets and the BBB remake that many have capitalized off of over the years so hopefully whatever is going on there gets resolved and we do not lose another resource in this small hobby/business.
It is not to say that everyone is perfect or to pick sides but more to say that all resources are good ones and there has been more positive than negative from IPB.

Amen to that!

Give it some time, Chris, and we may have more than we ever had before. And to think of what IPB could have been had anyone known what they were doing all these years.

Hopefully Gene is ok.

I know where you are coming from but honestly how many TAFs,MBs,CFTBLs or Kiss machines would have been restorable without their efforts.There are others too but those jump out in my mind.
It is easy to look ahead and at the newcomers and second guess the business practices of any company but where were the others 8 or 10 years ago?There is no question that IPB was the first to enter the market and see some value in keeping it alive.Like I said I am not saying everyone is perfect.I know there are other people in the mix that are valuable as well and some great things on the horizon but I am just saying that I don't wish nor see the benefit of the demise of any resource we have or have had in the history of this hobby since Williams shut down.
The premise of using people up and throwing them away is what I am afraid of in this case.These people put in effort and produced some good results so there is no upside to seeing that end..

Well I emailed them about repro dw translites, and was told they are not allowed to sell parts at the moment, fwiw.

They made the best reproduction Eight Ball Deluxe playfields too.

I'm glad I still have one left as well as a Kiss.

When the FH playfields first came out (2003?) I put my name on "the list". I followed up with many, many e-mails and phone calls with Kim. She was always polite and I was always assured my place was secure and I would get my playfield. BTW, she refused to take money for a deposit or the payment in full, I offered many times. Extremely long story short: No playfield from them. A few years later I did get one on the secondary market.

I struggle to think of any other company I have dealt with that was as unprofessional and inept as IPB was. If they don't want my money, fine just tell me. Don't just keep jerking me around for a year+ (I also got to read how people were getting playfields at shows the entire time I was waiting on "the list"). If IPB is gone, and someone gets the rights who has half a clue on how to run a business then this will be a win for pinball.

Oh, I never told them to take me off "the list" so I have technically been waiting over a decade for my playfield. And you thought WOZ was bad.

I was just there a couple of weeks ago. All seemed fine?

yes Chapter 7 all assets frozen to be auctioned

Sent to someone i know

Thank you for your expressed interest in the bankruptcy estate .

As the process moves forward and a inventory list can be secured I will be sure to keep in contact with you .

If you should have additional questions please feel free to contact me by phone at (217)416-5686.

Thanks

John Laurenzana II

might Help

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/markets/news/article.asp?docKey=600-201402270403KRTRIB__BUSNEWS_38911_34638-1

Turns out also all the tooling Gene claimed was his and I couldn't use to make much needed parts, now in the courts admits he doesn't own the tooling and it's still owned by Williams and on load to Gene as a licensee.

To the op; yes. Someone will purchase assets and rights. Only hiccup would be if WMS smells money and decides to do it themselves.

Genes license is non transferrable and in his name not IPBs, I am sure some creative accounting will take place to enable Williams to agree to a Sale of the license to another party??

What exactly does he own exclusively anyway?

nothing

exclusive license to sell replacement parts for 5 years and non exclusive after that

that exclusive expired oct 2005

Think you mean creative legal manipulation. Has nothing to do with accounting.

Do you really think WMS would get back into the pinball business now that they see the market change? They do have two powerful brand names they could bank on.

what's with all the skating rinks in central IL closing it's doors? First litchfield now this?
http://www.auctionzip.com/Listings/2047270.html

WMS will never get back to making pinballs, but if they own the tooling (or at least the rights to it), they can toss it to any injection molding supplier in the chicagoland area, ship direct to marco, and profit with very little work. They could even have the supplier do QC checks to verify good parts so long as someone has prints to check against.

Doubt Williams will have anything to do with the tooling other than financial

Hopefully it will go to PPS otherwise the assets will be split up again and again and again

Not true. IPB is NOT in bankruptcy. It is Gene that has been forced into Chapter 7. The shares of IPB are part of the assets of the Cunninghams. The trustee and US Attorney have frozen the operations of IPB until they sort out the discrepancies concerning the ownership of assets as Gene has been inconsistent in saying what is his and what is IPB's. Trust me, I know the full story.

I know u do!!! Need some more flying pigs!!

wishful thinking. No matter what the outcome it will be YEARS till we get TAF pfs that are quality.

I finally bit the bullet and bought a decent condition original one for big bucks a while back and then had it professionally restored. I am super happy now since I can actually work on my TAF pf swap now rather than at some magical time in the future. (side note: I should probably start another resto thread)

I finally got tired of IPB alwaysd telling me "in 2 months" every 2 months...

Series production of p2k "Wizard Blocks" and "Playboy" would be awesome. *dreaming*

Cheese yes, beef no way, I'm a vegetarian.

NOOOOOOOOOO!! - I was waiting for a response to an email I sent IPB about some misc parts. I see why I haven't gotten a reply now.. Damn, I guess no Judge Dredd topper for me..., Topless.

No, he has not stated any such thing in court. It is others trying to say such things.

Gene sold the prototypes of both these games to a collector in Cali... If someone made the parts and the play field, I'm sure the current code he may release for copy... Then someone like chompy could work on completing it as a project... Dreams

My bad...I'm not going topless.

how about a sexy little two-piece number?

Ha James

Looks like all the tooling could be heading downunder

WMS doesn't even really exist anymore. Remember they were bought out a few months back by a Lottery company.

Also, WMS would make *way* more money via Slots than they ever would at Pinball.

actually they are making a fortune out of licensing the pinball rights, digital rights for ipad and xbox etc

and that is why you celebrate? Way to go

Dammit - so it looks like I waited too long to order my Road Show cabinet decals?

He won't see this because you are blocked remember?

Did that celebration thread mysteriously disappear? I don't see it in my history anywhere....

I though IPB was set to be at the Louisville show. Does this mean they won't be there?

Wiped from the face of pinside history because one shouldnt start garbage threads like that!

This is my opinion only

If Gene hadn't borrowed against property to complete BBB which cost him thousands more per game to build than he charged.

He would not have had to sell 90% of IPBs Inventory to pay off the bank years ago, only to not have the income to pay his accounts now.

It takes all your life to create wealth and a short time to loose it all?

At his age he should have retired and enjoyed life.

I hope If Williams gives the rights to someone else its another company so there will be some competition