I've never written a post on Pinside, as I consider myself maybe a smidge above casual pinball enthusiast. But this news genuinely saddens me.

A friend of mine and I met Butch at Pinfest last year. We'd watched his videos, my friend was very familiar with the manuals he'd written from the games he owns. Butch knows pinball unlike few I've encountered in person or online. He understands the mechanics, diagnostics, and perhaps most impressive of all, can translate his knowledge into a language accessible to those without his level of skill. The fact that he does this with the dedication and humility that he exhibits is absolutely admirable.

Jersey Jack Pinball is in serious trouble if the powers that be don't recognize the value in Butch. And I can only hope that Butch finds himself in a situation that is ultimately better for him, whatever that may be. He will always have my admiration and respect.

Sources?

The person who's telling this story is Kaneda!Pat will take a beating over this whether deserved or not.

I've liked Butch from the first day I met him which was years ago. No idea what's going on at JJP. It's none of my business or anyone else's. I will say, Butch is one talented guy that could add value to any pinball company. I wish him nothing but the best!

Yeah, I'm kinda here with you. I like Kaneda, but he also thrives/survives content wise on stirring the pot.

It's not fair to speculate on any of this. Most of all, these pinball companies need PR, and the ability to express and make public statements on situations like this. Internal decisions are made but when people like Butch and Frank are unceremoniously dismissed, and these people have had very direct contact with your consumers representing YOUR company, they deserve, as well as the consumers, the dignity of understanding a fragment of moves like this.

Thank you Derek for creating this thread, and doing so in a way that focuses more on his departure, versus whatever decision making was behind it.

Butch is as much a part of the Jersey Jack brand as Jack is, in many ways. As are Eric, Lloyd, Keith, Joe, Jen, David, Shannon, Steve....everyone. And having any one particular cog removed, will invariably affect the entire company.

Butch is IRREPLACEABLE. Anyone that has ever met the man, listened to his wonderful seminars, watched his fantastic videos realizes this. I can't say one negative thing about the man, professionally, and what little I know of him from meeting him briefly.

I have faith in Butch. In his passion, his words, his integrity. This business for some reason focuses in a complete lack of transparency or vagueness. Not once has Butch ever operated in that manner. He's the finest at what he does, and JJP is consequently lesser for removing him.

I wanted to write to him, and Frank, personally, but the only email I had for either gentleman was for JJP.....

Butch, Frank, you guys excelled at JJP, and your departure vexes and disappoints all of us that ever once interacted with you.

Lord help JJP, as these moves do nothing to encourage faith in their brand, as much as Leonard's son, as nice a guy as he seemed, represented and giving the opening words for the unveiling of Wonka last year. Then, Wonka itself happened, a wonderful game with a complete lack of mechs and puzzling asset usage, yet still wonderful, just not what it could have been....

Butch, you are the BEST. Unequivocally so. Your presence, charm, wit, skills and most of all, your humanity, are missed already.

its too bad. i met him in cleveland, he seemed proud to work for JJP. hopefully one of the other companies can hire him soon.

Truly a heinous mistake, Butch was just helping me recently and he went above and beyond. You cant find employees like that anymore. The manual work was exceptional and I really enjoyed the videos.

All I can hope for is that somehow it works out for Butch and the rest of the staff that was let go.

Butch is GOLD for any company lucky enough to have him on staff.

Douche move by JJP IMO.

Wow, another big loss. First Frank, then Shannon and now Butch. Fortunately I haven’t needed Butch’s expertises, but I know he’s helped many, writes a hell of a manual, made excellent videos, and after meeting him last year in Allentown he’s a hell of a guy!!! Wishing nothing but the best for him!

I echo these words, well said!

Sounds like Butch was a real asset for JJP. Hopefully in the end everything will work out for him and for JJP. None of us speculators knows the real reason that Butch and others were let go, and I would hope that there was more to it than simply some kind of power play from Pat. Only people who actually worked, or still work, at JJP know the actual power dynamics and relationships within the company. And none of them are talking openly about it. All the information we have comes 2nd or 3rd hand from Kaneda. He could be right or he could be wrong. He's been both from time to time.

While I would be disappointed to find out that Pat Lawlor isn't a super nice guy, it doesn't change the fact that he's designed some of my favorite pins of all time. It would put him in the category of a brilliant but flawed genius.

Best wishes to Butch and everyone else at JJP who was let go!

It seems that everyone agrees that Butch was super helpful and his manuals were awesome but could it be that Butch was let go because...well, I don't know...the factory is moving 800 miles in the middle of a pandemic and maybe (speculation) he couldn't relocate.

But no, instead we get a totally fabricated story that Pat Lawlor is some kind of insecure egomaniac control-freak who was so threatened by Eric's 3 spinning discs that he squashed the production of POTC, took over the company, convinced Abess to move the factory half way across the country and fired Butch.

Look, I find Kaneda's podcast entertaining at times but I listened to his last two episodes and there didn't seem to be any concrete information there. All his sources were either anonymous (with the exception of David Thiel who said that he would be happy to work with Pat again) or didn't offer anything new. I mean, the worst you got on Pat is that he signed your cabinet art in block letters, c'mon. And we already knew about the guy who stuffed up the WOZ lightboards and the other guy who stuffed up the POTC license - the company fired them long ago.

Hell...a pinball company run by Pat Lawlor, the greatest designer of all time, with a blank check from a billionaire to create games...is that supposed to be a bad thing?

Dude you wrote the post for me!Lord Lawlor really lol Kaneda is entertaining but he's also full of shit.

I doubt relocation was the issue. He lives in the south west.

It's a small insular industry and after 33 years in the business, throngs of co-workers will rush to Pat's defense. They will share story after story about Lawlor being a kind team-player (just like Butch!). And Eric's G'NR will exceed POTC's greatness due to Pat's great mentor-ship and support.

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Everyone likes Butch, that's been made clear by all these comments. It's a huge loss to JJP as he provided a level of customer service and attention to detail that you cannot replace.

What I don't know is if I can believe all these other rumors and negative speculation about JJP from Kaneda as some of the evidence is hear say. It is interesting to hear. JJP is an entire new company and everyone associated with the company has been shown the door? That's not entirely true. Keith Johnson and Ted Estes (two of the best pinball programmers of all time) have been there for a long time (Keith since day 1). Eric has now been there for years as well going back to when he fixed the WOZ 5v light board issues. The same can be said about JP DeWin who has done animation work for every JJP title. JJP is not a new company, but rather a company that has evolved just like any company that sticks around long enough does.

Stay positive Butch, then something better always comes up!

One of the videos that really had me fall for JJP as a company, along with Todd Tuckey's awesome inhouse tours.

Jack and Butch are both brotherly and chummy in this fantastic Dialed In unboxing video. Watching this, I can't see any way that Jack wanted any of this to unfold this way.

Both of these guys are charming, witty, and playful. It's really a fun and informative watch!

If Pat is put in a position of leading (the new) JJP it’s because both of his pins were turned out in a timely fashion with very few issues.
Oh by the way Butch Peel is a righteous dude!

I’m really saddened by this news. I met Butch several times and had some great conversations with him. He helped me several times when I had issues with my WOZ. They lost one of the best people in the industry and I can’t imagine what in the world is going on at JJP. I hope he finds a place in pinball that will appreciate his efforts and talents.

I agree. This was evident to me watching them work together at shows. Both are very fine gentlemen who share a passion for pinball excellence with mutual respect for one another IMHO.

Butch has been and will always be my friend. Wish you the best and your next company is hiring a grade A engineer.

LoserKid

Plus 1 on Butch and his customer service. I emailed Jen asking for info on future availability of the WOZ 2.0 light kits. Butch responded to my email instead and we sent half a dozen messages back and forth. He gave me some great advise and it was really cool hearing from him personally. All the best Butch on your future endeavours, any company in any business would be blessed to have you!

My daily Butch reminder..!

Honestly one of the most helpful videos for this pinball newb, and surely some great suggestions for pinhead vets too!

Butch details what's in his tool bag, why, and even what he stores in his bag.

I've watched this at least twice. Time for a third viewing..!

You're the best Butch!!!!

Definitely. Which ever company he hooks up with next, I hope he makes more videos.

LTG : )

Hey Butch, when one door closes another one opens. Don't look back and embrace the future.

At the end of the day, even though it hurts in the short term, you will be better off at Stern or somewhere else.

JJP has been a money losing business in one of the greatest economies of all time. And it's only going to get tougher in the next few years.

Butch is awesome. Whoever picks him up will be making a great decision.

Amen....unfortunately JJP is probably on borrowed time....if u can't make $ at their prices theres a serious problem.

I didn’t share them for a reason. Not here to get anyone else fired...

Of course Chris Cuomo?

Butch has asked me to reach out to everyone with a sincere Thank You. He is doing well and has been taken back by all the support. Butch has asked me to relay to a few of you friends of his that don't have his contact info to PM me and I will get your info to him. Cheers Keith

Butch is one of my very first pinball friends. I have emails from 10 years ago helping me answer questions on my WH2O. When I ended up sending him a WMS board with battery damage, he spent HOURS fixing everything that should be fixed and it's literally been running 100% for those 10 years. (kick butt!) He fixed a board most wouldn't even touch for what you would have to charge. I think he did the work for about $10/hour in the end, lol. I went to my first pinball show in 2012 just to meet him in person and they had the first WOZ built, and were showing it off at the RMPS. Talked to him for about an hour this weekend about all of this. He's good. I'm on team Butch for life.

I have known Butch for many years. When I first bought my WOZ, I had major issues with it. You name it it happened to my game. Butch took care of every issue I had with the game. His love for pinball is unquestionable. He is a great friend and someone I can always count on. Any company that picks him up will be lucky that has someone with not only. It has knowledge, but his passion and love for the hobby. Best of luck to Butch and his future in pinball. I know he will land somewhere that will be another great chapter in pinball. Simply put, one of the best guys in the hobby!

thanks for existing Butch. Stay well

Kaneda doesn't know anything this is the same guy who said Aliens remake was coming to TPF. Kaneda just likes to hear himself talk, there isn't one single pinball manufacturer that would give this guy even an ounce of legit information. What you do get however, is rumors, one persons perspective, in other words maybe the person who was fired but not the companies. People call this guy or other people who do podcasts and float information that may not even be true... btw I wish his FALSE rumor about Aliens was true. I wouldn't trust ONE thing Kaneda says about anything especially a very personal and private situation between a company and employee. Kaneda cares more about a 2 dollar plastic trophy than he cares about pinball, otherwise he would own at least ONE game right? LOL

With that being said I've talked to Butch multiple times at big tradeshows, amazing person and I agree he knows more about JJP games than anyone. Who knows what happened but I know this much it isn't anyone's business. I do want to thank him when I bought my POTC LE from the trade show floor of IAAPA... there was two there and I asked him 'which one should I take'. He said take this one because that one has been having problems all weekend.

THANK YOU 110% because my POTC has NEVER broken!!! GOOD LUCK on your next job adventure.

Yep, 1,000%

Nah. He's right about most things, particularly marketing. He's wrong often too, particularly his opinions. Sometimes the truth hurts.

He's NOT right about most things, that is flat out wrong. He offers OPINIONS not facts, nothing but OPINIONS. There is no such thing as an opinion being a fact, its just his view. What are most of his opinions well that is easy bashing on people who make pinball games, and for that he gets a 2 dollar trophy. What does Kaneda give the pinball community for the honor of awarding him that two dollar trophy... he gave us the single most insulting video montage of himself rubbing that into our faces. He doesn't love pinball he just loves being worshiped, or simply listening to himself talk about how smart he is. He really does think if he's not here to protect the industry someone will take advantage of you.... what will we do without him?

How many times is this guy going to inform us he's taking a break from podcasts, or quitting, like the entire pinball World will end with depression and beg for his return. He's almost never right about anything, he's constantly correcting himself, or backtracking his comments. He did what 100 podcasts bashing JJP or POTC yet he tried to buy a POTC CE. He also told me on facebook when I stated RM isn't worth $11,500, he came back and said pinball's aren't stocks, buy them because you enjoy them. Okay but dude aren't you the guy who tried to sell Big Lebowski on Ebay for $50,000, or your Batman for twice what you paid now leaving him with no pinball game. He doesn't even believe what he says because he can't remember what he said just the week prior. The only disaster in the entire industry is people listening to this egomaniacs podcast.

You said he's usually right, well I'm still waiting for Aliens built by how many different companies did he say was building it? Yeah see my point.

But to stay on the topic here... he had NO BUSINESS highlighting a personal situation between a company and an employee. That is a personal matter between the two parties. Low blow if you ask me! Shows just what kind of class this guy has.

I think you're taking a guy's pinball podcast too seriously. Don't pre-order an Alien! Mind you, Butch lost his job, so the last few topics were indeed serious.

Perhaps... but with the internet and social media, every person has a platform and voice (sadly). Look at us here!
And I've been dying to better understand JJP decisions and behavior the past year. They are confusing to me and I'm concerned. The pinball podcaster's theories align with 'others' and are the best explanation I've heard yet. I would love it if someone 'with the facts' could address mistakes. I care about the JJP company because I'm heavily invested in their products and support. I can't wait to buy Eric's next game and I'd like to believe he will be given proper support.

First off Kaneda has been blasting JJP for several years so this is nothing new. This new round of blasting JJP started because Kaneda said he got booted from the JJP Fan site, then he blamed Pat Lawlor, from there went on another blast JJP rant. Same old same old honestly. I think we can all honestly say that Kaneda has never owned a JJP game, in fact he owns no game so he's the VERY LAST person on planet earth I would listen to. Furthermore do you actually think ANYONE from JJP wants to talk to Kaneda... please! So any info he actually has is probably forth hand therefore very unreliable at best.

As to your point I don't think you should be concerned about anything. I think you should feel just the opposite because they're moving things in the right direction by relocating everything into one building. JJP was the only company to have offices in two different states one dedicated to design and the other making the games... does that sound smart to you? So they fixed that issue so why the concern?

I'm sorry some staff members at ANY pinball company loses their jobs, we hear about it all the time. It happens, it's unfortunate but JJP getting everything under one roof is a smart move not a dumb one. Maybe now we'll see JJP get games to the line quicker, and more games released per year. Time will tell!

I sure hope your right....It seems like JJP has really struggled financially in probably the biggest boom in the history of pinball. Unfortunately I think POTC will be their last over the top / loaded pin and they start moving towards much simpler pins to manufacturer/maintain i.e. Wonka. To your point this is probably the smart move, but not why I loved buying JJP games let alone pay a premium for them.

Kaneda qualified his Alien remark as a rumor and further stated that it was a rumor he was told from Iceman44. Context is important.

You are obviously current on all of Kaneda's podcasts. Why do you continue to listen to him if you hate and distrust him so much?

That’s a great ? the bastard infuriates me but I still listen sometimes.It really does seem that he freakin despises JJP.Lord Lawlor really,he just makes shit up!

I have a wacky, zany, crazy, and probably ridiculous idea. What if we have this thread try to stay focused on its original intent to have people leave comments about their appreciation for Butch?

No he said it was a fact, and its only one of dozens and dozens and dozens of things he got wrong. As for BLAMING ICEMAN that is a joke right there... it doesn't matter where he gets information when you learn its wrong don't blame ICEMAN. It only goes to show how wreckless the guy really is. He'll say anything to get a rise out of people which is why people shouldn't listen and move on. People don't give the guy accurate information and even a blind man can see that.

You're probably correct but even so Willy Wonka is still an over the top game compared to other companies. They still did the amazing CGI fx on screen, still have the amazing back end matrix, rail system under the playfield, etc. But I'd rather have standard body games from JJP than no games from JJP. Hopefully you see the point. Man change is tough but JJP is making changes but this company has to get profitable, and more efficient, if it works great if it doesn't it doesn't. Only time will tell.

I'm NOT listening to his podcasts, this was seeing something on facebook, him cry about how he thinks Pat banned him. I have since blocked his facebook group so my information is about a week old. But still that is where I got the info. I'm not listening to his ridiculous podcast.

Butch has provided support to me for my WOZ, Hobbit and Wonka machines. He is so unselfish and giving of his time and expertise. Butch is one of a handful of great folks who were the face of JJP to me. I have spoken with him at Expo, TPF and other shows and he never rushed through conversations - instead he makes me feel like I am the only reason he is there. He often walked up and initiated conversations with me and my wife. I hope that he stays in the industry; he is special.

Indeed he is. Would be a tremendous loss to the industry if he doesn't stay, but knowing his passion for pinball I'm confident he will.

Good luck Butch