Report my gains to the IRS ,pay the taxes owed and be miserable

buy another pinball.

buy stock since everything has went to shit.

Build another house here...

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Go out with a Bang!

Immediately thought of this haha

Buy half of my pins back with the same money.

I didn't sell all my pins, but I went from 11 to 3, so sold a good chunk.

Now my garage is more focused on fighting games and Japanese candy cabs, have 8 to replace the 8 pins.

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I may add back a 4th pin, we'll see. Or just mix up what I have. I no longer have the urge to own a ton, after a certain point they're all there, but they're not all getting played, not really.

I also took the space I got back to add a CNC and a laser cutter to the garage. The pins are on the left just off camera in that photo, laser and CNC on the right.

Tell you what I've gained: a really awesome community, I host a fighting game arcade night every week, for 5 years running now (minus a pandemic lockdown break). The level of interaction with these kinds of games is much more direct than pinball, and I enjoy that. (It's also pretty shit by itself, you need people, pinball the opposite, playing on your own can be great.)

Getting Street Fighter back in my life in a more serious way has led to a lot of amazing friendships I'm super grateful for.

I've also gained some really awesome creative tools, that's how I'm able to design and build my latest mods. Couldn't do it without things like the laser.

It's all a tradeoff. I say do whatever makes you happy, including letting go of games you don't really need to keep anymore. Or buying more if that what brings you actual joy.

Buy a bunch of pins probably

The plan is to sell them all except WOZ and buy a place in Costa Rica the end of 2023. We’re just return from there and this is the house we are interested in.

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I'd be able to afford a James Bond LE

Never going to happen.

Can't imagine selling all of my pins but if I did, I'd put the money
in one of my other hobbies (classic cars, ham radio).

69 442 W-30 silver w black stripes black interior

Would likely never happen but if I did, it would be to reduce &/or eliminate debt.
Would really miss them mind you...

Retire.

Sold all 11 of my pins, bought a P3 and a 4x4 Mercedes Sprinter to go exploring and camping and get my kids outdoors more.

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I'd keep a few still but I'd use the space and money for a ball bowler, then probably put it towards the house: new flooring, windows, siding, you know, boring but necessary stuff. Maybe get a fun weekend car.

I can't really imagine what I'd do. My main other hobby is miniature wargames, where I go to a game store and meet up with opponents to play. It's sometimes problematic due to other people's schedules, what games I want to play vs. what games other people want to play, time for assembly and painting models, etc... Pinball is my hobby I can do anytime at home with no scheduling issues which makes my wife happier. Further, my 11 year old special needs son and I play pinball together and he's never had any interest in any of my other hobbies so it's the only one I can share with him and that's worth a lot to me.

I can't imagine anything I could do with a big pile of money that could come close to replacing these qualities in my life. I guess I could buy DIFFERENT pinballs?

After I win the Megamillions tonight. Who cares ?

LTG : )

Build a bowling lane.

This is still my ultimate goal and keeps me motivated.

My aren't worth enough to think big

depends on how many machines and which ones people here have.... big difference in owning a few EMs, and a bunch of Stern LEs.... Once you get into the six figures in machines it does make you stop and think though. I can't imagine buying all of them at once, no way would I be able to justify laying that much cash out, but when you do it a game at a time it doesn't seem as much.

I sold off everything last year and spent the whole year without a pin….never again haha. Almost drove me crazy

You've always been my favorite uncle, btw.

Put it in a boring investment. Better to have pins.

I’d buy a barcade full of pinball machines.

probably a new hobby. I plan to get into paragliding in a few years

I have learned over the years is that as I age... I find less enjoyment in things and more enjoyment in relationships. Trust me there are a few things that brightens my afternoon up more than when my 11yr old sweet daughter wants to take her Dad on in a pinball match on Fish Tales & Lord of the Rings. But its more about the time spent and less about where or how. I sold a mint original Medieval Madness and my '72 Pantera and finishing up on the restoration of my 52' Studebaker truck to buy an awesome cabin in Pinetop where we plan on retiring. So relaxing to enjoy His creation. Memories are so sweet to make. Allowing our place to bless others so they can also make memories that last a lifetime.

Oh, and if interested, click the link by my icon "Creekside Hideaway, LLC" To check it out here also https://evolve.com/vacati.../463879

I often daydream about selling off part of the collection and getting an attached indoor pool house built. But as my wife wisely mentions when I bring up my daydream, "If we ever lose our jobs or have another emergency, pinballs can be sold right way. Pools can't be sold at all." Too true. Also, with an electricity bill that hit one-fucking-thousand in December without a pool, I hate to think what it would cost to heat/cool that room year round, not to mention the water. So for now I'll just keep daydreaming about floating around my indoor pool in the middle of the day in one of those big floaty chairs with a nice stiff drink in one cupholder and a TV/stereo remote in the other, ahhh.

I would buy 10-12 perfectly restored arcade cabinets

I would start buying them back

I haven’t been playing my games the past two years or so and think often to myself if I sell them my wife could use the space and I could damn near pay off the house with the money. but I don’t really want to to sell any of them. So there they sit.
When I do sell them I think I will keep just Iron Maiden if I can.

I've sold them all off before when my interest was low. It's kind of liberating for a short time, but the hobby is hard to leave. I've learned it's better to hang tight and the enjoyment comes back.

Plus if i sold my 5 EM pins, I'd probably have around $6k. What can you do with that these days? Not much that's more interesting/fun than pinball.

Nothing. I hope that I’ll never be in the situation where I would depend on the value of my pinball machines.

Have my head examined.

I’d go out and date all those hot singles in my area that want to meet me.

Love CR. You west or east side fan?

I only have 5 machines so it wouldn’t be a life changing amount of money if I sold them all. I hope to be able to have at least 1 machine, even if we move and downsize, until I can no longer play or maintain it. At some point I think my dexterity won’t allow me to hold those small screws and nuts etc but hopefully that’s a while off still.

I still have a mortgage so if I did sell my machines, that would probably be the sensible, boring place the cash would go.

Probably go find another Mopar to add to the collection!

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64 Pontiac
49k
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Is this a former mall that has cars on consignment? Looks like a place I need to visit if so

Classic Auto Mall
Morgantown, Pa

Hire Megadeth to play in my backyard. But since I only have 3 I could probably only get a guy who just bought a Kazoo from 7-11 to show up for an hour.

Hmmm…

Assuming I got $50,000, couldn’t spend it on pinball, and got back my space, and had to blow it…

I’d replace it with arcade games:
Playchoice 10 Dual Screen
Outrun
Area 51 upright cabinet with switchable boards
Linked Sanfrancisco Rush The Rock Sit Down
Class of 81 combo machine with 60 in 1
New Goldentee

With the remaining 40,000?
Family trip to Disney done nice for a week ($8,000)
Take my 11 year old interested in History to Rome ($5,000)
Nice New Freshwater Shrimp Tank Breeding Setup ($2,000)
With the other $25,000? I put a deposit down on a pool last year that should go in this year. I would add a waterslide and jumping rock to the setup, a formal sidewalk to the rear, a nice genetically engineered apple tree that blooms all year, and some really nice yard furniture to include a ping pong table, out door gas firepit, a bunch of out door toys like cornhole and horseshoes.

In other words I’d blow it mostly on stuff for my family to have fun with at home and some experiential trips.

Sell them while you still can, no one will buy them in a decade or two.

Pay off the remaining of my mortgage, then get a Less stressful job.

The pins- really to play, if the boy needs college/Uni funds, or a deposit on a house then some would go to fund that.. he’s only 9 now, so quite a few years to go

If both of those are actually possible, I would sell them today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!