Not only a Great Guy, but obviously had Great Friends! You Guys are A-1
I got a good chuckle out of the Camel lights comment above.. I sold that to him along with many other games. He was a great guy. When he bought the Camel lights I had it sitting in our warehouse for years. He begged me to sell it to him at what ever I wanted he didn't care. He wanted it because thats how his family had made his money In a cigarette and convenience store distribution company.
Great guy and great customer.
I met Don when I had 3 Tron Le's and I offered to one trade for a BIBLE . We talked for hours and hours,well he talked and I mainly listened. The deal finally happened,but I had to drive to Beverly hill at 11pm and meet with Don and Gio who drove to Carlsbad to get the BIBLE from Steve. I don't know how he got it all lined up,but I am glad he did.
He had Subwoofers on every game in the room. You could not hear shit in that house. He must have been deaf ,and blind too cause he was a LED fanatic . He loved pinball though .
He called a few more times over the years looking for Tron Le's . Those pins were great trade bait . He will be missed
RIP Don
Damn.... just hearing this now.. Done many deals with Don in the past and even converted his house to LED for him.
Whats the way to mourn a pinball guy? Pour out pinballs on the curb?
Quoted from NiftyLED:Whats the way to mourn a pinball guy? Pour out pinballs on the curb?
I liked Concretehardt's idea to put Don's initials in your game, especially if you own one of his previous games which it seems a lot of us, including myself, do.
My jaw dropped when I heard he had passed. Been to his house a few times and he was also fun to talk and play games with. Rest in peace buddy.
Quoted from RobT:My biggest fear is that some of the flippers are just circling like vultures ready to pounce on his collection.
BFD. Don would be belly laughing after reading your post Rob and also Hilton's post that you replied to. The guy just died and you are worried about his collection? Its ONLY pinball. Maybe it's time to reassess life's priorities.
Don was a flipper. He wasn't building a museum or a pinball foundation. He enjoyed life and pins as they came and went. In his life, there were no rules. He lived big and didn't care about political correctness. Which is also why he avoided posting on pinside.
But he loved reading the controversy. He knew I had a NIB Tron LE for years and dared me to post it for sale at $20,000 just to piss people off.
When I finally decided to sell it and I listed it at $15,000 firm.... guess who bought it.
Quoted from BLACK_ROSE:Sad News Indeed ..... I've been deal-N w/ Don for years also .. I've sold him 3 of my Pins and 1 of the Bankers .. The Last 1 he bought from me was my mod'd out IMVE ... Don called me Late as usual , i could tell he had been drink-N , He was a Trip .. He was hesitant on buy-N my IMVE because he said he was gonna use that $ to pay for new Terracotta Tiles to be installed on his roof , said the Calif- Sun was Hell on Roof tOps out there .. He didn't post alot , but when I had a 4-Sale Thread and he was the Invisible buyer , I would only say ,
Sold !! It's will be headed to Beverly Hills .. To me that sounded gOod ... Don was a Killer guy and my Friend and the same age as me ...
In conversations w/ him , he told me how he made his Fortune and Retired so young .. I'll keep that to myself in respect of Don ..
I Will miss Don 4 Sure ...
1 thing Is 4 Sure ,, Death will get Us All 1 day ,, Young or Old ,, and I Respect Rarehero 4 starting this Thread because I wouldn't have known that Don had passed away due to me not coming Here like I use to ... I Hope when my day comes , some 1 will do the Same for me .. To All U Pinheads here ,,, Live Life to the Fullest and Be Safe ..... B_R
I just wanted to say that AFAIK Don abstained from booze and drugs during his pinball years. He had a wild way with words that might have given a different impression. He had ADHD and was naturally on fire.
There was a period in his life when he had abused all those things, but during the last 5 years that I knew him, he was clean and sober.
Quoted from roc-noc:Don was a flipper.
Not really in the traditional sense...I don't think he was making much if any money from selling games. He just liked the thrill of getting new ones, so the old ones left...sometimes quickly. He'd take a loss on a game just to get it gone.
Quoted from roc-noc:The guy just died and you are worried about his collection?
As I knew Don very well, games were coming and going at an alarming rate, and some of the machines at his house at the time of his demise were not even his. Plus there was unfinished business with people who he was buying and selling games with and doing other business with, I'm sure a lot of which didn't have much of a paper trail.
As much as I loved the guy, I hope when the dust settles, those that were involved in a transaction will get taken care of. I myself am not concerned about pursuing a backglass that was to come my way as it is only a drop in the bucket when I look at the big picture.
Quoted from Rarehero:Not really in the traditional sense...I don't think he was making much if any money from selling games. He just liked the thrill of getting new ones, so the old ones left...sometimes quickly. He'd take a loss on a game just to get it gone.
So he was an non-traditional flipper. Don was a lot of fun.
He wasn't a flipper. He had an itchy buy it now trigger finger. And the rest of us did what we could by taking some out of there so he could still walk thru his house.
Last I talked to him he said he was up to about 70 machines. It's going to be a lot of work to sort all that out I'm sure.
Quoted from RobT:My biggest fear is that some of the flippers are just circling like vultures ready to pounce on his collection.
I didn't know vultures pounced. I had always thought that was a cat thing. Don't fear, RobT, I'm sure there's nothing to flip as it seems like Donny spent his money passionately.
Quoted from o-din:As I knew Don very well, games were coming and going at an alarming rate, and some of the machines at his house at the time of his demise were not even his.
Ben there done that. About thirteen years ago Don Robinson of D.R. Service passed
away very abruptly. People came in and grabbed what they could. And Yes, it was
as if everybody were vultures over a dead carcass.
I don't know what else to say except usually, right now, we'd be talking on the phone laughing our asses off.
Quoted from o-din:I don't know what else to say except usually, right now, we'd be talking on the phone laughing our asses off.
Django!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The thought went thru my head the day this thread started...first I was saddened we lost Don so young, damn to young, he had another 20 in him easy, must of been his heart.
Then it was the thought of the vultures picking and pecking at the collection he valued so much. The pins were his kids and family. He loved this sport, and yes it can be a sport to some. There heavy if you never noticed. Can be a workout.
I would like his brother to take control, he knows the value of this stuff and might know a few in the gang out here.
But there is no hurry, the pins don't need food and water. I am wondering about Cooper, Odin any news on if he's being taken care of by a someone close?
Quoted from Ericpinballfan:Odin any news on if he's being taken care of by a someone close?
I honestly don't know, but I'd imagine somebody is.I don't know or haven't been in contact with anybody in his family. I've been too busy taking care of my elderly mother and didn't find out about Don's passing until this thread started. I read in this thread that others are already looking to take care of Cooper.
Quoted from Ericpinballfan:Then it was the thought of the vultures picking and pecking at the collection he valued so much. The pins were his kids and family
Not really. To use Don's own words, which he said to me over and over again-
"Help me get rid of this shit!"
+1 What o-din said about the pins. That's Donny speaking. AFAIK Donny had mostly EMs and Woodrails left in the house. Not sure if he had storage units but I doubt it since he never mentioned it and didn't own a truck or pin carrying car. Most likely he left extra pins on "loan" with friends. If so, you know who you are and I don't see any crime unless Barry asks for them back. If it were me, I would come clean and let Barry know if I had Don's property. Barry has a big pin collector friend that will probably guide the outcome.
I left a message with Barry about people willing to take Cooper. No reply yet. I'm pretty sure the estate will go to Barry and family. Probate takes a long time. Barry can't get rid of the shit as fast as Donny could as Barry doesn't own it yet.
Quoted from roc-noc:Donny had mostly EMs and Woodrails left in the house.
As far as I know, those were all his and paid for as he hadn't brought in any more EMs for quite some time. I might be able to help find homes for some of them
As far as the newer games, DMDs and such, I'm not sure, but was told a couple were being babysit so he did not own them and also he sold a machine that was not his but another friends of ours and the owner has not been paid yet.
he did rebuy BBB again. Had 3 BM66's paid for. bought some other big ticket things recently and had money tied up on some preorder stuff. I know he was getting out of woodrails and going back to modern things. I just got done restoring a custom Playboy CPR field for him that he was having totally restored. Shipped it out about 4 days before he died. he was looking forward to seeing that game complete.
Quoted from CaptainNeo:he did rebuy BBB again. Had 3 BM66's paid for. bought some other big ticket things recently and had money tied up on some preorder stuff. I know he was getting out of woodrails and going back to modern things. I just got done restoring a custom Playboy CPR field for him that he was having totally restored. Shipped it out about 4 days before he died. he was looking forward to seeing that game complete.
He sold the 3 BM66 LE's and his BM66 SLE last month.
I am willing to compile a list of any open deals with Donny, pins on loan, etc., and forward it to his family when they are ready to address it.
Please send details to my email. Start by sending me a pm and I'll provide you with my email address.
Tom
Yea, Sorry to hear this. He bought my Close Encounters EM. That was my first dealings. Never heard the final word on the game and how it turned out. Really sad.
Quoted from RobT:My biggest fear is that some of the flippers are just circling like vultures ready to pounce on his collection.
Ya..all those dirtbags on craigslist
I just learned today that my old STLE came from him initially
RIPizzle
Quoted from roc-noc:I am willing to compile a list of any open deals with Donny, pins on loan, etc., and forward it to his family when they are ready to address it.
Please send details to my email. Start by sending me a pm and I'll provide you with my email address.
Tom
So kind of you to do this. Not be a braggart, but I have his 15 BM66SLEs. Don't tell Barry.
So sad to hear about Don's passing !
Super nice guy !
I made quite a few Custom MOD's for some of his favorite Pins.
RIP Don
Really sad to hear this. I spoke to Don when I was selling my BBB. He was a unique character. We hit it off n the phone for over 3+ hours! Don shared an abbreviated version of his life story, family business, and eccentric pinball collecting. He even insisted I google earth his home address in Beverly Hills so he could point out his house - then zillow - so he could give me a virtual tour. We didn't end up working out a deal, but what a charismatic guy. Offered next I'm in town to swing by play pinball, see the area and hang out. Never happened, my loss.
Rest in peace Don. Thanks Rarehero for letting us know of his passing.
This is really sad news. I had no idea of his passing until seeing this thread. I sold approximately 15 pins to Don and purchased close to 50 from him over the years. He was one of the most unique guys you would ever meet. Every trip to his house turned into an all day visit because as others mentioned, Don loved to talk. He lived a full life and had some crazy stories. He also had a huge heart.
I got a chance to play some of the nicest and rarest machines at his home. He always tried to own the best of the best and would often own the same machine multiple times.
For a while I was going to his house 3 or 4 times a month and there would be a dozen new pins in his house and half a dozen pins gone that I had played the week before.
He also loved to buy machines and then take them apart and add LED's and mods but many times he would leave them half done. I bought 5 or 6 pins from him that had the playfields dismantled with a box of parts where he just lost interest and I would put them back together.
He was also a huge movie and music fan and had an incredible home theater that just about blew my ear drums out.
I will truly miss visiting Don. RIP
Don sounded like a great pinballer and great story teller of pinballs, and of life itself.
My condolences for him and his family..
Anyone have any pictures of his collection ?, or Pin that you bought or sold to him?
I am sure he would really appreciate that..
I would love a pic of his mancave...in Beverly Hills..swimming pool included.
Thanks everybody.
Don wasn't a frequent poster and only posted twice that I can remember. One of those threads has long been deleted I believe. But he followed the forum and the marketplace pretty regularly.
Quoted from limelime20:Anyone have any pictures of his collection ?
This is only a small sampling of the games that came and went in the time I knew Don.
https://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/terapin99/gameroom
I took quite a few pics while i was up there but the memory card I had them on got wiped recently. Not on purpose either.
Quoted from limelime20:or Pin that you bought or sold to him?
My 1972 Gottlieb Flying Carpet I sold Don. It would be interesting to know if it is still in his collection, not that I want it to buy it back even though it was a fun game.
Quoted from Concretehardt:This is how I picture Don's place in my minds eye, he always had games coming and going.
That's pretty much what the garage looked like. Packed. I found a couple from inside that were taken within the last year.
Edit- Sorry for the duplicates, but photo upload has gone bonkers and I can't edit out the extras.
Shelfs (resized).jpg
ab2abb3f2e2 (resized).jpg
Here are some of the games that I either purchased from Don, sold to Don or traded with him. There were some games that he bought from me and sold back to me 2 weeks later and then bought it back 2 weeks after that. He would have so many machines at a time that he couldn't play them all and would miss them as soon as they were gone.
One of the nicest pins I purchased from him was a restored Johnny Mnemonic with a whitewood playfield that was restored by azpinlawyer with custom cabinet art. I can't seem to find the photo. I think I bought it the day after Don bought it and he never even played the game.
He was a very impulsive buyer for sure.
Quoted from o-din:All is not lost! I found some on another card. I'm going to give this another try.
You're good... you're up to 4 of each pic.
Quoted from Baiter:You're good... you're up to 4 of each pic.
I have no idea what's going on. I added a bunch of pics and it posted those again. Then they showed up in another post when I tried to edit it once again.
Mods, please help clean up this mess.
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