Hey! I'm new here. Bought my WPT back in December as a project machine. It's been around: since its birth in Chicago it was shipped to Spain, where it was probably routed. It somehow ended up in Czech Republic, where it was bought by the previous owner and taken to The Netherlands.

The machine was dirty as hell when I bought it and was definitely never shopped before. It also had the notorious reset issues, which is why the original CPU has been sent away for repair. Luckily, for now, I was able to get my hands on a loaner CPU.

I've put leds (Comet Sunlight 2smd) in the GI to brighten it up. Some extra GI added in darker spots, mainly behind the right drop targets and the VUK. I've fitted the pop bumpers with Britecaps Evo and love how that looks.

The feature lights are all led too, with a Led OCD board installed to make them fade like they should. Looks great. The rubbers are Glow-in-the-Dark, which gives a cool green glow to them when the machine turns off the GI while you play in a dark room.

I've replaced the kitchy original silver t-molding for black/silver, which looks much better. For the ugly machine that WPT is, I like to think this one really turned out quite nice.

I'm using Pinball Browser to tweak the bland original soundtrack. The goal: to make the machine more appealing to play because of the variety in its soundtrack. The main track stays the same, while all modes get their own track to fit that specific mode. This really makes it feel more like an accomplishment when you reach a certain goal. It also makes it easy to know which mode is running without having to check the display.

Up until now I've been able to cram these artists in there: Kenny Rogers, ZZ Top, Elvis, George Strait, Clint Black, Lady Gaga, 2 Unlimited, Bruce Springsteen, Kanye West & Jay-Z, Faithless & Avicii, Yello, Motörhead, Beach Boys, Boney M, 2-Pac & Dr. Dre. So yeah, quite a mixed bag. But I do think it works well. Especially since the theme of poker does not really have its own distinctive soundtrack or style. (I would never do this to my LotR )

I'll post a video of the machine in action with its new soundtrack once that's sort of finished. If anybody has any music or sound recommendations that work well: let me know!
IMG_20220202_123242.jpg
IMG_20220202_123229.jpg
IMG_20220202_123039.jpg
IMG_20220202_123100.jpg
IMG_20220202_123201.jpg
IMG_20220202_123143.jpg
IMG_20220202_123112.jpg
IMG_20220202_123216.jpg
IMG_20220202_123131.jpg

Hmm, gotta be honest: I expected a bit more interest in or even enthusiasm for a new member with a nice looking copy of the game and workings on a new soundtrack.

What's up, WPT community? Are you even alive?

Welcome to the clubs, @shaqatak! The pinball club and the WPT club, that is.

You chose a lovely game to start your collection with! WPT is very challenging. Does yours have the most recent software? It's worth it.

It gives the game a better flow. Makes the right orbit a loop shot instead of it ending in the pop pumpers for no apparent reason.

I read somewhere that Steve Ritchie designed both orbit shots to loop back to the flippers. In comes Gary Stern, who wants more pop bumper action. Bad idea, but hey... it's the boss. Hence the useless one-way gate.

The game is much better off without it.

That's another way of looking at it. I guess it's a luxury that us owners can choose our preference and either keep or remove the gate.

WPT is clearcoated, like all modern Sterns are. However, the clear is thinner than Bally/WMS WPC games.

I said goodbye to my WPT this week. Loved the game, but my collection is too small for 2 fan layout Sterns with Keith Johnson software... and LOTR won it on theme and artwork.

I will miss the game, but it found a good home.

The first run of SAM boards that WPT uses sometimes has an intermittent reset issue. As far as I know, the board needs to be sent to Stern for repair if your game has this problem.

Considering wear, the mini playfield tends to develop scratches. This can be polished and buffed out, but replacements are also available.

Apart from this, WPT was a very stable title for the time I owned it.