Play Meter

COIN-OP NEWS Unknown emerges from pack to win PAPA 4 The smart money was on big names like Lyman Sheats Jr., David Hegge, and Rick Stetta, but in the end it was 18-yearo ld newcomer Bowen Kerins who captured the men 's crown at the Professional and Amateur Pinball Association (p AP Al 4 International Championships. The tournament took place Feb. 4-6 at the Park Central Hotel in New York City. Kerins was a virtual unknown to the field of 600, who were competing in six divisions . In fact, the Stanford University computer science student had entere d PAP A 4 only because his doubles partner, Hal Erickson, had won the PAP A Fall Flipoff tournament in San Francisco, and with it a ticket to New York City. Now he's consi d ere d one of the brightest young stars on the pinball scene. Kerins racked up over 675 million points on Data East's new Tommy pinball and also posted high scores on Williams' Star Trek -The Next Generation and Bally's Judge Dredd to win the final round of competition. His three-game total of over 1.5 billion points a llowed him to edge Dave Stewart and Sheats, the 1993 PAPA titleist, and lay claim to the title of "World 's Greatest Pinball Player." Kerins also pocketed the top prize of $4,000. PLAY METER Stanford university's Bowen Kerins, Papa 4 champion. Sheats, whose controlled, almost motionless style has influenced many young players , said, "It's great for pinball that a n ew wave of players is coming on so strong. But I'll be back next year." Kerins, who plans to install a pinball machine in his dorm room with his PAPA 14 winnings, said, "I n eed practice . They'll all be gunning for me next year." In another surprise , Julia Slayton, the country's top-ranked woman, had to settle for fourth place . Ellen Frankel, a 26-year-old bass player, captured the women's division and $1,000 in prize mone y. Joannie Perry, who works as a broadcast engineer at New York's PBS affiliate, finished a strong second. In other PAPA 4 action, Sheats and Hegge dominated the doubles event, while Sheats grabbe d the champions division trophy. The latter is open to previous winners of PAP A 's regional leagues and tournaments, as well as the main tournament in New York. Other PAPA 4 winners included Kevin Kulek, B division; Sam Ryan, C division; and Vincent Chasmer, junior division. Besides t he pinball competition, PAP A 4 featured visits from Australian supermodel Elle MacPherson, soap opera star Alice Barrett, avant garde musician Laurie Anderson, and rock legend Lou Reed , a longtime supporter of PAP A. Tournament sponsor Amtex Software Corp . conducted a separate competition on a computer software program based on the classic game Eight Ball D eluxe. And on the evening of Feb. 6, PAPA and the Broadway cast of "Tommy" hosted a benefit party for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Some $18,000 was raised and donate d to the charity. There were a record number of competitors and spectators at PAP A continued on page 16 MARCH 1994