Author Topic: :: Quest for Billy Mitchell :: Never Surrender!  (Read 45762 times)

DarthNuno

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:: Quest for Billy Mitchell :: Never Surrender!
« on: June 22, 2009, 07:58:44 PM »


Because I'm a crazy fan of the movie "King Of Kong"... because Pac-Man is one of my 'all-time' three best games ... because I admire the talent of Billy Mitchell ... and because I'm in Florida ... it's impossible to skip the visit of the famous Billy's restaurant called Rickey's, and (if I'm lucky) try to see The Man himself  ::) :P

OK, at this point I presume you all know who Billy Mitchell is...  8) If not, check his Biography in this wikipedia page.  ;)



After driving about 1 hour from the Fred -ArcadeFever-'s house... here we are ... inside the famous RICKEY'S restaurant & lounge...



In a corner of the restaurant ... pinball, Daytona USA,  (FREE) pop corn machine... and ... The Billy's Ms Pac Man cab' :-*  :arrow:



Let's pick up a free table, as close as possible to the Ms Pac Man of course  :P



I'm very exited  :pac: ... I have to do a lot of "Here I am / huge fan"(tm) pictures  ;D Here's some ... :arrow:



It's my wife's turn  :D  :arrow:



 ...as you can see, she wears the special pull for this story/location  :-*  :pac:  :arrow:



...and, of course, one with my friend Fred aka Arcadefever  :-*  :arrow:



Fred is asking to a waitress if Billy is here, of if there is a chance that he would come today... but ... no luck  :oops:
She says he uses to come on the restaurant from time to time, but not today... too bad  :?

Well, it's OK... at least we are here... I'm gonna play on his Ms Pac Man cabinet, eat the famous Chicken wings and try his famous Ricky's sauce  :)

Let's see the menu...



...well, don't need to read the menu, let's go for THE dish here : Chicken wings + Rickey’s World Famous Chicken Wing Sauce... and some fries  ;)



The funny thing here : I do not eat chicken in my life. I don't know why, but since few years, I cannot eat any chicken parts ...but today, I make an exception  :P  :arrow:



...and I can tell you, it's famous  :-* I really appreciate the Rickey's sauce... a little spicy, but it's what I love  :-*

Now, let's enjoy the place... I need few quarters in order to play this Ms Pac Man  ;)

No coin in my pocket, I'll have to change a ONE DOLLAR note. So I'm going to the bar, and ask to an other waitress 4 quarters.
She recognize my Pac Mac T-Shirt and she says : "Wow... I love it ... you're in the right place with that t-shirt"
So I explain her all my story : "I'm from Belgium... I'm a big Pac Man fan, I know Billy because of his high score, the King of Kong movie, I was hoping to meet Billy... I'm only here today ...blablabla..."

"From Belgium you say? Oh, I'm so sorry Billy's not here  :oops: ...Belgium? ... wow... :roll:"

...then she seems to think about something  ::) ... she gives me the four coins... and she leaves...  :ghost:

Anyway... let's play this Ms Pac Man... I'm putting my first 'quarter' ...



...and the waitress is back... she's speaking with ... Billy Mitchell himself  :o  :arrow:



"Yes Billy... there are guys from Belgium here... Convention Center? OK... what is the address? Got it! ... an identity card? OK Billy... I'll tell them  :)"



"OK, at present Billy is in a convention center... here's the address... less than one hour from here...he's waiting for you.... a last thing ... don't forget your identity card, or you won't enter this professional exhibition!"

Yeeeeees!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've to give a friendly kiss to the lovely waitress  :-* :-* :-*

We are all very exited... especially me  :) ...but before to leave, we HAVE to play that Ms Pac Man  ;D  :arrow:





Ok, it's time to go now... Identity Card or Visa for everyone?

Nuno? -> Yes  ;)

Fred? -> Sure!

Nunette? ... what?  No?

Nuno : "Oh my God! Where is your Visa???"
Nunette : "In the hotel, let go back and take it..."
Nuno : "No way, I'll be to late... the hotel is too far... we won't have time to go back and meet Billy! ... I suggest to put her in trunk of the car, in order to pass the control point!"
Nunette & Fred (together) : "No way  :o"
Fred : "Don't worry, we will have enough time to go to the hotel, and go back to the convention center  ;)"

OK, let's go now... but before to leave... a last picture... from the outside  :arrow:



Nice car by the way, Fred  :P

Suddenly, our lovely waitress is back : "Hey... wait ... Billy just called me... He ask me to give you this gift  :)"



 :-* :-* :-*  :arrow:



Woooow ... Thank you  :-* :-* :-* :-*

Now, let's go back to the hotel for the Nunette's passport, then go back and find the convention center. Because Fred doesn't have a navigation car system, he's calling his wife for a map request  ;)



...and maybe 90 minutes later... here we are  :P  :arrow:



« Last Edit: June 23, 2009, 02:32:56 PM by DarthNuno »

DarthNuno

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Re: tempo^^
« Reply #1 on: June 23, 2009, 12:37:03 AM »
The convention will close in 90 minutes, but at the entrance...the reception ask us to pay a ticket.
Fred has the Billy's phone number, so let's call him, and try to enter for free, as guests  ;)

The funny thing : On the phone, Billy says : "Ok, stay at the entrance, I'll come and get you in few minutes... Do you'll recognize me?"  :D

5 minutes later, Billy is coming... we are his personal guests  8) ... Welcome here  :-* :-* :-*  :arrow:



When Arcade & Food unites  8)  :arrow:



He's here to promote/help arcade games @ home, with his friend (& partner?) Robert Childs, founder of Arcade Game Sales (www.arcadegamesales.net), but also his juicy Ricky's sauce  :)

Here's a 'special edition' of it  :-*  :arrow:



The presentations are done :)  (we are from Belgium... Arcade Life Style ... Pac Man ... King of Kong ...), we can start the 'fan attitude' pictures  ;)  :arrow:

Billy and my Pac Man 'kill screen' black t-shirt :



I pull off my 'Pac Man' white t-shirt and ask him to sign it  :-*  :arrow:



"Ok, do you want on your t-shirt?"

Do what you want please Billy  :P  :pac:  :ghost: :ghost: :ghost: :ghost:



"NEVER SURRENDER" ...this is what his cell pone display all the time (He even mention it in the 'King Of Kong' movie)  8)  :arrow:



"Now Billy, I want to have the shape of your hand printed on my t-shirt, the one who done the perfect score on Pac Man..."

"No problem"... and he asks to Nunette to draw it... like this :



...with the help of Robert... *AWESOME*  ;) ...



It was a very funny moment... and a good opportunity to joke with him  :) He's very fun... and so cool  8)



Done  :-*



He's very tall... of maybe my wife is so small? ... I would say both  ;D  :arrow:



My favorite picture (my wife was very impressed!)  :arrow:



For the fun, I show him a book I'm reading now...



I don't think he need to read it  :-* :-* :-*

He proposes us to demonstrate his skill ... "what game do you want me to play... Ms Pac Man?"

Ms Pac Man... YES!!!  :-* :-* :-*



...and he starts to play ... I've no word.... it's AWESOME ... he seems to know EXACTLY where the ghosts are going  :o :o :o ...



He shows us a 'safe spot' in the game ... IMPRESSIVE ... and while he's playing, he continues to talk with us, answering our question ... and always, he predicts what the ghosts will do  :o It's hard to believe if you don't see that with your own eyes  :o 8)

He is playing Ms Pac Man on a 48 in 1 board, and he says the game is very accurate (good to know ;)) on that board... because the gameplay is exactly the same than the original Ms Pac Man board...

During his game, he got few phone calls... and it's Robert who take the Billy's phone : "Hey Billy, it's a customer... take the call please .... "

"Hey... I'm playing Ms Pac Man... THIS is business!!!"  :o ;D

...an other phone call : "Billy, it's your wife..."

"Lister Rob' whatever the question, just tell her YES!"  ;D ;D ;D

An other Billy's customer is calling... this time he gets the call... but still playing Ms Pac Man... in a high level ... without missing anything  :o  :arrow:



A picture of the banner  :-*  :arrow:



I really love these two tables ... a good idea for my game room  ::) ...  :-* :-* :-*  :arrow:





He is a very kind person... we discuss about a lot of things ... for example why he's the *bad* on KOK movie?, why he didn't chat with Steve? ... and other questions about the movie... the world records...
I can tell you he gives me good explanations... to resume : "it's just a movie".... and a movie works better if there's a good guy, and a bad guy... and a story. He's the "Darth Vader" in the movie!  On the positive side, people are always remember the bad guy... I agree  8)

An other amazing moment... Billy takes his cell phone... and calls Walter Day, the founder of Twin Galaxies (more info about him on wikipedia).  :o :P

He explains him our Journey : "...guys coming from Belgium ... from Ricky's restaurant to this convention center trip..." ... and he says : "Walter would like to talk to you  :-*"

What a nice moment  :-*  :arrow:



...speaking to Walter Day, on the Billy Mitchell's cell phone ...  8) :-*

I speak with him about 15 minutes. He knows Belgium, and the town of Bastogne for some personal reasons. We speak about -of course- Twin Galaxies, his music, classic games enthusiasm... He's so nice, quiet... it was a real pleasure to speak with him  :-* :-* :-*

It's late now... we already overlap the closing hours of the exhibition.  :oops: the security guys of the convention ask to close everything and leave... so it's really time to go.
So it's time to say good bye to Billy, and thank him for the time he stayed with us (almost two hours :)), answering all the questions, playing Ms Pac Man and showing us few 'tricks' (safe spot for example) , the gifts (Ricky's sauces), the phone call with Walter...  :-* :-* :-*

Of course, I have a special thanks to the Ricky's waitress who has allowed this meeting... BIG KISS  :-* :-* :-*

Thanks also to Fred who got a day off from his job, just to be with us and make this story possible too  :-*

It was AN AWESOME day!!! I wish you all a such 'Arcade Life Style' story too  :-*

 :pac:    :ghost:   :ghost:     :ghost:                 :ghost:

PS : This story is a segment on the big topic called : "Holiday in Florida / Texas [features Arcade Life Style stories] ...where you'll see others 'ALS stories'  ::) ;)

 :spaceace:
« Last Edit: June 23, 2009, 01:36:57 PM by DarthNuno »

subzero1970

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Re: :: Quest for Billy Mitchell :: Never Surrender!
« Reply #2 on: June 23, 2009, 02:50:51 PM »
AWESOME STORY LUCKY GUY!!!  :pac: :ghost: :ghost: :ghost: :ghost:

Sonic 1992

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Re: :: Quest for Billy Mitchell :: Never Surrender!
« Reply #3 on: June 23, 2009, 04:35:31 PM »
Wish I coul've been there with you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   After watching Chasing Ghosts...  I really want to meet him too!   Also, the DK table ... I WANT IT!!   ;D

Valsimot

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Re: :: Quest for Billy Mitchell :: Never Surrender!
« Reply #4 on: June 23, 2009, 04:52:56 PM »
 :shock:

BTW, nice ride Arcadefever.

Superully

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Re: :: Quest for Billy Mitchell :: Never Surrender!
« Reply #5 on: June 23, 2009, 05:18:28 PM »
bruno! this is a hell of a story - beautifully illustrated with nice pictures. this has to be THE best arcade lifestyle story i've heard so far! congratulations, you will NEVER forget that day!!!
all i need is ... PONG - and a select few others: TOUCH ME, DRAGON'S LAIR, JOUST, ROBOTRON, MR DO, SAN FRANCISCO RUSH THE ROCK!!!

petieken

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Re: :: Quest for Billy Mitchell :: Never Surrender!
« Reply #6 on: June 23, 2009, 05:31:10 PM »
That's an AMAZING story!! :) You're so lucky the waitress arranged a meeting with Billy for you. ;D

Nice car Arcadefever! 8) My rental car was a Mustang when I was visiting California/Nevada/Arizona last year. Too bad it was a V6... :(
Wanted: Cadillacs and Dinosaurs CPS1 Q-Sound pcb | SegaSonic The Hedgehog Art & instruction set

level42

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Re: :: Quest for Billy Mitchell :: Never Surrender!
« Reply #7 on: June 23, 2009, 07:17:33 PM »
Very very very cool Bruno and great to see Billy's cool in real life. People are so stupid just to follow and totally believe what they see in KOK. It's the same old trick with TV programs: edit away and you can make a complete asshole of a nice guy.

Congrats my friend, you deserve it :) Good to see fever around too ! He doesn't post that much anymore ? :D

scr33n

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Re: :: Quest for Billy Mitchell :: Never Surrender!
« Reply #8 on: June 23, 2009, 07:22:14 PM »
Incredible story !!!  :spaceace: :spaceace:

I'm so jealous  :-[ ;)

 :pac: :ghost:
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Re: :: Quest for Billy Mitchell :: Never Surrender!
« Reply #9 on: June 23, 2009, 07:31:21 PM »
as a huge fan of KOK i have only one word for this

AWSOME!!!!!!  :spaceace: :spaceace: :spaceace:

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Re: :: Quest for Billy Mitchell :: Never Surrender!
« Reply #10 on: June 23, 2009, 07:33:29 PM »
Great story! I got to meet Billy and Walter at the CGE in 2003. They were both very nice. Billy and I talked awhile about the arcade games we own. He made a joke about if a guest thought he had too many games in his house then it was time for the guest to leave. I loved KoK but thought Billy was portrayed unfairly. My wife and sister enjoyed the movie but hated Billy. I told them he is a great guy.

That signature on the Pac-Man shirt is great. I have thought about ordering the hot sauce. It sound delicious.

This is probably old news, but Billy does have a baseball card. Topps made a set of baseball cards and included insert cards of various other non-sport stars. His card states he was the first to play a perfect game of Pac-Man. They made a regular card, a signed card, and a 'relic' card, which contains a piece of one of his USA ties.

funkycochise

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Re: :: Quest for Billy Mitchell :: Never Surrender!
« Reply #11 on: June 23, 2009, 07:54:55 PM »
amazing, my friend, just amazing.




Dazza

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Re: :: Quest for Billy Mitchell :: Never Surrender!
« Reply #12 on: June 23, 2009, 08:52:13 PM »
How lucky are you!!!!!!  ;D ;D

That has got to be the most perfect day, everything certainly fell in to place. You must be well chuffed, AWESOME story!

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Re: :: Quest for Billy Mitchell :: Never Surrender!
« Reply #13 on: June 24, 2009, 09:12:33 AM »
hahaha... that's awesome. you can be seen blushing all the way through the photos, such infatuation. billy sounds like a top man, no doubt he has many fans who travel across the world to see him and he still has time for them. perhaps fred pulled a few strings too because of his connections... i wonder if billy said, "you again?" to fred??  ::) ;D

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Re: :: Quest for Billy Mitchell :: Never Surrender!
« Reply #14 on: June 24, 2009, 12:08:11 PM »
Hey, just noticed.....did you switch to a real computer Bruno ?:



Must be yours, since it has an AZERTY keyboard :D

Congrats and welcome to the club :)


(Or is it Arcadefever's machine ? But why the Azerty keyboard then ?)
« Last Edit: June 24, 2009, 04:51:50 PM by Level42 »