An Ohio man will soon attempt to set the Guinness World Record for most hours playing a pinball machine.
Jim Foliano, executive director for the nonprofit Ticket to Hope, already holds the world record for receiving the most high-fives in 24 hours. His next mission will require him to play 63 hours of pinball, which is just a little more than the current record held by Andrew Robishaw from Florida.
His goal is also to raise money to purchase the pinball machine to be the inaugural game room piece inside the forthcoming Hope Center that will be part of the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields, which is dedicated to providing a place for people of all abilities to play baseball just north of Cincinnati.
Foliano plans to work on the record at the Pinball Garage in Hamilton, Ohio where he will play the “Avengers: Infinity Quest" pinball machine.
“In terms of Guinness World Records, I grew up reading the book. So, I was getting these books once a year, and it had all the insane people and their pictures, the long fingernail lady, and the people with the longest necks. I’ve always been a fan of that stuff, but I’ve also been trying to think of ways to grow the brand, get more people involved and build community,” explained Foliano.
Back in July, he was notified by the Guinness World Record officials he had attained the high-five record with 15,338 high-fives in a day. The previous record was 14,607 high-fives, set by Pete Timbs of Australia in 2012.
Foliano’s achievement helped Ticket to Hope, which provides free entertainment experiences for those in need, send 1,000 community members to the Cincinnati Reds game on Aug. 7.
Foliano said his first Guinness World Record goal was realized with support from a team of volunteers, the community and thousands of high-five participants.
“People just went above and beyond to help me get the World Record,” Foliano said. He hopes to rally that same kind of community support for his pinball attempt.
Foliano will begin playing pinball at 9 p.m. on Jan. 11. During the hours when Pinball Garage is closed, Foliano will continue to play. During regular business hours, there will be food and drink specials, sports autograph raffles and custom T-shirt sales with all proceeds going toward the pinball machine.
“People can come, keep me awake, and have fun with it,” Foliano said.
What the Flip, a pinball livestreaming company, will broadcast the event from start to finish.
Foliano said he “never really played pinball before” prior to practicing for the past four to six months.
“I’ve really just been diving into this game, and it’s a lot of fun. You can learn a lot from it, and it’s exciting for kids. It’s just a phenomenal game. It’s really cool,” he said.
This story was originally published by Ginny McCabe at Scripps News Cincinnati.
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