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Pinball Wizard

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MATTHEWS, N.C. -- I played on pinball machines in the local arcade when I was a child.  I didn't do that much because it costs money and that was something my family was in short supply of back in the 1960s.

Lots of people my age and older have special childhood memories of very specific pinball machines. For you youngsters, pinball machines were sort of the first generation of video games!  It was a fantasyland where your eye-hand coordination played the key factor in how much success you would have in this netherworld.

Today, men my age are spending tens of thousands and even more than $100,000 to buy back some of these childhood memories. That's how much an antique pinball machine costs.

But here's the kicker: When these men find their dream machine at an auction or at some sale somewhere the pinball machine is often not working and beat up. There is one man they all turn to to restore these gems back to their original childhood luster. And that man lives right here in the Carolinas.

We spent a day with Christopher Hutchins at his company called "High End Pins," and watched him work his magic on these machines from the past. He's a neurotic meticulous perfectionist.  But when he's done, each pinball game looks perfect. Like the day a young boy might have first gazed at it in the neighborhood arcade. And poof, just like that the magic is back.

The amount of work that goes into these machines is astounding. He rebuilds or replaces every single of the thousands of pieces inside and out until it looks and functions perfectly.

Enjoy our story about Christopher and visit his website where he posts photos of the latest machines he’s working on: www.highendpins.com.