SALEM — Break out the Champagne and get ready to celebrate: Another championship title has come to New England.
For those who have grown bored watching the Red Sox and Patriots win sports titles year after year, there's Bowen Kerins. The 32-year-old Salem resident last week was crowned world champion.
Of pinball.
That's right. Out of the 64 players who competed in the International Flipper Pinball Association's world championship in Las Vegas last week, Kerins was the last one standing.
He may not have the name recognition of Jonathan Papelbon or Tedy Bruschi, but they all hold the distinction of being at the top of their respective sport.
OK, so pinball may only loosely be considered a "sport."
"I love the Patriots and all the sports teams," Kerins said. "I feel this was my chance to sort of get a little of the experience of what those players must feel when they get a big victory. I know it's not the same level as far as money or spectators, but it feels like a sport with all the guys that are there."
Competitors from the United States, Sweden, Finland, Germany and Japan all filled a Las Vegas arcade to take part in the tournament.
Believe it or not, pinball can be grueling. Each round consisted of a best-of-seven series. Kerins estimates he played 54 games over the course of 31/2 days for a total of 40 hours of pinball action.
From Thursday to Saturday, he played from 10 a.m. to midnight. On Sunday, the day of the championship rounds, he played from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
"It's funny," Kerins said. "Through the entire time I was there, we only spent about an hour in the casino because the tournament lasted so long. As far as I could tell, we were in Springfield, Ill., or somewhere in northern California because you're so focused on the tournament. ... I need to go back to Vegas to actually enjoy it."
Kerins defeated California native Neil Shatz in the finals to capture pinball glory.
"He got one really bad bounce off the machine that sent the ball up the middle and through," Kerins said. "All of a sudden, it was over. ... It was more of a feeling of relief than anything else, because you've been there so long."
Kerins has won world championships in pinball before. When he won two years ago in Pittsburgh, he took home a towering trophy and $10,000 cash. SportsCenter replayed the win, ESPN2 covered the tournament, and Japanese radio interviewed him via phone.
He first won as an 18-year-old freshman at Stanford University during a New York City tournament against 700 others. For that victory, he earned $4,000 and a new pinball machine.
Incidentally, Kerins is also a former game-show contestant. In February 2000, he appeared on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" with Regis Philbin. He won $32,000.
With the pinball win, Kerins is now the No. 1 ranked pinball player on earth.
It's doubtful Mayor Kim Driscoll will close the streets of Salem for a rolling rally honoring Kerins, like the tributes given in Boston to the Red Sox and Patriots.
Then again, it wouldn't be the first time Kerins was denied a large audience.
After he won the pinball world title for the first time about 15 years ago, Kerins was scheduled to appear on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."
He couldn't go because he had college midterms.
"Looking back, I made the wrong decision," he said.
Staff writer Chris Cassidy can be reached at 978-338-2526 or by e-mail at ccassidy@salemnews.com.
