Ka-thunk.
Behold Santa Cruz’s most magical and immersive analog haven. In a town rich with surf spots and hiking trails, Nine and Three Quarters stands alone as the premier portal to a world of steel, light, and community: a kingdom where the silver ball reigns supreme.
It’s a place that draws in dedicated regulars, like Cole Allen Bryant. I first saw him here on a weekday afternoon, and now I see him again at night, a newly minted 18-year-old celebrating his birthday week with the familiar symphony of flippers and bumpers. A talented and focused young man, Cole’s passion for the game is palpable. During my visit, his eyes lit up as he spotted a miniature, 3D-printed virtual pinball machine sitting on a desk. He eagerly asked owner Dean Roblee about the tiny marvel, a reflection of the layers of creativity that define this unique space.
The arcade’s power to convert is undeniable. Dean shared the story of his friend Quentin (“Quint”), who, like Dean, was a close friend and table tennis competitor of the late Will Bernardi. Quint wasn’t initially a pinball player; his connection to Will was through their intense table tennis battles. But after spending time at Nine and Three Quarters, the allure of the silver ball took hold, and he too became an avid player, bridging his competitive spirit from the ping-pong table to the pinball machine. This is the arcade’s quiet magic: it doesn’t just host a community; it creates one, one game at a time.
A Portal to Another Time
The sound hits first. Flippers snapping. Bumpers thumping. The chime of a jackpot. A T-Rex roaring from the corner. It’s a chaotic, exhilarating symphony. Step inside Nine and Three Quarters, and you’re through the looking glass.
The glow follows. Backglasses blaze with skulls, wizards, rock gods, and cartoon heroes. The light spills onto ramps and targets, where silver balls dance across fields of color.
The sign above the door simply reads Nine and Three Quarters. No mention of “arcade.” No mention of “pinball.” The entrance is intentionally discreet, with windows so dark they might belong on a getaway car. “Our tint is literally the same tint that they use in, like, San Quentin,” Dean notes with a laugh. “My buddy did both jobs.” The name is a nod to the Harry Potter series, where Platform Nine and Three-Quarters is the magical portal young wizards use to enter a world of magic. For those in on the reference, the meaning is clear; for the simply curious, it’s an invitation.
Dean sees it as a filter. People who open the door are often driven by one of two things: a love for Harry Potter or a quest for pinball, guided by the Pinball Map app. “The third type would be someone who has no idea what Harry Potter is, no idea about pinball,” he explains, “but they’re curious enough to be like, ‘What’s behind that door?’ and they’re willing to open that door and walk in.” In all three cases, the threshold has done its work. “Hey,” he says with a smile, “you made it. You found us.”
The Partner Who Said ‘I’m In’
Dean didn’t launch Nine and Three Quarters alone. His close friend Will Bernardi was the first person he shared the idea with after a late night of sketching out the concept, fueled by influences as varied as Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic and Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash. At 4 a.m., he sent Will a message. By the time Dean woke up, Will’s reply was waiting: “I’m in.”
That short text became the turning point. Will committed to the project out of “pure blind faith” in Dean and in the joy that free-play pinball could bring, having never played in a single league or tournament himself. Will’s mother, a longtime pinball fan, inspired his own passion for the game and even contributed several of her own machines to the arcade. In an August 15, 2024 interview with Santa Cruz Vibes Magazine, Will said, “My mum is a huge pinball fan and has a few up at her house in Scotts Valley that I fell in love with playing.”
Will and his family helped finance the project, providing machines and covering early costs, although Dean insisted, “We could not open until we had at least five machines.” “Those are his games,” Dean says, gesturing to the floor. “The whole thing is Will’s collection that he was willing to open up to let other people come and play.” Will’s belief in the idea gave the club momentum. “He saw the need,” Dean says. Will’s support was another kind of portal: the bridge that allowed the vision to cross from imagination into reality.
Their friendship was forged over intense head-to-head competition, often playing table tennis until dawn while listening to Miyamoto Musashi’s The Book of Five Rings. That creative and competitive energy even manifested in Dean’s sculptures, one of which he designed for a “head-to-head pop shots battle” inspired by their sessions.
Tragically, Will died suddenly not long after Nine and Three Quarters opened. His absence is deeply felt, yet his imprint remains everywhere. His trophies sit near the register, next to a small altar dedicated to him. Subtle tributes like stickers reading “Never Forget Will Bernardi” are placed throughout the space. For Dean, keeping the doors open is the ultimate tribute. Every tournament hosted, every jackpot hit, is a quiet honor to the friend who believed first.
Born for the Silver Ball
Dean was born November 26, 1988, the same day the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode “Splinter No More” aired. In it, Shredder uses occult science to open a dangerous portal, and Splinter faces a choice between staying human or returning to his rat form to save his sons. Fans might call it fate. Like Splinter choosing community over comfort, Dean is helping restore pinball from the shadows of bars and basements into the light of community spaces.
His own story began in a pizza parlor. He was just tall enough to see the glowing red eyes on a Terminator 2 machine. “That was it,” he says. “The lights, the weight of the ball, the skull on the backglass. I was hooked.” Years later, while recovering from a bowling injury, he searched for the games at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Downstairs, the games seemed gone, replaced by claw machines. “I almost had a breakdown,” he says. Relief came when he learned the machines had only been moved upstairs to Neptune’s Kingdom. Still, the experience highlighted a problem that became a core motivation for him. “For me, the magic of pinball is when the machines play perfectly,” Dean says. “I was frustrated with the state of the games I could find locally. I knew I had to create a space where every machine was treated with respect.”
Soon after, he discovered Pinball Map, a crowdsourced app that led him to Lynn’s Arcade in Seaside, where league nights stream live and games are tuned brutally hard. “Walking in there was like entering a dojo,” he says. It was there he saw the power of a dedicated pinball community, a lesson he brought back to Santa Cruz. In the back corner of the lounge above the arcade sits a 1995 “No Fear” machine, which holds a special significance. “I was sponsored by them when I was a kid for dirt biking,” he notes.
Magic in the Machines
Dean explains pinball like a craftsman. A steel ball weighs 81 grams. Flippers fire with 50 volts, then hold at 5 volts. He sees each machine as a canvas, an “interactive diorama” telling a story in steel and light. He once joked about opening a “pinball church,” a fitting description for a place built on converting newcomers into believers.
Magic and pinball have often crossed paths. For instance, one member’s 1999 machine uses Pepper’s Ghost, the 19th-century illusion. Classic titles include Theatre of Magic and Pinball Magic. A new machine based on the Winchester Mystery House was just announced by Barrels of Fun, featuring a ghostly theme and a complex rule set, with a limited run of 525 games that sold out almost instantly in pre-orders.
Dean listens to the Harry Potter audiobooks every fall. The name Nine and Three Quarters captures that feeling of crossing a threshold. It also reflects his core principles for the space, which he represents with a logo of three 1988 quarters: Curiosity, Creativity, and Community Collaboration.
Affordable Entry and an Open Studio
Unlike some private clubs, Nine and Three Quarters is open to anyone. Membership is optional. The price is straightforward: about $10 an hour or $20 for the day. For locals used to quarters vanishing quickly, it’s refreshingly affordable.
Everything inside is DIY. Dean and his “Made Fresh Crew” built the counters, fixtures, and signage. He hopes the space evolves into an “open studio for pinball,” where people can learn repair, see fabrication, and even design new machines. He has a personal five-year plan to build at least four of his own machines on-site. When asked what the first thing he’d teach someone, he doesn’t start with mechanics. “Learn how to observe,” he says, emphasizing the importance of patience and troubleshooting before picking up a tool. The second lesson? “Soldering. Most of the time, a lot of the breaks are just cold solder joints from decades past.”
A Sanctuary of Steel and Light
Santa Cruz has long needed new gathering places. The Catalyst feels worn. The Quarry is reopening slowly. Dean is filling a gap: a space for analog art in a digital world. It’s a haven for focused, skillful play but also a sanctuary. He’s seen people come in during hard times, seeking refuge from the world. “I’ve had a couple of people that have come in and are just like, ‘Can I just, like, play some pinball? I’m having a hard time.’ All day, dude,” Dean says, adding that he’ll keep the place open for them. It’s a place where someone can be “completely distraught, and people are like, ‘Dude, you’re all good. You’re amongst friends.’”
It’s a “bridge between traditional sports and e-sports,” Dean says, uniting different worlds over a shared love for the game. While the scene is still male-dominated- Dean estimates women make up about 5% of players on a typical league night- it’s fundamentally welcoming. It’s fun. You root for friends even while competing. You hear the coil buzz, feel the cabinet nudge, and step into a story.
As Will told Santa Cruz Vibes Magazine, it all comes down to one simple truth: “Whether you bomb out in seconds or rack up an all-time high score, the mantra stays the same… ‘That’s pinball, Baby!’”
Find Out More
• Name: Nine and Three Quarters
• Location: Soquel, next to Treehouse dispensary
• Hours: Check socials for the latest schedule
• Pricing: $10 an hour or $20 all day
• Membership: Optional, with extra perks for regulars
• Follow: Find them on Instagram at @nineandthreequartersportal and follow Dean’s creative work at @thoughtsOnCreativeLiving
• Listen: Check out the podcast that Dean now co-hosts, Modern Man in Search of High Scores, on Apple Podcasts and other platforms.
