Justin Lentz, a 2001 graduate, is a stand-up comic, graphic artist, disc jockey, and nationally-ranked pinball player.

FOR dedicated pinball players, there is only one ball left in play.

Two different systems for ranking pinball players exist.

LEAD: Some weeks ago, a big fellow in a Times Square saloon had presented himself as the best pinball player in the world.

He kept saying such as this: "I'm the greatest pinball player of all time."

Then, on one punishingly cold afternoon, I entered what pinball players call "the zone."

Each event brings hundreds of serious pinball players from around the world to compete for a number of large cash prizes.

The characters included a pinball player, a prostitute, an addict, bohemian eccentrics and office workers on a lunch break.

We had not seen Lou Perfidio since he took us on a tour of Gotham to prove he is the world's best pinball player.

High-level pinball players, who tend to be in their late teens or 20's, bristle at being associated with devotees of video games, which they dislike.