TV likes to sensationalize everything, I give this guy credit for taking the jump that many people would just never even try.

From the interview link:

"During the first 22 years since BulletBall’s conception, it was like a hobby, a game played among family and friends on weekends, during vacations, or summer picnics and parties.

I actually invested too much of my life working for Corporate America 5-6 days a week, an average of 10 hours a day, for 25 years. If I had my priorities straight I would have understood years ago that "it is better to have tried and failed than not tried at all". Better late than never:)"

Still, it seems that there was about four years between the time he quit is job and when he appeared on the Reality TV show, and during that time he apparently spent about $30,000 on this-- I'm a bit surprised that he wasn't able to either a) find an angel willing to buy some equity (so that the inventor could devote himself to marketing this without having to live out of his car) or b) get a clear enough message that although he personally seemed enamored with it, this game idea wasn't going anywhere.

"but the American Inventor judges seemed more focused on the inventor’s life story rather than seriously evaluating his invention"

Doesn't yc do the same thing with some applicants?

What part of the article indicates that he is well off?

>After spending 20+ years (these were BulletBall years) as a manager making millions for major corporations across America, I decided in 2004 to "step out of the box" and work towards realizing my own dreams.

Not well off. Better off. American Inventor made him seem like a hopelessly deluded fellow. Deluded he may be, but he's not as insane as you would believe having watched only the TV show.