Wow, I have never seen anyone fill in the flat spot from the "display" ball. But, these are hard to find now so maybe it was because they had no other option to get one, and they sell for quite a bit if you have one.
Like Milo, I have a NIB one as well....and the one I have been using since 1996 to shoot spares with. I made sure I had a spare on hand when they stopped making them. To me, this is the best spare/super dry lane ball ever. This ball is part of one my bowling bucket list....I want to shoot 300 with this ball before I quit bowling. I have several 279's with it, just can't seem to get them all, lol.