Gary, this is not the first ball I have drilled near the pin and with exception of freezing temps, I never take my equipment out of the car and this is the first ball cracking for me ever except for a AMF Nighthawk splitting in my closet. I told Boomit800 that if he gets a replacement or I buy another Venator from him, I'm drilling the middle finger through the Pin, a Venator cracking will never happen again.

Anytime I'm close to the pin, I adjust the layout and drill the pin out completely.  I've never had a ball crack and that includes many 900 Global poured balls.

Like Gunny said above, it sucks and the reasons for cracking he mentioned are spot on, many times it's the dull bits/fast drilling scenario causing micro-fractures around the hole just waiting for an excuse (like heat) to spread.

I still think a 1/4" shell is too thin though.

Last night I was on Ebay shopping for a replacement for the Venator, I looked 18 pages deep and saw a Purple Hammer Taboo but my thoughts always came back to the pin carry & reaction shape of the Venator. Today I opened my Ebay messages and there was a message from Boomit800, it said that based on the Pin cracking from drilling that did affect the warranty but he also added that it was not a total loss, if I pay a small fee, they will send me a new Venator, I think this is completely fair and more than I deserve for not just drilling out the Pin in the first place for my Middle finger.

All balls crack regardless of brand. My longhorn cracked and I received a replacement very fast so don't worry about getting a replacement for it.. The company that Ive had the most balls crack so far is Storm.

Wow. Everyone has their own opinion. I personally didn't like anything I threw from dv8 and the Brutal Nightmare was a terrible match up for me but that didn't make it bad, just bad for me. I looked at the cover on my Venator and it is closer to 1/2 inch. I can say I was skeptical about the Venator when I first threw it, but I guess the shot was more torn up than I thought. I can say I have now throw 4 seismic balls and have liked them all. The Blackout is one of the best I've ever thrown and in my top three favorites of all time. The Amp was great  controll piece and was unique, the Charged was a strong pearl that was good but not my favorite of the 4. But still a good ball and very useable. I also struggle with strong polished pearls.
I am a huge Roto Grip supporter with there current line in my opinion being one of the best out there. But that being said, I bought the newest Seismic and not the newest Roto Grip offering.

If you don't try you will never know. I recommend trying their stuff and I'm really waiting to see the Black out and Euphoria line replacement!

It's too bad that this guy sits on the fence waiting to pounce just to justify not buying 1 ball over the other, 12XSECH, Please go buy all the DV8's your little heart desires and when you shoe up against a Seismic user, you can think back, we told you so but you refused to believe it, Seismic out carries anything on the market! Weather my Venator has a 1/4 or 1/2 thick shell, this is the first Seismic or 900 Global poured ball that has ever cracked for me and it was 100% my fault that it did crack, go drill a DV8 with 1 of your fingers holes within 1/4 inch of the Pin, if it cracks, Please let us know if that 2 year warranty is worth a damn.

Did he call Seismic directly? Gunny also offered a replacement for free...

Expanding and contracting . . sore subject here for me, but it's true.  I just drilled a Venator and a Long Horn last week, I don't remember being surprised at the cover thickness, and I'll check, but it seemed normal to me.  And yeah, unfortunately I'd say you're responsible . . and it sucks, but kudos for being realistic and honest about it.