In November of that year, Kesler met with Zelman Levine, the CEO and President of Lakeside Toys at the Essex House in New York City. Also present were Lakeside's vice president, James R. Becker, who would eventually become president, and Stanley Harfenist, Lakeside's future General Manager who was in the process of bringing Gumby to Lakeside. Kesler walked into Levine's room, dropped the monkeys on the table and began to link them together. Becker said it was during the meeting that he brought up the phrase, "more fun than a barrel of monkeys." Levine immediately approved the toy and took all the samples back with him to his headquarters in Minneapolis. "Barrel of Monkeys" was quickly released in 1965 as a Lakeside toy allowing Marks, Dinhofer and Kesler to receive ongoing royalties. The game was first packaged in a cardboard tube like Lakeside's successful game Pick-Up-Sticks, but with a plastic monkey attached to the lid. The monkeys easily broke off the packaging, and, in 1966, a two-piece plastic barrel was introduced. In April of 1967, the game was #2 on "Toy and Hobby World's" Toy Hit Parade chart.