Wow what a great show!! Thank you so much Gabe, Dave and the rest of the Pintastic crew for your tireless effort. I can't even imagine the amount of planning and preparation that goes into hosting the show and yet the crew runs around non stop for 4 days while everyone else enjoys the show. I unfortunately missed last year's show for a family vacation but the Pintastic crew continues to improve with each show. The condition of my hotel room was improved with a new bathroom, the bathrooms in general population were well kept and the hotel staff seemed friendlier.
After each show when people share their experiences, complaints will arise but Pintastic continues to listen and try to address issues when they are brought up. Of course there are issues like extreme weather, people with rude etiquette, and traffic flow that are uncontrollable but the small details that are required to make the show happen seem to be well thought out. The attention to including the family into pinball is fantastic and keeps a smile on your face the whole weekend. I saw kids running around with painted faces, competing against each other and generally having a great time allowing mom and dad to enjoy as well. There were families hanging all day at the lake and Saturday night there was live music. There were a bunch of people taking advantage of the drive in movie theatre that was close by. This kind of attention to family will help keep our hobby alive because they are the future!
One of my favorite parts of the show were the seminars. Pintastic presents you with an insiders perspective to the world of pinball all while giving your aching legs and feet a rest throughout the day in comfy office chairs and air conditioning. You get to learn how to be a better player, learn how to shop your game or meet the actual people who are responsible for the joy you experience in the industry. I was thrilled to meet everyone, especially Paul Faris and have him sign my Paragon and Centaur aprons!!
Best of all was the reuniting with pinball friends and making a bunch of new ones. Every year it seems like there's less playing and more talking. Thanks to all the people who volunteered and helped answer all our questions. My personal pintastic assististant Bill who was so much fun all weekend all the way up till late Sat night. Hank and all the SNHP crew who hosted pin golf and American Pinall Warrior. Loved hanging with my Pingraffix family all weekend. Special shout out to Andrew, Peter and Joey. Actual highlight of my weekend was hanging with Pingraffix Joe and Lenny in the extra ball lounge Saturday night as John Borg was gracious enough to battle Joey on Metalllica LE!!
Special thank you to COLEHVAC1!! Dennis brought 13 games to the show, his 9 and my 4. Out of the 9 games he brought he only put one up for sale, the rest he brought for others to enjoy. I brought the Space Shuttle with the NASA speaker panel, High Speed, Last Action Hero and No Good Gofers. If it wasn't for his trailer I would have only brought one game. If more of us brought only 1 game the Free Play room would be packed and the Extra Ball Lounge wouldn't seem as extraordinary. Can't wait to see you guys next year!
