Quoted from mc8045:

Should have a Stern Magic at the show for sale and may bring my beat up fathom for people to play along with the game i am bringing for the tournament (SeaWitch), We should also have a Back to the Future that will be for sale from One Well Brewing at the show. BTTF will be around 5k Stern Magic around 1600.

Quoted from RCA1:

Can I pay in Sacagaweas?

Quoted from coolwhs:

Anyone record the prices for the auction?

Quoted from Tilt:

WARNING FOR NEXT YEAR
I hope Alex and Kevin see this post
Do not use the Clarion Hotel that was one of the suggested hotels. We had bed bugs in our room. We caught them on the first night at midnight, they moved us to another room. I asked to speak to a manager but obviously ones that make decisions were not there at that time
So today i call, i had two rooms for 3 nights, I asked that one of my nights for only one room be refunded for having to deal with this, besides us finding out because my son was bit, this is also something that really freaks my wife out. None of our clothing is allowed in the house till she goes through it and washes it somewhere besides our house.
I think one night refunded was very generous of me, however, the hotel believes that 8.80 is fair enough compensation for our hassle of moving rooms in the middle of the night

Quoted from polyacanthus:

We also stayed at the Clarion as we have for several years now. They have the best reviews of any hotel around there

Quoted from Mitoska:

Was hoping you were bringing genesis translite to auction

Quoted from yancy:

Joke's on me. I've been around plenty long enough to know that if a game is claimed to be 100% working and refurbished by a tech, it would be set up and playing to help its chances in the auction. But I took a chance anyway since I love the title and it never shows up for sale.
Three of five score reels won't roll over to zero to start a game unless you help 'em by hand. At a minimum those three need to be rebuilt, may as well do all five. Game starts with 2 or 3 balls to play instead of the expected 5 for an add-a-ball (I made sure the game is set to 5-ball play). So the ball count unit needs to be serviced. Right flipper is so spongy it won't make the center spinner. May as well rebuild both of those too. I'll probably just end up going through the whole game.
Refurbished by a tech! Hunner' percent!

Quoted from marcand:

That was an amazing haul last year from the old Star World Amusement company. I agree it was a very good selection of project pins at great prices!
Having worked the auction with John for years now, we just don't know what could be there ahead of time. Usually, the auction floor grows quickly at the end of Saturday as the convention winds down.
I love looking forward to the SaturDAYHUFF auction.

Quoted from polyacanthus:

People need to put in the effort to bring games. Working games. There's no show without games.
PS Respect to TILT for bringing half the show.

Quoted from Dayhuff:

This is nothing new. My feeling is it was never promoted enough, not even 25 years ago.
John

Quoted from harmon1728:

Hello everyone!
This is Alex, the guy who has been running most of the show for the last few years. I've read and digested all the comments in this thread and for the most part I totally get it. I want to use this post to explain a few things. First off, attendance was not down. We actually were up from last year in regard to non-game bringing attendees. Games were down slightly but it was very close to last year. To be honest, everything changed after Covid. Many vendors started backing out and lots of game bringers faded away. 2019 was the best year for PATZ. I think the theories in here regarding games being so much more valuable now is the main culprit. I also had more vendors lined up that just didn't show as well as a couple that normally would be there but had other obligations this year.
I definitely could have done a better job promoting this year and that is on me. I had some things come up with my day job that took precedence this year. I promise this will be rectified for next year. We have to really blow it out for the 25th year. It means a lot that Kevin would trust me with running the show and I value its history greatly. This show will not die.
In regard to the tournament games. Again, I get it. I got my start in pinball on the tournament side and my family, and I built that tournament into what it is now. I am not just a tournament player though. I own many games, route games and own an arcade in Fremont. At my core, I am a pinball hobbyist. I barely play tournaments anymore and didn't even really try playing the tournaments at all this year. I will make sure I am more a part of the show moving forward. When it is a Stern Pro Circuit event, it takes up a TON of my attention. I tried getting in the show more, but I was constantly called over for a ruling or a repair.
If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears. Getting more games is always my top concern with the show. A lot of this rides on the community. I only have the ability to bring 13 games with me. I would LOVE for the 25th year to be our best year yet.
At the end of the day, I LOVE the vibe of PATZ. It is a delicate balance in regard to making changes and keeping the vibe similar. Every decision I make is in tandem with our goal of keeping the vibe the same. I sincerely thank everyone who supported us this year. It means the world to me that people love being a part of this show. I already have lots of ideas that hopefully will be implemented for next year. Let's break some records for our show next year!
If you have any ideas or need to contact me in any way, feel free to message me on here or email me at [email protected]

Quoted from vid1900:

Another lure to get more games in, might be "Get Yo Game Fixed at the Zoo" .
Probably 70% of the hobby can't solder at all, no longer has the dexterity, or simply can't fix anything ever.
Even real collectors, will often have a game that eludes repair "It's embarrassing, but the game will play for about 5 minutes, then lose its mind. Nothing I can do will fix it."
Bring the game in on Thursday and leave it for play the entire event.
Get the game fixed for the price of parts (if it's a diode and few transistors, probably free?).
You could have a form on the Pinballatthezoo.com website where someone can describe the problem, so techs would know if they have to bring something like a used DMD or replacement MPU .
Once the bugs are worked out the first year, you could flood the local news stations and papers with the idea of "Get that old pinball machine working!". It could bring a few games out of the woodwork....

Quoted from TheLaw:

In theory.