But hey, at least you're not nervous! Glad we cleared that up. Stay strong.

Especially that Italian prime minister. How dare he lockdown and quarantine the entire country!

Excuse me. How many people have died? Period.

Another drain of stupidity. Good luck

The point is to avoid that happening, hence the care taken when dealing with unknown viruses. I don't normally disagree with your posts so I'm not sure why you're so against this one. It's a virus, it spreads fast and easy to everyone, it kills a certain age group, we don't have a cure, we don't fully understand it, we may not know we have it. The prudent thing to do is take countermeasures to avoid potential disaster no? Yeah the media is being absurd and hyping things up to generate clicks and ad sales like always, but this still needs to be taken seriously just in case. I figure I'll be fine since I'm not super old and I'm healthy, but I still don't want to become a carrier (if I'm not one already) and spread it to others.

Personal insult. Classy.

Sure. Except your statements try to show people who you are listening to you that you're right and I don't know anything on this. Even in this, inferring that I'm a self important loudmouth, you're directly hurting the credibility of shows.

If you hate the MGC so much, just say so. At least it would be real.

If you're saying you don't think you'll like it, sure! Hell, you can tell everyone how much you don't like MGC and that's fine. But if you came on here and started stating that you heard that workers at Stern were getting really nervous for their future with nothing to back it up, I would hope people would call you on your crap. Instead...

Nope, just tired of having someone who apparently enjoys thinking he's the smartest in the room tell others to not trust what we're all doing. Your weird attempts to destroy my credibility right now are not making me nervous, they're just frustrating.

Haha! How could I be trying to be an expert about what I SAW at a soccer game this weekend? I was there. Did it make any sense in a contact sport? Absolutely not. Nor does Australia running out of toilet paper. It is a window into how the community is reacting. Take it or leave.
All my post was conveying is that maybe organizers would care about how pinsiders are reacting- this is a valid discussion.
It is a difficult decision that you and a lot of other people in several industries are currently examining- best of luck.

[EDIT: I missed the follow up post]

(Full disclosure: Kermit and I are friends)

I think the death rate will lower and still be 5-10x normal flu once widespread testing takes place...complete guess.

Those numbers with no vaccine or treatment will make this year and next winter rough.

Yep. It is going to be a rough stretch. My company (a large multinational) just suspended all but business critical air travel.

Companies don't take these measures unless there is a real and legitimate threar and concern. Moreover, governments like Italy don't lockdown the entire population over media motivated hype and exaggeration.

It is real and our best hope here is people all realize that soon in order to take the necessary precautions to try to prevent a wave of seriously ill that overwhelm our hospitals and health system.

Yeah, if I were a gambler I’d put the number at 1% CFR. But what nobody’s talking about (and absolutely nobody knows) is how much damage it will do to the lungs of survivors. This seems like a different kind of bug and we don’t know what we don’t know.

Dan, you could have simply ignored my "show organizers are getting nervous" comment, or just said something like "ha! We have it under control, thanks." But again, here we are.

Dunno where you got that I'm trying to destroy your credibility, undermine people's in trust you, etc. You've made this a waaay bigger deal than my simple OPINION that show organizers are nervous about potential virus cancellations. Which is, again, not an insult. What do you think has done more to "directly hurt the credibility of shows," my one-liner, or your continued haughty, long-winded responses to it? If you had left it alone, everyone would have already forgotten it.

There's a reason Gary Stern doesn't spend his evenings responding to countless pinside critics.

Right, and I do get that. But, at the same time, a small snapshot of any particular thing should not be the main data point. The soccer thing in particular was almost definitely that it was on the player's minds, so this was a way to get them to have a response that seems doable. As a kid you can't see viruses so this whole thing seems terrifying, but if you can give them something to do to help empower them, it makes everything seem safer.

On the side of running the show, it's impossible to react to all those small things. We put elected officials on charge of areas and they are supposed to be the ones to collate the data, analyze the risk, and advise the public on the best response. Those officials have way more knowledge on the matter than I do, or anyone else does. Based on their current risk assessment, we've been told we're okay. That could change with a new bit of information in the next three weeks, three days, or even three hours.

Anyone choosing to come to the show or not does so by examining their own risk tolerance. There is always a risk in attending anything. Do I expect even if we operate as normal that attendance will be unaffected? Heck no. The snow last year also affected us negatively, and changed people's calculations.

I do, which was my point of not trying to over extrapolate. If we turn our clocks back three weeks ago, we were in a totally different place. In three weeks, we may be in another, totally different place. I'm simply advocating that we should wait for more data.

Thanks! Definitely doing the best we can here in a sucky situation. Ultimately, no matter what, we're hoping that it's contained and life continues as normal.

Hell, I gave you a like just for knowing the adjective form of Democrat.

He‘s busy getting drunk!

...and counting money!

You stated this...

Immediately after a post where I replied to a goofy statement with a goofy response before asking that people were calm.

So, any reasonable person who trusts you reads that as I'm asking people to stay calm not because of any real control, but because of nerves.

That's why I've spent so much time in here responding. Because transparency is important, and you keep coming in here with more snide comments trying to make this into some sort of weird game. It's not. It's legit.

I'm happy to sit here and respond to your drivel, as I'd rather stop your attempts to hurt both TPF and MGC with honest replies and updates, instead of letting them stand. If anyone reads into that that I'm the jerk, I guess that's fine by me.

I’m planning to be at TPF with two nice wedgeheads for sale!

No, he‘s too busy drinking.

This man is my hero!

(He sanitizes himself from the inside.)

So I can't make a goofy post?

You are 1. putting way too much stock in people's respect for me, and 2. making this way more about you than anyone else possibly could. I'm sorry you didn't get the tongue-in-cheek tone of my post. Should I have put more E's in "reeeal"? Here's a handy guide: if there's any chance something I say could be taken lightly, take it lightly.

Sweet! I have no other plans tonight aside from catching up on NBA highlights. Bucks lost to Denver, but I still have them coming out of the east. I know you have to get the last word; it'll be fun to see how far we can take this.

Lol, c'mon man. I'm a jackass but I'm not trying to take down your show. That accusation just makes you look silly. Get some sleep?

So this doctor mentions the election twice and cherry-picks a few facts, great. Reminds me of the time my chiropractor went on an anti-Obama rant while cracking my spine. No thanks man, I’ll get my facts from the CDC and WHO.

Well the rest of you can do what they tell you or not, however, it’s in my freaking community, 10 miles away, here in my own county in Az. Our governor and his health Dept head has said this and it is not “fake news“, this is a direct quote:

"Arizonans should be concerned about the possibility of getting COVID-19," Dr. Cara Christ, the Arizona Department of Health Services director, said Monday. "I would say that the risk to Arizonans is heightened. ... Act like everyone has it."

In light of news that there had been community spread of COVID-19 in Arizona, Christ and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey briefed reporters in a joint press conference about new precautions the state is taking, specifically with older adults and people with serious health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease and lung problems.

So my governor is saying, stay the hell home people, we have too many old Waspy White folks in Az that it would wipe out, and hell that’s half of his Republican voting base.

Hold up, my post was “goofy”? Your response wasn’t goofy- it seemed deliberately belittling. Yancy had my back.. damnnn..

Sorry, didn’t specify- soccer game was U19/18 men- sniff he’s still my boy.. but they weren’t scared kids. Coaches stepped (overstepped) in where government officials did not.

And I’m already pissed at how much stuff I’m out on. This suuuucckkkss!! Spring break- tickets cheap but damn.. No St. Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin? How is that possible?!! Isn’t that a sign of the Apocalypse? Will bars be forced to close here? Drinking at home before 8am doesn’t have the same appeal on St. Pats. Not saying I don’t do it, but..
Bucks finally have a chance- watch they cancel season. And then might have lot of people dying. How many people have in their health wishes not to be put on a respirator? Might want to dig those pamphlets out. This sucks...
People keep replying in this thread so gets bumped to the top - organizers are saying this sucks..

I was actually wondering about the timing of other “panic” diseases of the past, and how they coincided with election cycles. Thanks for posting. Sure seems coincidental.

Predicting disease spread is like predicting the weather.....we might get it pretty close but no one will have the exact answers.

one of the more insightful, on-topic posts in this thread was the one documenting the year over year drop in attendance at LAX last weekend.

in just 11 days, ArcadeExpo 6.0 is scheduled to take place in banning, ca; march 20-22. this event will precede TPF by a week. it is a relatively popular event for pinball in socal, even though it receives little coverage here on pinside. over 1000 pins and arcades being handled by adults and rugrats for three days. feedback on attendance and precautionary measures taken there could indicate what to expect at TPF and MGC.

for all shows, hand sanitizer in restrooms and additional stations on the floor would go a long way. those with ~300 machines could even have a dispenser or wipes avail at each, or between game[s].

oh, and dont forget one of those portal gun thingys that reads the temperature of each person who walks through the doors.

I believe the time has come that a manufacturer makes a pin based on mankind battling a deadly virus to save the world.

Seems like people would be interested.

Operation: (COVID)
11E647A9-AAE9-4CAB-9F19-5C37254E84DB (resized).jpeg

I also hear it as a novel virus .

Try telling that to the 30 year old doctor/whistle blower over in China. Of course, Comorbid factors are looking to be huge with COVID-19, but high initial viral load can take someone down.

People don’t need to panic, but people do need to be smart. Part of that intelligence is not being an ignorant carrier that delivers the disease to someone who is compromised. That’s why public health officials are asking folks to limit situations where large scale dissemination may occur. Of course, all it takes is one Selfish jackass... like the father who ignored a self-quarantine request... to spit in everyone’s soup.

The “me first” folks aren’t going to listen... but hopefully enough people will.

Right out of the gate it got SARS wrong (it was 2003) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome

I'm not going to double check the others, but I lived through SARS (Toronto was badly hit).

But who needs to fact check when it's printed on a white board.

It also got swine flu wrong, it was 2009 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_flu_pandemic

I caught H1N1 myself so I vividly remember that one. I'm going to stop there.

We can debate how bad this one is, but no use tying it to a conspiracy theory.

People read this and decide not to follow science. Real great. People need to be encouraged to take safe precautions from keeping this shit from spreading.

Our governor is an idiot. And our state is filled with old people. Relax.

The sick thing about that whiteboard is that it suggest that people over 50 don’t matter.

E79DEB40-FE96-4A3C-8EDB-BB0661FF1CD4 (resized).jpeg

Chiropractors arent doctors.

This is the problem nobody cares about. Screw the elderly. Sad.

Hot meme - I think I’ll make all my decisions based off it to confirm my view

How the hell do you infer that? Nobody is saying that, they are pointing out the risk tolerances are different between age groups.

Although I agree, He has two fronts to fight in this battle, the protection of his old folks voter base, and the protection of the state’s economy of tourism. Talk about juxtaposition. Come see the Grand Canyon, but stay the F home? Not worried too much about catching this bug as I am about killing a neighbor that can catch it from me. But then that’s just me being a decent citizen in my mind.

I have been at every single LAX and I would disagree with most all of this post. There were fewer people there LAST YEAR than this year. Especially on Sunday. I have been a vendor at the show many times and speak directly with the organizers about the attendance numbers every year.

The fear might be real but it seems like you are suggesting that this fear is a good thing. I disagree. There is overreacting and then there is being completely dismissive of any public issues like this.

If you are sensible about it and realize that you that you can only control your own actions, you will be fine. No post on an internet forum is going to change anything. It's always good to be somewhere in the middle. You should always practice habits to make you safe from disease in the general public all the time. There is no reason to ONLY do this when there is a cold floating around that can cause severe respiratory issues.

There are plenty of positives to be seen.... Buying and reselling hand sanitizer and masks on ebay is certainly going strong!

I am not that surprised at the government response thus far. It is a direct response to the panic put forth by the local and national news media, social media, and other media that is really only doing this because it is an opportunity to make THEM HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A DAY. All mentioned sources are involved because it's the best way to put their ideas about how to run things into the spotlight and to drum up support for their ways of thinking. Same old song and dance over the last 100 years.

If I went to my Doctor's office and found something like that, I'd find a new doctor.

Fortunately it's 99 % most likely bullshit and just some rando's white board.

As far as these shows go, it's tough. I'm sure everybody is waiting till the last possible minute to decide what their plans are. Hope it "blows over" ASAP and life continues unabated.

There’s a hilarious pic of a crane machine filled with TP, not sure if you’ve seen that one

I'm not going to TPF or MGC. It's not that I am concerned about COVID-19, I just don't want to be with pinball people!

The other (possibly bigger) problem with all of this insane hype going around...

With all that is being said out there as "truth" and presumed "gospel" is the liability factor. So, if something were to happen and you weren't doing what everyone "thinks" you should be doing, then you're deemed negligent. That term will then hurt all future endeavors more than anything after all this other stuff has passed into history.

Jaz

You used the word moist to describe buttons. If you really meant to be taken seriously, that wouldn't have been my word choice. I replied with that same thing.

I asked what you think that shows could be doing to cut losses, and questioned what government official made the soccer thing. I then asked people to stay calm and wait for updates.

When I'm getting messages directly from people stating that the city has shut down shaking hands at soccer games, so clearly the MGC must close, which was directly from your post...

Yeah, I am. I don't mind attempting to clear things up as I've always been open about what we're doing, but I find it disheartening to say the least that a thread like this is allowed to continue, when it is causing me a lot of extra work from people who post thoughts and observations as facts.

What? Where did I suggest that is a good thing? I made the observation that the lines seemed down (to me, Saturday felt more like Sunday). I even tried to correct for the improved floor layout but my family, friends who attended, and even a few collectors I chatted with agreed. Sure that's not everyone and it's subjective research... For me, I correlated that to fear keeping people home. Practically everyone at the show was making shifty wisecracks and nervous jokes about COVID19 right from setup so it's not like it wasn't on people's minds.

As for whether it truly kept people away, there's no way to know for sure and it's neither good (unless you relish the short lines and light crowds) nor bad (unless it affects show & vendor business and viability)... it simply is what it is. Maybe it was the weather. Maybe it was the time change weekend. Who can say for sure. Maybe me and everyone else I asked are completely wrong. FWIW Corey did share some attendance stats with me by late Sunday that were sorta inconclusive.

Personally I think the fearmongering IS overblown.... BUT precautions are rarely bad things. At this point everyone is accountable to their own personal threshold.

This was an outstanding post, and spot on in my opinion.

Ultimately, when we operate just based on fear, we don't make the best decisions. Understanding that there are experts out there who have a better grasp of the problem and trusting them to do their job is important.

None of us on this board - myself included - have as much information about the current outbreak and it's risks to the Milwaukee area than the Mayor of Milwaukee. If he - with the consultation of his experts in the city and across the state - tell me that there is no reason to cancel the MGC, what information could I bring that would possibly supercede that?

Individuals have to make their own risk assessment about attending.

Fear is almost never a good thing. Information, risk calculation, and precautionary steps are. With more information and risk calculation, better plans can emerge. While it doesn't seem like it, there is a lot of time between then and now, and I expect we'll have a lot of developments in that time. The experts who I am talking to expect there to be significantly more data this week, and then the following week will allow us to start having a plan to combat the spread, and the following week we'll start to get data on if it's working.

That's *right at* showtime, so we should know a lot more by then, and then decisions will be made based on that information.

Agreed. The government seems to have for the moment ceded the response to business owners. This I fear opens a business who was operating with their best knowledge to liability for future viral infection issues. That's a scary and strange spot to be.

Dead on. Government tries to control the panic and the media fuels it by saying they aren't doing enough.

Big outbreak at TPF sure would bring the used pinball market back to normal prices. So many pins would flood the market.