Don't want to be too critical, as I have really enjoyed their events, BUT:

I hope they are improving the parking space: it was seriously inadequate for their previous event (INDISC "festival). And they should have a lot more space available for use on their grounds . . . .

Their food concessions continue to earn a generous grade of "D." Barely lowest common denominator, very limited choices, literally nothing of interest to me. (If you have any dietary restrictions to speak of, you are majorly out of luck !) Really and truly, they could make much better arrangements. The one semi-exception I can recall was at Expo 3, when they had that Mexican food truck from Malibu. Otherwise, you have to go off-site.

If they want to step up and fulfill the great potential, they really need to address these things. (Museum of Pinball: Is anyone listening ??)

Does the actual business have anything to do with those "Phantom Fireworks" sheds ? (If so, I had thought that fireworks was pretty much a shut down biz for much of Calif., but maybe the desert counties are an exception ?) Next question: are all those scattered other buildings on the premises in some sort of use ? Or are some of them vacant and serving no present (or planned) purpose ? Any such could be turned into additional parking lot space. See, here's the thing: if you're driving a nicer, newer vehicle you may not want to leave it a couple blocks away outside on the street . . . . That could become a real disincentive for me.

And there were, right up until I left at 2:30 on Sunday. Very glad that I got to play it -- if only for 1 game, as part of a group -- on the Friday. Had been looking to check one out for the last couple years, but damn they are pretty scarce ! It's hard to form an impression just on the basis of one game played, but I found it a lot more interesting than most new Sterns of the last several years, with (real) video display perhaps second only to the Jersey Jack pins. A terrible shame that the company has apparently gone into receivership. (?) I thought that Dutch Pinball had announced another title at some point, but I guess this is it . . . .

An interesting side note on this: very early in the Expo, some of the red shirt techs predicted to me that this game was unlikely to remain functional for very long, due to its fragility. (Something I've heard before.) But as I mentioned above, it was still working at the time I left, and I did not notice any downtime on it during the show. Go figure. Both of the Heighway pins had crapped out by Sat. night, I think. (Another company that is no longer with us.) I'm glad that John W. relented re his former stance on the so-called "boutique manufacturers", with JJP, American, Spooky, and others being represented in the more recent shows. They deserve to be part of the MOP. What a dull, bland, and oh-so-predictable world it would be, if all we had to look forward to in pinball was what Stern deems worth doing.

Finally, I'm going to digress and veer slightly OT for this thread, while I'm still thinking about this. It occurred to me: WHY was there never a Led Zeppelin pin . . . or if there ever was, did I just miss it entirely ? I think they were a much bigger act and key milestone in rock history than Iron Maiden, ACDC, Metallica, or Arrowsmith. Was it that the licensing demands were too exorbitant, and would have been unsupportable ?

Hi Azmodeus,

Sorry I barely had a chance to say hello to you and Veronica. First time for me doing the side tournament, something I normally skipped in favor of concentrating on the Expo.