I'd be way more likely to play the Friday tourney if it ran noon to 4:30 instead of 7:30 to noon. Pinball Expo is vacation; I'm not waking up at dawn to play pinball at 7:30. Hell, I don't wake up that early on work days.

Amen bro... this is why I gave up EB as well. There's just not enough time in the weekend for everything... but starting at 7am isn't a good alternative IMHO

Not sure if I'm coming yet Jared. Stay tuned

Weds is setup day. If you bring a machine, there is a free banquet Weds night.
Beyond that,... just hanging out & chatting (and drinking).
Technically, the free game hall is not open at all on Weds. (I'm trying to remember if they let us back into the game hall Weds night after the free banquet... or if they kept us out.) (unless you were truly working on your machine... and not just "test" playing them).
(and again... you had to have a wristband from bringing a game)

That doesn't work for Pinball Life either, presuming you want to go there.

It works well to fit in Pinball Life after 12. As it is, the comp starts at 8am anyway.

Most big tournaments start early in the morning. IFPA World Champs run from 9am to 11pm first two days. That's a lot of pinball playing ...

rd

Would like some clarification on brawl timing also.

RD I honestly suggest doing expobrawl and having fun playing. If it runs past noon much then I will just bail out in order to go to pblife. still fun to play on golf from 8 to noon when nobody else in game hall.

Also since game hall is slated to open to public at 1 i am assuming golf finals done by then??!

Trilogy Brewing co. Pinball will be at the pinball life explosion open house . Come check it out and have a beer on me , it will be serving oatmeal stout .
Cheers
Doug

The Flip Out ExpoBrawl Open runs all weekend, so no stress there. Plenty of time to play in that.

The Friday AM event *was* Pingolf last year (730-12) ... But it doesn't appear to be pingolf this year. Don't see a lot of point in playing in the morning to try and qualify for the afternoon which we won't be attending.

http://www.pinballexpo.net/expobrawl.php

rd

Now that the schedule is up, sans who the banquet guest speaker will be (looks like nobody confirmed as of 9/11/2015).

Funniest event appears to be the optional “Dinner with Jody Dankberg”, LLLLLLLMFAO! a real winner there. If you say something pro-JJP, DP, Spooky or Heighway; does he expel you from the table or try to tape your mouth shut?

Also, I love the Stern Tour rules box. What are they going to do, check and verify if you are a competitor employee or Contract employee? I say Aurich should go, Unless he met and spent time with Jody or Gary, there is no way they will remember what he looks like. Besides, just say "My contract ended five days ago".

See you all there. I can drive a few of you to JPop's place to take a tour there as well.

looks like i'll be there, can't wait to meet some of you guys.

man, gotta go to that pinball life event.

They probably have an idea of who to look for.

And people like Aurich will respect their wishes and not go.

LTG : )

Is it considered nerdy to wear a pinside ID lanyard? No one knows (or cares, lol) who the hell I am. I would hate to walk straight past some of the great folks on here and not say hi.

Yes, with a very large backpack. Free shipping!!! What a treat!

They'll know who you are by your footwear (thongs no matter what the temperature is) pants (shorts no matter what the temperature is) and the cork hat.

For anyone who hasn't met an Aussie before, this is what they all look like.

rd

Aussie

Keep in mind that no way will you get a backpack of pinball parts inside a plane in the USA. Checked baggage only ...

rd

No, officer, I said sword RAMP. It's a ramp, really.

image.jpg

Something tells me Rotordave has the indicators reversed for where his thongs and Denim Shorts are indicated.

I'm pretty sad there isn't going to be a pingolf style tourney this year. I was looking forward to it this year because it was a blast last year. The expobrawl seems like it may overlap Terry's party,.....which isn't an option.

Thongs = footwear down under.

They would look funny if they were wearing skimpy underwear on their feet....

rd

You just described me, except for the cork hat...

Not if they're female

I like the way that you think. I would be down for that

How many games on free play does Expo usually have?

I don't believe Pinball News did a head count last year. 2013 there was 150+. I know there was more last year.

LTG : )

Ha I hope not! In about a week I will make a posting for making them again for everyone along with the pinside Lanyards I have.

If you see someone on the tour wearing this it's totally not me.

Nothing to see here

Too funny.

I was wondering if I could sneak in wearing the old Data East disguize of trench coat and fake nose and glasses ?

For those wondering, there was a time DE people would go into their own building wearing these so other manufacturers didn't know who was going in and out on a regular basis and they'd know who had a game on the line.

LTG : )™

still have & love mine from TPF , Thanks again Gexchange!! & I will for sure be wearing it

Guess I'm being nerdy, then. Still have mine from last year's Expo, and will be wearing it this year. Pinball nerds need to be able to recognize each other (if you're not an Aussie).

I've booked my 1700m flight to Chicago for my 2nd Expo. I'll be doing some collaboration at the JJP design center and talking a little about Lexy's audio at Gerry's seminar. Hope to see a lot of old friends and make some new ones.

Looking forward to meeting you.

Shoot me a PM to reserve your spot. This year seats are filling up and I haven't had to make a thread about it!

Guys, and now the worst update of the year. I'm going to Expo! Just booked my room today. Strange it would let me book the rate Thursday - Sunday, but not Friday - Sunday. Excited to finally attend Expo and meet some of you dudes.

How many days are you guys attending? Seems like things don't get going to Thursday night. I was thinking of flying out of Chicago Saturday night, but is that a great night at the Expo? Do people hang around the hotel 3-4 days straight, or do people go get some great Chicago grub, take some trips? Just trying to plan. Super excited.

That girlfriend of yours coming along? (asking for my wife)

Not sure yet. We're going to Miami the week after for a friends birthday so it might be too many days out of the office for her.

Bring the Hellcat so I can do some doughnuts in it for you.

rd

image.jpg

few questions:

how long is the tour at stern?
and pinball life event starts at 12:00?

is it worth it to take the big package including the buffet?

1. 45 minutes in the plant. Bus ride should be 20-30 min each way. Plus some wait time to get in.

2. Yes. Unless Pinball Life changes it up. Check website for updates or call.

3. Yes.

My plan is to sneak into Stern using a cardboard box... but the only ones I have say "Spooky Pinball LLC"

thanks man.

I might have a pair of funny nose glasses I'm not using.

banned! Possibly even shipped to another part of the country. There will also be an instruction sheet included: "Ben does not come with beer installed, please install before playing name that horrible 80's remake movie"

Will probably skip Expo this year. Is Terry at Pinball Life having a function?

Yes...it's a pinball explosion!

442155.jpg

Check and check!
NPgoolie.jpg

pretty sure your contract is over Ben

That means you can take the Stern tour.

How far is this from the hotel? Trying to avoid getting a car. Anyone driving? Really wanted to check this out and see AMH auctioned off.

Also, does anyone need a room? I may go from a king bed to two queens. Cut the cost in half for each of us. Just throwing it out there.

its about 30-40 min away. You will need a Ride or a Car for sure. Several have offered rides on page 7 and 8 of this thread I think including me. Maybe we should Start a thread just for rides to PBL?

JJ

Meet and Greet Thread is up! https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/offical-pinside-expo-meet-and-greet-2015

JJ