All shows are different. TPF is a good all around show, but so are many other shows.

If you want to play great condition games, then VFW is the premier show.
If you want industry people, then expo still wins that (but TPF may have taken over this year)
If you want a swap meet then allentown seems to be it.
If you want the true hobbyist experience and energy then MGC is it.
If you want to compete then replayfx/pinburgh is the answer.

No need to crown a single premier. they all offer distinct things and none of them can do it all, but they each can be the best at one aspect.

Your show is great Clay, but just so it is not misleading to others, there is 100% always a line to play the top A listers during normal show hours. While you do a nice job limiting tickets, a large chunk of your games are not the popular ones, and hence the popular ones always have lines and often long lines.

p.s. since you sell out every time, I dont think you need to come into every show thread to toot your own horn. It does not help you and reality is that many shows will surpass yours for quantity and quality of game play. For example, # of games people actually want to play combined with quality is much higher at quite a few shows. What you do well Clay is the diversity of good playing games. Play off that aspect, but no need to chime in everytime someone starts one of these threads.

Just wanted to say that if anyone desires more pinball fix, that www.midwestgamingclassic.com is just around the corner (April 7-9).

I have been to quite a few shows (MGC, TPF, PAPA, VFW) and MGC still takes the cake hands down (for me) due to just the shear hobbyist level of energy and excitement. The show features some of the best quality personal games in the public space, great diversity, fun with all the other gamers (counsel, vid, board, cosplay, etc). One of the great things about MGC is that you are also likely to be able to party with some of the greats if you bring a game and get to be part of the best afterparty ever

Like TPF, MGC continues to get better and better every year!

After last year, I was told that there may be a competing show next year... I have promised to bring games if that competing show gets started and I know quite a few others that have also committed to helping if it gets legs.

I disagree. To me it makes perfect sense to run 1 week prior to expo or even on the exact same weekend as expo and nearby to get cross pollination the first year. Slightly better weather but still fall season when things have slowed down. Pretty easy to garner the support of the local hobbyists if you treat them well (a low bar to hurdle given the current treatment). Get the hobbyists involved and watch it grow. The first year would be tough. The second year would be better. By the third year you would see the true ramifications.

Anyone going into the idea and not concerned with directly competing with Expo is doing it wrong IMO

I hope someone in the Chicagoland makes a go for it. It seems every year more people come away with a foul taste. That taste wanes over time, but the following year the tastes returns and can be worse than the year before. I think many people would liek to see a show in Chicagoland flourish.