It's kinda hard to when you have someone that just won't stop. I had a helluva time. Got the opportunity to speak with Pat Lawlor, and Joe Katz, and was able to say hi to lots of pinball friends I've made in my short time in the hobby. Really loved the atmosphere, the excitement shared by everyone there, the seminars that were put on. Lots of great things for all kinds of people.

That Stargazer was my personal "Best in Show"... absolutely gorgeous. I spent a good amount of time on those three games. More thanks to whomever brought em.

I didn't know Pat Lawlor was there... Was that just part of the JJP unveiling or did he walk around the games?

Nothing is perfect , you are correct . This location was by far the best option they had to work with . They did explore other options that would have been outside the city but none really had everything they needed . They weighed the good and the bad of the potential locations and decided that The Wisconsin Center was their best option . They did their research,but if you might have knowledge of a location that fits their needs (and they overlooked when searching)you should contact them . I liked it at the Sheridan as well but it is not an option anymore for a number of reasons . I also like the new location .Yes it could better but it could also be a whole lot worse .

Here's another clown who resorts to backhanded, passive aggressive personal attacking, with no constructive input.
ASSume and make ASSumption, always makes one a what? Exactly
Yes, anyone who differs from you must be so sad and boooooring and stupid. Yes you were what the gods dreamt up as the perfect party fun guy. It was all you.

Dude, you're completely derailing this thread. Please just agree to disagree with everyone else here and step away from the keyboard on this particular topic.

I respect your opinion, and you've made your case. There's no need to keep banging on it. All you're doing is inflaming people.

He was there Friday for the reveal. Eric was around all weekend .

He was there on Friday for the unveiling, but was also there on Saturday, at least for the first half of the day, mingling with folks playing Wonka. Joe was also there along with Eric, hanging out by Wonka and talking to people. It was pretty awesome.

Nice attitude, makes me feel good to spend time out of my busy life to volunteering to help set up a show that you don't appreciate.

Careful, Bangerjay is a national treasure.. like Gritty.

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Thanks for your efforts. Let's not feed this guy. We've all been sucked into his trap.

If many hate the city of mke, Chicago would be a real treat then? Not exactly. I deal with Chicago enough for work. The last thing i want to deal with is Chicago for a place im spending for fun.

There's plenty of people who can't stand mke and absolutely hate Chicago and most the people from Chicago, they have had the displeasure of meeting are as bad as the place they live.

I know plenty of people who share that opinion.

Alright, I'm out of here. Enjoy your circle jerks and don't forget the reach around.

Thank you for helping make this show possible!

Leonml

Would you please read back what the first line of your post says? If you indeed "Don't care what it means to anyone here". Why don't you STFU and stop responding to every single slight? Who is "butthurt"? Everything you are complaining about is idiotic. Food, ticket prices and the fact that it's not only pinball is just beyond dumb. If you didn't like the ticket prices why did you buy one? It's a GAMING convention that encompasses all things gaming! Time to move along to another show dude.

Each to his own. It's what's important to you.

People who truly do actual good in the world, need neither thanks or praise.

I will just say I absolutely love Downtown Milwaukee.... It is a fantastic place to eat and get cocktails with friends. Check out the Bucks and Admirals. It really is a fun place to go. I will never understand why anyone would want to avoid it. It really is a fun place to go.

As far as Midwest Gaming Classic goes, I was only there on Friday night... however I had an absolute blast. And I can't wait for next year! Great job everyone that brought games.

You have clearly displayed your good doing in the world. Move along. Thanks!

Glad you're sticking around for the circle jerk!

This was my first MGC show that I attended and all I can say is that I absolutely loved it. Usually, I only attend Expo, but MGC is my new choice of venues. (but I'll still go to Expo too ) I really didn't know what to expect other than the preconceived notion I had that it would be a smaller pinball venue than what the Chicago show offered. Boy, was I wrong - what a selection of brand new machines & classics! (and most of the classics worked well & looked & played well)

Moreover, I love the fact that it is not only pinball. I'm an arcade guy at heart, and all of my memories are of both standup arcade games & pinball machines together. In my opinion, they mix as well as Jack & Coke. Then, to add home video games and PC games from all generations? Simply awesome. Then there's the location - the drive there from my home in IL was painless and quick and parking was $5 bucks (seriously, $5 stinking bucks and I only had to walk a block or less) The Wisconsin Center is clean, beautiful and has plenty of space so no one is stepping on one another. Food - I was only there on Saturday, but I bought a sub from Jersey Mike's and a soda mug from Wild Bill's and went to town! No complaints here. I also saw a few other restaurants on my short walk to the Center, so those would have been options too. I further stopped in all of the other rooms and picked up some games, books, toys & T-shirts for me & the family. The selection was great and prices reasonable at each location where I shopped. (You have to support the vendors!)

I'm sure like any other venue, folks can offer up some constructive criticism and that is more than fair, but I really don't have any to offer personally. I know that I certainly couldn't have put a better show together! It was a fantastic experience all-around where I got to play all kinds of games & pinball that I have loved since my youth with almost no waiting. Based on the limited amount of arcades / barcades that I visit, pinball machines that aren't yet available I was able to play, where these titles may never even be offered for me to play without having to buy them for my home arcade - it's always hit or miss as to which games your local establishment will carry.

I'll end this review with a 'Great Job Folks!" to all that put this venue together and made it the totally enjoyable experience that it was. Thanks for all of your hard work! I can't wait until next year!

Expo is in Wheeling and it seems like the type of show you are looking for (pinball only , more parts venders etc.) you should check it out .

I loved these games. Star gazer has 3 spinners, awesome. the art on cyclopes cracks me up.

I always feel that I am whoring out my machines to a bunch of greasy fingers. I always apologize to my babies and give them an appreciative affectionate rub down and polish afterwards. I know she had it much worse before we got together. I didn't see any really bad abusive treatment.

Everybody seemed to enjoy my Congo.

Thanks everybody.

I know this because I'm not a selfish weirdo (well, usually). YOU said you wanted something different than what they presented. The VAST MAJORITY of attendees were happy and many many have said so. A rational person can therefore draw the conclusion that the show will not radically change because why risk messing up success with a big change? There's no inside information required to reach that conclusion, just an examination of your stated wants and the facts of the current show's success.

How many games did you bring?

And I actively called you lame

Living near Detroit, I think Chicago and Milwaukee are like visiting Disney World. Nice, well groomed cities with plenty of parking and great food. Detroit is getting better every year, but we’re way behind.

I couldn’t get enough of Doc’s Smokehouse and the breakfasts at BB were sensational.

There's a gigantic throng of people who appreciate your (and everyone else who busted their ass) work this weekend, and they all voted with their pocketbook. The proof is in the attendance numbers, not in a rant on a forum.

FWIW, I think everything went really well, including loadout. There's a ton of inexperienced people flying through that dock, and everyone wanted to be first. Of course it's going to seem chaotic. For next time I suggest:

1. A sandwich board on the street to direct traffic coming in, and directing small vs large vehicles. On the street we had big trucks in line with cars for a while.

2. Put painters tape on the ground where you want people to stage stuff. I found a spot along the wall opposing the loading dock doors that was fine and I was surprised that there weren't more tables there.

3. Forbid staging in the corridor between the show hall; that became a choke point.

4. Convince brides-to-be to elope

All of the show team involved in the dock were awesome for me. The two dock dudes did a good job rotating a four-wheeled Escalara on a hill in the slush to back my pin into my van without touching it. I want that guy as a neurosurgeon.

Yeah, there was a big smear of dried goo on my lockdown bar. Simple Green to the rescue! The way I see it, these games stood up to a ton of punishment to even survive to today. Some snotty noses or greasy fingers aren't going to do much damage.

Was his name Jared Guynes?

+1 for Doc's. My only regret was only finding it this year.

My experience this year was different than in year's past. One of our normal group members had a loss in the family, so wasn't able to attend. I didn't bring a game because we were waiting to hear about arrangements (it was possibly going to be Sunday). That puts a pretty big damper on the mood right away, but I still managed to have a good time.

The Friday night party allowed me to get a lot of time on stuff. I really appreciated that, since this is the first year I wasn't able to attend the Saturday night party.

I love all of the classic home stuff. I saw some classic games setup that I had completely forgotten about. It's a really cool experience to see those things and immediately remember playing them on a 4-color monitor way back when. I also really like going through the vendor stuff. I'm a sort of reluctant classic game collector (namely SNES and Genesis), but I always manage to find something for a pretty decent deal, and it's fun to just see what's out there.

The new games were all pretty cool. I really liked the Black Knight Pro. Wonka seemed cool, but I only got a couple of games on that. I'm looking forward to seeking that out again in the future for some more plays.

The food in the area is great - even the hotel bars have really good stuff. If you're willing to get in a car or an uber, the options are vast. I love this, because the show is just as much about getting some good eats and beer with friends as it is playing games.

We went to up/down arcade Saturday night. That would probably be a pretty cool place, but it was incredibly loud with really inconsistent music, and if you think etiquette at the show is bad - you would really have been upset here. A pretty good selection of pinball machines and classic arcades, though.

Thanks to everyone that brought games to share, or ordered games and allowed us all a first glimpse at the newest offerings. I wish I would have spent some more time in the game hall. It's just a busy time of year for me and my family, and the unexpected extra stuff didn't help. I was pretty tired before I even showed up on Friday.

I'm already looking forward to next year!

Don't worry.. I am pretty sure it is relatively new.

Speaking of next year... This is Easter weekend next year.

I'm pretty sure it's usually planned with that in mind. The weekend of MGC sort of floats depending on that.

We enjoyed all of the non pinball stuff too. My wife and I talked to the guy with the massive board game collection in Hall A for like an hour. We bought two new board games based on his recommendations as we are huge tabletop gamers too.

In other news, I traded my star trek and no longer need the color DMD and acrylic window and standoffs kit I bought at the show. It's an LCD color DMD, can be updated to work with any game they support. Selling for $375 if anyone is interested ($425 new) locally.

I think that's MilCog you're referring to. Those guys are awesome.

What a weekend. This was a long, tiring and fun weekend. I would like to thank PinZig for the help (along with my friend Jonathon). The three of us set up over 60 pins on Thursday, and another 10 on Friday

I was working with Christopher at Kingpins booth and we had an awesome layout I think, and by winning best vendor of show, apparently others thought that also.

I want to thank Christopher for allowing me to be part of his booth, he had to have put countless hours into all the preparations to make this happen. Working with him is a pleasure and who knows where that can lead to.

We had
33 NIB Chicago gaming machines that we opened and set up
15 JJP NIB games that we set up, and 4 that were left in box
3 Oktoberfest
1 Houdini
1 TNA
2 Alice Coopers
1 AMH that was loaned to complete Spooky games
Halo Two Player
Turtles 4 play (raw Thrills)
6 VP Vertigos
2 Namco Pixel Blast
and over 35 cranes that the kids just loved

Then a group of trade ins that I went ahead and set up
Creature
Theatre of Magic
Space Station
Dr Who
Corvette
Game of Thrones Premium
DealPool Premium

hoping for 1 weekend later next year

I thought you were leaving.

I'm not here to argue, because clearly this show isn't for you, so I'm cool with you not going but I'll simply say this.

We were in the Sheraton until last year. Waaaaaaay more people complained about how cramped it was, and the pricing was similar.

Anyone that knows me, I'm pretty honest about the show not making a boatload of cash. Yes that was my Tesla on the floor. I saved 19 years for a DeLorean and opted for it instead. Last year I earned $4800 for my entire salary in the year working on the show.

If $45 is too much for you and you hate it, don't come. I wouldn't. You don't owe me anything, and if the show fails, then clearly I wasn't listening to enough people.

But you're arguing that we should be cheaper and have less people. You clearly aren't listening to how the show operates (and to be fair, you don't need to!), but there is no way I see to make it cheaper while also making it less attended.

I think I may have come up with a potential idea for load out next year this morning. Talking to the center about it soon. Would open us up to about 25 cars at once instead of 6. If we can do that - or is the weather is like it is today - it'll be different.

We'll get there for those that like what we're doing and if we don't, I'll accept the show has run its course and move on. As much as I do enjoy doing it most of the time, the stress is extreme and takes a physical toll on me.

It was great seeing everyone. I wish I could have spent a lot more time with all of you at the show!

Just a point of comparison. I also attend comic book conventions and other hobby conventions. ~$45 is the average cost across all of them. So MGC is not over priced IMHO.

Just another question, at those, what do meet and greets cost? Interactive content?

I'm not complaining at you or anyone else, but when you break it down I think we're a great value. A photo and autograph for certain ones of our industry professionals was usually a $50+ thing. All of them were included in the price.

It can't be stated enough how lucky we are to have the volunteering crew that we have, and have had for many years. Tully, Chris and everyone else that we all know. Let's make sure to never forget to thank them.

It depends but here's some examples:

Supernatural convention: Two lead stars meet & greet with photo op ~$350; ~$129 for supporting actor/actresses
ComicCon Chicago: Chris Evans photo op ~$350
C2E2: Pending who ranged from $40-$350 for photo op; ~$50 for autograph

Agree with your included value statement Dan.

Taking my kids for an evening of Dave & Busters costs more.

I can't speak for Stern.

Of the 35 CGC games. As I recall one bad switch that needs replacing on a MBR, one bad gate coil on an AFMR, three or four stuck balls. MMR prototype remake #1 did go down on Sunday. And was always checking for switch errors. Lots of them because inexperienced players weren't hitting everything. Which cleared when checked or played more.

LTG : )

I didn't think I'd be able to attend MGC at all this year. My wife and I were expecting our third child April 18th but we ended up having him a week early this past Thursday. Luckily every thing went well and I had my mother in law to help out so I was able to slip out for a few hours Sunday and bring my 5 year old son along

For those complaining about parking, I didn't think $5 for downtown Milwaukee was bad at all and paying $25 for both my son and I to get in was a good value. We both had a bunch of fun and I was glad to be able to make it out and see some friends and play pinball. I also had to bring my WOF back which Eric brought to the show and did a spectacular job on the ColorDMD! The load out was probably a 45 minute wait and was a hassle in the snowy weather but it's a small price to pay for being able to help make the show better by having more quality games. I'm a big fan of the new location and appreciate all the extra space and extra games to play!

Big thanks to Dan and all of the volunteers and game bringers that made it such a great show!

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