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LTG : )

Yes MilCog. Glad they were there!!

Thanks man! I enjoyed every minute of everything this weekend. I was like a kid in a candy store opening all those nib's and setting em up! Even got to plunge the first ball on every game while testing them.

The whole family had a blast due to the wide range of available things to do and see that only MGC could provide. Thanks to everyone that helped make it a huge success in our eyes.

To top things off, I even got a... I mean my kid got a golden ticket!

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I might add. More than a few times I ran into a game turned off. For no reason. Upon power up no errors or missing balls or anything. Only thing I can think of is maybe some people turn their games off at home when done playing them and they or their kids did the same at the show out of habit.

LTG : )

Last I checked, Milwaukee and Chicago are the most populous cities of their respective states. It seems to me that plenty of people do in fact enjoy being in large cities and living in cities. What exactly is your beef with these cities that you and your fellow comrades have other than “you can’t stand them”.

Being in the city opens up the event to a larger audience and offers you plenty of activities to attend outside of the festival while you are in the area. There are plenty of alternative food and drink establishments within walking distance of the Wisconsin Center. Plenty of others mentioned concerts or comedy shows they were attending during the weekend and you could have also gone to the Bucks game after the show Sunday.

In my opinion, its seems like MGC has a lot more of a crowd for retro video games and non pinball related items at this point. There were lots of vendors for non pinball related items, and much larger crowds in those areas also.

The hard truth you probably need to realize is that while pinball is popular and might be your passion; video games are WAY more popular and enjoyed by the masses. Pinball is still a niche hobby and will probably always be due to the high cost of ownership. MGC isn’t run with only the pinball community in mind and as such, this isnt your festival to attend. There is nothing wrong with that if you don’t like it and don’t want to attend; but, a lot of your comments come off as complaints an entitled millennial would make and not constructive criticism. There is a reason you were singled out on this forum and no one else that offered constructive criticism was.

You take offense to everyone saying you should run your own festival, but, then make an excuse that your schedule is too busy. In life you are either part of the problem or part of the solution. If you are not interested in the time and effort to put together a show that suits your interests exactly, don’t expect someone else to do it for you.

As I recall MGC started with the gaming. Pinball came into MGC later.

And the pinball part keeps getting bigger and better every year.

LTG : )

Only one year as a pure video game show and while we claim that as the beginning of the show, the first year we actually created the concept it was pinball. For a while, it was electronic gaming and we did evolve there (and continue to!)

Another year in the books. For us load in and load out went smoothly. The volunteers at the show are amazing in what they do. The assistance they give is the best of any show I have been to.

As for the show experience, while I spent the majority of the time in the booth (an entire 5000 sqft corner of the room) I did have a chance to walk around with the wife and kids for about an hour. My daughter (who will be 3 in june) said her favorite part(s) were helping her aunt empty some of the coins from the claw machines (we grossly underestimated the amount of coins we would need for the change machine) and the movie she got to watch in the vendor hall (some 32 character battle on the mgc stage).

While I am obviously there for business, it did bring a smile to my face to watch both young and old playing the cranes, halo, pinball and more. I love this show for the diversity of people that it brings in.

Vendor of the year two years running doesnt happen by itself. With the help from all the volunteers, troy Smith and his crew, Jersey Jack pinball, Chicago gaming, spooky pinball, American pinball, vp cabs, raw thrills and my dad (for his passion for kiddie rides and crane machines) we pulled it off. Cant wait to see what we do next year (actually my feet are telling me we can wait a little bit).

Thanks for doing it. I know it's a crap load of work.

Thanks for all the work you put into MGC Kingpin! Theran enjoyed playing the claw games and his favorite pin to play was Willy Wonka (it was mine too). The show wouldn't be nearly as great if you weren't there with your vast selection of games!

Big thank you to Dan and all the other people who made this years MGC possible!

This was my first conference of any type, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I brought my 7 year old son and we both had a blast and drank way too much soda! I tried to play every EM I could get my flipping fingers on, so thank you to everyone who brought their games! Maybe some year I’ll get the guts to bring a couple of my own.

Keep up the good work!

Great job with the show!! Any issues were quickly handled by volunteers that knew how to handle any issue. Not having the MGC after party bands on Friday during registration, no problem, just stop back in the morning and we'll get them to you. Way easier than I thought it would be. Took no time at all. Then apparently I was wearing the wrong wristband all day Saturday (had on the blue one) and got into all of the MGC areas. So Sunday, obviously I'm throwing on the yellow band to take one last trip thru the hall, I get stopped, and confused I head back down to the ticket booth. Here's a blue band, we stroll thru the show and then head home. No hassles. I would say a sign from both hotels telling you were the registration desk is, would be helpful.

Oh and that soda place (Wild Bills, I think) knows the game they're playing. Buy a mug for 'soda' and get free refills, that worked great for us. And the staff at the convention hall once asked, "Are you coming from the Hilton and is there alcohol in that mug?" A simple no, moved us right on thru, that received many laughs also. Like the guy had to ask, but didn't really care.

You're welcome. Thanks for bringing it!

Just want to say that I had a great time at the expo. You could spend 4 days all alone in there and still not play all the stuff you really want to. I went just for pinball, and I wanted to hope on the TMNT arcade machine, the halo one, and even the virtual cop machine(I love gun games). But, sadly there were always big lines and I didn't want to wait. No regrets about that though. Played a lot of pinball machines. A few I didn't get to play. Simpsons Pinball Party, Fishtales, Streetfighter(I know its not good, but I want to try it for myself). But, I did get to play all of Jersey Jacks games. I put in about 4-5 total games on Willy Wonka. Also got to play Oktoberfest a few times.
I had a great time with my father. And there is always plenty of easy parking around the expo center. I parked in a parking garage. 5 dollar all day parking. For all day city parking you can't get much of a better deal.
Anyway... My only gripe for the whole weekend was it snowed on the way home. And when I first started the trip the snow was rather a decent amount. And the idiots on the interstate wanted to drive 70... Mind you the actual speed limit is only 60 on the road I was on, and the fact that there was snow, you would think they would sloooooow down... Nope... But, the further south I got the better conditions for the road.
And I made it home safe and sound.
Last year my brother, father and myself got into a car accident on our way to the expo. I can't believe the blooming weather. Two freak snow storms in two years in the spring. Next year I hope for NO SNOW!!!!!!!

thank you MGC. best show EVER! every year it gets better. I couldn't believe all the new games. More new game then you could shake a stick at. Never had a problem getting on a game. Kingpin booth was great. thank u for coming and being a huge contributor to the show. Wonka is killer. And always good to see troy Smith (video game seller)and bullshit with him. he makes me laugh. good to see u buddy. see you at expo.

I always bring a game every year and I play them enough. But for me, my highlight this year was spending time with my 19 year old nephew. (pic attached) He loves pinball. he's the type of kid that will play fortnite all day. We spent the whole day Saturday playing games and hanging out just chilling. we even played Mario cart. lol. I haven't played Mario cart since 1995. and I schooled him. lol. we left after the cosmoplay contest, and as we were walking out, he asked if he could come back tommrow. Absolutely! considering my brother(his dad) we haven't spooken to each other in years. so the time spent with him was worth it's weight in gold. thank you MGC for making that happen.

A message to "leonml" since I know your reading this. Go to a ONLY pinball show like expo. when you pay the same price to walk around and see the whole show in under a hour then you will really have something to complain about.

I will diffently be back next year. thank you every body that volunteers to make this show great. your work is not going unappreciated. I wish load out was better. I was waiting in line and milwaukee police department kicked me out of line because I was blocking a bus stop. oh well. all good. I was still home and unloaded by 6:00pm. so no complaints. that's not bad considering people came from alot further away and have longer travel times.

next year no snow. deal?

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I have got to say one of the highlights this year for me was the loading docks . Yep hangin out with Steve Ritchie on the loading docks. Everyone ,most likely ,has a favorite pinball designer . Mine is ,of course, Scott Danesi but my second favorite pinball designer is Steve Ritchie and it is not every day that you get to chill on the loading docks with your second favorite pinball designer.
But seriously though Show was a blast really enjoyed meeting a bunch of new people . As always a ton of great games , new , old and everything in between . Already thinking about what games to bring next year as I will certainly be back.

Dan and his crew managed to make MGC bigger and better. Again.

Thank you for all you do !
LTG : )

Are people really complaining about $5 parking in the downtown area of a major city?

I wanted to post this yesterday but crashed out...

Thank you to everyone who did so much to make this year's show a success. I always say that the first year we do something is a little rough and then after that it gets better and while we didn't nail everything the way I had hoped, we got a lot closer than I expected to, and I credit that success to a wonderful set of people involved with the show.

The arcade team did an amazing job getting the hall together. I was concerned about how everything was going to come together and then it just did, which I super appreciate. The new Stern and Jersey Jack games were hits for everyone I spoke with. I played both (once!) when I was super tired and although I couldn't form a full opinion, I liked both.

Some other random fun highlights for me...

- Undertale Pinball. It's actually better than I imagined it would be. Loved it.
- Test Your Might at the main stage went off exactly how I had envisioned it in my head. That NEVER happens. It was incredible.
- I sat down with Eric Bischoff for a couple minutes at the signing table on Sunday, and he was positively glowing about the show. He said he was nervous about how different from other things he was used to, but the difference made it better.
- I picked up Tad Stones to take him to the airport yesterday. He had tons of ideas for next year, and told me he's in no matter what.
- The dock situation wasn't a highlight, but at the most miserable point for me, I had one vendor who said it is what it is and can't kill the vibe of the weekend, happily waiting in his car and playing ukelele. He handed me a beer to "keep you warm". (to be clear, he was not drinking)
- Casey.
- The "crowd" photos that were taken at some of the presentations were really awesome.
- Giving out the first MGC Pillar Awards at the Game Conference on Friday night.
- Screaming at, getting screamed at, and laughing uproarously with Arda Ocal and Jason Gares late Friday night as we prepped for presentations on Saturday and Sunday.
- The ridiculous MGC Championship Belt.
- Both After Parties on site, which I bounced between.

And seriously, meeting and seeing everyone both involved or just attending the show. This show wouldn't exist without the support of so many people, and that's always at the top of my mind. Like I said at the after party, the whole process has made me an optimist over the years. If we can bring together such a diverse group of people and to create something so unique and wacky, what can't we solve.

Both Gary and I are proud to be the ringmaster of one hell of a circus.

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Oh hey, a couple random facts I just thought of...

Kevin Manne from Buffalo Pinball I met in 1999 at the first Jagfest I went to. It was this traveling show thsy we hosted in 2001 that started what we have now.

Someone mentioned how much cheaper it must have been at the Sheraton. On a square footage cost basis, the Wisconsin Center is cheaper. We also have more. Than twice as much space as we did two years ago.

Glad we at least got to say hi for a minute on Saturday morning, Dan. Hard to believe it's been 20 years! Show was amazing, nice work -- it's come a long way since Jag Fest

It's absolutely insane what you have done with this show since it was a Jagfest. I've known Kevin since he hosted that in '98 and it's wild to think how that all morphed into what it is now. You do an amazing job!

Took Monday off work to recover...

Why have I not done that before? Makes everything so much better and helps the fun sink in.
Can't wait for next year.

Meh, I won’t take less $1,200 for Spring Break. Just rebuilt the flippers, pops, and sling... oh wait.

Great show again this year. Thanks to Dan and all the other volunteers making it happen. I brought 5 games, and busted my butt keeping them running. A lot goes into this show and it continues to be a great event. Looking forward to next year!

Great show again this year. Thanks to Dan and all the other volunteers making it happen. I brought 5 games, and busted my butt keeping them running. A lot goes into this show and it continues to be a great event. I was lucky enough to bring these little ladies home too (1 for Lunar Shot and 1 for Super Flipper). Looking forward to next year!

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Was only there again this year for Friday Night. The preview was great but wish I could have stayed for the official show! Great time anyway and always great show! Thanks to all involved in pulling off the best gaming show in the country hands down!

Tom

Had a great year thanks to everyone for the people’s choice award. Means a lot coming from my peers.
Game count is down this year to 268 but that could be due to longer ball time and also a few more ball stuck issues I didn’t get flushed out with the new playfeild.

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I had 444 plays on my Munsters Prem. Not sure about Jurassic Park or Silverball Mania... Don't know where they were before the weekend.

462 plays on Batman.

308 on Rob Zombie

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Munsters pro. Just got it set back up. So glad I took Monday morning off, but next year, it'll be the whole day! I returned to somewhat normal Tuesday about noon!

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Congrats Ed. And to all the other BIS/PC winners.

Sooooo tired. Finally starting to decompress from this show. Weather made travel a nightmare for me, as a few of you already know, but otherwise a great show as usual. This may be the last year of my table of misc stuff, as I think I'm pretty much out of things I think are show-worthy in that regard. I'm also looking to really amp up a few areas of the business for next year. So may see a whole different look to my ghetto-vendor setup next time.

I'm definitely glad to be rid of that rental trailer, too much stress for me hauling so many pins in bad weather that weren't mine. Between all the pickups and drop-off's, I hauled 9 pins around in the past week. A lot more than I'm used to. I'm just glad they all got to their destinations without any incidents. I will say, I can't stand driving around in downtown Milwaukee with a trailer.

Right now, I'm still catching up on e-mails. Completely exhausted. Very appreciative of everything that people do in order to get the show together. Of course there are glitches along the way, but damn do I look forward to it still.

Nice to chat with you at the show and thanks for the deal on the t-nuts. I enjoyed playing your BK with the buttery smooth playfield.

Thanks again for your efforts. They were really appreciated! Glad you made it home safe!

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/big-thanks-to-dozer1-and-hhaase#post-4936780

I briefly looked over the audits for MGC: Simpsons Pinball Party had about 500 plays and Harlem Globetrotters in the tournament had about 200 plays.

I know it's been said already, but another thanks to all that make this show possible. Without your work, I wouldn't have something to look forward to essentially in my own backyard. I love that it's an all gaming affair, as I'm a complete nerd that loves everything from board games to video games to pinball. The vendor hall was great again this year and it was awesome to be able to catch up with people that I've had pinball dealings with. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of people that I hadn't seen since a year ago or that I had met on location come up to me to say hi.

Having two brand new games to play for the first time for the general public, should be a huge testament as to how much emphasis manufacturers have put on this show as their vessel for pinball release. And the fact that this show encompasses all gaming, allows the opportunity to expose this crazy hobby to so many others that wouldn't have otherwise had a chance to play pinball. Things as simple as finding the start button on older games, or showing younger kids where flipper buttons are, we have to remember that if you've never played a pinball machine before, that it can be really confusing and daunting. This is a great opportunity for those people to be able to play pinball without any risk of wasting that coin drop.

Usually we've only spent Saturday at the show, but my wife and I are planning at least one overnight stay to enjoy 2 day's worth. Can't wait for next year!

We've been going since before the Sheraton, and this is the first time we did the whole weekend. WAY better experience. We're doing that every year from now on. I'm not driving home at night after 8 hours of pinball anymore.

Hidden cost: you WILL pay more in the vendor area if you come back for a second day. I have two of those awesome 3D box art things, and the kids have a giant pile of toys, including a stuffed..... ice cream cone...cat?

I had 464 plays on MBr for Fri/Sat/Sun.

Wow - Iron Maiden only had 289 plays for Fri/Sat/Sun. I guess I should look at game times because it was basically in constant play the whole show. Maybe I didn't have it setup hard enough?

Jaz

For the second year, I have wanted to look at these and get one, and for the second year I passed by them a bunch.

Which ones did you get?

Last year I got the Haunted House one, it's awesome. I kind of hope he does a lot more pinball boxes, but my wallet hopes not.

Sounds cool. I have yet to know what you guys are talking about though...

Pic?

There are different versions, but this is the type of thing they were talking about...

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https://www.etsy.com/shop/GameRoomArtCo

This is the guy who vends at MGC: https://www.etsy.com/shop/GameRoomArtCo

I saw them last year and kicked myself for not buying one. In a moment of weakness I said "what the heck!"

I got the Super Mario World "map" screen one. The first screen you see in the game where you choose your stage. The 3D depth to the trees, hills, and clouds really pops on this one!

I also got the Street Fighter one. I'm a big SF2 nerd, and the parallax effects from the original game were well represented, with the scores and fighters popping in front of the street and Chinese market background.

Finally, I splurged and got one of the mini ones... it's a 2-layer TMNT scene where they're standing in front of the burning building, about to jump off.

To be honest I REALLY had a hard time choosing, and could have easily gotten a few more if I had the budget. The Zelda ones were awesome, and the Mortal Kombat one was VERY nicely done.

I'm not gonna lie, I'm probably going to come home with a couple more next year.

For reference, here's the artist's site:

https://artovision3d.com

Qualifiers:

1) He has way more than is on this site
2) The effect is way cooler in person!

Oh, he'll do more pinball ones.... he does commissioned works:

https://artovision3d.com/collections/shadowbox-art/products/create-your-own-shadowbox-art

You're welcome/sorry!

Ok yea, those are way cool.

I didn't buy much at show but did get a 3D Artovision box of Haunted House since it's like the best backglass ever.